Welcome to
The Point
The First All English Newspaper in Kumamoto City, Japan
Exchange emails with a native speaker of English
If you really want to improve your English skills, you should practice exchanging emails with a native speaker. Answer the questions below and send your answers to one of our staff members. You can also practice your speaking by skype or meeting in person.
Topic: Money
1. What are the first 4 things you would buy if you won the lottery?
2. Are you good at saving your money?
3. Are you good at budgeting your money?
4. When you go shopping, do you compare prices?
5. What is the maximum you would lend a friend?
6. Do you enjoy shopping?
7. Would you spend $5,000 for a name brand leather jacket?
8. Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?
Send your answers to someone on our staff. We will correct your English and answer you. Write the staff’s name in the subject. Email: bluehillesl@yahoo.com
Male Female
David (USA) Sharon (Canada)
Randall (USA) Lisa (Canada)
Grammar 1
doesn't make sense = strange
Ex. It doesn't make sense to learn English from a Japanese teacher.
1. It doesn't make sense to wash your car in the rain.
2. It doesn't make sense to buy 3 bicycles for yourself.
3. It doesn't make sense to bring your headphones to a concert.
4. It doesn't make sense to buy 3 watches.
Grammar 2
lose your temper - get really angry
Ex. I lost my temper when the man touched me.
1. Don't lose your temper if she is late.
2. Don't lose your temper if her child spills something in your car.
3. Try not to lose your temper if he asks you a stupid question.
4. My mom lost her temper when I didn't clean my room.
Foreigner's Voice
I was sitting in my apartment one afternoon and I was getting hungry. I decided to go to Hotto Motto which was close to my apartment. It was such a beautiful and sunny day, I decided to walk to get my food. On my way, I saw a police car pass me. I just kept walking and to my surprise, the same police car had made a u-turn. The two police officers in the car turned the red and blue lights on and pulled in front of me. I wasn't nervous because I had not done anything illegal. The first police officer got out of the car and walked up to me. He asked me for my passport of foreigner card. I asked the police officer, "What did I do wrong?" I had only been in Japan for a few months so I could not speak much Japanese. The second police officer got out of the car and told me that I had not done anything wrong. The officers were just stopping me to check my papers to make sure I was in Japan legally. I thought this was not a good way to welcome foreigners into Japan. While I was standing there with the police car lights on, the Japanese in their cars passed by and slowing down wondering what I had done wrong. I felt like a criminal even though I had not done anything wrong. It was so embarrassing so I wondered how many Japanese citizens know that Japanese police stop foreigners at random to check their papers. I didn't feel good so I never walked anywhere again. I hate when Japanese people ask me if I like living in Japan because this bad memory always comes to mind.
English Idioms
Idiom 1 - beat around the bush = avoid saying what you want to say
Example:
Sam: I want to ask you a question. Is it ok?
Ben: Don't beat around the bush and just ask me.
Idiom 2 - down to earth = sensible
Example:
Jill: I like the new boss. She seems down to earth.
Ray: She is down to earth. She made a lot of sense.
Idiom 3 - curiosity killed the cat = wanting to know too much can get you in trouble
Example:
Charles: Are you married? I saw you with someone yesterday.
Rachel: Curiosity killed the cat. You don't need to know.
Idiom 4 - elbow grease - physical work
Example:
Student: It's hard to clean the car.
Teacher: Use some elbow grease and you will do it.
June 2022
American Culture
There are a lot of restaurants that have a dress code. Men must wear a suit and tie. Ladies must wear a dress, stockings and shoes. Couples like to have a romantic dinner sometimes without a lot of children at the restaurant. Also, since there are mostly adults as couples, the foods are for adults. There is plenty of wine for a romantic dinner. The tables are spaced apart for more privacy. These are perfect restaurants to go to on a first date. They are not noisy and dimly lit for romance. They are also a good place to go to propose to your girlfriend. Married couples may go to celebrate their wedding anniversary or to just have a nice quiet dinner away from their children.
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri on February 1, 1902. Later he moved to Kansas with his mother. He loved to visit his grandmother who lived nearby. She told him interesting and thrilling stories about his grandparents. He soon discovered that the wonderful world of books could bring him great pleasure. He loved to read everything like novels, plays and poetry. Hughes also began to write poetry.
Langston Hughes could not make his living by writing until he was about thirty. Until then he had many different jobs. He was a waiter’s assistant, clerk, waiter and even a cook. During this time he traveled to Mexico, Haiti, France and Italy. He was encouraged by other people to keep writing and sending his work to publishers.
Langston Hughes is best known for his poetry. His poems about people’s joys and sorrows are enjoyed by young and old. In addition to his poetry, Hughes has written novels, operas and plays. His writings have been translated into Chinese, French, Japanese and many other languages. He received many awards and honors for his outstanding writing. In 1953 he received the Ainsfeld Wolfe Award and in 1960 he won the Spingarn Medal, awarded every year to an African American person of outstanding achievement.
I went to prison at 21 years as a transgender woman. I sued the Georgia Department of Corrections and won my right to hormones and laser hair removal. Having witnessed my mother's murder at 6, I grew up as a ward of the State of Maryland and had a traumatic, painful childhood full of abuse and disappointment. At 17, I ran away to Georgia and used sex work to get by - something I'd done since I was 14. Eventually I found myself facing felony charges for something that happened when I was 19 and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. In 2012, I entered the Georgia prison system. When I was a preteen, I knew something was wrong with me. I've identified as trans since I was 11. I began bartering for my girlfriend's birth control pills in high school, wishing the estrogen in the pills would hyperfeminize me - or at the very least keep me from being masculinized by male puberty. While growing up in foster homes, I struggled with my identity. At 19, I was caught up in drugs and sex work which led to my arrest for pandering and pimping a 17-year-old.
As I near my 2025 release, I'm filled with excitement and anticipation. I've earned a degree in paralegal studies while in prison, a certificate in civil litigation and completed a degree in theology.
Staff: Alright Mr. Geller, right this way. So how dark do you want to be? We have 1, 2 or 3.
Ross: Well, I like how you look. What are you?
Staff: Puerto Rican.
Ross: 2, I think a 2
Staff: You're going to face the red light. When the light goes on the spraying is about to start so close your eyes. When the spraying stops, count to 5, pat yourself down to avoid drip marks, then turn around so we can get your back. Got it?
Ross: Spray, count, pat, turn, spray, count and pat.
Staff: Wow! You catch on quick.
Ross: I have a Phd. You sprayed my front twice.
Staff: You never turned?
Ross: No, I barely got to 3 Mississippi.
Staff: Mississippi? I said count to 5.
Ross: Mississippilessly? Well, how bad is it?
Staff: Not bad yet, but it keep getting darker for the next 4 hours.
Ross: So how dark is it going to get?
Staff: You got sprayed with two 2s.
Ross: I'm a 4.
Staff: Yea, but your back is a zero. You're going to want to even that out.
Ross: Really?
Staff: You might want to get back in there.
Ross: OK. The same thing happened again.
Staff: You got two more 2s?
Ross: I'm an 8.