SEI 新宿英会話教室 BLOG

No Phones in Pockets!

From Twitter:
Dr. J: Don’t do that.
Bo: _①_ my phone in my chest pocket?
Dr. J: Right.
Bo: Really?
Dr. J. You’ll get tumors in your chest. Not in your pants pocket either.
Bo: And headphones?
Dr. J:_ ②_them; don’t hold a phone near your head–nor a tablet or laptop on your lap.

Choices:
have
use
put

Answer And Explanation:
① ‘Put‘ is the answer; though ‘have’ is okay, the emphasis in a “dos and don’ts” situation is usually on the beginning action, or the doing. In other words, we put something in a place before we have it in that place. So the ‘putting’ is a the “beginning” or causal action. Also, if you imagine a patient in a doctor’s office–after a physical exam– s/he probably puts the phone in his or her pocket in front of the doctor. So, the doctor’s saying “don’t do that” refers to something the person is “doing”, not “having.”

② ‘Use’ is the answer; there is no other sensible choice, here.

Working from Home

I like working from home.

From Twitter:
I like working from home, because I can save time ＿①＿ to the office.

Choices
a。from going
b。of going
c。to go

Answer and Explanations:
The answer is:
a. ‘from going to,’ because we are taking time out of, or “from” an activity.

b. If we wanted to use ‘of going’ we would need to be referring to a specific amount of time, so would need ‘the’ in front of it: ‘save the time of going.’

c. If we used ‘to go,’ the meaning changes to suggesting that we want to go to the office.

What Are They Doing?

From Twitter:

What are these people doing? Look at the choices under the picture gallery and make sentences.

① Mo –

② Jo –

③ Im –

④ Bi –

⑤ Ci –

⑥ Ee –

⑦ Gi –

⑧ Mi –

⑨ Xi –

Make sentences with these choices and see the white board below for help:

play ❶
make
sing
drive
ride
fly
write
Play ❷

Answers:

① Mo –

Mo is writing.

② Jo –

③ Jo is riding a trolley.

Im is flying a rocket.

④ Bi –

Bi is driving (or riding in) a car.

⑤ Ci –

Ci is making a movie (or filming [with a camera]).

⑥ Ee –

Ee is playing (keyboard[s]).

⑦ Gi –

Gi is singing (with a mic[rophone]).

⑧ Mi –

⑨ Mi is weightlifting/working out/ exercising.

Xi is playing (or wathcing) football.

Whose Mask?

Is this mine or yours? It’s hers. Or–is it his?

Jo (a guy) and Mo (a gal) took ① masks off & left ②. Later they are confused as to who owns what, and Bo helps them sort it out.

Jo: Is this ③ mask or is it Mo’s?
Bo: It’s ④.
Jo: Where’s ⑤?
Bo: ⑥ here.
Jo: And yours?
Bo: ⑦ on me!
Mo (to Jo): Does Bo have ⑧ mask?
Jo: Yes ⑨ has it.

Choices
my
their
she
her
it’s
them
hers
mine
your

Johny’s Bar

From Twitter:
The bartender at Johnny’s S & P’s Bar on Greenwich Street is a ① mate of mine. He often gets me my drinks ② on the house.

A. The meaning of ① is:
spouse
acquaintance
buddy
co-worker on a ship

B. The meaning of ② is:
inside
on the second floor
on the roof
free
at a discount

Answers And Explanation :
A. ① mate means buddy (or close friend), and is used in other English-speaking countries beyond the US
B. ② on the house means free

Is there a doctor in the house?

Kim: It ① there aren’t many public health professionals in @Japan.
Jake: What’s that mean?
Kim: It ② there are researchers, but few doctors and nurses to treat #COVID19 patients.
Jake: Are you sure?
Kim: It’s hard to get info.

looks
like
seems

Answers And Explanation
① Seems and looks like work here, but looks like is usually or best used for first-hand observations–things you can see now (usually, not always); seems is better for number 1, because it can be used more abstractly (not necessarily about what’s in front of one’s eyes). But remember, seems and looks like are interchangeable.
② Again, seems and looks like work here, but looks like seems more conclusive, after having examined the facts–as in a conclusion. But once again, the two choices are interchangeable.

Scrub or Sterilize?

From Twitter:

Usually, people ① their hands with soapy ② after going to the bathroom, working or being outside. Surgeons always ③ their hands and arms up to the elbow. Nowadays, we must ④ our hands, clothes, hats, wallets and shopping packaging.

Choices
sterilize (to destroy all germs, bacteria and pathogens [0n/in/around something])
washed (past tense of ‘wash’)
lather (the bubbles made from swishing soap and water on the body or hair)
scrub (to clean vigorously and abrasively to scrape away dirt and germs)
soapy (having soap and possibly suds [soap bubbles])

#Corona

The Answers are:
①　wash
②　scrub
③　sterilize

Clean Your Hands

From Twitter
1. What are they doing?
A) It is sanitize itselves.
B) They is sanitize theyselves.
C) The dog and cat is sanitizing themselves.
D) They are sanitize themselves.
E) They dog and cat are sterilizing their paws.

T or F?
2. We use sanitizer to cure our hands.
3. It doesn’t help

Answers:
1. E shows proper tense and proper subject/verb agreement
2. False, because sanitizer kills germs, it doesn’t cure.
3. False, because sanitizer does help.

Crazy in Love

From Twitter:

In “Subway,” a French romantic dramedy directed by Luc Besson, a man breaks into a woman’s house, robs her of her documents and retreats to the subway, where he calls her to demand money–so he can meet her, as he’s actually in love with her. We could say he is __.

Choices:
nuts
smitten

Answer And Explanation: Both answers are okay, because ‘nuts’ means a bit or really very crazy, but smitten means crazy in love.

What’d He Say?

From Twitter
Jo: I ① a video yesterday from an man in Italy; it was smart.
Mo: Yeah; what’d ya ②?
Jo: He warned us.
Mo: Us?
Jo: Everyone, Mo!
Mo: What’d he ③?
Jo: Protect ourselves. He ④: use phones less outside. The virus can fall on ’em. Don’t meet friends. Care.

Choices:
said
watched
see
say
saw

Answers And Explanations:
① Jo: I [saw] a video yesterday from an man in Italy; it was smart.
‘Watched‘ would work, but we say ‘saw‘ (especially with movies in the theater–that is not the case here), to indicate, I think,* the happenstance of the situation.

② Mo: Yeah; what’d ya [see]? ‘See’ is the only option here.
Jo: He warned us.
Mo: Us?
Jo: Everyone, Mo!

② Mo: What’d he [say]? ‘Say‘ is the only option here.

Jo: Protect ourselves.
③ He [said]: use phones less outside. ‘Said‘ is the only option here.
The virus can fall on ’em. Don’t meet friends. Care.
_________________________________________
*I say ‘think’ because this is a case of dominant dialect and style, not grammar. There is no rule about it. It just sounds better and carries a nuance of brevity.