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Are you familiar with the word "symptom"?

A symptom is a sign that you have an illness. For example, if you sneeze a lot, if your nose is runny, or if your eyes are itchy, it's likely that you have hay fever. These are common symptoms of hay fever.

Likewise, a cough is a symptom of a cold, the sign that tells you that you may have a cold.

Most cold symptoms go away after a few days. A lingering cough may mean something else. It could be the symptom of pneumonia.

If you have a high fever and body aches, in addition to coughing and sneezing, you should suspect that you've got the flu because a high fever and severe pain throughout your whole body are the symptoms of influenza.

If your tooth aches, you know you have a cavity. A toothache is one of the most common cavity symptoms.

Now. Would you like to try a quiz? You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that is NOT true. Ready?

1. A cough is a symptom of a cold.

2. A toothache is a symptom of a cavity.

3. Pneumonia is a symptom of a cold.

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According to the meteorological agency, cedar pollen counts could be twice as high this year compared to last year. Bad news but I think it's true. My nose can tell. I have hay fever.

If you're suffering from hay fever, you are allergic to pollen. Actually, people can be allergic to different things. If cats make you sneeze, you may be allergic to cats. When I eat shrimp, I get a rash around my neck. I think I have an allergy to shrimp. A friend of mine has a metal allergy. She must be careful about the jewelry she wears against her skin.

Now, I guess you've noticed there are several ways of saying you have hay fever. First, use be-verb and say you “are allergic to" pollen. Secondly, use the verb “have" and say you “have an allergy to pollen". You can also say you “have a pollen allergy".

I'll give you two example sentences today. Let's practice together. Repeat after me:

I'm allergic to pollen.

I have an allergy to pollen.

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Today I'm going to talk about the difference between preparing dinner and preparing for dinner. Are they different? Yes, they are different.

First, to prepare dinner means to cook dinner. You prepare a meal. You prepare breakfast. You prepare lunch. The word "prepare" in these sentences can be replaced by the word “cook" or the word “make". For example, instead of saying "I'm preparing dinner for the family", you can say "I'm cooking dinner for my family".

To prepare for dinner, on the other hand, means to prepare yourself for dinner. When mom tells the kids to prepare for dinner, they're expected to put their phones down or toys away, wash their hands, and sit at the table. Preparing for dinner could even include changing your clothes or setting the table.

Now. Would you like to try a quiz? You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that is TRUE. Ready?

To help your mother prepare for dinner;

1. You must be a good cook.

2. You take the cups and plates to the sink.

3. You put the knives and forks on the table.

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When you're too tired to cook or just don't feel like cooking, would you rather eat out or order in? As you probably know, "eat out" means to have a meal in a restaurant instead of at home. "Dine out" has a similar meaning, but specifically, it means to eat dinner in a restaurant, and it sounds a little more formal than eat out.

Now, are you familiar with the expression to "order in"? To order in means to order food that is ready to eat and ask for it to be delivered to your home or work. You order in a pizza. You order in saba noodles. You order in burgers.

Personally I always prefer to prepare meals myself. I rarely order in but I do eat out a couple of times a month, sometimes with friends, other times by myself.

Anyhow, I'll give you an example sentence. Let's practice together. Please repeat after me:

Would you rather eat out or order in?

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Last week we discussed the difference between “reservation" and “appointment". Today, you're going to learn the expression “it makes no difference".

If something makes no difference to you, it doesn't matter to you, it's not important to you. For example, your friend asks you “Which day works better for you, Friday or Saturday?" Either day is fine with you. So you say, “It makes no difference to me. It's up to you."

Another example. your boyfriend asks you “do you want to eat out or order in?" Again, either way is fine. So you say “It makes no difference to me. I just don't want to cook".

Now, instead of saying “it makes no difference", you can also say “it makes little difference", or “it doesn't make any difference".

Anyhow, I'll give you an example sentence. Let's practice together. Please repeat after me:

It makes no difference to me.

