[246] Florida cities hit by Hurricane Irma

TRAVEL NEWS WIRE…

Florida cities hit by Hurricane Irma The cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Naples, Tampa/St. Petersburg and the state capital of Tallahassee have all been hit with major flooding and storm damage from Hurricane Irma. Almost 13 million people were left without electrical power. Authorities promised that power would be restored in the state by September 17th. Most major airports in Florida restarted operations on Sept. 11th or 12th. The U.S. Navy sent the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and several other ships to assist with aid efforts.

MEMO
restore power: (電気)取り戻す
flooding: 洪水

HEALTH AND TECH NEWS

Popular Tokyo zoo hosts anti-suicide promotion The days just before and after September First show a spike in child suicide due to the start of the school year. In response, the popular Ueno Zoo in Tokyo held an advertising campaign telling young people that they can see the animals instead of seeing people. The zoo posted a tweet saying “If there’s no place to escape, come to the zoo.”

Various NPOs and school groups have been urging civil society to be more proactive in preventing suicides. The topic is relatively taboo in society and government. The Japanese government posts numerous notices about preventing terrorism, but few notices about suicides. Japan has almost 30,000 suicides every year, meaning 300,000 people in the past decade. No-one has been killed inside Japan by terrorism in more than ten years.

MEMO
tweet (noun/verb): Twitter( ツイッター)短いメッセージ ツイート
spike (verb/noun): スパイク波形・波形の尖頭
taboo subject (adj): 禁句
civil society (group) (adj): 市民団体

THIS WEEK’S NATURAL PHRASE

get rid of it.

Shane: I just bought a new computer, but now I don’t know what to do with the old one. It works fine, so it’s a shame to just get rid of it. And if I want to throw it away, I have to pay a recycling fee.

Rebecca: I have a cousin who just started university. He needs a computer, but he doesn’t have much money. Instead of throwing your computer away, perhaps you could give it to him.

Explanation: The phrase “get rid of ( X )” means to throw something away, or to erase something, or to put something far away from you. We can say “Get rid of that old chair,” but we can also say “Get rid of that last sentence in your speech. It isn’t interesting.”

MEMO
get rid of (something): ( ) 取り除く
it’s a shame: 残念です・もったいない

THIS WEEK’S MEDICAL PHRASE

bad posture

Dr. Wu: The patient is complaining of severe neck pain and lower back pain.

Doctor Horiuchi: Yes, I see from the examination that he has very bad posture. I think he spends too many hours each day slumped in an office chair and staring at a computer screen.

Doctor Wu: Right. I’ll advise him to change his work habits, and I’ll also recommend some exercises to help strengthen his spinal muscles.

Explanation: The term “bad posture” means that the person is not standing straight, and that their back is curved in a bad way.

MEMO
(bad) posture: (悪い)姿勢
slump: 前かがみになる

THIS WEEK’S BUSINESS/EMAIL PHRASE

comply with ( X )

Lila: A new law has come out stating that all workers in the paint factory have to use protective helmets and masks with air filters. Please tell the factory managers that we need to comply with the new regulations.

Explanation: The term “comply with ( X )” means to follow a rule, or make something that fits the rules. We can say “the size of the paper complies with the standard envelope size.” We could also say “The new air bag complies with the new law for the year 2019.”

MEMO
comply (with): 従う・( X )に準拠する