Hey Native speakers! Come and help us! Part 3

1 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2007/03/02(金) 09:59:49

If you are a native speaker of English, please help us with
those questions that we are losing sleep over.

日本人の皆さんは、日頃どうしても気になって仕方がない質問を
ネイティブの方々にぶつけてみましょう。

前スレ
Hey Native speakers! Come and help us!
http://academy6.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1162896792/

Hey Native speakers! Come and help us!
http://academy4.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1089696504/

846 ：Anonomyous ：2008/06/10(火) 13:34:17

>>838
To examine means to look thoroughly, or intently. All the other words mean the same thing as examine.

I hope this helps!

847 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/11(水) 07:55:31

I'm >>667 and I submitted my post.

I translated something in Japanese to "She was so happy that she bursted into tears."
and my translation wasn't listed as a good translation.
Would you tell me what's wrong with my English? When you burst into tears, you have to
always be sad? I mean, "so happy" and "bursted into tears" contradicts?

848 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/11(水) 08:01:31

>>847
http://www.bartleby.com/68/45/1045.html

849 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/11(水) 09:02:40

>>848
Thank you for your comment.
Let me confirm.
You mean the past tense of the verb was wrong?
That's all? Except for that, nothing is wrong with the sentense?

850 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/11(水) 09:38:14

>>849
Yup.

851 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/11(水) 12:08:14

>>849

Yep, 848 is correct.

852 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/11(水) 18:46:37

>>850-851
Thank you very much.

I should've been more careful when I made the sentense.

853 ：dude：2008/06/14(土) 09:45:27

>>843
"
Who knows but that some gash on the cheek, or a cast in the eye,
on the side concealed from us, would not have totally altered the expression
of the countenance?"

This is an example of slightly archaic English found in literature from a few centuries past. Your which is hiding here: "on the side [which he] concealed from us", so it refers to the concealed side of his face.

854 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/17(火) 02:32:25

> Now, I may not of solved this job originally, but I do want it.

This is a line from a TV script. What does "may not of solved" mean?

855 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/17(火) 03:08:04

>>854

Doesn't make any sense in this context....
You can't solve a job.

856 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/17(火) 03:13:21

>>855

Or, if by some chance it DOES mean something, I wouldn't worry about it.
That's the first time I've ever heard a sentence like that. You'll probably never hear it again.

857 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/17(火) 03:37:58

I'm not >>854, but the original script is this.
http://www.charmedscripts.tv/under_my_skin.htm

I quote some lines below.

[Scene: Bucklands. Rex's office. He's interviewing Prue.]

Rex: How many divisions did you correct?

Prue: Seven, including the colonist estate. It should be on my resume.

Rex: Franklin Carlton. That's quite a coup.

Prue: Well, I tend to be on the persistent side. I usually get what I want.

Rex: A no doubter. It's a shame though that you think you're... how did you put it in the elevator? Totally wrong for the job.

Prue: That was a private phone conversation.

Rex: Hardly.

858 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/17(火) 03:38:30

Prue: You called me, remember. Not the other way around.
And while we're at it, I think it's incredibly unfair that you eavesdrop on a private call and then you judge me based entirely on what you thought you heard.

Rex: I apologize. It was unfair of me. I'm new of all this. I've only just taken over the house from my father, so I'm very protective of it.
But knowing that, what you did at the museum, attracting the younger market, it's totally consistent of what I want to do there.
It's just when all these qualifications are signed, It's very important to me that whoever I hire, truly wants to be here. (The intercom beeps.) Yep.

Secretary's voice: Excuse me, Mr. Buckland. Your next interview is waiting. Should I reschedule him?

Rex: No, I think we're done here.

Prue: Well, thanks for your time. (She walks over to the door, stops and turns around.)
My area of expertise ranges from Ming Dynasty to a Mark McGuire ricky baseball card. You name it - I can identify it.
Now, I may not of solved this job originally, but I do want it. And I am definitely right for it.