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Today, you're going to learn two similar but different words: reservation and appointment. Both words are used when you schedule something. Then, what's the difference between reservation and appointment?

Let's look at the word “reservation" first. You make a reservation to reserve a “place". When you plan to have dinner at a fine restaurant, travel by air, or stay at a hotel, you make a reservation. You reserve a table, a seat, or a room. You keep a place for future use.

What about “appointment"? You make an appointment with a “person". When you see a doctor, a dentist, or a beautician, or arrange a business meeting with someone, you make an appointment. Now, use the word “appointment" only for business meetings. You don't make an appointment with friends. You make plans with friends.

Now. Would you like to try a quiz? You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that is TRUE. Ready?

1. When you have your hair cut, you make a reservation.

2. When you have your hair cut, you make an appointment.

3. When you visit your friend, you make an appointment.

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Today, I'm going to talk about the verb “believe". I'll focus on the difference between “believe" and “believe in".

First, if you believe something, you think it's true, correct, or real. When I say “I believe you", that means I believe what you say, or what you say is true. When I say “I don't believe that story", I don't think the story is true.

Now, “believe in" has two meanings. First, if you believe in something, you think it exists. You believe in god. You don't believe in miracles. Do you believe in life after death?

To believe in also means to be confident that something is good or right or effective. For example, you're not on Facebook. You're not on Twitter. You don't believe in SNS. John doesn't believe in marriage. Naturally, he's not married.

Now, I'll give you an example sentence. Let's practice together. Please repeat after me:

Do you believe in life after death?

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When you make a reservation with a restaurant but doesn't show up for it, you're a no-show. We learned that last week.

Now, you reserve a table for yourself and your boyfriend. You arrive at the restaurant five minutes ahead of time, but your boyfriend never shows. He is a no-show, and you get stood up.

To stand someone up means to fail to show up for a meeting or a date. For example, your boyfriend stood you up time and again, so you decided to break up with him. You stood your girlfriend up once, and she never forgave you. She can't stand being stood up.

Sadly, this can happen to just anyone. If you got stood up at a restaurant, what would you do? Would you rather eat alone, or leave with your stomach empty?

Anyhow, I'll give you an example sentence. Let's practice together. Remember, you feel disappointed, embarrassed and upset. Please repeat after me:

He stood me up!

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I read a news article discussing the growing “no-show" trend in the restaurant industry. Are you familiar with the term “no-show"?

No shows are customers who make reservations or appointments and then don't show up for them. No-show diners are bad news for any restaurant owners. The consequences can be dire when they're in large parties. Some estimates say no-shows and last-minute cancellations cost 200 billion yen annually in lost revenue and wasted food.

The article features a new solution introduced by a credit card company to deal with this age-old problem by using LINE, which is a popular messaging app.

Well. I'm sure technology can help, but so can just a single phone call. After all, no-shows mean no manners. What do you think?

Now. Why don't you try a quiz? You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that is TRUE. Ready?

1. No-show customers don't show up for their reservations.

2. No-show customers show up late for their reservations.

3. No-shows are a new problem caused by technology.

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One of the first things a lot of people do at the start of a year is to take a look at the calendar and mark all the long weekends in the year.

When a holiday falls on a Friday or Monday, or both, we have a long weekend. If you want to be specific about how many days you get off from work or school, you can say 3-day weekend or 4-day weekend.

In Japan, when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, we get the following Monday off, which also constitutes a long weekend. But generally, this rule doesn't apply to Saturday holidays. So, when a holiday falls on a Saturday, we feel somehow ripped off.

Anyhow, in 2018, three holidays fall on a Saturday and we have nine long weekends, which is slightly better news especially for travelers because there were four Saturday holidays and eight long weekends in 2017.

Now. Would you like to try a quiz? You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that is TRUE. Ready?

1. When a public holiday falls on a Saturday, we get the following Monday off.

2. Three public holidays fell on a Saturday in 2017.

3. A long weekend includes Saturday and Sunday with at least one extra day added.