英语每日一听 | 每天少于5分钟

Todd: OK, Shane, why don't you talk a little about why you came to Japan?Shane: Well, I suppose the reason I came to Japan is because I suppose it's a personal thing. There are many different people in Dublin, different types of people.I do not think that Dublin has the mental stimuli, or does not have the hardcore atmosphere that somewhere like Tokyo could possibly have, so you have many types of people who are happy living in Dublin, going to the same places, the same bars, same restaurants, yet I feel that Tokyo has a lot more to offer because it's more hardcore.There's so much stuff to do. Simple things like Karaoke, non-drink related activities that you can do over here which is great, so I wanted to get away from Ireland. See a different country, a different type of atmosphere, and have some fun as well at the same time and make some money.

Todd: Now, Sandra, hello!Sandra: Hello!Todd: Now, you are a wine connoisseur. Or wine teacher. No!Sandra: Not really!Todd: Not really?Sandra: A wine connoisseur. No, that's sort of a snobby.Todd: Oh, really?Sandra: Yes.Todd: Oh, OK. So, how would you describe what you do?Sandra: A wine professional.Todd: A wine professional. OK, so what does a wine professional do?Sandra: Try to make money from wine.Todd: OK.Sandra: So, I'm a wine writer, a wine columnist. I teach wine.Todd: OK, so let's say if I'm going to have friends over, and I'm making let's say steak. I'm having a grilling steak. Can I serve wine with steak?Sandra: Yes. Steak goes with almost any red wine.Todd: Oh, really. OK. So, red. How about if I want to mix wines. Is it OK to go red wine, white wine?Sandra: You always start out with white wines going towards red wines.Todd: OK, always go white wine first, then the red wine. (Yes) OK, and how about for dessert. Is there a special dessert wine?Sandra: There are many great dessert wines, so it depends on what you like, how sweet you like and what you're making for dessert.Todd: OK, so how about I'm making terimisu.Sandra: Terimisu, then I would probably have a tawny port, either from Portugal or from Australia, which makes great ports, or you might even go for a fruity and oaky zinfandel, which is dry wine from California.Todd: OK, nice. How much will that cost me?Sandra: Depends on how much you want to spend. For a port, a tawny port, anywhere in between 3,500 to 10,000 (OK) And for a California Zinfandel, a good one probably about 3,000 (yen).Todd: 3,000. I think I can maybe afford that. Not much. And, how about what would be a good wine to start off for like appetizers or with a salad or something like that.Sandra: I always start off with a sparkling wine.Todd: A sparkling wine.Sandra: Yes. I prefer champagne but if you can't afford it, even though champagne is the lowest price anywhere in the world is in JapanTodd: Oh, really.Sandra: And many of my students load up on cases of champagne and have it sent home by their companies container.Todd: Oh, wow.Sandra: Yes. But champagne is a good starter.

Todd: OK, Keri, I've heard you talk about your father quite a bit. He sounds like a very interesting man. Can you talk a little bit about him?Kerri: Sure. My dad's name is Robert and he's an interesting guy. He's retired now and lives in Oregon and in his free time he's building an airplane (wow!) Yeah!Todd: So can he fly a plane as well?Kerri: Yeah, he has a private pilot's license.Todd: Wow, that must be pretty difficult. He's actually making a plane from scratch.Kerri: Yeah. Well, he used to be an airplane mechanic, so quite awhile ago. But yeah, he's doing all the riveting, building all the different parts of the plane and assembling it.Todd: Wow! So when do you think he's going to be finished.Kerri: I don't know. I got an e-mail from him recently that said he's just putting the tail section on soon. But I haven't seen a picture of that yet.Todd: Wow. So are you going to go in this plane with your father as soon as it's finished?Kerri: I hope so. He's having someone else test fly it which made me happy when I found out. Although I trust his work cause he's meticulous but it made me feel good that someone else is going to try it for the first time, but yeah, after it's finished, when he's ready to take up passengers.Todd: Cool. Sounds fun.Kerri: Yeah. I think so.

One day last summer I had a very nice day with my girlfriend and my friends. We all decided one Saturday morning to go out to the beach. So we all organized it, arranged it, we all bought some food and some drinks, met out in Chiba and took a taxi out to the beach.It was very windy that day but it was still very nice. We all sat on the beach, talked, played in the ocean, ate and drank and then after that we got sunburned and went home. It was a really fun day and we all had a really good time.

Todd: Hello!Jeanna: Hello!Todd: Hi, what's your name?Jeanna: Jeanna.Todd: OK, Jeanna, how old are you?Jeanna: I'm 15 years old.Todd: 15! OK, are you in high school?Jeanna: Yes, I am.Todd: OK. What do you think about high school?Jeanna: It's fun. Very diverse.Todd: What do you like to study in high school?Jeanna: I like history a lot.Todd: OK. Why do you like history?Jeanna: It's interesting to learn about the past, different things, and different cultures.Todd: OK. What's one thing you don't like about high school?Jeanna: People can be really cruel.Todd: Oh, really! How? How are people cruel?Jeanna: There's a lot of judgmental-ness.Todd: Oh, that's too bad. So, you're nice to everybody?Jeanna: Generally.Todd: OK. OK. Who's your favorite teacher?Jeanna: Probably my English teacher

Todd: Hello, Yoko.Yoko: Hello, Todd.Todd: How are you?Yoko: Good. How are you?Todd: Good. OK. We're gonna talk about trains.Yoko: OK.Todd: Do you take the train everyday?Yoko: Yes, I have to.Todd: Oh, really?Yoko: Yeah, cause I don't have a car.Todd: Oh, really?Yoko: Yeah!Todd: Are you have happy with that? Do you mind?Yoko: Actually no!Todd: Yeah, well, what's the train like in the morning when you get on?Yoko: It's really crowded.Todd: Yeah!Yoko: Yes.Todd: OK. How much is your train fare?Yoko: Almost 500 yen.Todd: What's the best thing about taking the train?Yoko: Mm, nothing.Todd: Nothing.Yoko: Nothing. I don't think it's great. Ah, I can sleep on the train.Todd: OK. Do you normally get a seat?Yoko: Ah, sometimes I can.Todd: Yeah.Yoko: Yeah.Todd: OK. Do you read?Yoko: Cause I can't read a book. I'll get sick.Todd: Oh, cause your eyes move around.Yoko: Yeah.Todd: Yeah, I gocha. What's the worse thing about the train?Yoko: Ah, too crowded in Japan.Todd: Yeah. It's terrible.Yoko: And I have to pay.Todd: Oh, you have to pay. Your company does not pay.Yoko: No.

