Question 1

Last Week Tonight. First and foremost, it's a comedy show. The presenter, John Oliver, discusses recent current events in a humourous way. Despite the fact that it is a comedy show, it is a great source of news. It tackles serious issues and asks difficult questions while making fun of the whole thing, yet it is still respectful of the subject matter. It's a great show.

Question 2

I really can't answer this one. Generally speaking, I don't watch the news. I keep up with what's going on in the world by monitoring the alerts on my phone and reading stories that seem important or interesting. I also tend to pay attention to what comedians like John Oliver, Trevor Noah, and Jim Jefferies have to say about current events.

Question 3

Like I said above, I don't watch TV news. I don't really watch TV for that matter. These days, I use streaming services as my main source of entertainment.

Question 4

I read an article on my phone recently about how "President" Donald Trump wants to reduce the amount of vegetables available in school lunches and increase the number of options like hamburgers and pizza. I could not get my head around that. It just seems like evil for evil's sake.

Question 5

I've got to go with sport on this one. Celebrity gossip rarely interests me but occasionally there might be a story that catches my attention. I'm interested in business news and the stock market but I have to admit that most of it goes over my head. The rest of it varies as to whether I find it interesting or not on a case by case basis. I am not a fan of any sport though so I find sporting news tedious and dull. It just isn't for me.

Question 6

I'm not sure. Education always seems to be in the news for one reasons or another. Tax cuts to education. Teachers having affairs with students. School shootings. Teacher strikes. Board of Education members being caught up in scandals. The list goes on. I find it all a bit boring to be honest.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
first and foremost	何よりも
despite the fact	事実にもかかわらず
make fun of	からかう
respectful of the subject matter	主題を尊重する
for that matter	そのことについては
streaming service	ストリーミングサービス
evil for evil's sake	悪のために悪
got to go with	選ばなければならない
catch my attention	注意を引く
go over my head	理解できない
case by case basis	ケースバイケース
not for me	他の誰かをターゲットに
the list goes on	リストは続く

Question 1

FOX news in America. No, I don't watch it because I'm in Japan and Fox news is very pro Trump.

Question 2

Anderson Cooper (CNN). Yeah, he's ok. He gets to travel all over the world. He was in Japan after the tsunami/earthquake in 2011.

Question 3

The internet is my main source of news. I watch the nightly news in Japan to increase my Japanese comprehension. I usually read Yahoo news and the Japan Times online.

Question 4

I used to be shocked by all of the gun violence in America, but now it is so common I don't feel shocked.

Question 5

I would have to say that celebrity gossip and obituaries interest me the least. It's depressing to read about people who have died. I think the weather is the most important news, but the forecast is often wrong.

Question 6

Last week the Emperor and Empress were in Kashihara. I watched some of it on the news.

Tough Vocabulary

Question 1

I know the Daily Show with Trevor Noah is famous in America. I do not usually watch it, but I do watch short, funny clips of it on Youtube.

Question 2

I think that Trevor Noah is a sort of News Anchor. I like him a lot as he is funny, topical, and gives unique insight into political news stories.

Question 3

No, I rarely watch the TV news as my Japanese is poor. I like reading the news on two websites, The UK's BBC and New Zealand's Newshub. I can pick and choose the articles that I am interested in.

Question 4

It is hard to shock me nowadays. I am more shocked by how people get outraged and overreact over small and non important news stories.

Question 5

The politics (on regular news programmes) and celebrity gossip interests me the least because neither truly has any impact on my life.

Question 6

I heard that the emperor was in Nara during late November.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
topical	局所的
outrage	途方もない
overreact	過剰反応