英語学習 English Reading2008-07-03T08:44:13+09:00英語力の向上に近道はありません。JUGEMWho is Tom Jones?http://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5350332008-07-03T08:44:04+09:002008-07-02T23:44:04Z2008-07-02T23:44:04ZHello, This one is from Thomas Jones: Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate. I found this quote on the Internet, where I find most of the quotes. Not being sure who Tom Jones was, I had little hope of finding out. Look her...tom英語の詩
This one is from Thomas Jones:

Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.

I found this quote on the Internet, where I find most of the quotes. Not being sure who Tom Jones was, I had little hope of finding out. Look here if you would like to see some of the Tom Jones who are well known.

Was this quote by one of the politicians, poets, or someone else?

You can click the link above, visit the pages and look if you would like to try. Trying could take a very long time though.

Best,
Tom]]>The Beauty of the Deephttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5338132008-07-02T06:52:06+09:002008-07-01T21:52:06Z2008-07-01T21:52:06ZHello, This is the beauty of the deep. ****************************** American Life in Poetry: Column 170 BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006 I've lived all my life on the plains, where no body of water is more than a few feet d...tom英語の詩
This is the beauty of the deep.

******************************

American Life in Poetry: Column 170

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

I've lived all my life on the plains, where no body of water is more than a few feet deep, and even at that shallow depth I'm afraid of it. Here Sam Green, who lives on an island north of Seattle, takes us down into some really deep, dark water.


Night Dive

Down here, no light but what we carry with us.
Everywhere we point our hands we scrawl
color: bulging eyes, spines, teeth or clinging tentacles.
At negative buoyancy, when heavy hands
seem to grasp & pull us down, we let them,

we don't inflate our vests, but let the scrubbed cheeks
of rocks slide past in amniotic calm.
At sixty feet we douse our lights, cemented
by the weight of the dark, of water, the grip
of the sea's absolute silence. Our groping

hands brush the open mouths of anemones,
which shower us in particles of phosphor
radiant as halos. As in meditation,
or in deepest prayer,
there is no knowing what we will see.


American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c) 1998 by Samuel Green. Reprinted by permission of the author, Sam Green, from his book "The Grace of Necessity," Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2008. First published in "Cistercian Studies Quarterly", Vol. 33.1, 1998. Introduction copyright (c) 2008 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

******************************

Wasn't that beautiful!

Best,
Tom
]]>Pacal on admirationhttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5328202008-07-01T09:49:44+09:002008-07-01T00:49:44Z2008-07-01T00:49:44ZHello, This one is from Blaise Pascal: You always admire what you really don’t understand. Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, philosopher and physicist. You can read about him at Wikipedia. We would like to quote from Wikipedia here: ...tom
This one is from Blaise Pascal:

You always admire what you really don’t understand.

Blaise Pascal was a French mathematician, philosopher and physicist. You can read about him at Wikipedia. We would like to quote from Wikipedia here:

Blaise Pascal (June 19, 1623 - August 19, 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father. Pascal's earliest work was in the natural and applied sciences where he made important contributions to the construction of mechanical calculators, the study of fluids, and clarified the concepts of pressure and vacuum by generalizing the work of Evangelista Torricelli. Pascal also wrote in defense of the scientific method.

Pascal was a mathematician of the first order. He helped create two major new areas of research. He wrote a significant treatise on the subject of projective geometry at the age of sixteen, and later corresponded with Pierre de Fermat on probability theory, strongly influencing the development of modern economics and social science.

Following a mystical experience in late 1654, he abandoned his scientific work and devoted himself to philosophy and theology. His two most famous works date from this period: the Lettres provinciales and the Pensées. Pascal was in poor health throughout his life and his death came just two months after his 39th birthday.

Click the link above if you would like to read more about Pascal.

Best,

Tom]]>Questionable quoteshttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5256792008-06-24T07:22:07+09:002008-06-23T22:22:07Z2008-06-23T22:22:07ZHello, Here is a questionable quote: There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else. This one is from Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. Wh...tom英語の引用
Here is a questionable quote:

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.

This one is from Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. While the quote sounds great, reality contradicts Walton. The key word is simply. People with limited money and resources will go to Walmart, even if Walmart is bad for them, the area they live in, and the economy. Simply just doesn't happen.

And Walmart continues to destroy...

Best,
Tom]]>How you look at thingshttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5248092008-06-23T09:33:40+09:002008-06-23T00:34:32Z2008-06-23T00:33:40ZHello, This quote is from John W. Gardner: We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems. Problems are great opportunities. We can regard them as opportunities and take advantage of t...tom英語の引用
This quote is from John W. Gardner:

We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.

