Unusual usage of 持て余す Got a small problem here with this line: 正面入り口の脇で、畳んだ傘を持て余しながら、立っていた。 This appears to be an unusual way to use 持て余す , so is someone able to shed some light on this? I interpret to mean :"Standing in the corner of the main entrance, I was struggling to fold my umbrella."

Sample IELTS essay- Capital Punishment Vs Other Types of Punishment(Anti Capital Punishment Version) The implementation of capital punishment is never a clean one. When looking back on human history, it is littered with the corpses from the miscarriages of justice, paid for with human blood. Although capital punishment is usually done away from public view, it is always fraught with danger of botched executions. Most importantly, where does the long arm of the law (and the spectre of state control) end? Capital punishment is touted as the final say on all matters criminal. Capital punishment is the State making its mark on its population. In countries where capital punishment has been abolished, it is often because it has widespread use in its past. It probably started out as punishment meted out to a few, but as state power grows, it becomes a method to subjugate its population. As it descends unchecked onto the population, it results in many unneccessary deaths. To mark a clean break with its bloody past, it has abolished capital punishment and replaced it with life imprisonment. It is the most visible way to demonstrate its enlightened development, and to show its determination to make its mark on civilisation. The act of taking a human life is always an intimate one. There is the process of legal wrangling, the passing of judgement, then the taking of the condemned to the execution grounds, before the final end. All these require multiple human interactions. Even in death, a doctor has to be on hand to examine the body and make a final report. The witnesses may also be subject to the horrors of a botched execution, and some one has to attend to the mess when it invariably occurs. The process is visceral, the result is always unpleasant- I doubt anyone who has to handle this on a daily basis can recommend this as a job to anyone else. For better or for worse, capital punishment is here to stay. But the number of countries supporting it is dropping, and as civilisation moves ahead, abolishing capital punishment is the way forward. There will be arguments against abolishing capital punishment, especially for heinous crimes. "What good would the law be, if one cannot kill evildoers with no redeeming features?" However, state power always manifests itself as the amount of control it has on the population. If the country shows itself willing to kill part of its population in peacetime, then in times of famine or war, who will guarantee yours will not be the next head to fall into the basket?

Sample IELTS essay- Capital Punishment Vs Other Types of Punishment (Pro Capital Punishment Version) Capital punishment has existed ever since humans started to live in communities, to control and warn the general population on the consequences of abhorrent behaviour. While the methods of capital punishment has changed over the years, as do the types of crimes it is meted out, its basic premise is to provide the ultimate punishment for the ultimate crime. The use of capital punishment is never clean or easy, requiring strict safeguards by law and support by the general population for its continued use. A number of lesser crimes these days can be sufficiently dealt through other methods such as life imprisonment. But henious crimes such as intentional murder and child rape has no place in any society, and the use of capital punishment in those cases satisfies the view of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" response. From a larger perspective, where capital punishment is accepted, it is the most effective way to demonstrate to the public the Will of the State. There is no other method so public as to end a offender's life through the law, and can effectively warn would-be murderers or child rapists to think before attempting. Some countries have abolished capital punishment, so life imprisonment has become the primary means of punishment for henious crimes. However, the offender is still very much a burden on the State, paid for by taxpayers until the end of the offender's natural life. There is anecdotal evidence that this increases the prison population, and when combined with inflation, becomes too costly for the state. It creeps into other costs such as demands on prison security, burdens the judiciary (due to legal appeals), and stretches the limits of current prison facilities (which may result the release of serious offenders to make space for new inmates). Can the average taxpayer afford more prisons, the danger of ex-child rapists or murderers be let off after serving time in prison, and take a gamble on the offender not reoffending? Capital punishment is just one in a range of punishments, but its use must be reserved for offences of such gravity, and its implementation sparingly enough, to have an effect. Whenever possible, err on the side of caution, as the state runs the risk of appearing too eager and blood thirsty if it is used too often. But when the law has run its course, and the gravity of the crime is in no doubt, then there is no better way to show the might of justice through capital punishment.

Writing an essay is like having a kidney removed A certain story goes like this: There was a person that woke up in a bathtub of water full of ice. Shocked by the cold, he tried to get up, but couldn't. Though he felt groggy, he had the presence of mind to check himself, and found there was a tube sticking out the back where his kidney was. To his right, there is a telephone with a note:"Call this number". He did, and an operator on the other end asked where the caller was. He said he is in a bathtub full of ice. The operator said, don't move- you have just had your kidney removed, so stay where you are. We are coming to get you. Variations of this urban myth persist. Some details have changed, depending on where you heard it. One thing is certain- no matter where you go, the main characters and the general flow of the story does not change. I bought up this tale as an example what a good essay should do. There is mystery, there is intrigue, it is so simple, it hurts. There are a lot of tips on how to write an essay. Most will advocate a clear start and a strong conclusion. There are a lot of techniques out there, many already covered by various authors. I just want you to have a strong image in your mind as a start- whatever you write, this image will be the anchor which everything revolves around. A strong image does many things, and its job is to hit the reader where it hurts, so the English saying goes. Many essays here are short in nature. No one has the time to read through a wordy essay, before it gets buried by the next one. So having a clear image in mind, and weaving what you know into a singular narrative is an important technique to master. More than 50 years ago, mankind landed on the moon. The speech that galvanised the entire nation is a relatively wordy one, but it has one clear message: "Before the end of the decade, a nation will put a man on the moon and return him to Earth." Had this singular vision been buried under a pile of statistics, tedious whys and hows, or somehow muddied along the way, then the meaning will be lost. Have a clear image in your mind's eye. Organise your thoughts and prepare your essay around that singular image. Break up your sentences so they are short and simple. And remember to hit the reader where it hurts. Next week, I will write a little about the Hollywood Formula. If you are ever stuck in a rut, having a writer's block, or just plain lazy, this technique will give you a good start on essay writing. See you guys next week.

