Halloween in Carbondale
In Carbondale, many people enjoy Halloween. I look forward to it very much, because we don’t have Halloween in my country, Japan, so this year Halloween is the first experience for me. I don’t know what happens on Halloween. Then, last Friday, I enjoyed Halloween early in the bar, and I was surprised at one thing. It was costumes. It was one of the most important things for me, and I also bought one. And I thought I bought a colorful one. However, there were a lot of people with more colorful costumes in the bar. Everyone wore various kinds of costumes and all of them were very unique. It was still a week before of Halloween, but I didn’t feel it at all. I plan to go to Halloween party on this weekend with my costume. I want to try to be more unique and enjoy Halloween!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Summary Response #2
A Threat to Whooping Crane
In the REDORBIT NEWS (2008) article, “Wind Farms Threaten Endangered Whooping Crane,” the author states that wind farms are the new causes that bring about death or injury of North American whooping crane. First, there are a lot of wind farms around their routes of migration. They create large wind turbines and cranes can crash into them when they land or take off during migration. The main cause of death for the whooping cranes is crashing into power lines. If cranes are safe, their migration stopover habitats can be lost. Second, now wind farms are growing, and many employees of the companies don’t want to see injured crane anymore. However wind farms are required for clean and renewable electricity in the U.S now. Therefore they are supposed to increase more in the route of migration. Finally, whooping crane is an endangered species. Increasing the number of wind farms can cause extinction, so it should be stopped. Today how to protect whooping crane from wind farms’ impact is discussed.
In the world, there are endangered birds for various reasons, for example air pollution, climate changes and loss of habitat. Now we have a new reason for extinction of birds like whooping crane that is threatened by wind farms. Our activities which affect wild lives are increasing more and more, and the activities are important for our lives. So it’s difficult to solve this problem. We have to know reasons for extinction and compare the importance of birds’ lives with that of our high quality lives in solving the problem.
First of all, we should know what we do to birds’ lives. Today all we know is that increasing human activities threaten them greatly and some species of birds have died out already. We usually don’t notice that birds are threatened until the problem is serious, because we don’t kill them directly. A wind farm wouldn’t seem to be dangerous to birds, but in fact, it takes their habitat away and extinction results from it. They rarely die out in nature without our activities, so it should be thought that we kill them. By thinking like that, our thoughts for birds' extinction should change.
Second, we have to consider whether high quality lives are more important than birds’ lives. We cause factors which bring about threat of extinction of birds one after another to have high quality lives. In fact, they make our lives developed and we are accustomed to using them, so it’s difficult to live without them now. And we still now try to create more convenient lives. However, on the other hand, birds fall victim to our greed. It’s a big problem for wildlife because the extinction of a kind of animal can collapse another animal’s ecosystem. We need to consider what happens and precede safety of their lives before we think about developing our lives.
Finally, protecting birds and helping them recover from crisis of extinction are our responsibilities. We live with wild animals in this world, so it’s impossible for us not to be concerned with them. In addition, only humans can collapse their ecosystems contrary to nature, so we need to care about them. However we have threatened them already. Now we have to try to help birds as soon as possible and pay attention to others. They are all things we can do to make up for their sacrifice.
In conclusion, human activities which make our lives convenient can threaten birds’ lives. This problem has already been serious, and it’s very hard to solve it because the cause of the problem is our activities. However we have only one choice which is to prevent factors from threatening them even if the factors make our lives useful. It’s difficult to precede bird’s lives, but birds can live freely by our effort to care about them.
