EY Y01 L05 Scandal
Video Vocab :
This week’s Questions
- Tell me about a family member, colleague, friend, friend of a friend or neighbour who you think gossips too much. Please don't use their real name (e.g. "I have a colleague, let's call him 'Dave'").
- Have you ever bought or read a "shukanshi" (weekly gossip) magazine or tabloid newspaper? If yes, what did you think? If no, why not?
- Do you ever watch gossip ("wide show") programs on TV? Why or Why not?
- The media often exposes affairs involving pop stars, actors, actresses, politicians or sports personalities. Tell me about an affair that shocked Japan - who was it between? What happened? Were you shocked? Why?
- Often politicians, leaders and personalities have to make public apologies for things they have done wrong. Please think of a public apology that you have seen on TV. Who was apologising? What had they done? Do you think they were forgiven? Why or why not?
- Tell me about a famous personality who you think has been treated unfairly by the media in your country.
This week’s Responses
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Teacher’s Compositions
by Michael Kane
May 11, 2019 Read Now
Question 1
I honestly can't think of anybody here in Japan. When I was working in Boston at a restaurant, all of the waitresses loved to gossip.Question 2
I have never bought a "shukanshi". I usually flip through them while waiting at the doctors office. I think buying them is a waste of money.Question 3
I never watch "wide show" programs on TV. I don't understand Japanese well enough to understand the programs.Question 4
I was surprised when the head of Nissan was arrested for tax evasion.Question 5
I remember when Bill Clinton had an affair in the White House. He first denied it, but then he had to admit it, after he was found guilty.Question 6
I think that Bill Clinton was treated unfairly. Many past presidents had affairs, but they were never revealed to the public.Tough Vocabulary
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comments
by Jim Usher
May 10, 2019 Read Now
Question 1
I don't really know anyone who fits the bill. This may be a bit stereotypical but I think women are more likely to gossip than men. Most of my friends are men, my wife doesn't gossip, and neither do my mother or my sister. I'm not sure about my daughter but what would a three-year-old have to gossip about?Question 2
I've bought plenty of them but I don't think I've ever really read one. A lot of the "trashy" magazines in Australia are full of crossword puzzles and brainteasers, with prizes for whoever can complete them. My mum used to buy them in the hopes of winning one of the contests. We never did win anything. I just liked doing the puzzles.Question 3
No, I don't. Those type of shows hold no interest for me. To be honest though, I find most of what they show on TV these days to be not to my tastes.Question 4
I don't watch gossip TV shows. I don't read gossip magazines or newspapers. Even after fifteen years in the country, I'm largely unfamiliar with Japanese celebrities. Given all of this, I have no idea about any shocking affairs, secret marriage proposals, or surprise pregnancies. Don't ask me about sports either.Question 5
I'm not sure of the politician's name but this happened about two years ago, about mid-2017 I think. He was a young guy who had been caught doing something wrong and had to make a public apology on television. He cried and screamed like a baby to his mother about how sorry he was. It was both obviously fake and completely ridiculous. I wonder where he is now...Question 6
In Australia? No one comes to mind. Although I have to say, the way the media hound celebrities in the hopes of catching them at a weak moment is disgraceful. I guess this is true the world over.Tough Vocabulary
| - English - | - Japanese - |
|---|---|
| fit the bill | 相応しい |
| stereotypical | ステレオタイプ |
| "trashy" magazine | 週刊誌 |
| brainteaser | 頭を使うパズル |
| not to my tastes | 私の好みではない |
| given all of this | に照らして |
| marriage proposal | 結婚の申し込み |
| fake | 偽 |
| ridiculous | ばかげている |
| come to mind | 思い当たる |
| hound | 容赦なくフォローする |
| a weak moment | 弱い瞬間 |
| disgraceful | 不名誉な |
| the world over | 世界中で |
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comments
by Jon Hay
April 30, 2019 Read Now
Question 1
I have several ex-colleagues. The two worst were... let's call them T kun and H chan. They were and probably still are huge gossips. But they are a very different type of gossiper. T talked about things that were true or his own opinion about someone or a particular situation while H twists and combines reality and fiction of a situation/person together making something that is half true and half untrue.Question 2