Is this an uncommon way to describe hands? "無骨な手 " I was reading this sentence, and came across what I think is unusual kanji usage, hope someone can tell me if this is used often: ”無骨な手”. 例：　"おじさんの無骨な手が添えられた花々は、なぜかみだらに、なまめいて見えた。” Thank you~

The Storytelling Animal I've given myself a goal of writing a simple Japanese essay once a week. Despite juggling between work and family, I still find time to write an essay in what is to me an extremely difficult language. I do this out of interest, and it keeps me motivated knowing sometimes, there will be someone out there who would read it. Essay writing is a skill, no doubt. But I want to write an interesting essay by weaving what I know into an interesting narrative: in esssence, I want to tell a story. We all like stories. There is a book titled "The Storytelling Animal" by Jonathan Gottschall. It basically says that humans have evolved to depend on stories as a survival mechanism. If you work in the media for example, to be considered a success you must be able to tell a good story. A common refrain from the editor to the journalist on the ground is that "you can't tell a good story". Anyone can write an essay, but telling a good story at the same time is akin to black magic. Coming up with a good story, therefore, is the most difficult part of the essay for me. I learnt a lot while writing in a different language. There is an unseen aspect to a language that cannot be learnt from reading grammar books alone. I start with a general concept, then write it in simple English so that it has an intriging introduction, a meaty middle, and a strong finish that conveys a singular message. I may end up with several drafts of no more than a thousand words, so a reader can easily finish reading in 5 minutes. I will then leave it for a day- if I wake up the next morning and still like what I read, I will start translating it into Japanese. My next essay will be out in a few days. It is the story of Alan Turing, the mathematical genius portrayed in the 2014 film "The Imitation Game". For all you Japanese readers out there, I hope you will like it. よろしくお願いいたします。

「タンタン」のスーパーパワー 私あ子供のとき、読んだ好きなマンガが「タンタンの冒険」(Les Aventures De Tintin)です。タンタンはベルギーの漫画家「エルジェ」(Hergé)の作品です。物語は全部で24話あります。初回は、1930年に一度出版しました。そして1986年まで續きました。 主人公はタンタンです。タンタンは何歳かは、作者が話に書きませんでした。タンタンは若い者の子で、頭がいいジャーナリストです。友達はハドック船長(Captain Haddock)と犬のスノーウィ(Snowy)いる、世界一周の冒険をしました。タンタンの能力は何の乗り物でも運転できたり、ボクシングをしたり、射撃も上手です。しかし、タンタンのいちばんの能力は、幸運を持ってことです。 冒険のとき、三回飛行機か落ちても、怪我をしませんでした。悪人かタンタンを何回銃で撃つても、キズ一つもありませんでした。そのストーリー「太陽神殿」(Le Temple du Soleil)は、タンタンと友達たちがペルーの原住民に捕った、そして炙りの刑になった。刑場でタンタンは太陽に大声で叫んだ「太陽の神様、この罰はおかしいです！お顔を隠してください、お願いします！」友達はタンタンに「ふざけないでください！」と言いました。タンタンはその日に日食があることを知っていましたから、大声で叫び続けました。だんだん、日食ことになったとき、原住民は怖くなりました。そして、タンタンと友達たちを刑場から釈放しました。不思議な物語です！ 漫画家エルジェは「タンタンは、欠点がない、親切な人で、正直な人で、勇者だ。」と言いました。危ない場面で無傷で、逃げられたり、幸運なスーパーパワーを持っています！

ピンクの湖のミステリー 西オーストラリアはいくつかピンクの湖があります。いちばん有名なピンクの湖はレーク.ヒリアー(Lake Hillier)です。エスペランス(Esperance)のミドル.アイランド(Middle Island)にあります。レーク.ヒリアーは、どうしてピンク色か知りません。しかし、研究者は湖にいるバクテリアが原因だと考えています。 １８０２年、冒険家マシュー.フリンダーズ（Matthew Flinders)は湖を発見して、そのことをノートに書きました。ミドル島のいちばん高い所でピンク.レークが見えます。 湖水はしょっぱくても、安全に泳ぐことができます。ピンク色になるバクテリアだけが住む、他に何も生物がいません。水を瓶で集めると、ピンク色に見えます。湖はあまり大きくありません、広さはよこ600ｍたて250ｍぐらいです。湖の周りたくさん塩があり、そしてユーカリの木がたくさんあります。 パース市から720ｋｍ南東の方に車で８時間で行けます。それから船で島にいきます。５月から１０月までが旅行にいい時期です。他のアクティビティは、クジラが見たり、ダイビングがしたり、魚釣りができたりします。私は時間あったら、ピンク.レークのミステリーを調べたいです。