Problems are great opportunities. We can regard them as opportunities and take advantage of them. Once againk, we turn to Wikipedia to find out mroe about John W. Gardner.

According to Wikipedia, President of the Carnegie Corporation, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Lyndon Johnson, was subsequently the founder of two influential national U.S. organizations, Common Cause and Independent Sector, as well as the author of numerous books on improving leadership in American society and other subjects. Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964.

Gardner's term as Secretary of HEW was at the height of Johnson's Great Society domestic agenda. During this tenure, the Department undertook both the huge task of launching Medicare, which brought quality health care to senior citizens, and oversaw a massive investment in education with the passage of the landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 that redefined the federal role in education and targeted funding to poor students. Gardner also presided over the creation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In 1970, Gardner created Common Cause, the first non-profit public interest group in the United States. He also founded the Experience Corps.

Click the link above to Wikipedia and you can find references and links about Gardner.

Best,
Tom]]>Rogers on gossiphttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5242932008-06-22T17:55:23+09:002008-06-22T08:55:23Z2008-06-22T08:55:23ZHello, This one is from Will Rogers: The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them. Cynical as that may sound, this is true for most people. Best, Tomtom英語の引用
This one is from Will Rogers:

The only time people dislike gossip is when you gossip about them.

Cynical as that may sound, this is true for most people.

Best,
Tom]]>When to buy stocks and eat oystershttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5233592008-06-21T09:58:35+09:002008-06-21T00:58:57Z2008-06-21T00:58:35ZHello, This one is from Warren Buffett: The only time to buy these is on a day with no 'y' in it. He means that the only time you can buy stocks is on days that do not have the letter 'y'. What days of the week are spelled without a 'y'? He...tom英語の引用
This one is from Warren Buffett:

The only time to buy these is on a day with no 'y' in it.

He means that the only time you can buy stocks is on days that do not have the letter 'y'. What days of the week are spelled without a 'y'?

He has taken the statement about eating oysters:

Eat oysters in any month that has an 'r' in its name.

Best,
Tom

]]>Health and death?http://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5219292008-06-20T17:27:02+09:002008-06-20T08:27:02Z2008-06-20T08:27:02ZHello, This poem takes a look at health and death. ****************************** American Life in Poetry: Column 169 BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006 I remember being scared to death when, at about thirty years of age, I s...tom英語の詩
This poem takes a look at health and death.


******************************

American Life in Poetry: Column 169

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

I remember being scared to death when, at about thirty years of age, I saw an x-ray of my skull. Seeing one's self as a skeleton, or receiving any kind of medical report, even when the news is good, can be unsettling. Suddenly, you're just another body, a clock waiting to stop. Here's a telling poem by Rick Campbell, who lives and teaches in Florida.


Heart

My heart was suspect.
Wired to an EKG,
I walked a treadmill
that measured my ebb
and flow, tracked isotopes
that ploughed my veins,
looked for a constancy
I've hardly ever found.
For a month I worried
as I climbed the stairs
to my office. The mortality
I never believed in
was here now. They
say my heart's ok,
just high cholesterol, but
I know my heart's a house
someone has broken into,
a room you come back
to and know some stranger
with bad intent has been there
and touched all that you love. You know
he can come back. It's his call,
his house now.


American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c) 2006 by Rick Campbell and reprinted from "Dixmont," Autumn House Press, 2008, by permission of the writer. First published in "The Florida Review," Fall, 2006. Introduction copyright (c) 2008 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

******************************

Do you see health and death in this poem?

Or do you see something else in it?

Best,
Tom
]]>Talent and geniushttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5184702008-06-17T08:30:02+09:002008-06-16T23:30:02Z2008-06-16T23:30:02ZHello, This one is from Arthur Schopenhauer: Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see. Arthur Schopenhauer knows the difference. You can read about him here at Wikipedia. We would like to quote:Ar...tom英語の引用
This one is from Arthur Schopenhauer:

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.

Arthur Schopenhauer knows the difference. You can read about him here at Wikipedia. We would like to quote:
Arthur Schopenhauer (February 22, 1788 - September 21, 1860) was a German philosopher best known for his work The World as Will and Representation. Schopenhauer responded to and expanded upon Immanuel Kant's philosophy concerning the way in which we experience the world. His critique of Kant, his creative solutions to the problems of human experience, and his explication of the limits of human knowledge are among his most important achievements. His metaphysical theory is the foundation of his influential writings on psychology, aesthetics, ethics, and politics which influenced Friedrich Nietzsche, Wagner, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Sigmund Freud and others.
He was a genius. Click the above link if you would like to read more.

Talent is not to be confused with television personalities. A talented person is good at something. A television personality may have no talent, unless you consider remaining in the limelight a talent.

