2022/10/8(土)SMC
Hello everyone！The prsident paid a visit to several study groups like ours over the past weeks. They were all interesting and exciting, but one big difference between us is that we come up front when we make a speech. The reason is so that we can draw attention to you when you make a prepared speech or a table topic speech. A bit of formality do no harm and he believes it works for the better.
Word of the Day: SM Yoko Narisawa
[ mild ] ( adj. )
1. weather --- moderate / temperate
We had an exceptionally mild winter last year.
2. illness --- not serious
He suffered a mild heart attack.
3. people --- a mild person has a gentle character and doesn’t easily get angry / mild-mannered / humble and meek
His voice was soft and mild.
4. food / taste --- not very strong / not spicy
a mild curry / This cheese has a soft, mild flavor.
5. drugs and chemicals --- a mild drug or chemical doesn’t have a very strong effect
a mild painkiller
6. language --- mild words or language are not very rude or offensive
I heard him mutter a mild swear word.
7. feelings --- a mild feeling is not very strong
Both men looked at her in mild surprise.
[ mildly ] ( adv. )
1. slightly
I felt mildly depressed.
2. to put it mildly --- used to say that you could use much stronger words to describe something
Losing two members of staff was unfortunate, to put it mildly.
3. in a gentle way without being angry
“ Of course I don’t mind,” she answered mildly.
[ mildness ] ( noun )
1. the quality of not being violent, severe, or extream
Considering the relative mildness of the side effects she decided to try the treatment.
2. the quality of not being very cold, or not as cold as usual
Because of the exceptional mildness of the winter, spring came early.
3. the quality of not being very strong in flavor
The fish has a pleasing mildness.
4. a gentle and calm quality in person
The mildness of his manner was deceptive.
Lecture: SM Yu. Narisawa
Here are a few lines from the novel I guess you once read in your high school days or a few decades ago.
Guess what the title is and who wrote it.
(1) “What’s the matter, Fanny? ” I begged. “Did I hurt you? I didn’t mean to.
Honest I didn’t mean to.”
“I know you didn’t mean to,” she said, the tears falling on her lap, “but it did hurt. You mustn’t hit me there.”
“I’ll never do it again, Fanny. I promise I won’t.”
(2) What's in a name???It’s only your name that is my enemy; You are yourself, not even a Montague. What's “Montague?” It is not a hand, or a foot, or an a rm, or a face, or any other part belonging to a man.?
(3) But, Hagrid, there must be a mistake. This says platform 9 3/4. There’s no su ch thing…is there?
(4) I suppose every family has a black sheep. Tom had been a sore trial to his for twenty years. He had begun life decently enough: he went into business, marri ed, and had two children. The Ramsays were perfectly respectable people and th ere was every reason to suppose that Tom Ramsay would have a useful and honour able career. But one day, without warning, he announced that he didn’t like w ork and that he wasn’t suited for marriage. He wanted to enjoy himself.
(5) All their lives they had been together, and in their deaths they were not divi
ded: for when they were found the arms of the boy were folded too closely arou nd the dog to be severed without violence, and the people of their little vill age, contrite and ashamed, implored a special grace for them, and, making them one grave, laid them to rest there side by side?for ever.
(6) “Now, comrades what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our l ives are miserable, loborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so mu ch food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very insta nt that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous crue lty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he i s a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery an d slavery: that is the plain truth.”
(7) Didn’t you wonder why it never moved when the wind was blowing? Oh, my dear, it is Behrman’s great masterpiece?he painted it there the night that the las t leaf fell.”
(8) His mother was in the yard, throwing feed to the chickens. She watched the boy trip and fall and get up and skip again. He came quickly and quietly and stoo d beside her, then went to the hen nest to look for eggs. He found one. He loo ked at it a moment, picked it up, brought it to his mother and very carefully handed it to her, by which he meant what no man can guess and no child can rem ember to tell.
Answer
(1) The Strawberry Season by Erskine Caldwell (USA)
(2) Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (England)
(3) Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling (England)
(4) The Ant and the Grasshopper by Somerset Maugham (England)
(5) A Dog of Flanders. by Ouida (England)
(6) Animal Farm by George Orwell (England)
(7) The Last Leaf by O Henry(USA)
(8) The human Comedy by William Saroyan (USA)
Table Topic Speech
What's the most important lesson you've learned in the last year?
What is your greatest strength and your greatest weakness?
When was the last time you lied? What did you lie about?
Generational differences
Prepared Speech
(1) Shikoku Pilgrimage "Ohenro": SM Kakisu
The Shikoku Ohenro is a pilgrimage to eighty-eight(88) temples in Shikoku, covering a total distance of approximately 1,400 kilometers. The pilgrims generally use their own cars or tour busses while staying in hotels, but the speaker walked the route and stayed in the open air.
When he was on a pilgrimage, many local people assisted him giving foods and drinks, inviting to their homes to eat and bathe. They call this “the culture of Shikoku :Osettai” because these kind of assisting are not found anywhere else but in Shikoku.
He slept in a tent for the first few nights, but it was too heavy to shoulder it, so he sent back it to his home and slept on a park bench or under the eaves of a temple afterwards.
He walked 30 to 50 kilometers every day from morning to evening. It was a good time to think about myself while walking because all information from outside were cut off.
These experiences changed his way of life afterward.
1) It was hard to walk with a lot of things. “A simple life is the best.”
2) If I walk step by step I can reach the goal. “Continuation is power.”
3) Car travel is easy but it only connects temples to temples as dots. Walking connects as lines. “Life is connected by lines, not dots.”
He planned to make a second pilgrimage, but had to postpone it due to the pandemic. Once the pandemic is over, he would like to go back to Shikoku and enjoy the pilgrimage.
(2) Those were the days: SM K. Narisawa
He chose this speech title so that we could share nostalgia among those who were in the same age group. He talked about professional sports and showbiz that were popular at that time. Anyway, the good old days won't come back, but one thing he can say for sure was that we used to have high hopes for the future.
Meeting Schedule
In-person: 9:30 AM on Oct. 22 at Oyama Community Center
Zoom: 7:30 PM on Oct. 10, 17, 24 and 31
