エイゴの時間 ♪ 音声付き英語学習サイト

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

Today, I'm going to talk about another idiom from Nespresso's new television ad.

When the ad begins, George Clooney is in a Nespresso store and a woman in red approaches him and speaks to him. Later in the story, it turns out the woman is married. And her husband, who seems to be a villan, accuses Clooney of fancying his wife. Oh, no! The husband says, "How are you going to make it up to me?"

When you have upset someone, you want to make it up to them. In other words, you want to do something good for them in order to become friends with them again. It's a way of saying you're sorry and asking for their forgiveness.

Now, how does Clooney make it up to the husband? Well, go see the ad and find out.

In the meantime, let me give you a quiz to make sure you get the phrase right. You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that is TRUE. Ready?

When someone says, "I'll make it up to you",

1. He is upset.

2. He is sorry.

3. He is worried.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

For many years, George Clooney has been asking us "Nespresso. What else?" and the coffee brand has just released a new television ad. Have you seen it?

In this new ad, Clooney doesn't ask us "What else?" Instead he says, "I wouldn't change a thing". He says it twice, first at the beginning then at the end of the spot. In between, he spends an eventful night.

When you say you wouldn't change a thing about something, it means you are happy with the way it is now. It can be anything, coffee, hairdo or even life. It's perfect. You don't want to change anything, even if you can. Clooney is saying the coffee is perfect the way it is and it doesn't change even after spending a hard night.

Now, let's practice the sentence together. Please repeat after me:

I wouldn't change a thing.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

I was working on a spreadsheet yesterday and something went wrong with my laptop. The screen started flickering. I was pretty sure it was the battery. So, I removed the battery and let the machine run on the AC adapter alone. The screen stopped flickering. Great. But it's just a quick fix. I don't want to keep running my laptop without a battery forever. Oh well. Batteries are consumable after all.

Anyhow, let's learn this expression today: Something is wrong with something. Let's say, your coffee machine isn't working. Something is wrong with your coffee machine. You can't start your car. Something is wrong with the engine. Something is wrong with my watch. It's running behind.

So, would you like to practice the sentence together? Please repeat after me.

Something is wrong with my computer.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

As I mentioned last week, I was in a bar with a friend of mine. We were talking about many different things. At one point we're talking about how to eat well and lose weight. We are the same age and we know very well that losing weight gets harder as you age.

Then I remembered an old saying, which goes: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. Just in case, a pauper is a very poor person. So, this saying means you should eat more in the morning, less at noon and even less for dinner. Do you agree?

Well. Honestly, I don't know this is scientifically true or just a myth. But I think this can make a good conversation piece.

So, would you like to practice the full sentence together? Please repeat after me.

Eat like a king in the morning, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

I was in a bar with a friend of mine. There was a gentleman standing behind me. From the way he spoke, I guessed he was from England. Anyhow, he was on the phone, complaining about poor reception. He was saying, "Hey, I've got bad reception here. Let me go outside. Hopefully I'll get better reception there."

Now, what does "poor" or "bad" reception mean? Well, take out your phone and look at the home screen. At the top-let corner, you'll see five bars or dots. Then it means you have good reception. When you see only two or three bars or dots, you have poor or bad reception. instead of bars or dots, the "No Service" message may appear. Then you're getting no reception.

Now. Would you like to practice the phrase together? Please repeat after me:

I have bad reception here.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

Today, I'm going to discuss the word "make". You make different things. You make ships and bridges. You make shoes. You make sandwiches. You make friends. You make trouble.

Now, let's learn to use the word "make" a little differently.

For example, you have a large piece of vintage fabric. It looks perfect for covering your bed. So, you would say, "Oh, this will make a beautiful bedspread!" In other words, the fabric is suitable for making a bedspread.

This expression can also be used for people when someone has the right qualities for a particular job or purpose. For example, you like kids. You're so patient and committed. You would make a good teacher. Or, you would make a good father.

Now. Would you like to practice the phrase together? Please repeat after me:

This fabric will make a beautiful bedspread!

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

I watched the movie "Changeling" on DVD. It's a Clint Eastwood movie starring Angelina Jolie. Clint Eastwood directed "Sully", telling the story behind the Miracle on the Hudson.

"Changeling" is also based on a true story of a mother searching for her missing child. Anyhow, I'm not going to discuss how the story goes and ends. Instead, let's learn a phrase from the movie.

There's a line in the movie which goes: You have trouble telling the real from the fantasy. To tell one from the other. If you can tell A from B, it means you can tell the difference between A and B. For example, if you know what's right and what's wrong, then you can tell right from wrong. If you're a coke drinker, you may be able to tell Coca-Cola from Pepsi. Now, I don't drive and I can't tell a station wagon from a minivan.

Now would you like to practice the phrase together? Please repeat after me:

I can't tell one from the other.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

Last week we discussed living by yourself. Living by yourself often means doing thing around the house by yourself.

Now, when I say "things around the house", I mean cleaning, cooking, laundry, grocery shopping and stuff like that. And these tasks are often called "household chores".

When you make a sentence about carrying out these tasks, you can use the verb "do" for almost all household chores. For example, you can say "you do the dishes", instead of saying "you wash the dishes". Likewise, you do the laundry. You do the ironing. You do the bathroom, which means "cleaning the bathroom". You do the floors. You do the garden. You do the groceries. Collectively, you do the household chores.

Now would you like to practice the phrase together? Please repeat after me:

I'll do the cooking, you'll do the dishes.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

A girlfriend of mine has just started living by herself again.

Now, living by yourself may sound awesome and exciting. It certainly gives you greater freedom and privacy. But there are pros and cons to it, of course. For example, you can talk to yourself without worrying about looking weird. But it also means you have no one to talk to. You never have to wait to use the bathroom. Then again it's always your turn to clean the bathroom. After all, living by yourself means more responsibility and caring for yourself. You've got to do things around the house all by yourself; cleaning, cooking, laundry, grocery shopping, and the like.

Now, just in case, to do something by yourself means to do it alone; you do it without help from anyone. So, living by yourself means living alone.

Now would you like to practice the phrase together? Please repeat after me:

I live by myself.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

During the Olympic Games in Rio I heard several athletes use the phrase "it was not my day" or "today's not my day" in their post-competition interviews.

Are you familiar with the phrase? You can say this when you're having a bad day or many things are going wrong. For example, you missed your bus, you're late for work. You forgot your lunch and lost your wallet. What a day! You sigh and say "It's not my day". You got a flat tire in the morning. Your phone broke in the afternoon. At the end of the day your boyfriend disappeared leaving a note saying "I need my space". All happened on the same day! It was just not your day.

Now would you like to try a quiz to make sure you get the phrase right? You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that is TRUE. Ready?

If you say "It's not your day", you're having

1. a wonderful day.

2. a terrible day.

3. a normal day.