Reference
REDORBIT NEWS. (2008, February 29). Wind Farms Threaten Endangered Whooping Crane. Retrieved October 28, 2008, from http://www.redorbit.com/news/display/?id=1275521
In the REDORBIT NEWS (2008) article, “Wind Farms Threaten Endangered Whooping Crane,” the author states that wind farms are the new causes that bring about death or injury of North American whooping crane. First, there are a lot of wind farms around their routes of migration. They create large wind turbines and cranes can crash into them when they land or take off during migration. The main cause of death for the whooping cranes is crashing into power lines. If cranes are safe, their migration stopover habitats can be lost. Second, now wind farms are growing, and many employees of the companies don’t want to see injured crane anymore. However wind farms are required for clean and renewable electricity in the U.S now. Therefore they are supposed to increase more in the route of migration. Finally, whooping crane is an endangered species. Increasing the number of wind farms can cause extinction, so it should be stopped. Today how to protect whooping crane from wind farms’ impact is discussed.
In the world, there are endangered birds for various reasons, for example air pollution, climate changes and loss of habitat. Now we have a new reason for extinction of birds like whooping crane that is threatened by wind farms. Our activities which affect wild lives are increasing more and more, and the activities are important for our lives. So it’s difficult to solve this problem. We have to know reasons for extinction and compare the importance of birds’ lives with that of our high quality lives in solving the problem.
First of all, we should know what we do to birds’ lives. Today all we know is that increasing human activities threaten them greatly and some species of birds have died out already. We usually don’t notice that birds are threatened until the problem is serious, because we don’t kill them directly. A wind farm wouldn’t seem to be dangerous to birds, but in fact, it takes their habitat away and extinction results from it. They rarely die out in nature without our activities, so it should be thought that we kill them. By thinking like that, our thoughts for birds' extinction should change.
Second, we have to consider whether high quality lives are more important than birds’ lives. We cause factors which bring about threat of extinction of birds one after another to have high quality lives. In fact, they make our lives developed and we are accustomed to using them, so it’s difficult to live without them now. And we still now try to create more convenient lives. However, on the other hand, birds fall victim to our greed. It’s a big problem for wildlife because the extinction of a kind of animal can collapse another animal’s ecosystem. We need to consider what happens and precede safety of their lives before we think about developing our lives.
Finally, protecting birds and helping them recover from crisis of extinction are our responsibilities. We live with wild animals in this world, so it’s impossible for us not to be concerned with them. In addition, only humans can collapse their ecosystems contrary to nature, so we need to care about them. However we have threatened them already. Now we have to try to help birds as soon as possible and pay attention to others. They are all things we can do to make up for their sacrifice.
In conclusion, human activities which make our lives convenient can threaten birds’ lives. This problem has already been serious, and it’s very hard to solve it because the cause of the problem is our activities. However we have only one choice which is to prevent factors from threatening them even if the factors make our lives useful. It’s difficult to precede bird’s lives, but birds can live freely by our effort to care about them.
Reference
REDORBIT NEWS. (2008, February 29). Wind Farms Threaten Endangered Whooping Crane. Retrieved October 28, 2008, from http://www.redorbit.com/news/display/?id=1275521
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Fluency #3
The best ways to learn languages
When you start to learn new languages, you should think about the ways to study before you start to study. If you choose a bad way, it takes a very long time to master languages, or it’s very hard for you to study for you. So you should know the following ways. First, you can study languages at cram school, especially a language school. There are foreign teachers in most language schools so you can meet native speakers regularly at school. The second way is watching movies and TV shows or listening to music in foreign languages you want to learn. If you like to watch them, it’s the best way for you. You don’t feel that you are studying languages because it’s like your hobby. By this way, you can come to listen to the languages easily. Finally, you should make friends who are native speakers. You can improve listening skill and speaking skill more quickly than other ways because you have to use languages whenever you are with them. It’s apparently hard, but they are your friends. So you can talk about various things, such as your interests, your trouble and your love. The more time you spend with them, the more fluently your can speak languages. Thus, you can learn languages in various ways, but these are the best ways for you. So you have to choose a way carefully, and then you can study languages while enjoying and mastering them quickly.
