英会話上達研究会オンライン/テキスト

• Today's July 4th.
• Hmm. If I hear ‘‘July 4th,’’ I think about the movie ‘‘War on the Fourth of July’’ with Tom Croke!
• For me, I think about ‘‘Happy Independence Day!’’.
• What's that?
• It is a movie that came out on Independence Day. It's about aliens attacking the earth. You see the fireworks every year on the news, don't you? They are for the Independence Day celebration.
• Huh, but what did America gain independence from? Isn't it a memorial day for the independence of the slaves?
• You are stupid! America was a colony of Spain, France, Netherlands, and England. You see the stripes on the national flag of the U.S.? Those 13 stripes are symbolizing the first 13 colonies which became independent states at that time.
• I didn't know that...
• You really thought ‘‘War on the Fourth of July’’ was just a war movie?
• Well...I was just happy to see my Tom!
• One more thing: the origin of the name, ‘‘America’’ is from Amerigo Vespucci. He is the Italian explorer who first found the North American Continent.
• You are a walking encyclopedia.
• No, that's common knowledge!

Grammar Check

【1】

It is a movie that came out on Independence Day.

come out = be released / beavailable to see

【2】

… what did America gain independence from?

【3】

symbol → symbolize

ripe → ripen

frost → defrost

【4】

a walking encyclopedia

a walking dictionary

a walking library