Todd: OK, we're going to talk about apples.Kentaro: OK.Todd: OK, do you like apples?Kentaro: Yeah. So-so.Todd: OK, how often do you eat apples?Kentaro: Once a week, I would say.Todd: Once a week. How much is an apple in Japan?Kentaro: In Japan, it depends on the season.Todd: Uh-huh.Kentaro: If it's like summer season's gonna be very expensive.Todd: Uh-huh.Kentaro: Uh-huh. But you mean..are you talking about now?Todd: Yeah, like right now..how much does an apple cost?Kentaro: I would say maybe about a 100..15..450 yen per an apple.Todd: Really! Yeah..that's that's kind of expensive.Kentaro: Yeah.Todd: Where do apples come from?Kentaro: Aomori Prefecture.Todd: Aomori! Really!Kentaro: Which is in the northern part of Japan.Todd: OK. Oh..alright. And what colors are apples?Kentaro: Red or green or yellow.Todd: OK. Which color is your favorite?Kentaro: Red.Todd: Red. Yeah. Yeah. Actually I like the green apples.Kentaro: Really! Why?Todd: I don't know. I just..in America we have sour green apples.Kentaro: Does it taste different than the red apples?Todd: Yeah, like the red apples are sweet..and the green apples in America..they're very sour.Kentaro: Oh.Todd: Yeah..so..they're very nice. Um, one last thing! What can you make with apples?Kentaro: Apple Juice, apple pie, and apple tea.Todd: Apple tea.Kentaro: Yeah.Todd: OK. And can you make apple pie?Kentaro: No, not really.Todd: Yeah. Man, me neither.Kentaro: OK. Thanks.Todd: Thanks

Todd: James, I saw on your desk you have a nice picture of a dog.James: Yes.Todd: OK. Tell us about your dog.James: My dog's name is Piper. He was a mutt, a homeless dog that we picked up off the street about four and a half years ago.Todd: Oh, wow! So what kind of dog is he now?James: He's a yellow lab, golden retriever mix. He's very very sweet, very very fun to play with, really really nice.Todd: Oh, that's great. Can he do any tricks?James: No.Todd: No.James: We can do one trick where we point our finger at him and go Bang Bang Bang Bang and he falls over dead, but that is the only trick he can do and he only does that maybe half the time.Todd: OK. Does he bark a lot?James: Usually no. Usually, he's pretty good.Todd: Pretty quiet.James: Mm, hm!Todd: OK. Is it a male dog or a female dog?James: Yeah. It's a male dog.Todd: So, no puppies.James: No, puppies.Todd: OK. Would you like to have another dog, another puppy?James: It would be fun in the future but not for a while.

Todd: OK, Yoko we were just at a festival.Yoko: Yeah!Todd: Do you want to talk about festivals in Japan?Yoko: Yes, OK. So, I think in Fall we have lots of kind of festivals, but it depends on the places.Todd: What are some things that most festivals have, like, what can you see if you go to a Japanese festival?Yoko: Omikoshi.Todd: Omikoshi.Yoko: Yes. Do you know the word?Todd: I think so. What is Omikoshi?Yoko: Ah, it's really difficult for me to explain in English, but Omokishi looks like a bigbox, lots of people, adult people try to carry together, and they usually go to temples, and they kind of celebrate a harvest or our happiness or those kind of thingsTodd: OK. Do you ever carry the Omikoshi?Yoko: Ah, you know, I'm not a strong guy so, I've never tried it.Todd: OK. What about foods? What kind of foods do people like to eat?Yoko: We can see lots of small shops along the street and we can buy really Japanese food, like watagashi, it's a really sweet candy but it looks like, how do you say that?Todd: I don't know.Yoko: I don't know. I don't know either. White small stuff.Todd: White small stuff.Yoko: Yeah. Sorry. You should see it. So it's watagashi or watame. It's really popular food in matsuri, and we can see okonomiyaki. Yeah, it's, some people say Japanese pancake, or something, but tastes different.Yoko: It's not sweet.Todd: It's not sweet.Yoko: It's not sweet. So vegetables, meat, and some sauce.Todd: Oh, wow! Sounds good.Yoko: Yeah, I think so too. You should try it.

Hello, this is Tara, and I just gonna talk about what I wanna do in the future.At the moment I've finished my degree so, I'm just, you know, trying to save some money to pay off my debts, but I really want to be a nutritionist, so I'm saving some money to go to college.I want to do this job because I don't think people take enough care with what they're eating nowadays, so I want to teach people to respect the food they are eating and to treat their body with care.

Todd: OK, Jeanna, you like the computer!Jeanna: Yes, I do.Todd: OK. Talk to us about computers.Jeanna: Well, I go on the computer a lot and I talk with friends through AOL instant messenger. And I just moved from my hometown to Sacremento so it's a good way to keep in touch with old friends.Todd: Yeah. Do you learn about computers at school or on your own?Jeanna: I picked most of what I know, I've picked it up, through, ya know, the years, and some at school, like keyboarding and such.Todd: OK. Do you have a laptop or a PC?Jeanna: I have a PC. A Compac.Todd: Do you like your computer or do you want a new one?Jeanna: I want a new one cause I think I screwed mine up and it's a little bit slow now.Todd: OK. How long have you had your computer?Jeanna: I've had it for about 3 or 4 years.Todd: Oh, yeah, that's pretty old for a computer. Yeah, so do you talk to your friends every night by e-mail?Jeanna: Yeah, yes I do.Todd: OK.Jeanna: See going on and you know the gossip.Todd: So nowadays, do high school kids talk by e-mail more than phone?Jeanna: Most people talk by either e-mail or cellular phone. You know a lot of people don't use their house phones as much, and a lot of people have cellular phones.Todd: OK. Thanks a lot Jeanna.

Todd: So Tara, I see you've just bought a new guitar.Tara: Yeah, I have, yeah.Todd: Yeah!Tara: It's very nice.Todd: So, what's the reasoning behind buying a guitar?Tara: Well, I work at nights so I have the daytime free, and to be honest, most people they work in the day so I'm often on my own, and I just want something to keep me entertained in the daytime, and I don't really like reading books, so I want something to do with my hands, so I thought buying a guitar is a good idea.Todd: Do you have any kind of music you would like to sing or learn to play?Tara: I'd like to learn, have you heard, there's some English bands, like Cold Play and Turn Break so I'd like to learn that kind of style.Todd: OK. Do you plan to take lessons or just learn on your own?Tara: No, well a couple of my friends, they you know, they can, they learned guitar as well. I can't really take lessons in Japan. I think that might be a bit too much, but my friends are going to teach me. Hopefully. Yeah!

