KAPLAN事務局よりマスターセミナー5月スケジュールのご案内です。

マスターセミナーは、レベルに関係なく誰でも日本人離れした英語力を身につけられるような英語学習に大切なエッセンスが学べます。日頃から抱えている「伸び悩み」に関する質疑応答など、英語学習に関すること全てが聞けるセミナーです。カプランでの学習を考えている方には、ご希望で個別カウンセリングも行います。

各回、一回完結のセミナーです。
どんなメリットがあるの？という方
こちらをご覧下さい。

5月は下記の日程になります。

▼ご希望の日程をクリックすると詳細に飛びます。
■セミナースケジュール■
・5/10（日）　13:30-17:00【銀座】
・5/16（土）　13:30-17:00【表参道】
・5/24（日）　13:30-17:00【銀座】　
・5/30（土）　13:30-17:00【表参道校】

お申し込みの際は上記のご希望の日にちをクリックしていただき、
専用お申し込みフォームよりお申し込みください。

何か不明な点等ありましたら下記までお気軽にお問い合わせください。

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□銀座校　Ginza English Center
　〒104-0061 東京都中央区銀座3-2-10 並木ビル7F
　Tel：03-5524-5851　E-mail：kapinfo-ginza@kaplan.ac.jp
□表参道校　Omotesando English Center
　〒150-0001 東京都渋谷区神宮前5-53-67 コスモス青山1F
　Tel：03-5774-6968　E-mail：kapinfo-omotesando@kaplan.ac.jp

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I once heard a foreigner say he had a leaky faucet, but it was no problem because it rains a lot here in Japan... there is plenty of water to spare. Foreigners living in Japan sometimes grumble about how much it rains. I've done it, too.


But years ago on my last day in Death Valley, California, as I was exiting the park, an enormous cloud appeared. It looked like a self-contained mini-storm, complete with its own showers and towering top. I went to Death Valley that year as it was televised those 2 weeks only happened about once every 70 years. Rain would make a rare appearance, and flowers dormant for decades would bloom in splendor. I knew I would never have a chance again to see nature's magnificent show in this "lifeless" desert.


So off I went, travelling 6.5 hours north of Los Angeles. Many professional photographers and amateurs like me had already converged and reserved hotels. After entering Death Valley National Park, I had to turn around and drive back the same way I came. It took two hours before I could find lodging.



But it was all worth it, as the blooming had reached its peak. I didn't know where to begin. Which flowers should I photograph first? I frequently checked my camera's settings. There would be no second chance. In a few days, the summer's intense heat would erase the beauty brought by the winter's cool rains.

Photography ©Rob Tschudi 2009


▼▽▼▼【講師】Rob先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━

・【Shinkansens】2009.04.10 (Fri)

KAPLAN事務局よりNewsweek List更新のお知らせです。

※今週はＧＷ特別スケジュールのため5/8（金）までお休みです。

今週末2日間のワークショップNewsweek Reading/Discussionで取り上げるトピックスは下記の通りです。
リストなどではReading/Discusiionまたは、Discussion/Readingと通しの時間表記ですが、ReadingまたはDuscussion、どちらか1コマから受講が可能です。
詳しいワークショップスケジュールはコチラをご覧下さい。

・5/9(SAT) 　
・13:00-14:50　表参道校　p.28
　Business 【After the Plant Closed Down】
・16:00-17:50　銀座校　p.35
　On Science【Good Cop/Bad Cop Goes Green】

・5/10(SUN)
・10:00-11:50　銀座校 pp.18-19
　World Affairs【Where Everybody Knows Your Name】　
・19:40-21:30　表参道校　 pp30-32
　Health For Life 【To Pluck A Rooted Sorrow】

■ニューズウィークリスト(PDF)ダウンロードはコチラからどうぞ。

クラスに関しまして、何か不明な点等ありましたら、いつでも講師までご質問下さいませ。

Those of you preparing for the GRE have the honor (albeit a dubious one) of facing a question type that has become a dying breed in standardized testing: the quantitative comparison problem. Back in my day (think "Miami Vice, Duran Duran, and Reaganomics") we had to deal with quantitative comparison questions on the SAT, but no more. Now, only the GRE has them; lucky you.