When you start to learn new languages, you should think about the ways to study before you start to study. If you choose a bad way, it takes a very long time to master languages, or it’s very hard for you to study for you. So you should know the following ways. First, you can study languages at cram school, especially a language school. There are foreign teachers in most language schools so you can meet native speakers regularly at school. The second way is watching movies and TV shows or listening to music in foreign languages you want to learn. If you like to watch them, it’s the best way for you. You don’t feel that you are studying languages because it’s like your hobby. By this way, you can come to listen to the languages easily. Finally, you should make friends who are native speakers. You can improve listening skill and speaking skill more quickly than other ways because you have to use languages whenever you are with them. It’s apparently hard, but they are your friends. So you can talk about various things, such as your interests, your trouble and your love. The more time you spend with them, the more fluently your can speak languages. Thus, you can learn languages in various ways, but these are the best ways for you. So you have to choose a way carefully, and then you can study languages while enjoying and mastering them quickly.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Summary Response #1
Birds are dying out now
In the Martin Mittelstaedt’s (2008) article entitled “Black clouds on the horizon for birds of the world; From field sparrows to boreal chickadees, 20 of the most common species in North America are being decimated, report warns” the author states many species of birds are in trouble around the world. In the past 40 years, more than half of the population of birds has decreased in the U.S. Also many migratory species have faced the decline of population. The well-known species of birds such as bald eagles, whooping cranes and peregrine falcons are recovering from the problem of extinction due to bans on toxic pesticides. However the reason they are decreasing is not known exactly. In Canada’s boreal forest, the breed such as the evening grosbeak and rusty blackbird are decreasing. We have to know about what causes extinction more. The problem is found around the world and it has gotten worse and worse quickly. Until now, 153 birds species have died out and the rate of extinction will be higher in the future. In the world, there are 10,000 places such as breeding areas and sites for migratory birds. In Canada, there are about 600 places for birds and the government protects them. Now many birds are facing extinction because of the loss of habitat. Now some species of birds barely live and they have to cope with humans to survive.
The extinction of birds is occurring around the world. Now the problem is more serious and some species have died out already. It is difficult that birds take over the problem and recover by themselves. We have to know about the problem, causes and solutions. However we don’t know the detail of causes. Also, we can’t notice even that species of birds, which we don’t know are endangered. By knowing them, we can solve the problem.
The problem is similar to the problems of other animals. We have many problems about animals now. Of these problems, the problems about birds are important because so many species have deteriorated already. At first, the species of birds which are not known well because their population was not large, faced the problem. We did not know it so we did not do anything. Now, the damaged species are increasing and we finally noticed the problem. It is too late for trying to solve it, but we must do every thing we can do to help birds.
Various kinds of birds have died out and the reasons for it are almost the same. The most reasons are the loss of habitat. Some kinds of birds have the habit of migrating between their habitats. However, their habitats are being lost because of exploitation of colonies and deforestation, so they don’t have places to go. As a result, these kinds of birds can’t find places to live and they are finally endangered.
Are there solutions for the problem? In nature, animals have the rules of nature. They live and some of them die out under rules. In this case, however, human activities such as exploitation of colonies and deforestation cause extinction, as I stated already. Thus, we have deprived them of habitats and destroyed the rules of nature. The purposes are for developing countries and getting resources and wealth. Therefore the kinds of birds in the article have fallen victim to our greed. We need to know the fact and think about it. Finally we have to find the solution to help them. It is the most effective solution that stopping destroying their habitats and creating the places where they can live freely.
In conclusion, the extinction of birds is accelerating quickly and they can’t adapt to the problem. We are to blame for the problem because our activities are the causes of it. It isn’t easy to solve it, but it’s our duty. We need to reconsider how our activities affect birds’ lives and try to limit our greed. That effort would prevent the problem from deteriorating and lead to a solution some day.
Reference
Mittelstaedt M. (2008, September 23). Black clouds on the horizon for birds of the world; From field sparrows to boreal chickadees, 20 of the most common species in North America are being decimated. The Globe and Mail (Canada). Retrieved October 20, 2008, from LexisNexis.
