Be-and-Me

You are "Go" for the Moon

40 years ago today, mankind started an amazing journey. Watch the Apollo 11 launch here.

In English, if we say we are “over the moon," it means we are very, very happy and/or excited. For example, “I was over the moon when I passed the EIKEN Test!”

Eiken Interview Test this Sunday, July 12th

The interviews for the Eiken Test in Practical English Proficiency are being held this Sunday, July 12th. One of our students has been working hard to pass the first grade test. She’s already passed the written test and will be doing the interview on Sunday. She recommended a great site where you can watch virtual interviews. If you are doing the interview this weekend, you should check out http://www.eiken.or.jp/eikentimes/virtual/index.html as part of your final preparation.

Good luck, Mieko! And good luck to everyone who’s taking the test!

スクールカレンダー& イベント

みなさん、こんにちは！オンライン”スクールカレンダー＆お知らせ”のページをアップデイトしました！当月のサービスレッスン日やキッズクラスの日程、祝日やイベント案内が日本語で確認できます。

当校のホームページ（http://www.be-and-me.com/）の“スクールカレンダー”または "生徒のみなさんへ" をクリックして下さい！または直接下記のアドレスへリンクして下さい！（携帯電話からも可能です）

スクールカレンダー :

http://beandme.blog6.fc2.com/blog-category-3.html

生徒のみなさんへ :

http://beandme.blog6.fc2.com/blog-category-5.html

よろしくお願いします！

It's as Clean as a Whistle!

A whistle is just a sound – it can’t get dirty. In English, if we say something is “as clean as a whistle,” we mean it is very, very clean.

Here’s an example sentence: “I spent all morning cleaning up my room. Now, it’s as clean as a whistle!”

Recently, Mayumi wrote a very interesting story about whistles on her Blog. You can check it out at: Mのつぶやき・その２

スクールカレンダー& イベント

みなさん、こんにちは！オンライン”スクールカレンダー＆お知らせ”のページをアップデイトしました！当月のサービスレッスン日やキッズクラスの日程、祝日やイベント案内が日本語で確認できます。

当校のホームページ（http://www.be-and-me.com/）の“スクールカレンダー”または "生徒のみなさんへ" をクリックして下さい！または直接下記のアドレスへリンクして下さい！（携帯電話からも可能です）

スクールカレンダー :

http://beandme.blog6.fc2.com/blog-category-3.html

生徒のみなさんへ :

http://beandme.blog6.fc2.com/blog-category-5.html

よろしくお願いします！

The Star Trek Adventure Continues

On September 8^th, 1966, the very first episode of Star Trek was aired on American TV. I was nearly 3 years old. American TV shows were usually broadcast 3 or 4 years later in Australia. I was 6 or 7 when Star Trek had its first run in Australia. It was groundbreaking [trying new things] TV, addressing such taboo [not usually talked about] subjects for the time as sexual equality & liberation, racial descrimination and integration, the futility of war, and even the explotation of the working class – dangerous topics for the establishment [government & big businesses] to allow in the middle of the Cold and Vietnam Wars. (As I was only 6 or 7, these topics were not the main attraction – I was mostly interested in the monsters!) For this reason, the program ran very late – around 11:00pm (just before the TV stations used to turn off for the night!). I used to beg my parents to let me stay up and watch it. Sometimes they did!

The original series only ran for 3 years. However, apparentlty I wasn't the only 6 or 7-year-old begging his parents to let him stay up late. After the show was cancelled, it just became more and more popular. Eventually, it was the basis of 5 new TV series and 10 movies! (Click here for more info in English or Click here for more info in Japanese)

And it's not over yet! Today the newest movie starts in Japan. Whether you're a big fan or totally new to the series, I recommend you “boldly go” to the movies this weekend to check it out.

Captain Kirk & Mr Spock – then and now!

For photos of the 35th anniversary of Star Trek party we held in 2001 (Click here!)

Live long and prosper!

Click here for Japanese translation!

Happy Birthday, Batman!

I was talking to a student recently about the new Star Trek movie (more about that soon!). I mentioned to her that we held a party to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Star Trek way back in 2001 (Click here for photos!). It suddenly occurred to me that this year is the 70th anniversary of Batman. That’s right! The first Batman comic was published in May, 1939 – which means Batman is 70! Happy birthday, Batman!

The cover of the first ever Batman comic (Copyright DC Comics)