What is a "kami-dana"?

In Japan, A "kami-dana" means a usually wooden rack on which we enshrine our god in home or sometimes our offices. Kami means the god or sacred spirits and Dana(Tana) means a rack. Usually we worship Uji-Gami(Kami), which means our local spiritual existence. That is thought to be an invisible Guardian in our local area. We offer thanks to Uji-Gami for letting us live in his/her place. Nowadays there aren't so many people, especially in younger generation, who have Kami-Dana in their house, but I think NOT forgetting appreciation to our local deities is the tips for having a lucky life.

So, what is God in Japan? It's thought to be sacred spirits of the nature.  And also it is our inner God, divine energy. The reason why the mirror is set in the main hall of the shrine as the symbol of the God is the existence that  reflects on the mirror indicates the God itself - the human ourselves. In a word "kagami", which means a mirror in Japanese, "ga" lies between "ka" and "mi". Kami means the God and Ga means our ego. So if we remove our ego from ourselves, there appears the God. It's a wonder of Japanese language.

By the way, I'm taking the TOEIC exam tomorrow. I'll do my best!

The impression of "Walden; Or, Life in the Woods"（本の感想：ウォールデン・森の生活）

Yesterday, I have finished reading this book. But it's not an original book; it was a revision for the Japanese who studies English. This book excerpts two chapters from its original book.

Half a year ago, I tried to read this book but felt too difficult. But this time I could read it completely. I'm very happy about that. It proves that my reading skill has been improving since then.

The author put emphasis on the importance of leading a simple life in the nature, and criticize the modern life and people who got accustomed to living in the city and forgot what was truly important in the life. I felt his contention too far sometimes but sympathy likewise. It seems that he could lead a simple life in the woods, but I wonder if he felt loneliness or he thought man ought to live in the society with other humans. Surely he was satisfied with his favorite way of living, but I think it's dubious that he can end his life with entirely satisfaction. I think each human has his/her own role in the world, and it's not good to live without relating to someone else. What do you think?

まずいかも

今日は試験前の最後の模試をやった。これまでは模試をやるたびに点数がうなぎ上りだったのでご機嫌でしたが、ここに来て最悪の結果が・・・

---------〔これまでの模擬試験の結果〕------------------------------------
2012/01/07　はじめての新TOEIC本番模試・１回目　
Listening:375 Reading:365 Total:760

2012/02/06　Ｚ会・モニター無料模試（※予想レンジ）
Listening:435-480 Reading:325-380　Total:760-860

2012/2月中旬　花田模試・１回目　
Listening:415 Reading:420 Total:835

2012/02/24 花田模試・２回目　
Listening:435 Reading:455 Total:890

2012/03/07　花田模試・３回目　
Listening:465　Reading:475　Total:940

《NEW》2012/03/12　はじめての新TOEIC本番模試・２回目　
Listening:410　Reading:350 410　Total:760 820 　※点数計算を間違っていました（汗）


何故だか分からないが、今回の模試はやたら難しく感じた。リスニングは特に自信なかったが、結果を見るとリーディングの方が悪い・・・最初の模試の時と同様、最後のダブルパッセージ１５問を時間内に解けなかった。読解スピードがぜんぜん上がってない？？いや、問題を解く効率が悪いのか？

今回はパート１で３問も間違えるし、パート５は2問ミスしただけなのでまあまあだけど、パート７は解いた問題の正解率はこれまで高かったが、今回は時間内に解いた問題にも間違いが多かった。一体どうしちゃったんだろう・・・

英語講師を目指すなら、最低でも９００点は必要と思って頑張ってきた。特にオレは大学出てないので余計に実力でアピールしなければいけない。もし本番でも７００点台なら、講師の職は厳しいだろう。最低でもＡクラス（８６０～）なければ・・・

Amazonのレビューを見ると、花田模試 はやや簡単、はじめての新TOEIC本番模試 はやや本番より難しい、といった意見が見受けられた。どちらも模試としての評価は高く、公式問題集よりもお買い得になっている。

とりあえず答え合わせとシャドーイング・音読をしっかりやろう。やるだけやったら、あとは運を天に任せるしかないな。

花田模試・３回目の結果

３月のＴＯＥＩＣまであと１１日。今日は花田模試（TOEICテスト超リアル模試600問 ）の３回目を解きました。結果は・・・

Listening:465
Reading:475
Total:940

でした。これは、予想以上の結果が出たぞ・・・！先日購入したリーサルウェポンを１０日で終わらせましたが、その特訓の効果が出てるのかもしれない。

本番でもこれぐらい取れれば文句なしですけどね。一応、950ぐらいを目標に据えて、ここからさらに上げていきたいです。英語でメシを食っていく事を目指すなら、目標は高く持たなくては・・・！

Recent animes I'm following

The animes which I'm following recently are "Persona4" and "Aquarion EVOL". In P4, boring days have past and now we are coming to the climax of the story. I can't miss it! By the way, I started watching "Aquarion EVOL" from the middle of the story, and one of my favorite characters is that guy(Andy) absorbed in digging holes. When a new student came to their school, he said "I hope he also likes holes!". What a funny guy! (I mean his hobby"digging holes" is literally digging holes on the earth, not another meaning.)

It seems like Zessica is the most popular character among fans, but I'm not sure about her as I just watched the previous two chapters.

some typical girls who often appear in such a school animes - who often says "Oh, stop saying like that!" and blushes - don't exist in this real world,unfortunately. It just casts a chill if you make your girlfriend act like that. Are there such girls in the good old days?

I hear that recent animes "tiger and bunny" and "Madoka and Magika" are also owesome ones. But I don't have so much time to watch all the animes I want to see. I'm curious about what animes are  in fashion in foreign countries.