In the Martin Mittelstaedt’s (2008) article entitled “Black clouds on the horizon for birds of the world; From field sparrows to boreal chickadees, 20 of the most common species in North America are being decimated, report warns” the author states many species of birds are in trouble around the world. In the past 40 years, more than half of the population of birds has decreased in the U.S. Also many migratory species have faced the decline of population. The well-known species of birds such as bald eagles, whooping cranes and peregrine falcons are recovering from the problem of extinction due to bans on toxic pesticides. However the reason they are decreasing is not known exactly. In Canada’s boreal forest, the breed such as the evening grosbeak and rusty blackbird are decreasing. We have to know about what causes extinction more. The problem is found around the world and it has gotten worse and worse quickly. Until now, 153 birds species have died out and the rate of extinction will be higher in the future. In the world, there are 10,000 places such as breeding areas and sites for migratory birds. In Canada, there are about 600 places for birds and the government protects them. Now many birds are facing extinction because of the loss of habitat. Now some species of birds barely live and they have to cope with humans to survive.
The extinction of birds is occurring around the world. Now the problem is more serious and some species have died out already. It is difficult that birds take over the problem and recover by themselves. We have to know about the problem, causes and solutions. However we don’t know the detail of causes. Also, we can’t notice even that species of birds, which we don’t know are endangered. By knowing them, we can solve the problem.
The problem is similar to the problems of other animals. We have many problems about animals now. Of these problems, the problems about birds are important because so many species have deteriorated already. At first, the species of birds which are not known well because their population was not large, faced the problem. We did not know it so we did not do anything. Now, the damaged species are increasing and we finally noticed the problem. It is too late for trying to solve it, but we must do every thing we can do to help birds.
Various kinds of birds have died out and the reasons for it are almost the same. The most reasons are the loss of habitat. Some kinds of birds have the habit of migrating between their habitats. However, their habitats are being lost because of exploitation of colonies and deforestation, so they don’t have places to go. As a result, these kinds of birds can’t find places to live and they are finally endangered.
Are there solutions for the problem? In nature, animals have the rules of nature. They live and some of them die out under rules. In this case, however, human activities such as exploitation of colonies and deforestation cause extinction, as I stated already. Thus, we have deprived them of habitats and destroyed the rules of nature. The purposes are for developing countries and getting resources and wealth. Therefore the kinds of birds in the article have fallen victim to our greed. We need to know the fact and think about it. Finally we have to find the solution to help them. It is the most effective solution that stopping destroying their habitats and creating the places where they can live freely.
In conclusion, the extinction of birds is accelerating quickly and they can’t adapt to the problem. We are to blame for the problem because our activities are the causes of it. It isn’t easy to solve it, but it’s our duty. We need to reconsider how our activities affect birds’ lives and try to limit our greed. That effort would prevent the problem from deteriorating and lead to a solution some day.
