2026/7/25(Sat.)*SMC*

Lecture

(1) Zoological Terms: SM Kaneko 

Explanations

1. A marked developmental change that takes place in insects and some other animals as they grow from the young to the adult form, as in the pupa and chrysalis.

2. Any animal lacking a vertebral column, or backbone. They constitute the majority of the animal kingdom, ranging from the simple sponges to advanced animals such as insects and cephalopod mollusks.

3. Any meat-eating animals, which are applied particularly to a large order of mammals that includes dogs, cats, badgers, civets, hyenas, bears and pandas.

4. Semi-comatose condition in which some members of all animal groups spend the winter in cold and temperate climates. During that period no food is taken, body processes such as respiration almost ceases, and in mammals the body temperature drops.

5. A long, ribbon-like flatworm, parasitic in the intestines of mammals and other backboned animals. It feeds by absorbing the gut contents of the host.

6. The name given to the young form of any animal if it is completely different from the adult. Tadpoles, caterpillars, and maggots are examples of this.

7. The period from the fertilization of a mammal's egg in the uterus to the time of birth.

8. A bird that hunts live vertebrates such as fishes, birds and mammals, or eats carrion. This term is usually applied only to birds of the order falconiforms.

9. The stage in the life cycle of many insects during which the body of the larva is broken down and rebuilt into that of the adult. It does not feed, and rarely moves.

10. An insect found mainly in tropical regions that can damage wooden structures such as furniture or houses. Unlike ant colonies, this colony consists of almost equal numbers of males and females, and is ruled by a king and a queen.

Choices

a bird of prey,      carnivore,      gestation,      hibernation,      invertebrates,      larva,      metamorphosis,      pupa,      tapeworm,      termite

Answers

1. metamorphosis（変態） 2. invertebrates（無脊椎動物） 3. carnivore（肉食動物） 4. hibernation（冬眠） 5. tapeworm（条虫） 6. larva（幼虫） 7. gestation（懐胎） 8. a bird of prey（猛禽） 9. pupa（さなぎ） 10. termite（シロアリ）

（出典：英語で説明する科学技術・語研）

(2) The Rose: SM Eda

 It's ... that(who) 〜   〜なのは...だ

 It's the heart, afraid of breaking

that never learns to dance.

踊ることを決して学ばないのは、壊れるのを恐れる心だ。

「壊れるのを恐れる心」の部分が強調されている。

 It's the one who won't be taking

who cannot seem to give.

与えることができない者は、

受けることを拒む者だ。

「受けることを拒む者」が強調されている。

これらは強調構文と呼ばれる。

far beneath the bitter snows

lies the seed that 

with the sun's love in the spring

becomes the rose.

far...snowsと in the springといった副詞句のため、それぞれ動詞のliesと主語のthe seed...、動詞のbecomesと主語のthe roseが倒置している。

arにアクセントがあると口を大きく開けるアー。

er, ear, ur等にアクセントがあるとアとウの中間のアー。

er, or等にアクセントがないと短くアとウの中間のアー

[ns]の発音記号は「ンツ」に近く発音されること多い。

roseは舌が上歯茎裏につけず発音し、roadsは舌を上歯茎につけて発音する違う音。

Table Topic Speech

(1) Whay lifts your spirits when life gets you down?

(2) What will you never do?

(3) Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right thing?

(4) What good comes from suffering?

(5) How many hours a week do you spend online?

(6) How do you deal with isolation and loneliness?

(7) In your lifetime, what have you done that hurt someone else?

Prepared Speech

(1) Color Hunting - Beauty is already there: SM Noro

Good morning, everyone.Have you ever taken a walk and suddenly noticed that there are yellow flowerseverywhere? Or blue signs, blue cars, and even people wearing blue shirts? Recently, many young people have been enjoying a new activity on socialmedia called Color Hunting. At first, I thought it was just another photography trend. But the more I learned about it, the more I realized it is much more than that. So today, I’d like to introduce Color Hunting and explain why it has become sopopular. First, what is Color Hunting? The rules are very simple.Before you go out, you choose one color. For example, red, blue, green, oryellow. Then, as you walk around your neighborhood, a park, or a shopping street, youlook only for things in that color. They might be flowers, signs, drinks, bicycles,buildings, or even someone’s umbrella.Whenever you find something that matches your color, you take a photo. At the end of the day, you collect all the photos into one album or one shortvideo. That’s it. It sounds almost too simple.But something very interesting happens.Normally, we walk without paying much attention to our surroundings. However, once you decide to look for only one color, your eyes begin to noticethings you have never seen before. The same street suddenly looks completely different. It becomes a treasure hunt.Why has this become so popular?I think there are three reasons. First, Color Hunting turns an ordinary walk into a game.Instead of simply going from one place to another, you have a small mission. Second, Color Hunting encourages creativity. Anyone with a smartphone can enjoy it. You don’t need expensive cameras orprofessional skills. And third, Color Hunting changes the way we see the world. We usually see objects in terms of their purpose - a bus stop, a traffic sign, or avending machine. But during Color Hunting, we begin to see something else.We see patterns. We see harmony. We see beauty. And this is my favorite part. When you put all your photos together, something surprising happens. They no longer look like ordinary snapshots. They begin to look like a piece of art. The colors connect with each other. The ordinary world suddenly feels as if it has been carefully designed. And you may even think, “Did I really create this?”Of course, the answer is both yes and no.The world was already beautiful.Color Hunting simply helped you notice it. To me, that is the real attraction of this activity. It reminds us that beauty is not always something we create from nothing. Sometimes, beauty is already there. So, we only need a new way oflooking. Or in other words, we just need to become aware of it. So next time you go for a walk, why not choose one color? You may discover not only beautiful photographs, but also a beautiful way ofseeing the world. Thank you.