I have bought some for other people especially friends in the hospital. I have only read in waiting rooms at the dentist or doctor's office. I only flicked through and didn't take any notice. I was just killing time.Question 3
I watch sporting gossip - which player might get transferred to which team, which coach might get fired etc. Does this count as a wide show on TV? If not, then I do not because I find them a little boring.Question 4
I honestly cannot tell you about a Japanese affair, but I am sure the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky affair would have been big news in Japan. It happened in the mid-nineties when the internet was still in its infancy. So when news broke that the President of the USA had acted indecently with what was essentially an employee I was shocked, and I am still shocked to this day.Question 5
I remember the famous "Crying Japanese politician" named Ryutaro Nonomura. I think he was accused of using public money for travel expenses. When he had to talk to the press he became super emotional. I think he was found guilty of the crime.Question 6
I think the All Blacks rugby team gets treated unfairly sometimes. New Zealanders love rugby to the point that it is a religion and the All Blacks are almost like holy deities. They win most of their games every year but the few they lose, they are savagely criticized. They are also belittled if they do not perform over 99%. I think New Zealanders need to relax a little bit when it comes to supporting the All BlacksTough Vocabulary
| - English - | - Japanese - |
|---|---|
| particular | 格別 |
| twists | 曲折 |
| flicked through | はじけた |
| killing time | 退屈しのぎ |
| fired | しくじる |
| infancy | 幼稚 |
| indecently | 戯ける |
| essentially | 元来 |
| accused | 被告人 |
| deities | 諸天 |
| savagely | 猛然 |
| belittled | 見縊る |
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comments
by Gordi Whitelaw
April 23, 2019 Read Now
Question 1
It might sound like I am lying, but I honestly don't think that I know any overly-gossipy people. The first year that I was a Summer Camp Director in Canada, a few of the younger camp leaders liked to engage in gossip. That created some unhappy situations at the camp, so after my first year I always tried to avoid hiring gossipy people. I think that, in general, I prefer to stay away from that sort of person.Question 2
I have never bought such a magazine. However, I once lived and worked in London for four months and those kinds of magazines were often available to read in the employee lounge where I worked. I was unfamiliar with most famous British celebrities at that time - because I had been living and working in the Czech Republic for several years - and so the celebrity gossip in those magazines was wildly uninteresting, from my point of view.Question 3
I never ever watch such shows, because I am larely uninterested in the private lives of famous people.Question 4
In the 1970s, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his lovely, much younger, wife Margaret were the most famous couple in Canada. In 1977, Margaret Trudeau created a huge scandal in the Canadian media when she spent her sixth wedding anniversary partying with the rock group The Rolling Stones. Here is some gossip related to that: There is a rumour that Canada's current Prime Minister, Pierre and Margaret's son Justin Trudeau, is in fact the love child of Margaret Trudeau and Fidel Castro!Question 5
The Clinton–Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal that involved 49-year-old President Bill Clinton and 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky. They had an affair in the late 1990s. Mr. Clinton has publicly apologized for the affair and for lying about it, but he has apparently never privately apologized to Miss Lewinsky. I don't think that people completely forgave him at the time but Mr. Clinton and his wife Hillary are still both active in American political life.Question 6
I felt that it was a little unfair that when Naomi Osaka won the US Open her victory was overshadowed by the argument between Serena Williams and the umpire. In general, I think that almost all celebrities are treated unfairly by the media in the sense that their right to privacy is very rarely respected. On the other hand, perhaps that is the price of fame...Tough Vocabulary
| - English - | - Japanese - |
|---|---|
| Czech Republic | チェコ |
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comments