Todd: OK, Tara, why don't you tell us about your first boyfriend?Tara: OK, my first boyfriend, I met in my hometown. He's called Barry. He's my first real boyfriend. Yeah, I met him at a bar. Yeah, I had a bit of a crush on him when I was younger and then, yeah, we met a club one night and it carried on from there.Todd: Oh, that's nice. So what was it about Barry that attracted him to you?Tara: He's very good-looking. He's tall and he had a beard. I like the beard.Todd: Beards, really!Tara: I like beards. I don't know why.Todd: Short beard or long beard?Tara: No, no short. I just like stubble.Todd: OK. Are you still in contact with him?Tara: Yeah, yeah, yeah. At the moment he's traveling. He's in India but, we're so young, so we often like, separate to go traveling, and then get back together again, because I'm only 24 and he's twenty-five, and we have a serious relationship but, we don't wanna, you know, stop doing our own things in life.

Todd: OK, Chris, Friday the 13th is coming up. So, first of all, are you superstitious?Chris: Yes. When I play sports I'm superstitious. I have a lucky shirt and stuff like that.Todd: Oh, really!Chris: Yeah.Todd: So what's your lucky shirt?Chris: It's a bungy jumping shirt that I got about 10 years ago. It's all falling apart but it's still my lucky shirt.Todd: OK, So you don't wash it or anything?Chris: If I have a good game I don't wash it until I have a bad game and then I wash the badness out.Todd: OK. What sport are we talking about?Chris: I play ice hockey.Todd: Oh, really.Chris: Yeah.Todd: Oh, so your a hockey player! Your a pretty solid guy.Chris: Yeah, I'm a goalie. Being a goalie it's a lot to being comfortable in the position, so if you have a good game you don't touch anything. You do the same routine. Goalies are known to be a little strange.Todd: Wow. So that's cool. Are you still playing in Japan?Chris: I've played a few times but it's just too much trouble to drag my equipment on three trains and a taxi and about a 800-meter walk. It's just not worth it right now. If I had a car I'd try for sure.Todd: Oh, that's too bad. Alright, well, good luck and...so right now is your shirt dirty of clean? Your unlucky shirt?Chris: It's just been washed. Yeah, it needed a good washing this time.

Todd: OK, Yoko. We're gonna talk about exercise.Yoko: Exercise!Todd: Now, you go to a gym?Yoko: Maybe three times a week.Todd: OK.Yoko: Yeah. If I can.Todd: OK.Yoko: Cause I have to.Todd: Why? What do you mean? Why do you have to?Yoko: When I went to the USA, I gained a lot. 20 pounds. That was too much for me. So I decided to go to lose weight.Todd: OK.Yoko: If possible.Todd: How did you lose weight?Yoko: I go to the gym and run, maybe 20 minutes. I'm too lazy. I can't keep running for hours. And anyway, soI do aerobics. Do you say aerobics?Todd: Aerobics.Yoko: Yes. Aerobics or something like that.Todd: OK. That's it.Yoko: That's it. And sometimes I swim. Yeah, but I like aerobics better than swimming.Todd: Why?Yoko: Because it's fun.Todd: OKYoko: And the music and dancing. Yeah, it's more fun for me.Todd: When you lost the weight did you also diet or did you just exercise?Yoko: I just exercised cause I like eating. I love eating. I can't stop doing that, so... but I try my best not to eat chocolate too much.Todd: Oh, that's your weakness. Chocolate.Yoko: Yeah.Todd: OK. Well, you look great so.Yoko: Oh, thank you. You're so nice.

Todd: Hey, Marika!Marika: Hey!Todd: How you doing?Marika: I'm OK. How are you?Todd: Good. Marika do you like summer?Marika: No, I don't like summer it's my least favorite summer.Todd: Wow, why?Marika: Because I don't like hot weather. I don't like being hot and sweaty and uncomfortable.Todd: OK. Well, it's pretty hot in Japan so you must not like summer here.Marika: No, I don't.Todd: Is it hot in summer where you're from?Marika: Yeah, it's pretty hot but usually we go away on the weekends to cottages and we go swimming in lakes and stuff.Todd: Oh, that's nice. Where are you from by the way?Marika: Canada.Todd: So, what's your favorite season?Marika: Winter or fall.Todd: OK. Well, what do you do in the winter?Marika: In the winter, activities you mean?Todd: Yeah.Marika: I go snowboarding and I go to onsens and I walk around and I enjoy the cold weather.

Todd: So, James, you're in a band!James: Yes!Todd: OK, tell us about your band.James: I play in a Swedish Bubblegum Punk Band.Todd: Swedish Bubblegum Punk Band. What exactly is that?James: I don't know, but that's what it says on the CD.Todd: OK. What do you play in your band?James: I play base guitar.Todd: OK. How long have you been playing the guitar?James: I've been playing the guitar for about 12 or 13 years.Todd: Oh, really! OK. Nice. Do you play any other instruments?James: I play a little guitar and a little drums.Todd: Since you're in a band do you meet lots of women?James: Yes.Todd: Really! You're a rock star.James: Yes.Todd: Nice. Nice. Do you tour or do you just play where you live?James: We just play in clubs. Local clubs.Todd: OK. What the best thing about being a musician, in the band?James: It's really good for relaxing and having fun.Todd: Is it your full-time job?James: No, it's not. It's only a hobby.Todd: Oh, OK.

Todd: OK. Ramon, we're going to talk about opposites.Jamon: OK.Todd: What is big?Jamon: The earth is big.Todd: Yeah, I agree. What is small?Jamon: I'm small on the earth.Todd: That's true. How much do you weigh?Jamon: I weigh 65.Todd: Wow! 65 kilograms.Jamon: Yeah.Todd: Yeah, yeah. I'm a little bit heavier, about 72....What is expensive?Jamon: A big house is expensive.Todd: Yeah, pretty much anywhere. Ooh..loud motorcycle. Sorry! What is small? I mean..I'm sorry..what is cheap?Jamon: What is cheap? The 100 Yen shop is cheap.Todd: Yeah. What can you buy at a 100 Yen shop?Jamon: About everything.Todd: Yeah.Jamon: Which is good.Todd: Do you think 100 Yen shops are a good idea, or do you think they're environmentally a bad idea?Jamon: No, I like the 100 Yen shop.Todd: Yeah. The cheap stuff. Actually. I do to. It's nice. Alright. Thanks a lot.

Todd: OK. Keri, can you drive?Kerri: Yes, I can.Todd: Do you have a driver's license?Kerri: I do.Todd: OK. So, how long have you had your driver's license?Kerri: I think I got it when I was 17 actually.Todd: OK. How do you get a driver's license in your country?Kerri: Well, I think it's changed since I was a teenager. At that time, you get a learner's permit. And then you start driving with your parents. And you'd also go to drivers ed. And then you had to pass a driving test. I think a written test as well.Todd: OK. Did you get a perfect score on your driving test?Kerri: I was close to perfect, yeah. I can't remember my exact score but I remember it was pretty good.Todd: Do all the members of your family drive?Kerri: Yeah.