(2) A Little Motivation: SM Crystal

(3)  Extreme weather: SM Yoko Narisawa

 I had been enjoying comfortable weather until June. I didn’t use an air conditioner at all, and I expected the nice weather to continue. However, as soon as July started, the weather began to change. As far as I remember, in Japan in a typical year, the rainy season ends around July 20^th and the real summer begins. But this year the extreme heat started earlier than usual. We have to cope well with this summer heat.

 In urban areas, sidewalks are equipped with cooling mist systems to help people stay cool. Recently, I found sunflower-shaped mist shower installed on the Ebina Station walkway. Fine mist was spraying from the sunflower. I felt happy to see such a pretty flower misting cool air, and I felt relieved by the refreshing spray.

 Nowadays, more and more men are using sun umbrellas. Historically, it was not rare for men to use them - men in the Edo period used sun umbrellas as well. Today, sun umbrellas with various functions have evolved significantly to meet people’s needs.

 Do you use a handy fan? I bought one several years ago. Have you heard of a portable misting fan? It is a handy fan with a misting function. What’s more, there is even a portable misting fan with a mirror in the center of the fan. It is very convenient for women to touch up their makeup.

 There is one more thing I was surprised to see on TV : a backpack-style portable air conditioner. It is completely different from conventional fan-equipped cooling workwear. It delivers overwhelming cooling power, allowing you to enjoy a pleasantly cool, air-conditioned chill wherever you go. It weighs 3.3 kg and can be used for two hours.

 Technological advances are truly amazing these days.

 When I was a child, even in the middle of summer, the high temperature was only about 30℃ at most. On summer afternoons, I used to play in the nearby river with my friends, and after swimming, I ate cold watermelon, cold tomatoes, and boiled corn that my parents grew at home. At night, my family enjoyed fireworks in the garden. I was able to beat the heat with those simple pleasures.

 We live in the modern age, and I know we have to go along with the way the world is changing. However, I still miss the way things were when I was a child.

 Summer heat has just begun. Let’s stay healthy and get through this summer.

(4) I Love Taking Baths: SM Takahata

We've been having an extremely hot summer. Even indoors, I start sweating the moment I step out of an air-conditioned room into the hallway. When the temperature goes above 35 degrees Celsius, being outside can actually feel dangerous.

In this kind of weather, our bodies are constantly working to adjust to the changing temperatures, and that seems to be one of the reasons we feel so tired. Since I was born and raised in Hokkaido, I'm really not made for this kind of heat.

Besides eating well, the most important thing I do to stay healthy is to take a bath every day. I soak in water that's about 40 degrees Celsius for around 15 minutes. It warms me up from the inside after spending the day in air-conditioned rooms. About an hour later, I drink some water and go to bed.

Sometimes I also visit Nanasawa Onsen, which is about a 15-minute drive from my house. Fortunately, people over 65 who live in Atsugi City can use a senior discount ticket, so we get 500 yen off the admission for a day visit.

The health benefits of soaking in a hot bath are also backed by science. Warm water raises your body temperature and widens your blood vessels, which improves blood circulation. As a result, oxygen and nutrients are carried more efficiently throughout the body.

Better circulation also helps remove waste products and substances that build up when we're tired. And if your muscles are stiff or sore, the warmth helps them relax and eases the pain.

Now, I always thought that taking a bath - even in summer - was just normal. But apparently, that's no longer the normal.

According to one survey, about 60% of people said they only take showers during the summer. This is especially common among younger people. I was even more surprised to learn that about 20% said they only take showers even in winter.

The main reason is that baths take too much time and money. You have to fill the tub, and then clean it afterward. In today's words, it's not very time-efficient or cost-effective.

In fact, many new apartments in big cities now have only a shower booth and no bathtub at all. It seems that having a bathtub is becoming something of a luxury.

Next month, I'm going to visit my daughter in the United States and stay with her for three weeks. One of the things I'm a little worried about is that I'll probably have to rely on showers the whole time. I'm pretty sure I'll start missing a nice Japanese bath before long!

So, what about you? Are you a bath person or a shower person?