Reference
Mittelstaedt M. (2008, September 23). Black clouds on the horizon for birds of the world; From field sparrows to boreal chickadees, 20 of the most common species in North America are being decimated. The Globe and Mail (Canada). Retrieved October 20, 2008, from LexisNexis.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Japanese Meeting Ways
We have various ways to meet lovers or marriage partners. Some ways are accident and others are made intentional. I don’t know about the ways in foreign countries well. In Japan, people meet their lovers or marriage partners by normal ways or unique ways. I want to introduce Japanese ways to meet lovers. First, almost people encountered their lovers at school or office. I think that this way has possibility to meet lovers the most. The reason is that they meet a lot of various people and they spend long time together at school or office. They have a lot of chances to meet and fall in love. I also met my boyfriend at university. I spent much time with him at school so I could know him very well and loved him. Next, we have a traditional way to meet marriage partners and we call it Omiai. Long time ago, almost all of people meet their marriage partners by Omiai. But now, only people who can’t find their marriage partners often use this way. At first, they exchange pictures of them and information. If they like the picture and information, they can meet directly. When they meet, their parents usually accompany with them. If both of them and their parents like each other, they can establish second meeting. Finally, some people find lovers by Goukon. It’s like a party and people who are strangers each other attend it. Even if they can’t find lovers, they can meet new friends there. The number of people depends on the party, but basically 8 people (4 boys and 4 girls) attend the party. They enjoy talking, drinking, playing the game and karaoke there. If they are interested in someone, they can ask his/her cell phone number or establish second meeting. Thus people have a lot of chances to meet lovers or marriage partners in Japan, and I think that there are countless ways in the world. The ways are essential for us because we can meet various people and fall in love by the ways.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Fluency #2
The way of communication
We can contact with friends anytime and anywhere by various ways. First, I think that the most popular ways are cell phone and e-mail to contact with friends. They are very convenient because we can get answers from friends quickly, so most people use them almost every day. Next, many people often contact with friends through the Internet. The famous websites that we can contact with friends are Facebook and Mixi. They are very interesting and new ways to contact with friends. We can share pictures and read everyone's diaries there. No matter than we don't contact with friends directly, we can see their faces on the pictures and know how they have been getting along through the Internet. Finally, some people sometimes write letters to friends. Of course, they can contact with them by cell phone and e-mail easily, but they prefer to write letters because their feelings communicate themselves to friends. Thus, we have many ways to contact with friends and the ways each have good points. We can communicate with each other whenever we want to make contact by the way that suits to the situation.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Summary Response Practice
Animal life is changing because of environmental change
In the article “Animals ‘hit by global warming,’” the author, Tim Hirsch, states that the climate change makes animals’ lives worse. Nowadays, there are many problems that are caused by global warming, for example, higher temperature, increasing storminess and spreading deserts. They have affected the migration routes of animals already. Some animals usually migrate when the season changes. However, the temperature is increasing now, so they aren’t where they should be. It can cause the problems of collapse of their life. Some species can adapt to new situation, but others can’t do so. Also sea temperature is important for animals. If sea temperature increases, the plankton organisms change. The plankton organism is the foundation of the food for chain animals in ocean, so the change of the plankton can have a big influence. These problems are advancing quickly still now. It’s so dangerous that they remain without solving. We have to make more options to solve these problems, and create the situation in which animals can live naturally as quickly as possible.
People need to know that many animals face problems of extinction and their lives are being destroyed by the climate change. They can’t escape from it, and they have no choice to live freely. We have to think about the reality of the problems.
People are not aware of global warming and its effect on the earth and the animals. These changes can lead to extinction for some animals. Some animals have been found in different areas because of global warming. I feel that these are important reasons why people should be aware of global warming. I think that the problems get better and better if people think about them.
The climate change influences animals’ lives greatly. They have their ways of life and they can live in their ways naturally. However, the climate change has made these changes and their habitats are changing now. I have heard that a kind of fish is dying because the sea temperature is too warm for them. A little change of temperature is very different for them, and it makes them live or die. If they can’t live, the species can be extinct. It is happening now around the world.
In addition, the collapse of ecosystem is the biggest problem because it also brings about the extinction of animals. For example, the turtles are influenced by a special way and now their ecosystem is falling down because of global warming. The temperature is a concern for the ratio of male to female turtles in the ocean. The rising temperature leads to more female turtles being born and living longer. If the tendency continues, there will be few male turtles and they will be able to have children. The male turtles will become extinct. I didn’t know it at all until I read this article. I think that almost nobody else knows it either. These problems should be known well, because people don’t know the problems exactly, so they don’t try to think about it seriously. They don’t think about it until they face the problems like animals.
In conclusion, global warming has been a big problem for us and animals since before. The problem is important and worth informing people of now. It should be solved quickly, but it’s so difficult to find the ways to solve the problem. It’s true that this problem was caused by human activities and animals suffer from it now. I think that we will also suffer from it like them some day. We have to solve it before this problem becomes more serious, and also we have to keep animals safe.