Todd: Marika, do you like bread?Marika: Yes, I do.Todd: OK. What kind of bread do you eat?Marika: I try to eat whole grain bread or bagels or something that's dark.Todd: OK. What do you like to put on bread?Marika: My favorite thing to put on bread is tomatoes and I also like honey.Todd: OK. But not together?Marika: Not together, no.Todd: Do you like mustard?Marika: No, I don't like mustard.Todd: Oh, I love mustard. I eat mustard and bread just plain.Marika: No, no. I know people that eat mustard sandwiches, and no!Todd: OK. Can you make bread?Marika: Yes, I can. Actually, I'm a baker.Todd: Really.Marika: Yeah!Todd: Wow!Marika: I'm a pastry chef.Todd: That's incredible.Marika: Although, bread is kind of a different branch. I do cakes and stuff like that. I can make bread. My grandmother makes bread all the time.

Todd: OK, Jamon, we're going to talk about abilities.Jamon: OKTodd: Can you cook?Jamon: I can cook a little bit. I like cooking.Todd: What do you like to make when you cook?Jamon: Just simple things. I love salad. I make a huge salad.Todd: I love salad. OK, can you sing?Jamon: No, I can't sing. I just sing for me. On the...when I have a shower.Todd: Oh, really, you sing in the shower? Nice, what, what songs do you sing? Like pop songs or just...?Jamon: No, mainly reggae. I love reggae.Todd: Wow! Can you play any musical instruments?Jamon: Dijuridu!Todd: Oh, really.Jamon: It's an Australian instrument.Todd: Yeah, yeah. Where did you learn that?Jamon: I learned in Switzerland.Todd: Really. OK. Is it popular in switzerland?Jamon: Yeah, it's popular. Everybody knows about it.Todd: Wow. How long have you played?Jamon: A couple of years maybe. Maybe 4 years.

Todd: Hello! What is your name?Kentaro: My name is Kentaro.Todd: Kentaro. And what is your full name?Kentaro: My full name is Kentaro Sugimori.Todd: Sugimori.Kentaro: Mm-hm.Todd: OK. And where are you from?Kentaro: I'm originally from Hamamatsu city. Which is in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.Todd: Oh, really. Shizuoka is a nice place.Kentaro: Oh, really!Todd: Yeah!Kentaro: Have you been there?Todd: Yeah, I used to live there.Kentaro: Oh..Great!Todd: Tell me about Japan.Kentaro: Well, Japan is, compared to the states, it's small, homogeneous, however and it's also has it's own culture.Todd: OK. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. Japanese culture is very, very unique.Kentaro: Mm-hm.Todd: What is the capital city of Japan?Kentaro: Tokyo.Todd: TokyoKentaro: I believe so.Todd: OK! Yeah, and who is the leader of the country?Kentaro: Well, our political leader is Mr. Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro.Todd: OK.Kentaro: But our psychological leader will be our Emperor.Todd: OK. Nice, and do you like the Prime Minister?Kentaro: Yes, I like him.Todd: OK. Yeah, me too. Alright. Thanks a lot.Kentaro: Thank you.

Todd: OK, Jessica, we are going to talk about cooking.Jessica: OK.Todd: Now, you like to cook!Jessica: Yes.Todd: OK. What can you cook?Jessica: I can cook Manicotti, Tacos, lots of food.Todd: OK. So what is Manicotti?Jessica: Manicotti is...it's a big noodle. It's hollow on the inside and you fill it with different cheeses and then you put red tomato sauce over the top of it and..it's pretty goodTodd: So how do you make it?Jessica: Well, you use Ricotta cheese, Mozzarella cheese, um , Parmesan Cheese,a little bit of salt, and basil and stuff and you mix it all together in a pot and then you stuff it in the noodle, and you put the noodle in the pan and shove it in the oven for 35 minutes and let it cook.Todd: Yeah!Jessica: And it's good.Todd: That sounds really good. How often do you make manicotti?Jessica: Oh, a couple times a month, probably.Todd: What is the secret to good manicotti?Jessica: You got to make it tasty, cause if you add enough salt or Parmesan cheese then it doesn't taste as good.It just tastes like your eating cheese. That's it.Todd: OK. Well I'll remember that. Thanks a lot Jessica.Jessica: You're welcome.

Todd: James!James: Yo!Todd: if you had a million dollars...James: Mm-hmTodd: if you won the lottery...James: Yes.Todd: What would you do?James: I would buy a small island, build a house there, and invest the rest of my money so that I would never have to work again.Todd: OK, So are you talking a tropical island, or...James: A tropical island, yeah, or maybe I would give it all to charity and have a bridge named after me.Todd: That's two different things there. How bout the island? Would you want to be alone, on a secluded island or?James: No, I would want all of my friends to come and visit me often.Todd: OK. Nice. So how would you pass the time on this island?James: I would read books. I would study. I would go swimming, go fishing, and play with my dog.Todd: OK. Do think money can make people happy, can buy happiness?James: No, but it can sometimes make it easier. It depends on what you buy.

Todd: OK, Yoko!Yoko: Hi!Todd: We're going to talk about your trip to America.Yoko: Trip to America. OK.Todd: OK. When did you go to the U.S.?Yoko: It's about 4 years ago.Todd: And what did you do?Yoko: Actually, I went to Michigan and I worked as a volunteer teacher in public school.Todd: OK. What was the public school like?Yoko: It was not big, and so it was not big. I don't know how to say that, so what should I say....Todd: It was just a small school?Yoko: Yeah. Small school. So only maybe 200 students I think.Todd: Oh, really!Yoko: Yeah, it was really small.Todd: Wow, that is small.Yoko: Yeah, yeah.Todd: Did you know all the students?Yoko: I don't think so. I just visited some classes. Yes.Todd: So what did you think of America?Yoko: I think it is a great country for many people who wants to try new things.Todd: OKYoko: You know, so for example I did not have any special skills to teach, but they let me to work there as a volunteer, and they gave me a great oppurtunity to meet a lot of students, who are really nice I think.Todd: Ah, OK. I agree. What were your students like?Yoko: They were really motivated to learn Japanese, but they didn't learn a lot. They just, they just wanted to play with me, from other countries. Who is from, sorry!Todd: OK. Do you have any special memories from your trip?Yoko: Yes, I visited lots of places by myself and I was really afraid of speaking English to people there but they tried to understand me, and they helped me a lot and I really think OK, they are lots of people who are nice all over the world.

Todd: Hello!Kentaro: Hello!Todd: Did you have breakfast this morning Kentaro?Kentaro: Yeah!Todd: Really! What did you have?Kentaro: I had a traditional Japanese type of breakfast, natto and miso soup and rice, white rice, and fish.Todd: Wow! Do you eat that every day?Kentaro: Yeah, maybe five days a week I will eat Japanese style breakfast.Todd: Oh, really! OK. Nice. And do you eat it at home or at a restaurant?Kentaro: At home.Todd: At home?Kentaro: Mm-hm.Todd: OK. Do you make it yourself?Kentaro: Mm-hm.Todd: Oh, really. OK. What is a typical American breakfast?Kentaro: Well, I would say something like just toast and/or cereal and orange juice or milk.Todd: OK. Great and have you ever had breakfast in bed?Kentaro: In bed?Todd: Yeah!Kentaro: No, not really.Todd: No, OK. And what time do people usually eat breakfast in Japan?Kentaro: Well, I would say but maybe 7to 8. Something around that.Todd: Around 7 or 8. OK. Great. Thanks a lot.Kentaro: Thanks.