859 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/17(火) 03:43:47

I guess this 'of' is for 'have' when it's pronounced lightly.
So in correct(in the sense it supposed to be at school)orthography it would be:
>Now, I may not have solved this job originally, but I do want it.

860 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/17(火) 05:28:45

>>858
>>859 is right.
Whoever originally typed up that script is a moron. We often pronounce "have" as "of", but we *never* write it that way.

861 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/24(火) 00:23:37

Hello, guys.

Please tell me your suggestion.

(1) I went to a bank.
It is correct, right?

(2) I went to bank.
Is it correct?

Best.

862 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/24(火) 02:46:59

>>861
○ I went to a/the bank.
Ｘ I went to bank.

863 ：861：2008/06/24(火) 09:17:46

>>862
Thank you for your help.

864 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 05:58:45

>>861
>>862 is correct, however "bank" can also be used as a transitive verb.

For example "I went to bank a cheque".

865 ：merkin：2008/06/25(水) 11:00:10

>>864
I've never heard this in American English usage; it sounds like a British
thing.

866 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:00:07

Hi, native English speakers.
In Japan, there's a test called Eiken and it is a test to measure
English proficiency. There are five or six grades depending on fluency,
Grade 1 being the best. In Eiken Grade 1 test, there's an interview test.
You are to choose one topic among five topics and make a speech about the
topic. You have one minute to choose a topic and organize your speech
in your head and after that you make a speech about it for two minuites,
followed by Q&A session (about your speech) with interviewers.
If you're intersted, you can see topics in the past Grade1 tests here
http://academy6.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1205059025/l50
From post number 35-53.

Although I've already passed the grade1 test, I practiced writing
my speech down. I'd appreciate it if you give me any feedback.
Maybe other people who haven't passed grade1 might come and ask your
opinions about their speeches.

867 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:01:20

2006 第３回 午後 4. Hi-tech sports equipment vs. natural ability in sports today

I think it's very odd to see your personal records depend on equipment
you use. Governing body of each sports should set a clear guideline
in place to reduce disparity casued by equipment you use.

Let's take swimming for example. At the last national competion held
the other day, swimmers wearing Speedo swimsuits made the series of
world records. If my memory serves right, more than 10 world records
were made at the swimming competion. They all used to wear a swimsuite made by domestic
swimsuit manufactures such as Mizuno and Decsant and when they wore
a Speedo for the first time, They successfully broke the world records.

Comparing other sports, swimming is very simple. The fastet wins a
competion. So swimmers try to make every effort to swim as fast as
they can, focusing on improving their swiming techniqus. If you know how
hard they practice, the factor of what kind of swimsuits you wear
shouldn't affect the records of each swimmer.
A winner should be the one who has the most excellent skills of
swimming, not the one who wears the most advanced swimsuites.

868 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:01:56

(cont.)
（続き）
Male swimmers have to check their penis is in the right position.
If it is in the wrong place, you have more resistence against water.
When you put on a swimsuit, you have to check your penis is in the right positon,
not crooked, not too right, not too left. It should be placed in
the straight position down your body.

In conclusion, for big events like Olympic Games, competitors prepare for
a long time and try to make every efforts to get good results.
Their efforts should not be worthless by what equipment they use.
Their physical abilities have to be the only one thing that can be
the deciding factor.

869 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:03:52

147 2006 第３回 午後 2. Are people today becoming less interested in the news?

I don't think people today are less interested in the news but I think
people today have different means to have access to the news and they
tend to read the news that only interest them.

It's said that young people read newspapers and watch news programs less
often. Instead they spend more time surfing on the Internet.
They read news online and the news they read tend to be the one that
are related to their interests.

I'm a football fan and I read news about the results of the games
online. The website I visit often is the one dedicated to football fans.
I never visit websites which deal with various fields. I never visit
online version of Japanese major newspaper company.

When you read a news paper, you sometimes read articles that doesn't
interest you so much just because they are on the next page in which
other artcles that interest you are on . But when you're online that doesn't
happen because you only click links that grab your attention.

