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I was in a business meeting the other day. And a gentleman also attending the meeting said, "You can't compare apples to oranges". Are you familiar with the expression "apples and oranges"?

If two people or things are apples and oranges, they are fundamentally different and therefore not suited to comparison.

I'll give you some examples of how the phrase can be used in a sentence. It's no wonder John and Mary broke up. They are like apples and oranges. You can't compare classical music to jazz music. They're apples and oranges.

Interestingly, some people argue that apples and oranges are not that different. They're both fruits, about the same size and shape, both grow on trees and have seeds inside. 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?

If two things are apples and oranges,

1. they're no way different.

2. they're hardly different.

3. they're completely different.

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Are you familiar with the expression "throwing a wrench, or a monkey wrench, in the works"?

A wrench is a tool that is used to tighten or loosen nuts and bolts.

To throw or to put a wrench in the works means to disrupt, ruin, or cause problems to a plan, activity or project. You throw a wrench in the works in order to prevent something from happening as planned.

Now, you can throw a spanner in the works, instead of a wrench. What's the difference? Well, if Americans want to ruin something, they throw a wrench in it. If British people want to cause a problem to a plan, they throw a spanner in the works.

Generally speaking, if you throw a wrench in the works, you're likely to make someone or some people very upset, angry, unhappy or disappointed.

Now, would you like to try a quiz? I'll give you three options, please listen carefully and choose the one that is TRUE. Ready?

When you throw a wrench in the works, you want the plan to be:

1. successful

2. not successful

3. completed

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Dictionary.com named the word "pandemic" its Word of the Year. Interestingly, its users' choice was different. They chose the word "unprecedented" as the People's Choice 2020 Word of the Year.

Are you familiar with the word? If something is unprecedented, it has never happened or existed before. It's unexampled, unparalleled, unmatched, or very unusual.

Oftentimes we describe something such as a movie as unprecedented in order to emphasize that it's extremely great in quality, amount or scale.

Unfortunately, that's not the case here. Almost every week we see something unprecedented, that is not exactly welcomed. And ironically, the word is so often used that it's become a cliché now.

Personally, I'm preparing for an unprecedented New Year's Eve as I won't be able to get together with my mother, my sister and her daughter and their dog this year.

Anyhow, this will be the last update of 2020. And Kaori and I would like to thank you for staying with us and supporting us throughout the year. Thank you so much. We wish you a quiet, but happy, healthy, brand new year.

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According to recent news from Reuters, Australia has secured to date 135 million vaccine doses for COVID-19 from multiple companies including Novavax, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and CSL. And Prime Minister Scott Morrison said to reporters they're not putting all their eggs in one basket.

Now, are you familiar with the idiom, not putting all your eggs in one basket?

If you put all your eggs in one basket and drop that basket on the floor, what will happen? The eggs will break. You'll lose them all instantly.

For example, as an investor, if you buy stocks, you want to diversify your portfolio. Putting all your eggs in one basket is too risky. Likewise, as a student, it's not a good idea to submit only one college application.

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

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

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Recently, I read an article from the Guardian which was about the Oxford English Dictionary being unable to choose one single word as the word of the year for 2020. Instead, the dictionary announced its words of an "unprecedented" year.

It goes without saying that the list includes a log of coronavirus-related words and phrases, including "pandemic", "lockdown", "shelter-in-place", "face masks" and "key workers".

I found some interesting numbers in the article. One example is the use of the word "pandemic" has increased in frequency by more than 57,000% this year compared with 2019. Likewise, the phrase "following the science" has also increased in use by more than 1000%.

Other words in working habits also seen tremendous growth in use since March, according to the article, including remote and remotely, workation and staycation.

Now, would you like to try a quiz? I'll give you three options, please listen carefully and choose the one that is CORRECT. Ready?

As the word of the year for 2020, the Oxford English Dictionary has chosen:

1. unprecedented

2. coronavirus

3. multiple words as words of an unprecedented year

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Are you familiar with the expression "the name of the game"? It's not about Minecraft or Fortnite.

"The name of the game" is an idiom which means something that you must have or achieve if you want to be successful at a particular activity or business.

For example, what is the most important element in doing business? Some say it's credit. Others say quality, and still others say price. In business, the name of the game is credit. Quality is the name of the game. Price is the name of the game.

There are some important elements in learning English, such as determination, motivation, practice, in certain cases, time and money. In my opinion, the name of the game in learning a foreign language is setting the right goal.

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

In business, the name of the game is credit.

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Today, I'm going to talk about the idiom "in a nutshell". Are you familiar with the phrase?

When you say "in a nutshell", it means that you want to describe something or tell a story in brief. Instead of using a lot of words, you want to use a few words to describe it.

In other words, you don't want to tell the whole story. Instead, you want to make a long story short. Then you can use this phrase "in a nutshell".

Vocabulary.com gives us an interesting example: it goes….

If you don't want to tell your friend the whole long story about how your hair came to be dyed purple instead of blonde, you can sum it up by saying, "In a nutshell, I bought the wrong hair dye."

Now, would you like to try a quiz? I'll give you three options, please listen carefully and choose the one that is CORRECT. Ready?

"in a nutshell" means:

1. boldly

2. differently

3. briefly

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I was reading a book the other day, when I came across an expression "behind closed doors". Are you familiar with the phrase?

Let's imagine: There's a room in front of you. If the door is open, you can see what people are doing in the room; you can hear what they are talking about; you know what's happening there.

If the door is closed, on the contrary, you can't see inside. You don't know what's going on there.

So, if something takes places behind closed doors, it's done in secret. It's hidden from public view.

For example, a deal may be negotiated behind closed doors. People may meet behind closed doors. Discussions can happen behind closed doors.

Now, would you like to try a quiz? I'll give you three options, please listen carefully and choose the one that is CORRECT. Ready?

If something happens behind closed doors, it's done:

1. privately.

2. publicly.

3. quietly.

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Are you familiar with the expression "to put something on the back burner"?

Let's think of a kitchen stove. Mine is a two-burner gas stove. Two burners are placed side by side. If you live in a small apartment, you may have a single burner stove. My mother has, on the contrary, a three-burner gas stove with two front burners and one back burner.

When you put something on the back burner, it means that you decide not to deal with it until later, because it's not urgent or immediately important.

Instead of the verb "put", this idiom is typically used with other verbs like "leave" or "be-verb". You leave something on the back burner. Something is on the back burner.

Now, would you like to try a quiz? I'll give you three options, please listen carefully and choose the one that is CORRECT. Ready?

You put something on the back burner because:

1. it's important.

2. it can wait.

3. it's urgent.

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Just imagine: There's half a glass of water in front of you. Now, do you see it as half full, or half empty?

It's a common question used as a psychological litmus test to determine whether someone is an optimist or a pessimist. If you focus on the full side of the glass, obviously you're an optimist. If you're more prone to look at the empty side of it, then you're pessimistic.

Let's say, your company is in trouble. Many of your co-workers are being laid off. You've managed to stay on the payroll but you've got to take a pay cut.

Now, if you see the glass as half empty, then you're likely to feel sad about having a smaller paycheck. Contrarily, if you see the glass as hall full, you're likely to say, "Oh well. It's not the end of the world. At least I've still got my job".

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

Is the glass half full, or half empty?