Reference
Hirsch,T. (2005, October 5) BBC NEWS. Retrieved October 15, 2008, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4313726.stm
Sunday, October 19, 2008
The great trip to Chicago
I want to talk about my break before this term began. I planed a trip to Chicago with 6 friends. All of us had never been there, so we were so excited before we left Carbondale. First, we took 7:00 am Armtrack and it took 5 hours and half to get to Chicago. It was so long trip but we enjoyed talking, eating snacks and seeing landscape in the Armtrack. And we finally arrived at Chicago! There were a lot of fashionable people and high buildings. We were excited more and more. We left our baggage in the station and went to the Chicago museum. There were many paintings and art of all over the world. After that, we went shopping in downtown. On the second day, we went to downtown again to ate Chicago pizza for lunch. It was the main event of this trip. The pizza was big, but we were hungry so we ordered 3 pizzas! They made us happy and full. On the third day, we went to Mitsuwa which is like Japanese supermarket. Many Japanese worked there and they sold Japanese stuff. We bought a lot of Japanese things which we can't get in Carbondale. After shopping, we ate ramen and Nattou at food court in Mitsuwa. They were so good!! I had missed Japanese food, so I was happy that I ate them. On the fourth day, we got up early to go to cheesecake factory. I love cheesecake, so I looked forward to it so much. There were many kinds of cheesecake, so each of us ordered different cheesecake. All of them were very good. After that, we went to China town. On that day, the Chicago marathon were held, so there were many people. We can't shop stores enough because of it. However It was lucky that we could see the Chicago marathon. At 4:00, we took to go back to Carbondale. The trip was long so we could go to various places and enjoy them, but Chicago is huge and there are a lot of places to where I haven't been yet. I have plan to go to Chicago in winter vacation. I want to enjoy Chicago again.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Fluency#1
There are various ways to travel, for example, boat, plane, bus and train, and I like to travel by car the best for some reasons. First, I can go anywhere by car quickly. There are a lot of parking areas anywhere recently, so I don't have to worry about the place to park the car. Second, I can relax in the car. Some ways to travel are public transportation, so of course, there are a lot of people who I don't know. They sometimes make noise and bother me. I also have to care about people around me. On the other hand, I can sleep, talk, listen to music, eat something and so on in the car. Finally, I can plan to travel suddenly if I travel by car. I have to make a reservation or buy tickets when I use other transportation to travel, and I must travel along the plan. However, I don't have to worry about the plan or time if I travel by car, so I can travel easily. The way of traveling is very important because we spend a long time there. If I travel somewhere, I choose to travel by car. Car makes travel comfortable, and I can enjoy travel more than when I travel by other kinds of transportation.
Monday, October 6, 2008
School in Japan and School in America
I think that there are a lot of differences between high school in Japan and that in America. They have many good points for students. I like both of Japanese system and American system. First, I want to talk about the good point of Japanese system. In Japan, students usually wear uniforms in almost all of high schools. There are various uniforms in Japan, and almost girls like the custom of wearing uniform. The girl high school students, especially, enjoy wearing their uniform, and they express their character by own way to wear it. The most popular uniform is sailor suit for girls. I also like it but I couldn't wear it when I was a high school student, because my uniform was blazer. Another reason why the uniform is popular in Japan is that we don't have to bother from what we wear each day. So Japanese students often wear uniform when they go out even on holiday. Second, I'll talk about the good point of American system. In America, students aren't binded by the school rules. They are so free as compared with Japanese students. In Japan, there are a lot of school rules in each school. The degree of severity of it depends on schools, but almost students aren't allowed to dye their hair, wear earings, painting their fingernails and making up. In America, however, students can do these things freely. So when I was a high school student, I envy the American students so much. Thus both of them have each good points, so I wonder if there is school which has both of good points. If the school exists, I want to go to the school again and enjoy school life freely with wearing sailor suit.
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