870 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:04:21

>>866
God I hate that shit. I was part of something called Academic Decathlon (AcaDeca for short) when I was in high school.
One of the things you have to do at the competition is give a short impromptu speech. I mean I'm fluent in English and I'm still not very good at it. w
Sounds like a tough test.

871 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:04:30

(cont.)

There are various webistes that serve only for people who are
interested in particular fields so they don't have to go to
newspaper companies' website. So in my opinion people these days
tend to have deep understanding of particular fields they are
interested in but less understanding of fields they aren't
interested in.

It's not the matter of people becoming less interested in the news but
the matter of the changes in the way they get accsse to the news and
Internet helps people have easy access to the news they are interested in.

872 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:05:11

162 2007 第２回 A 2. Is it possible to keep politics out of international sporting events?

International sporting events such as the Olympichs has been taken advantage of for
political publicity for a long period of time and this trend won't be changed.

Some people claim sporting events have to be seperated from political
issues but looking back our history, they are used for politics.
Natiz took advantage of Olympics to boost Germany's moral and to show off
Germany's national power. Upcoming Beijing Olympics is China's biggest
opportunity to promote their economic boost and democratization.

Some countries boycott Olympics to make their stances toward a particular
country clear. Moscow Olympics in 1980 was boycotted by western contries
including Japan in protest against Soviet invasion to Afganistan.
Siviet and Eastern European countries boycotted Los Angels Olympic to
retaliate western countires action against them.

Big international events are broadcast and can be seen by hundreds of
millions of people so they are one of the biggest opportunities to
convey political messages. That explains why terrorists try to take advantage
of these events.

As long as international sporting events get people's attention from all over
the world, they can be used for political things.

873 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:05:45

118 2005 第３回 午後 3. Are advances in telecommunications making it less important to meet people in person?

No matter how much advanced telecommunication is, the importance of
meeting people in person should never be underestimated.

Th emerges of cell phones and portable lap top PCs have made it possible for us to
frequently contact with people away from us. But these gadgits can never replace
meeting people in person. It's impossible to convey your messages
100% only depending on text messages. Misunderstanding can happen
when you rely only on text messages because you can't see each other's
faces and you can't hear a tone of voice.

I have email pals I got to know on the net. I have met some of them
in person and some of them are friends that I haven't met in person.
I tend to keep in touch with the friends I met in person but I tend to
stop emialing to friends I haven't met in person.

My example shows that meeting in person is inevitable to understand
friends deeply and keep good relations with them. Advances
in telecommunication only serve as complimentary way of building and
keeping good relations with others. No technologies can beat meeting in person
in my opinion.

874 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:15:50

>>870
Wow, Academic Decathlon. That's new to me.
Regarding Eiken test, it's not a part of school events.
Some English teacher encourage their students to take the test, though.
Eiken is one of the most well known tests among Japanese to measure
their English proficiency and you have to pay some money to take the
test. In case of Eiken Grade1 you have to pay 7500yen. (about 75dolloars.)
Only those who managed to pass paper test can move on to the speech test.
Less than 20% of examinees move on to the speech test and among them
about 50% or more pass the speech test. So the final rate of passing
Grade1 is about 10% of all examinees.

875 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:20:02

>>874
Wow. I almost want to take it just to see if I would pass. w
I'm sure I would actually but it would be fun. Well, I've got the JLPT to worry about.

876 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:39:58

How do you say that you go to a karaoke box?

I go to karaoke?
I go karaoke?
I go to a karaoke box?

Please help me.

877 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/25(水) 14:52:34

>>875
You definately pass Eiken Grade1.
Maybe Eiken Grade1 is an equivalent of JLPT grade1.

If you're interewsted, you can see a paper test of Grade1 here.
http://www.eiken.or.jp/listening/grade_1/200703/pdf/2007-3-1ji-1kyu.pdf
If you can answer correctly 70% of questions of this paper test, you can move on to
the speech test.

878 ：merkin：2008/06/25(水) 16:41:24

>>876
I'm going to a karaoke box.
I'm going karaoke-ing.
I'm going to karaoke.