The following video(song) is one of the songs of "Aquarion EVOL" which is composed by Youko Sugano(菅野よう子). She has been creating lots of great misics.

The problems of Anime translation from Japanese to foreign language

 I like Japanese Otaku-culture like animes, comic books, and computer games. And I like studying English. So naturally I've come up with becoming a translater of Otaku-culture.

And I found this movie. It's very interesting. And I was a little surprised at finding a Japanese who has already been working as a translater of Japanese anime. If I fly to America, I might get a chance to work as such a fantastic occupation. Hmm...
(The following movie is spoken in English plus Japanese sub.)


If you want to watch japanese animes in English voice, this site is surely helpful to you.

The symbolic creatures in each country／about Whale research fishing; "Mottainai"

What is your image of representative creatures in each country in the world? For example, what come up in my mind when I think of Japan are 柴犬（Shiba）, Akita dog, Japanese monkey, a  salmon or a whale. Talk about insects, here first comes a firefly（蛍） or a (japanese) beetle.

In case of America, I fancy an image of an eagle or a grizzly bear. As for China, of course a giant panda. As for Australia, needless to say, a koala or a kangaroo. How about Mexico? in my case, somehow an ailen or bats come up in my mind. And beautiful and long-tailed birds or colorful butterflies.

Speaking of whales, I'm concerned about Japanese whale-fishing for research. And dolphin fishing in some regions in Japan. Usually they seldom ever appear on the tables of a supermarket. Most Japanese haven't had them in their lives. But my grandfather, who is a fisherman, said he had caught some dolphins by chance. In his youth, it seems that their oil was used as a lamp.

What I can't make sense is why western people (or "Sea Shepherd") get very angry at such fishing. They say whales and dolphins are very intelligent animals so it's too cruel to get caught. But don't they eat meat or eggs of other animals? Don't they make use of fur or leather products at all? Or do they think animals like pigs or cattle deserve to be food of humans? Or do pigs or cattles have no brains? no souls? They are all mammals.

I would make more sense if they were perfect vegetarians. But maybe they are not.
Sea Shepherd is too aggressive, but actually I'm not sure whather the whale research fishing is really necessary and valid or not.

I feel sorry or guilty to eat other animals. I don't want to eat meat as much as possible. But actually I often eat meat. Maybe two or three times in a week. Because I think some meat is necessary to keep a good shape. And It's usually cheaper than vegetables and delicious. Moreover, Japanese have a feeling of "mottainai". Once dishes are served in front of us, it's bad not to eat them completely. If we leave them, they'll become a waste. So we should eat all the dishes with gratitude as much as possible. If we do so, their lives will continue with us. Maybe it's a concept of Shintoism. Most Japanese don't think so exaggeratedly. But the "mottainai" spirit is lying under Japanese mind, I believe. And I think it's one of virtues of us.

中級者向けオヌヌメ・無料のリスニング教材（Free and Useful listening materials for intermediate students）

僕がよく利用している、ＰＣから聞けたり無料ＤＷできるリスニング教材をご紹介します。（想定レベルは、オレが勝手に予想しただけなので無視して頂いても結構です・笑）

・ＮＨＫ　World English
海外のニュースサイトよりはとっつきやすい気がします。音声や、動画つきの記事もあり。
（想定レベル：英検２級/TOEIC600～）

・TOEIC presents　English Upgrader 1st～3rd series
よく、散歩しながら聞いてます。ビジネスシーンの会話を聞き、ＤＪの白石りささんがクイズや解説をしてくれます。別途、テキストのＤＷも可能。
（想定レベル：英検２級/TOEIC500～）

・Cross-Cultural Seminar（Podcast、ＰＣから音楽ファイルをＤＷも可能）
最近見つけたのですが、大杉正明先生のしゃべりが面白すぎ（笑）スーザン岩本さんは豪州人だったかな？英語はやや早め。日本と外国の文化の違いや、イディオムや慣用表現の解説がためになる。
（想定レベル：英検準１級/TOEIC650～）

・English　Through　Stories（Podcast、Podcastボタンを右クリックで音楽ファイルをＤＷも可能）
有名な「ESL Podcast」のスピンオフ作品みたいな感じ？こちらは英語のサスペンスドラマを、全１２回に分けて発信。中身は（前回のレビュー→）今回のストーリー（約５分）→解説（英語、約１０分）という感じ。
僕は大分昔にEAの「家出のドリッピー」をやっていました。シドニィ・シェルダンの脚本とオーソン・ウェルズの美声は素晴らしく、今でも一部の文章は暗唱できますが、一月約４千円×１２ヶ月なので、お金に余裕がないとなかなか手が出ない。（子供だったので親に買ってもらいましたが）
こちらはドリッピーほど豪華ではありませんが、物語を楽しみながら英語を学べるのが良い所です。解説も英語ですが、スピードはゆっくりめで分かりやすく話してくれます。（※ただし、ナレーターも声優も解説も全部同じ声（先生）です）
（想定レベル：英検準２級/TOEIC500～）

と、中級者向けのものばかり出してしまいましたが、もっと初心者はどうしたらよいのか？と考えますと、僕が取り組んだ参考書はＺ会の「速読英単語・入門編 」です。（リンク先はAmazon内のページ（参考）。Ｚ会のHPや大きめの本屋などにも置いてると思います。）いわゆる文章型単語集で、短いストーリーを聞きつつ中学～高校１、２年レベルの英単語も覚えられます。何十回も音読した記憶があります。音読は最強の英語学習法かもしれないですね。ＣＤが別売なのが残念？ですが、合わせて買ったほうがいいと思います。