Question 1

Mount Rushmore is a famous American landmark. 1. The colossal 60-foot-high (18 m) carvings were made between October 4, 1927, and October 31, 1941, by Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers. 2. It looks very different from the Canadian side of the mountain.

Question 2

Michael J. Fox now lives in Manhattan, but he was born in Canada. In fact, we went tot he same High School (but he is four years older than me, so we never met). His most famous role is Marty McFly. He suffers from early-onset Parkinson's disease and has done a lot to raise research funding and increase awareness of the disease.

Question 3

Starbucks is a very famous American coffee company, based out of Seattle, Washington. I have bought many many many cups of coffee from Starbucks, in Canada and in Japan.

Question 4

I frequently went to visit Seattle when I was growing up in Vancouver. I have also travelled to many nice places in America. Probably the nicest American city I have been to is San Francisco. It is very beautiful there.

Question 5

I used to enjoy going to American style Sports Bars to watch American Football games and eat spicy chicken wings. It's something that I can't do in Japan and sometimes Imiss it.

Question 6

I am very glad that street crime and gun violence are far less common in Japan than in America.

Tough Vocabulary

Question 1

Niagara Falls. It straddles the border between the USA and Canada, specifically the state of New York and the province of Ontario. Niagara Falls is actually three different waterfalls coming together as one: Horseshoe Falls, America Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls.

Question 2

Angelina Jolie. She is the daughter of Hollywood film stars Jon Voight and Marcia Lynne Bertrand. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie "Girl, Interrupted". She adopted her first child in 2002 from an orphanage in Cambodia and went on to adopt a number of other children from around the world.

Question 3

The Coca-Cola Company, manufacturer of many beverages, most famously Coca-Cola better known as "Coke". Coke traces its origins back to 1885, when it was known as "Pemberton's French Wine Coca" and was sold for five cents a glass. I have had Coke many times throughout my life but I have to say I prefer Pepsi.

Question 4

I have never been to the continental United States but I have been to Guam, which is an America territory. I proposed to my wife while we were there. We stayed in a nice hotel near the beach. We ate at a lot of fancy restaurants. We snorkeled, went parasailing, and did a reef walk. It was a nice little three-day vacation although it was a bit hot for my tastes.

Question 5

Buy-in-bulk discounts do not exist in Japan. If you buy a six-pack of Asahi Super Dry, it costs about the same as six individual cans. If I'm not mistaken, I think it's actually a little more; you end up paying for the cardboard carry case! In Australia, you save a little money by buying a larger amount of something. In the US, you can also save money by buying more, but the available sizes are so much bigger than anything we have in Australia.

Question 6

Gun-related violence. I'm not glad it's over there, certainly not. I'm just happy laws concerning firearms are so much more strict elsewhere in the world. It seems like in America it's far too easy for anyone to get a gun if they want one. People should be able to go to school and attend church without worrying about if they might get shot.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
straddle	またがる
province	州
orphanage	孤児院
beverage	飲み物
trace ones origins	トレースの起源
continental	大陸の
territory	地域
buy-in-bulk discount	一括購入割引
if I'm not mistaken	誤解していなければ
violence	暴力
firearm	銃器
elsewhere	他の場所で

Question 1

The "Old North Bridge" in Concord, Massachusetts. This historic location is in my hometown of Concord. It is where the first battle of independence took place in the Revolutionary War. America went on to gain independence from Britain and became the U.S.A. on July 4th 1776.

Question 2

Ben Affleck. Ben is from Boston, Massachusetts. He won an academy award for writing "Good Will Hunting" with Matt Damon. He has acted in and directed many Hollywood films. He was married to Jennifer Garner, but has since been divorced. He has entered rehabilitation many times for alcohol abuse. He has currently been sober for 10 months.

Question 3

New Balance sneakers. The original New Balance sneaker factory is in Boston, Massachusetts. When I return home, I usually buy sneakers for my family and I, as they are very cheap at the factory store.

Question 4

I am an American. I have been to all 48 continental U.S. states, but I have never been to Hawaii, or Alaska.

Question 5

Being an American, of course, I have no envy towards American culture.

Question 6

I think PDA. PDA is an acronym for public displays of affection. People in Japan are more discreet in public about showing affection for each other. I was a bartender in America for over twenty years, and when some couples got drunk at the bar they became overly affectionate. The phrase that we always used was "get a hotel". Another words get out of here and be affectionate somewhere else. If they were in Japan they could get a love hotel! haha!

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
acronym	頭字語 Tōjigo
continental	コンチネンタル Konchinentaru
divorced	離婚 Rikon