All the above are OK. The first one talks about a physical place.
The second is a verb ("to karaoke".) The third is ambiguous: it could
mean either "Soon I shall karaoke," ("to karaoke" is a verb) or "I am
going to a particular karaoke place." ("karaoke" is a location.)

879 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/28(土) 10:09:00

Hi! I have sonme basic questions.

>A baby boy who was sent to the hospital in mid Dec last year had buises
on both his cheeks and old scars on his feet.

1)about this passage, I thought "a baby" is appropriate but somebody
on the other thread said we can also say "THE baby", is it true? and why.
2)about the word choice, I chose the word "sent", I think "brought"also
fits, but somebody said "carried" is the best. I thought we can only use
"carried" when the patint is in a crucial condition. How do you think?
3)about cheeks. I wrote as "both his cheeks" but somebody said "cheekS" is
good enough. Saying "both" is a repetition. I thought ummm...maybe. but how
do you think? thanks in advance.

880 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/06/28(土) 10:09:49

age

881 ：kazuyoshiski kataokaef片岡数吉 ◆sLx6Y8W5kE ：2008/06/28(土) 10:30:19

>>879
A baby boy [ who was sent to the hospital in mid Dec last year ]
had buises on both his cheeks and old scars on his feet.

The boy was sent from its home to the hospital by [ being carried in an ambulance ].
It had bruises on its right and left cheeks.

So, there's no problem in [ that that was said that way ] (^-^).

882 ：879：2008/06/28(土) 16:53:37

>>881
Thanks! Kazuyoshi-sensei ^^

883 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/07/03(木) 18:46:04

regarding, >>866. Give me some feedback.

144 2006 第３回 午前 4. Do competitive sports build character in chidlren?

Yes, competitive sports certainly build character in children.
Whether it's a team sport such as baseball and succor, or individual
sport such as Judo or Karate, children who practice a particular
sport strengthen their heart and body.

Fisrt, they have to practice very hard on daily basis to win a game or match.
They set a goal of winning a game or a match and to accomplish their
goal, they make every effort. In case of team sports, children have to
try hard to make a team. Even if they didn't selected as a regular member
they have to keep move on.

Second, In case of competitive sports, to win a game is the most
important thing. Not only to survive the competition in their own
team to become a regular member but to win a game, they have to
try really hard.

In this world we live in, competition is everywhere, so it's good
for kids to experience various competiotions in sports. They learn that
sometime they win, sometimes they lose.

And by doing sports, children strengthen their heart and body to overcome
difficulties they face.

884 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/07/03(木) 18:46:48

regarding, >>866. Give me some feedback.

095 2005 第１回 午前 5. “Honesty is the best policy”----in all situations?

No, sometimes being honest can offend a person so it depends on a situation
whether it's better to be honest or telling a what's called a white lie.

I had a girlfriend who underwent a cosmetic surgery. What she did was
enlarge her breast size. I've seen lots of pornography photos on
the Internet so I can tell easily which boobs are fake and which are
real ones. Most of all porn stars's boobs are fake.

The moment I stripped her clothes off, I thought her boobs might be
fake. Their shape were too good. After I carassed them, I recognized
they were fake. She told me her boobs were real but I didn't believe
her. To be honest, I wanted to tell her that her boobs are fake but I had to
praise her for having very good shape boobs. I didn't want her to
get disappointed.

I don't think many men have an experience like me but similar situations are
everywhere. When your girlfriend buys a new dress, she often ask your
opinion whether she looks good in it. You have to give her a positive
response to her instead of being too honest and giving her a negative
comment in the situation.

In these cases, being too honest and giving a negative response is
not the best policy for better communication.
You can't be KY in these situations. I have no time left to explain the
buzz word, KY.

885 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/07/03(木) 18:47:34

regarding, >>866. Give me some feedback.


126 2006 第１回 午後 1. Are foreign workers the solution to Japan’s predicted labor shortage?

Yes. As long as the population keeps decreasing, it can be one of the solutions to
Japanese labor shortage. As the birth rate is decreasing, it's expected that
labor shortage becomes more serious.