Todd: Hello!Tara: Hello!Todd: Can you say your name please?Tara: OK, my name is Tara.Todd: And, where are you from?Tara: I'm from England. I'm from Redding.Todd: Redding! OK. Where is Redding in England?Tara: It's south-east of London.Todd: OK. What's your hometown like?Tara: It's not quite a city, but it's big. It's quite spacious. It's not as crowded as Tokyo.Todd: Yeah.Tara: It's quite a few people. A lot of young people, and a lot of business there.Todd: OK. What's the best thing about your town?Tara: The best thing is the people. The people there are really friendly, and it's still quite clean and safe there.Todd: Oh, that's nice. Alright thanks, Tara.

Todd: OK, Hello!Jeanna: Hello!Todd: We're back. What would you like to talk about?Jeanna: Driving.Todd: OK. Tell us about driving.Jeanna: Well, I'm gonna get my permit soon and then I get to drive. I'm really looking forward to that. It's kind of the start of being independent.Todd: Yeah, I hear you, so you say permit, is that the same thing as a license?Jeanna: No, you have to have your permit six months before you can get a license.Todd: Oh, really. How do you get a permit?Jeanna: You have to take driving school, then you have to go to the DMV and take a test.Todd: OK. What is the DMV?Jeanna: The Department of Motor Vehicles.Todd: OK, and they give you your license of permit so you can drive. OK, when you have a driver's license what places do you want to go to?Jeanna: To see my friends and to hang out, just to school and back.Todd: OK, nice, so do you have a car right now?Jeanna: No.Todd: OK, are you saving?Jeanna: Yeah!

Todd: Hey, James!James: Yeah!Todd: Let's talk about seasons.James: OK.Todd: James, what is your favorite season?James: My favorite season is spring.Todd: Yeah, why is that?James: Because it's not so cold but it's not so hot that I'm sweating on the train. I can go to the beach. I can relax with my friends outside. It's very nice.Todd: OK. What is your least favorite season?James: My least favorite season in Japan is the rainy season ...because I don't like rain at all.Todd: OK. What season are we in right now?James: Right now it is the very end of winter. It is just starting to become spring.Todd: What's the weather like today?James: Today, it's very sunny. It's a little cool. A little breezy. It's very nice. I enjoy it.

Hi, this is Tara. I'm going to talk about Tokyo. All in all, I've been in Tokyo now for about a year and three months, and I really love it here. Sometimes I find it hard because the culture is so different from where I am from, but I find the people really friendly and once you make Japanese friends they will really help you out with whatever you're doing.I work in the evenings so it's quite exciting for me to see, you know live in a big city and always see the nightlife. I do dancing here. I've had a lot of good experiences in Tokyo, some of the best times of my life, so, yeah, I'd like to stay here a bit longer, especially because I like looking at Japanese boys.

Todd: Marika lets talk about television.Marika: OK.Todd:Do you like to watch a lot of TV?Marika: Yeah, I watch a lot of TV.Todd:Now you've been in Japan for awhile. Do yo watch TV in English or in Japanese?Marika: I watch TV in Japanese, but if it's on in English I will watch it in English. Yeah, I'm the same way.Todd: How good is your comprehension? How much can you understand?If it's a drama I can understand most of what's happening, and definitely the story, but if a talk show and there's young people on and there're speaking fast, with a lot of slang, I don't really understand a lot of what they're saying, although I might know what topic they're discussing, I won't know what exactly their stand is.Todd:Do you think that TV is bad for people?Marika: Yeah, I think that TV is bad for people. It's really bad.Todd:Why?Marika: Because instead of reading a book or doing something outside, or doing something productive you just sit in front of a TV and absorb bad information or things that don't really help, help you learn anything probably, although Japanese television I think does have a lot of good documentaries and a lot of informative television programs.

Kanade: Hi, Todd.Todd: How are you doing?Kanade: Good, how are you?Todd: Pretty good. Kanade, you talk about your little sister a lot.Kanade: Yes, I like her. Her name is Asuka. She's a university student now. She's two years younger than I and we are so close so we see each other more than twice in a month.People say we don't look like each other, we don't look similar, but sometimes we see, we look very similar in the pictures. She lives in Tokyo so we can have some coffee on the weekends or go shopping sometimes.Todd: So what did you sister give you as your last birthday gift?Kanade: Birthday gift? We don't really give the birthday gift instead but we give each other some small letter or something in normal day.Todd: That's nice.Kanade: Yeah, surprise.Todd: Are you in contact with each other every day by e-mailKanade: Every day, almost every day or sometimes the phone.Todd: Do you guys ever fight?Kanade: Ah, not really. I really like her so always, when she always asks me something I always do that.Todd: Wow! What a good big sister.Kanade: I know that!Todd: Wow! That's sweet. Well, if you're sister is listening what would you like to tellher right now.Kanade: I'm always with you so, you can do whatever you want.Todd: Oh, you're a nice sister. Thanks a lot Kanade.Kanade: Thank you, Todd.

Todd: OK. Hello!Jamie: Hi!Todd: Hi! Can you introduce yourself please?Jamie: My name is Jamie. I'm living here in Japan, and I'm from Canada.Todd: OK. Where are you from in Canada?Jamie: Vancouver, Canada, British Columbia.Todd: Oh, nice. Were you born there?Jamie: I was born in British Columbia, in Victoria.Todd: OK.Jamie: But I spent my adult working life in Vancouver and Japan.Todd: OK. How long have you been in Japan?Jamie: Let's see, four years right now, and a grand total of six years.Todd: Wow. How much longer do you plan to stay in Japan?Jamie: That's a good question. I ask myself that on a daily basis.Todd: Yeah. Yeah. Me, too. OK. So we'll go ahead and pass on that one.... What do you think about Canada?Jamie: Canada is a great place. It's a..you know being Canadian of course. I'm pretty, fairly nationalistic about it, but it's not a perfect place, obviously. A lot of high taxes. Not always the job that you want is available but ultimately it's , you know, it's a pretty good place.Todd: OK. So when you get gray and old, is Canada the place you'll settle down in?Jamie: Settle down, that's kind of a hard call as well, but I certainly think of Canada as being a place I'd like to, I'd like to take it easy on a regular basis.Todd: OK. Great. Thanks a lot Jamie.Jamie: OK. My Pleasure.