(5) More Than Just a Gym: SM Kei Narisawa

When people ask me what I'm interested in, I usually answer, "English." I used to study English for almost two hours every day. But recently, something else has caught my attention: working out at the gym. On busy days, I sometimes sacrifice my English study time to go to the gym. It's not unusual for me now to spend three hours at the gym and only ten minutes studying English.

The reason I started working out was that I wanted to improve my health. I was diagnosed with diabetes. Fortunately, my health began to improve dramatically after I developed the habit of going to the gym. But better health isn't the only thing that keeps me going. At the gym, I've made several friends. Everyone has his or her own motivation and goals. Most of my friends want to improve their health, just as I do. Others want to lose weight, while some are serious bodybuilders.

One of my gym friends is Mr. Okada. He is one year younger than I am, and he started going to the gym in Sagamihara at about the same time I did. We started chatting casually and quickly became friends. We exchange advice with each other, and, more importantly, he gives me extra motivation to go to the gym. He says I motivate him as well. We have set the same goal: to get our weight below 70 kilograms. We are about the same height, weigh almost the same, and go to the gym with about the same frequency. In that sense, we are on the same starting line.

About a week ago, I overslept and lost the motivation to go to the gym in Sagamihara. It takes a little less than half an hour to get there. Instead, I decided to go to the gym in my hometown of Aikawa, which takes only about half as long to reach, although it is a little more expensive. I used to go there regularly, but now I rarely do.

I sometimes meet old friends there, but on that particular day, none of my friends were around. People at the gym often watch one another to learn new exercises. I noticed a man whose nationality I didn't know. He was doing an exercise for his abs(abdominals), so I walked over and asked whether it was an abdominal exercise. He smiled and said yes, and he kindly showed me how to do it. Later, we walked on the treadmill together while talking about many different things. During our conversation, I learned that he was Brazilian.

To my delight, he complimented me on my big arms. They're not really muscular—they're more fat than muscle—but I still appreciated the compliment. He also seemed impressed by my English, even though his Japanese is just as good as my English. That experience reminded me that a gym is not only a place to exercise but also a place to meet people and make new friends.

Now I'm focused on building muscle. Unlike when I was younger, I'm not doing it for vanity but for my health. After all, having more muscle helps your body burn more calories, even while you're resting or sleeping.

Just in case you're wondering, I'm not someone who only thinks about muscles! Physical exercise is important for staying healthy, but using your brain is just as important. Giving a speech in English also burns a lot of mental energy. So, stay healthy, keep exercising, and keep using your English.

(6) Five Habits I Should Practice Every Day: SM Ishimura

Today, I would like to talk about five simple habits that I should practice every day. These habits are easy to do, cost nothing, and can improve both our physical and mental health. I believe they are especially helpful as we get older.

The first habit is conscious breathing.

We breathe all the time, but we seldom pay attention to our breathing. When we breathe slowly and deeply, our body relaxes and our mind becomes calm. I try to practice conscious breathing several times a day—in the morning after I wake up, around noon, and before I go to bed. Even one minute of deep breathing can reduce stress and help me feel peaceful.

The second habit is mindful eating.

Many of us do not chew our food enough. We often eat too fast because we are busy or distracted. Fast eating keeps our body in a stressful state and is not good for our digestion.

A simple way to practice mindful eating is to take three deep breaths before you begin your meal. Then take one bite and chew it at least 15 to 20 times before swallowing. We usually think that what we eat is the most important thing. Healthy food is certainly important, but I believe that how we eat is just as important. Eating slowly and mindfully helps our body digest food better and allows us to enjoy every meal.

The third habit is gentle movement.

We do not have to do hard exercise every day. Gentle movement is enough. We can walk, stretch, do light exercises, or simply stay active by doing housework or gardening. The important thing is to keep our body moving because our body was designed to move, not to sit for long periods.

The fourth habit is to purify the mind.

Our minds easily become filled with worries, anger, and negative thoughts. We cannot avoid all problems, but we can choose how we think about them. I try to let go of negative feelings and fill my mind with gratitude, kindness, and positive thoughts. Reading a good book, listening to music, spending time in nature, or quietly meditating for a few minutes can help keep my mind peaceful.

The fifth habit is living a simple life.

I think it is important to simplify both our surroundings and our minds. We do not need many possessions to live a happy life. A tidy room often leads to a tidy mind. We can also simplify our lives by worrying less, being satisfied with what we have, and focusing on the things that truly matter, such as family, friends, health, and gratitude.

These are the five habits I want to practice every day: conscious breathing, mindful eating, gentle movement, purifying my mind, and living a simple life.

They are simple habits, but if I continue practicing them every day, I believe they will make a big difference in my life. Better health and greater happiness do not come from one big change. They come from many small, good habits repeated every day.

Meeting Schedule

In-Person: 9:30 AM on Aug. 8 at Oyama Community Center (small conference room)

(Coordinator: SM Eda)