2024/9/14(土)SMC

Word of the Day: SM Noro

”slump"

There are many kinds of slumps, but they all involve things going downhill. If you slide down in your chair, you slump. Other slumps are less physical. If a successful quarterback starts losing games and throwing interceptions, that's a slump. It's a downturn in performance – also a struggling ballplayer and a sinking economy are both in a slump. The original meaning of slump, back in the 1670s, was "fall or sink into a muddy place".

1.     Verb

l  [intransitive] to fall or lean against something because you are not strong enough to stand. Using with against/over/back/behind/forward etc.

-She slumped against the wall.

-After working all day, he slumped into the couch, exhausted.

-Carol slumped back in her chair, defeated.

-He would be only too happy to dial 911 when Walter slumped over in shock, unable to speak.

l  [intransitive] to suddenly go down in price, value, or number

-Sales have slumped over the past few months due to the changing market.

-The currency slumped to a record low.

-Semiconductor, software and computer companies slumped in price.

l  [intransitive, transitive] (also be slumped) if your shoulders or head slump or are slumped, they bend forward because you are unhappy, tired, or unconscious.

-Her shoulders are slumped and her eyes filled with tears.

-Keeping your arms straight, raise them as high as possible without slumping forwards.

-The victim was slumped against a freezer where he had been searching for a gas leak.

2.     Noun (countable usually singular)

l  A sudden decrease in prices, sales, profits etc.

-There has been a slump in sales this month.

-One of their major concerns was the slump in wool prices.

-The slump in the property market is making it difficult for people to sell their homes.

-The company is working hard to recover from its recent slump in profits.

l  A period when there is a reduction in business and many people lose their jobs.

-The war was followed by an economic slump.

-The Dow is reaching new highs, but small-company stocks are in a slump.

-We are in a slump rather than a recession.

l  A period when a player or team does not play well – “in a slump”

-The Dodgers have been in a slump for the last three weeks.

-Tiger Woods does not believe he is in a slump.

3.    Others

l  Synonyms - fall, sink, decline, decrease, downturn

l  Antonyms – rise, soar, standup, sit up

l  Proverb

1)    Even in a slump, persistence builds the bridge to success.

2)    A slump is just a chapter, not the whole story.

3)    Slumps test patience, but breakthrough reward persistence.

Lecture: SM Kaneko

Anagrams

1 Dormitory → D____ r_____

2 Listen → S______

3 The eyes → T____ s_____

4 Astronomer → M____ s_______

5 Conversation → V_______ r____ o

6 A gentleman → E_______ m___

7 The Morse Code → H____ c_____ d____

8 Slot machines → C____ l____ i_ m_

9 School master → T__ c_______

10 The earthquakes → T____ q_____ s_____

11 Eleven plus two → T_______ p___ o__

12 Coronavirus → C__________

Answer

1 Dormitory → Dirty room

2 Listen → Silent

3 The eyes → They see

4 Astronomer → Moon starer

5 Conversation → Voices rant on

6 A gentleman → Elegant man

7 The Morse Code → Here come dots

8 Slot machines → Cash lost in me

9 School master → The classroom

10 The earthquakes → That queer shake

11 Eleven plus two → Twelve plus one

12 Coronavirus → Carnivorous

Table Topic Speech

1 What book has had the greatest influence on your life?

2 What's the next big step you need to take?

3 What is the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

4 What did you want to be when you grew up?

5 What is your earliest childhood memory?

6 What is your most prized possession?

Prepared Speech

(1) Hawaii: SM Ishimura

Due to COVID-19, I haven’t traveled abroad for the past five years.Last week, I went to Hawaii for the 100th-anniversary event of the company where my second son works. Including my eldest son’s family, a total of nine people participated. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel. I had heard that the hotel staff were on strike demanding improvements in their working conditions, but fortunately, the strike ended by the time we arrived. On the second night, the 100th-anniversary event was held. Afterward, we enjoyed the fireworks display that takes place every Friday night. The beautiful scenery and sunsets we viewed from the hotel balcony were amazing.

The children climbed Diamond Head and played golf, but we, old couple took leisurely bus rides to the Ala Moana Shopping Center and various other places.

The most memorable part of the trip was on the third night when we boarded the cruise ship, Star of Honolulu. We enjoyed a luxurious meal on board, including lobster, and watched hula dancing and the sunset. We happened to sit at the same table as a Korean couple, and I had a wonderful time talking with them in my broken Korean. As you know, food and drink portions are larger compared to Japan, so we always ordered small sizes and shared one serving between the two of us.

As it's not easy to travel abroad at our age, I was very satisfied and grateful to my second son for making this wonderful trip possible.

(2) What Never Ceases to Amaze Me: SM K. Narisawa

One more thing I want to point out. When you start reading a book, there appear a several characters and you try hard to remember their names and their relationship with a main character. But soon as you proceed reading a book, you often forget them and end up reading parts of the book again. It takes a lot of energy and luck to find them. Kindle solves such problems. Just like you put your finger on a word you don’t know, do the same thing as when you don’t know meanings of a word. Put your finger on the names of characters you don’t remember, then a window called X-ray opens and show the sentences in which the name of a character appeared. A lot of readers give up reading a book through just because they don’t remember the names of characters. 

You may think this was a small discovery, but these two tools—my electronic dictionary and Kindle—have greatly enhanced my reading experience. It’s been a long journey from reading English books at a desk with a paper-based dictionary, but it’s one that’s brought me a lot of pleasure.

(3) How long do you plan to keep driving: SM Takahata

The speaker talked about a car acceident in her neighborhood caused by an elderly woman living in the house opposite. She lost consciousness just after leaving home and crashed head-on into a retaining wall of a nearby apartment buidling. She was carried to the hospital in an ambulance and her car was towed and later scrapped. Thanks to the airbags, she wasn't injured and no one was hurt because there was no pedestrians or cars. Although she is 82-year-old , she looks and acts as if she were in 70s – healthy and full of energy. The speaker said that she started to seriously consider car accident casued by elderly drivers as her own. There's a saying that you can't help getting old and anything can happen unexpectedly in old age. She is thinking at what age she should give up her diver's license.

(4) Living things: SM M.G

The other day, I found a black dragonfly while I went for a walk along riverside. It flied  a little bit before me and stop at the edge of the path. When I reached it then it flied before me and stopped at the edge of the path( like waiting for me) again.

That was repeated about for 400meters. I felt compassion or encouragement from that.

Our pet is a turtle. He is very smart, cute, and funny.

Meeting Schedule

In-person: Party

9:30 AM on Sep. 28 at Seishin Community Center (conference room)

Zoom: 7:30 PM on Sep. 16 and 30