Hi! my name's Theodore and I'd like to talk to you a little about photography. When I first started studying photography I bought myself a fairly good film camera but since then digital cameras have been getting better and cheaper and recently I bought a somewhat expensive digital camera which I think can do just about as well as most film cameras for most things.I'm particularly into photo-journalism so digital is fast and it gives me all I need for photo-journalism. And some people say that it's starting to get better quality than films, so I think digital is the way forward in the future.

Todd: Clare, what are your plans for tonight?Clare: Well, tonight, first of all I'm going to head back home and take a nap because I've got a big night ahead of me.So, I'm going to be going out quite late, about 11:00 so I'll need my energy, but unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to have much of a rest because it will be probably half past seven (7:30) by the time I get home and I need to start getting ready at about 9:00 so, an hour and a half max.Todd: Actually, what do you do to get ready when you go out?Clare: Well, have a shower, get changed, and then, play some games.Todd: OK. What games do you play?Clare: Well, we've recently acquaired a pack of giant cards, so we'll be playing some card games with the giant cards.Todd: So, can you like, give a specific game that you play?Clare: Well, I don't know if you know the game "Play Your Cards Right"Todd: No, no, how do you play?Clare: It's actually a TV game show. We take it from that. And it's very simple. You have a row of cards that you can't see. And you turn over the first one, and you have to say whether the next card is going to be higher or lower. Very simple, so, so you turn over a 10, and you say lower, and it's a 6, so you carry on. You say, "higher" and it's a 4, and if you're wrong....so as you can imagine, it's very easy to go wrong.Todd: Yeah. It sounds like a good game. Well, have a good time tonight and good luck in getting ready.

Todd: OK. Daisuke!Daisuke: Yes.Todd: You work at the fish market?Daisuke: Yep.Todd: OK. What's the fish market like?Daisuke: It's, I'm working for Tsugigi Fish Market, which is quite big and it's of course the two place, which is inside and outside. I work for outside.Todd: Outside?Daisuke: Yeah. Inside is for, um, for professional people, like restaurant people, chefs cause the inside to buy better fish and outside fish market is for normal people like us, like everybody can go and buy fish.Todd: OK, well what do you do everyday at the fish market?Daisuke: Normally sell the fish. It's the main job. But I also have to carry fish, and you know, um carrying ice and put, put ice, um, yeah, and preserve fish.Todd: Wow, what time do you start work?Daisuke: 5:40.Todd: Wow, that's pretty early.Daisuke: Yeah.Todd: Wow. What time do you have to get up to get to work?Daisuke: About 4:30.Todd: 4:30. Yeah, do you get fish for free?Daisuke: No.Todd:No? Well, that's too bad.Daisuke: Yeah, it's no good.Todd: OK. Thanks, Daisuke.

Todd: OK. Jamie. We're back.Jamie: OK.Todd: Jamie, you're a businessman.Jamie: Sometimes.Todd: OK, so...Jamie: Not his week.Todd: Not this week! OK. We're going to talk about globalization.Jamie: OK.Todd: What do you think about globalization?Jamie: Globalization! I'm not really sure, I have a clear definition of what globalization is, but if globalization is several nations trading on the open, or semi-regular basis then I think globalization is a relatively positive thing.Todd: Yeah!Jamie: For, certainly for the countries that are involved in the, in the business that is going on between the nations that are obviously involved with that business.Todd: Yeah. OK. Great. So do you think it makes the world a better place?Jamie: Yeah, the world a better place? No, I don't think it makes the world a better place. I think it's just good for the countries that are directly and indirectly involved with the business that is going on between countries.Todd: OK. Great. Thanks a lot.Jamie: My pleasure.

Todd: Richard, do you have a camera?Richard: I do. I have a video camera. It's over there.Todd: Wow! How often do you use it?Richard: I use the video camera regularly..uh.. every time I go on a trip. Recently I went to Nagasaki.Todd: Nagasaki!Richard: With a school trip.Todd: Who did you go to Nagasaki with?Richard: I teach at a university called Seisen University. It was a.. a group of students and teachers and people associated with that university.Todd: OK, do you mind being photographed?Richard: No. I like being photographedTodd: OK.Richard: Depending on how I look.Todd: OK.Richard: If I'm presentable.Todd: When you have your picture taken..ah..do you always smile?Richard: Yes, I think I usually try to smile for the camera..ah.. or else make a funny faceTodd: OK. Do you have pictures of yourself as a child?Richard: Yes, I do. My mother sent me some pictures and I have some pictures as a baby, as a small child.Todd: OK. Were you a cute baby?Richard: I think I was extremely cute. Bright blond hair. Still got blue eyes.Todd: Oh!Richard: I had much blonder hair than I have now.Todd: Very nice. Very nice.

Kerys: OK. Let's go. Take two!Todd: OK. Hello!Kerys: Hi!Todd: Hi! What's your name?Kerys: Kerys.Todd: Kerys, what's your last name?Kerys: Williams.Todd: Williams. OK. And how do you spell Kerys?Kerys: K-E-R-Y-S.Todd: Oh, OK! Oh..that's quite unique. And where are you from?Kerys: I'm from Manchester in the North of England.Todd: OK. What is Manchester like?Kerys: It's quite boring, quite gray, quite rainy, not a lot of things for, to do, not a lot of things to do.Todd: OK. And how long have you lived in Manchester?Kerys: I don't live there.Todd: Oh, OK. So not anymore, OK. I'm sorry!Kerys: No. Not anymore.Todd: OK. Um..what other places have you lived?Kerys: I've lived in Thailand, I've lived in Spain, and France, and I now live in Japan.Todd: OK. What's your favorite country so far?Kerys: I love Thailand.Todd: Yeah, Thailand's great.Kerys: Yep!Todd: What did you like about Thailand?Kerys: I love the fact that people smile all the time.Todd: That's true. The land of smiles.Kerys: Yep.Todd: Alright. Thanks Kerys.Kerys: No worries.