Best,
Tom]]>Batteries not includedhttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5167942008-06-16T10:16:28+09:002008-06-16T01:17:13Z2008-06-16T01:16:28ZHello, Just about everything that needs batteries does not include them. We almost always see three little words written somewhere on the box: Batteries not included. This quote from Steven Wright goes one step further: I bought some batteries...tom英語の引用
Just about everything that needs batteries does not include them. We almost always see three little words written somewhere on the box: Batteries not included.

This quote from Steven Wright goes one step further:

I bought some batteries, but they weren't included.

Click here to visit http://www.stevenwright.com/index.shtml. Yes, he is a comedian.

Best,
Tom]]>Theory and practicehttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5161932008-06-15T13:34:53+09:002008-06-15T04:36:10Z2008-06-15T04:34:53ZHello, Theory and practice are often different. This quote from John Wilmot shows how he changed after theory and practice clashed in his life: Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no the...tom英語の引用
Theory and practice are often different. This quote from John Wilmot shows how he changed after theory and practice clashed in his life:

Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children and no theories.

Or was he just expressing a bit of wit?

John Wilmot was the 2nd Earl of Rochester and a writer, not a philosopher. Born on April 1, 1647, he died on July 26, 1680.

Our quotes with wit, satire, and black humor have been with us for hundred and hundreds of years...

Best,
Tom

]]>Laughter and happinesshttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5154472008-06-14T11:02:29+09:002008-06-14T02:02:29Z2008-06-14T02:02:29ZHello, When we read poems, we read different things. Here is today's column: ****************************** American Life in Poetry: Column 168 BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006 So often, reading a poem can in itself feel l...tom英語の詩
When we read poems, we read different things.

Here is today's column:

******************************

American Life in Poetry: Column 168

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE, 2004-2006

So often, reading a poem can in itself feel like a thing overheard. Here, Mary-Sherman Willis of Virginia describes the feeling of being stilled by conversation, in this case barely audible and nearly indecipherable.


The Laughter of Women

From over the wall I could hear the laughter of women
in a foreign tongue, in the sun-rinsed air of the city.
They sat (so I thought) perfumed in their hats and their silks,

in chairs on the grass amid flowers glowing and swaying.
One spoke and the others rang like bells, oh so witty,
like bells till the sound filled up the garden and lifted

like bubbles spilling over the bricks that enclosed them,
their happiness holding them, even if just for the moment.
Although I did not understand a word they were saying,

their sound surrounded me, fell on my shoulders and hair,
and burst on my cheeks like kisses, and continued to fall,
holding me there where I stood on the sidewalk listening.

As I could not move, I had to hear them grow silent,
and adjust myself to the clouds and the cooling air.
The mumble of thunder rumbled out of the wall
and the smacking of drops as the rain fell everywhere.


American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright (c) 2007 by Mary-Sherman Willis. Reprinted from "The Hudson Review," Vol. LX, no. 3, (Autumn 2007), by permission of Mary-Sherman Willis. Introduction copyright (c) 2008 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

******************************

Ted Kooser views the conversation as being barely audible and nearly indecipherable. I am not sure if this is describing a foreign language or English. The poem refers to a foreign language, but is that foreign in terms of nationality or in terms of laughter and happiness?

We read the same poem, but we can take away different ideas and questions from it.

Best,
Tom]]>Science versus creationismhttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5133672008-06-11T19:30:25+09:002008-06-11T10:30:25Z2008-06-11T10:30:25ZHello, This one is from Ashley Montague: Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without any proof. Science will prevail. The only question is how long it will take... Best, Tomtom英語の引用
This one is from Ashley Montague:

Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without any proof.

Science will prevail. The only question is how long it will take...

Best,
Tom]]>Churchill and pigshttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5121852008-06-10T19:53:19+09:002008-06-10T10:53:19Z2008-06-10T10:53:19ZHello, I have never thought much about pigs. Winston Churchill has though. This quote is from him: I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals. I will have to learn more about pigs before I can comment on tha...tom英語の引用
I have never thought much about pigs. Winston Churchill has though. This quote is from him:

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.

I will have to learn more about pigs before I can comment on that.

Best,
Tom]]>Pay and sitting downhttp://topics.aaronteaches.com/?eid=5114552008-06-09T18:12:54+09:002008-06-09T09:12:54Z2008-06-09T09:12:54ZHello, Here is Ogden Nash on how sitting and standing influence our pay: People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up. I am sure there are exceptions, but this is generally true, isn't it? Ogden Nash was an Am...tom英語の引用
Here is Ogden Nash on how sitting and standing influence our pay:

People who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.

I am sure there are exceptions, but this is generally true, isn't it?

Ogden Nash was an American poet.

Best,

Tom


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