If Japan can't provide enough workforce on its own, importing it
from foreign countries is a good way to solve the problem.
Japan has already cut a deal with Indonesia in which Japan'll accept
a number of Indonesian nurses. Hospitals in rural areas are suffering from
the shortage of nurses so this move will help hospitals provide
sufficient medical services.

But everything isn't rose colored. Workers from foreign countires
have to adopt to Japanese customs and cultures. They have to
be fluent in Japanese, too. So it's very important for us to provide
them training before they come to Japan to solve every possible
problem they'll face once they start working in Japan.

886 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/07/03(木) 18:48:22

regarding, >>866. Give me some feedback.

128 2006 第１回 午後 3. Should Internet crime be taken more seriously?

As people use internet more and more, crimes related to the use of the
Internet have to be tackled more seriously. But going to the extreme
can prevent the Internet develp. So balancing the develpment of
Internet and regulate the use of it is crucial.

Internet bullying is getting attentions these days. School kids
call their names under anonymity. Verbal abuse is everywhere
on the net. Some school kids commit suicide, being bullied on the
net.

While children are familiar with the Internet, some of their parents
don't know much about it and it's effect to their kids. So bullying on
the net wasn't handled appropriately for a long time.

Filtering service in which children get limited access to the net is one solution to
the problem. But to restrict the use of the Internet too much can
harm the develpment of the Internet. The key is to balance between restrictions
and development of Internet.

887 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/07/07(月) 19:19:59

I have a question.

With regard to the usage of the phrases '(the) chances are that...,' I've ever seen two patterns--the one with 'the' and the other withouut 'the.'

For example, see the pair of sentences below.
(1) The chances are that she will marry him.
(2) Chances are that she will marry him.

Would you, anybody, tell me the difference in meaning between them, please?
I know the difference might be trivial, but it is the triviality that I want to know.

888 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/07/07(月) 23:09:37

I want to know some technical words in baseball.
When the team is in good condition(wins the games all the time for a while),
I saw a dictionary "xx team is getting their momentum going"
is it correct?
I actually want to say something like
xxx team is "getting their momentum going", they are
"full of life". could you write in a better English? thanks!

889 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/07/07(月) 23:10:44

age

890 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/07/08(火) 01:27:52

Firstly, this isn't an academic topic at all and maybe silly...
But here's the simple question.

In a reality TV show, Nicole Richie uses the phrase, "loves it"
when she finds something fun or amusing.
Is it gramatically correct to say it that way?
Why is it not "I love it", and
are there any similar examples without a subject,
and with third person singular form?
I'd appreciate any help.

891 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/07/08(火) 02:35:33

>>887
There is no difference. We often drop the first "The" or the subject of a sentence in casual speech.
For example, "Want to go to the park?" (No "you".) / "Can't make it, go without me." (No "I" before "can't".) / "Bar was closed so we came home." (No "the".)

>>888
Yes. "to get one's momentum going" = to build up momentum, to be moving forward at a steadily increasing rate, to be winning or succeeding repeatedly
It's not a technical baseball term, it can be used in a wide variety of contexts.
"full of life" is not a good phrase to use in this context, however.

full of life = full of spirit; lively; having life or vigor or spirit

We tend to use this about individual people (ex. She's just so full of life, she's always smiling and ready to take on anything.).

As for better English, I might say something like, "They're really pumped!" (気合い入ってますね！)

>>880
I haven't seen the show you're talking about, but no it's not grammatically correct if she's talking about herself.
It's just a funny way of talking, meant to be unique and amusing.

892 ：名無しさん＠英語勉強中：2008/07/08(火) 02:36:44

>>891
Er, last anchor should've been >>890.

893 ：888：2008/07/08(火) 07:43:43

>>891
Thank you very much!!!わ〜８narabi !

894 ：887：2008/07/08(火) 08:31:18

>>891 Thanks.

895 ：890：2008/07/09(水) 03:09:58

>>891
Thank you!