Todd: Tennessee?Tenn: Yes.Todd: We're gonna talk about sports.Tenn: OK. I'm not big on sports but..Todd: OK. Well, that's OK. So you don't like sports?Tenn: Well, I like sports but I'm just not an avid sports watcher. You know I would usually rather watch a movie or some kind of history program.Todd: Oh, OK. So you're into history.Tenn: Oh, yes!Todd: OK. What kind of history?Tenn: That's a kind of a difficult question. I would say I'm interested-- primarily, I'm interested in ancient and medieval but I also like studying the history of the countries that I visit it makes it more interesting when I go sight-seeing.Todd: OK. What countries have you visited?Tenn: I've been to 26 countries.Todd: Really?Tenn: Yeah.Todd: Oh, OK. Yeah, you can't name them all.Tenn: The big ones I would say, I've been over a good bit of Europe, Mexico, Peru.. I spent almost a year in Egypt and I went to Isreal, Jordan and now I'm here in Japan. I've been here in Japan a year and a half. And while I have been here, I visited Korea for about a week.Todd: OK. Wow! That's a lot so did you do the Pyramids in Egypt?Tenn: Oh, yes. Actually, I climbed the pyramids.Todd: Oh, really? Nice. What's it like on the top?Tenn: Very, very interesting. You can see-- it was during the summer so the visibility was rather low.Todd: Oh, OK.Tenn: But, to see we were on The Great Pyramid and the Second Pyramid Kefron was right nearby and it is a very different perspective to see it from. Very interesting to be eye-level, to be on the same level as the top of that second pyramid.Todd: OK. Wow! So you were in Peru, right?Tenn: Yes.Todd: OK. What's the big thing people see in Peru?Tenn: Machu Pichu.Todd: Machu Pichu. OK. What is Machu Pichu?Tenn: Machu Pichu is the ruins of a city that was built by the Inca People.Todd: OK.Tenn: Maybe over six hundred years ago and was lost, no one knew what happened to it until it was recently discovered about a hundred years ago.Todd: OK. Wow. Nice. All right, thanks a lot David.Tenn: Sure!Todd: Or Tennessee.

Todd: OK. Hello, Kevin?Kevin: Hi, Todd. How are you?Todd: Doing pretty good.Kevin: Good.Todd: Kevin we're gonna talk about nature.Kevin: OK.Todd: First of all could you tell the listener where we are?Kevin: Well, let's see. We are on, kind of on the side of a hill in the forest but we have a spectacular view of Mount Fuji on the other side of the valley.Todd: Yeah. It's really nice here. Why are you in this forest right now?Kevin: Well, I'm currently working and I'm teaching an intensive English course up here at the campus.. up here in the forest.Todd: Oh, nice. Do you take any walks in the woods?Kevin: Yes, I enjoy taking walks in the woods. And sometimes I even go for a jog in the woods, there's a few trails around here and there's a nice golf course as well that you can run around.Todd: OK, great! What's the best thing about being in nature? In the forest?Kevin: Well, for me it's the stress relief that it provides especially living in Tokyo which is of course one of the world's largest and most chaotic cities. It's also nice to get back out into nature sometimes and just hear the insects which obviously we can hear very clearly right now, as well as some birds and you know it's just nice to get back out into nature.Todd: I agree. OK. Thanks a lot Kevin.Kevin: You're welcome.

Todd: OK. Hello?Conrad: Hi, Todd.Todd: How are you doing?Conrad: Oh, not too good. I've got a little bit of a  cold I think.Todd: Oh, man. That's not good.Conrad: Yeah.Todd: How long have you had the cold?Conrad: I think just starting a couple nights ago.Todd: Oh, really?Conrad: Yeah.Todd: Oh, man. What are you doing for it?Conrad: Oh, just trying to take it easy. Right now, I'm just resting.Todd: Uh-huh.Conrad: Yeah.Todd: Do you eat anything special when you get sick?Conrad: Sometimes. Let's see.. what do I eat? Sometimes I eat umeboshi.Todd: Umeboshi?Conrad: Yeah.Todd: Really? What's umeboshi?Conrad: That's that Japanese kind of a pickled sour plum. You eat it with rice. So it's a red color.Todd: Yeah, it comes in the onigiri sometimes.Conrad: Yeah, that's right.Todd: Wow. OK. Well, what are your symptoms?Conrad: Oh, let's see.. a little bit of sore throat, a cough and basically just feeling tired.Todd: Well, that's terrible. I'm sorry. I hope you feel better.Conrad: Well, thanks Todd.

Todd: OK. Jessica, we're back. We're gonna talk about your future. What do you want to be when you grow up?Jessica: Well, I want to be a physician's assistant.Todd: OK. What is a physician's assistant?Jessica: Well, normally when you go into the doctor's office, you wouldn't usually get-- well you would get your doctor all they do is check, give you check-ups or you know maybe take out stitches or something, not surgery.You just go in and do the little things. So the doctor does not have to do them.Todd: Oh, OK. So that is what you want to do?Jessica: Yeah.Todd: OK.Jessica: And make lots of money.Todd: You want to make lots of money?Jessica: OK. Nothing wrong with that.Todd: How do you become a physician's assistant. I can't even say it.Jessica: It's a lot of schooling. You have like six years, four or six years of college and you obviously take like nursing and other kinds of classes like that, and then you do like two or four years at like a hospital as a..Todd: Like an assistant, or..Jessica: Like you're actually doing the work.Todd: Oh, an intern.Jessica: An intern, yeah! An internship for two or four years at a hospital.Todd: Then, that's it. You finish.Jessica: And then you hopefully go on and maybe have your own little doctor's place and open that up or something.Todd: Well, best wishes on becoming a physician's assistant. I'm sure you'll make a good one.Jessica: Thank you.

Todd: OK. Jeff, you have your own website?Jeff: Yes, I do.Todd: OK.Jeff: Very nice site!Todd: OK, can you just talk about your website?Jeff: Yes. The address, I'll give you my address first to the website.Todd: OK.Jeff: So, you can have a look at it.Todd: OK.Jeff: www.eagarbros.com. E-A-G-A-R-B-R-O-S dot C-O-M and it's eagerbros.com because my last name is Eagar, Jeff Eagar. And "Bros" is short for brothers and I have three brothers but I have two brothers that I travel with around the world, different countries with and so it's sort of like a video diary of some of the things we've seen and done on our travels with people and places. Yeah, it's interesting. It's got video, stories, and audio. It's all about people and poverty and wealth and their serenity..of the world. It's pretty good. It's pretty interesting I think.Todd: Wow! Thanks.

Todd: OK. Hey, hello!Tim: Hey, how's it going?Todd:  Doing pretty good. Could you introduce yourself, please?Tim: Yeah, I'm Tim Peterson. I'm from Oregon in the United States.Todd: Oh, nice. You're from Oregon.Tim: Yeah.Todd: OK, and were you born there?Tim: Yes, I was born there.Todd: Oh, really? Did you ever live in any other states or..?Tim: I lived in Wyoming for a really short time.Todd: Oh, really?Tim: And, I've lived in California for a short time too.Todd: OK. Of those three states, which one is the best?Tim: Oregon.Todd: Really? Why?Tim: It's got lots of nature. It's really beautiful, I think in the United States probably Oregon and Washington's state are the most beautiful.Todd: Oh, OK.Tim: Lots, lots of green stuff and lots of nature. Good mountains, good streams, good water.Todd: Wow! Well, what about Wyoming?Tim: Wyoming is nice but it is really dry. And it's really sort of dark.Todd: Oh. OK. Wow, so when you grow old and retire someday, you're a very young guy but when you grow old, would you like to live in Oregon?Tim: Ah, Oregon or Washington probably. Maybe Alaska.Todd: Yeah. Not California?Tim: No!Todd: Man, the Golden State.Tim: Yeah, too many people.Todd: All right, Yeah. OK. Thanks a lot.