Most of my Japanese students are good at math, to put it mildly. The Japanese public education system (rightly) stresses algebraic alacrity as a useful tool to produce the CEOs, stock analysts, and physicists of the future. But although skill at solving math problems is certainly one of the fundamental skills required by the GRE, that same skill gets many of my students in trouble when they face the QC problems. The reason is, QC only tests your math knowledge as a secondary concern; these problems are more geared toward testing your critical thinking skills. Although I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing firsthand the curriculum of Japanese public schools, I'm told that it does not cultivate critical thinking (by which I mean the independent, objective consideration of information, rather than rote memorization and recital). Because of this, I often have to chide my GRE students for looking for the SOLUTION to a QC problem, rather than simply gleaning the ANSWER to same.


The difference between the solution to a problem and its answer is this: the former represents the simplification of a problem down to its most basic form, while the latter is simply a matter of bubbling in A, B, C, or D on your GRE answer grid. Take the following problem for instance:


We're told that "x^2 - y^2 = 9 (that is, 'x squared minus y squared equals 9')," and that "x + y = 9 (that is, 'x plus y equals 9')." Then we're given the following two columns:

Column A: x Column B: y


A majority of my GRE students can solve for both variables in a matter of 20 or 30 seconds. However, if we're using our critical thinking skills, we can solve the problem even more quickly. Since we have two variables and two distinct equations, we can certainly solve for x and y if we choose. Hence, answer choice D ("it can not be determined from the information given") is incorrect.


We know at a glance that x has a higher ABSOLUTE value than y, because, whether x and y are positive or negative, when you square both, you get two positive numbers which in turn yield a positive number (9) when y's square is subracted from x's. Therefore, answer choice C ("the two quantities are equal") is also incorrect. Already we're down to only choice A ("the quantity in Column A is greater"), or B ("the quantity in Column B is greater").


Finally, there's no way that x can be a negative number, because the two variables sum to 9. Since x has a higher absolute value than y, adding the two together would yield a negative number if x were negative. If both numbers were negative, you'd get a negative number with a higher absolute value than x. If x were negative and y positive, you'd still get a negative number every time, since x has a higher absolute value than y.


Therefore, x must be positive, and hence bigger than y.


As you practice for the GRE, remember that it is, first and foremost, a test of critical thinking. Become familiar with common tricks used by the testmakers, and with the issues commonly tested. Every few seconds that you save can be used to help you work through more complex problems.


▼▽▼▼【講師】Douglas先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【The Indispensability of Vocabulary】2009.04.15 (Wed)

Hi again everyone.


Last time I wrote about English food and how shockingly bad it is. This time I want to write about another part of English culture that students often mention to me...football hooligans.


There is an impression all over the world that England is the centre of the hooliganism problem. I think this was true until about twenty years ago but now we don't have many problems at all.


When I was about eight years old, my Dad took me to a Premier League game. It still remains as one of my best memories. In those days, most spectators stood rather than sat and as I was small, my Dad put me on top of the metal railing so I could have a great view. It was fantastic and there was no sign of hooliganism.


However, at around that time there were terrible incidents at many games between rival fans. The main reason was that some stupid fans just enjoyed fighting. Their Saturday was taken up with drinking, watching the game, and then fighting. It is hard to believe, but it was a kind of hobby for them.


Things changed from 1985 when the Heysel Disaster in Belgium caused by English hooligans led to many deaths and English clubs were banned from Europe for five years.
Then in 1989, two very important things happened in England. Firstly, there was another disaster- the Hillsborough disaster where 96 fans were crushed to death from overcrowding on the terraces. I remember that game very well because my friend was there and I was very worried. Even now, it's hard for me to think about it. Because of hooligans, all stadiums had metal fences to keep the fans from going onto the pitch. These fences caused the deaths of the 96 people and so basically because of the hooliganism problem, many innocent people died. After that, all top stadiums became all-seater and had no fences.


The other important turning point in 1989 was the so-called "Summer of Love". Dance music had suddenly become fashionable and, instead of fighting on a Saturday, young people would go dancing at nightclubs and raves to get rid of all their energy. Hooliganism finally became a thing of the past in England.


Unfortunately, other countries such as Russia and Italy have bigger problems now but I am happy to say that English culture does NOT include hooligans!

▼▽▼▼【講師】Anthony先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【British Food】2009.04.03 (Fri)