One day, I was walking home through a small forest. I thought I knew a shortcut, but I got lost. It was getting dark.
Then I saw something big and dark – it looked like a sign and a tall tower. I used my flashlight to read the sign. It said: “Old City Crematorium.”
If this was a movie, scary music would have played right then!
I thought about all the bodies that were burned here long ago, with black smoke coming from the tower. I wanted to find my way home quickly! But this made me think about something interesting – the word “ash.”
When I got home safely, I studied about this word. Here are some amazing things I learned:
１.The word “ash” comes from a very old word “AS” that meant “burn” or “shine.” This word is 9,000 years old!
２．Many English words come from this old word “AS”:
◯”Area” (maybe because people burned plants to make empty space)
◯”Ardor” (which means burning with feeling)
◯”Azalea” (flowers with red spots like fire)
◯”Arson” (the crime of setting fires)
There’s another interesting word: “pyromania.” This means someone who really wants to start fires. It comes from “pyro” (fire) and “mania” (strong desire).
Even though we all become ash in the end, let’s make our lives shine brightly while we can!
私立学校に英語教師として勤務中、40代半ばに差し掛かったころ、荒れたクラスを立て直す策として、生徒に公言して英検1級に挑戦することを思い立つ。同様の挑戦を繰り返し、退職までに英検一級（検定連合会長賞）、TOEIC満点、国連英検SA級、フランス語一級、スペイン語一級（文科大臣賞）、ドイツ語一級、放送大学大学院修士号などの成果を得る。
アメリカで生徒への対応法を学ぶ為に研修（地銀の助成金）。最新の心理学に触れた。4都県での全発表、勤務校での教員への研修を英語で行う。現在も特別選抜クラスの授業を全て英語で行っている。「どうやって単語を覚えればいいですか？」という良くある質問に答える為、印欧祖語からの派生に基づく「生徒には見せたくない語源英単語集」を執筆中。完成間近。常日頃洋書の読破で様々な思考にふれているが、そうして得た発想の一つを生かして書いた論文がコロナ対策論文として最近入賞。賞品の牛肉に舌鼓をうっている。元英検面接委員