Todd: OK. I'm back here with Kanade.Kanade: Yes.Todd: So Kanade, why don't you talk about where you're from.Kanade: OK. I'm from Akita, which is Northern Japan. And there is a lot of mountains and you can see changing color in the fall and in my home Yashima town, there are only six thousand people in there and there is a waterfall called "Hotonedake", which is the best one hundred fall in Japan.Todd: Wow! That's cool.Kanade: Yeah, Cool!Todd: So you've seen it?Kanade: Yes!Todd: So how high is this amazing waterfall?Kanade: Uh, I don't really know. It's really big.Todd: Really. So is it famous because it's really tall or causes it's really wide?Kanade: Could be both.Todd: Oh really, that's a big waterfall. OK. When is the last time you went home?Kanade: Last week.Todd: Uh-huh. Really? Both you're parents still live there?Kanade: Yes.Todd: OK. And were your parents born there?Kanade: Yes, but different town. My father is from Yashima, the same hometown, the same home as my home, but my mom is from Nigaho, the next town from Yashima.Todd: Oh, OK. Do you have a lot of childhood memories?Kanade: Yes. Actually but my dad was really busy, so my mom took me. Took me many, many places...as a child.Todd: Oh, that's sweet. Well, you're a good daughter.Kanade: I think so. Yeah.Todd: OK. Thanks a lot.

Todd: OK. Hello! Can I have your name please?Cat: Cat.Todd: Cat! Is that short for something?Cat: Short for Catherine.Todd: Catherine. OK, Catherine. What's your full name?Cat: Catherine Lovelock.Todd: Oh, nice name. Nice!Cat: Glad you think so.Todd: And where are you from?Cat: Ah, from England.Todd: OK. Where in England?Cat: Ah, in the Southeast. A small town just by the seaside.Todd: Nice. So you live by the beach?Cat: Yes, about ten minutes from the beach.Todd: Wow, do you surf?Cat: It's not the kind of place you can surf. The waves are too small and the sea is too cold.Todd: OK. What kind of place is your town?Cat: What kind of place?Todd: Yeah.Cat: It's..it's..well very very small. It's normally really busy in the summer. There's not very much to do there, but when the sun is shining you can go to the beach. It's really good.Todd: Yeah, sounds like a great place. How far is it from London?Cat: About 70 miles so that's about two hours by train.Todd: OK.Cat: From Central London.Todd: So when you go to London you go by train?Cat: Normally yes because you can't drive, there's nowhere to park.Todd: OK. Great. Thanks.

Ann: Hey, Nobu! I've heard that you practice martial arts.Can you tell me about K1?Nobu: Yes. Well actually, what I practice is a type of martial arts called mixed martial arts. No holds barred! Mixed martial arts is a mixture of everything, kickboxing, boxing wrestling, submission fighting, so on and so on.Ann: What are you best at? What do you like practicing?Nobu: I am very good at grappling. Grappling is the type of sports that you kill your opponent's joint and choke him outor anything like that.Ann: Do you use your hands or your feet a lot?Nobu: Hands, feet, legs, every part of your body.Ann: Biting?Nobu: No biting. No biting, no fish-hooking, no groin striking.Ann: What is the fish hook?Nobu: The fish hook is a kind of illegal movement that you use two fingers. Point finger and middle finger hooking your nose or eyes. Like that!Ann: Sounds dangerous.Nobu: Yes!Ann: Do you ever compete?Nobu: Yes, I compete a lot. Actually, I was a champion back in the States.Ann: In the States?Nobu: Yes.Ann: What kind of champion were you?Nobu: Grappling champion.Ann: Grappling champion. What did you win?Nobu: Well, I entered this grappling tournament called Western Grappling Tournament. I won first place in the 185 division, 185-pound division.Ann: All right, that's great! Thanks a lot for that.Nobu: Thank you.

Todd: So what are you doing this weekend, Adrianna?Adrianna: I'm going to Fukuoka with...to meet my friend.Todd: Oh cool, how do you know her?Adrianna: She went to university with me.Todd: What's she doing in Fukuoka?Adrianna: She's on the Jet Program, teaching.Todd: Oh, cool. Does she like it?Adrianna: Yeah, she likes it. She renewed her contract so this is her third year.Todd: Excellent. Do you know what you are going to be doing down in Fukuoka?Adrianna: I think she's going to take me to a pub.Todd: You've not been to any of them in Japan?Adrianna: No, not.. first time. And we are going to...What are we going to do? Oh, we're going to have a Thanksgiving celebration on Sunday and we're going to go to a Karaoke.Todd: OK, have you been to any Karaoke bars here?Adrianna: Yeah, I went to a Karaoke bar in Roppongi.Todd: Did you sing?Adrianna: Of course.Todd: Excellent. In English?Adrianna: Ah.. yeah. My Japanese isn't too great.Todd: What has she told you about Fukuoka?Adrianna: How do you mean?Todd: Like, do you know about the city?Adrianna: Not much.

Todd: OK. Tim, we're going to talk about running.Tim: OK.Todd: Now, we've been running the last couple of nights.Tim: Yeah, that's true.Todd: And, you're much faster than me. You're a fast runner. How often do you run?Tim: Well, now I only run about four days a week but when I was younger every day.Todd: Oh, really? Wow! Did you run in high school or college?Tim: I ran.. I started when I was six years old.Todd: No kidding?Tim: And I started running and I ran all the way through the university.Todd: Really?Tim: Yeah.Todd: OK. So what events did you do?Tim: Middle distance. The middle distance is 1,500 meters to 5,000 meters.Todd: Wow! Are you a better short-distance runner or long-distance runner?Tim: Middle distance runner.Todd: Middle distance. OK, how far is a middle distance?Tim: Oh.. 1,500 meters, about.Todd: 1,500.Tim: Yeah.Todd: OK! What's your fastest time in the 1,500 meters?Tim: Ah, 3.... about 3:47.Todd: Three minutes and forty-seven seconds.Tim: Yeah.Todd: That's pretty fast.Tim: Yeah. I did that in high school actually. I wasn't so fast in the university.Todd: Oh wow, man you can fly!Tim: Yeah.Todd: Now I don't feel so bad when you run so much faster than me.Tim: I've been slowing down. I've been drinking beer so I don't run so fast anymore.Todd: Yeah, we're getting older. Actually, I'm 33. How old are you?Tim: I'm 27.Todd: 27. Oh, OK. So, do you think you'll be running your whole life?Tim: I think so, yeah. I grew up running in the woods, every day in the woods and so I really want to get back to running in the woods every day. I think it is really healthy thing to do.Todd: Yeah. That's nice. OK. Thanks a lot, Tim.