Zoom英会話クラス(火)
Lesson Notes February 17, 2026 (TUESDAY ZOOM)
Words & Phrases
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won Japan's first gold medal in pairs figure skating at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Monday.
The pair are well matched for skating. (We wouldn’t use “couple” here because that implies a romantic relationship)
Shed tears (verb phrase) = to cry; to let tears fall from your eyes because of strong emotion.
She shed tears of joy at the wedding.
He shed tears after hearing the sad news.
Tear up (verb phrase) = to start crying or to become emotional, often slightly — not full crying.
He teared up during the speech.
I always tear up when I watch that movie.
Equipment costs for Winter Olympic athletes might be higher than for Summer Olympic athletes.
Winter Olympics
People usually talk about the Winter Olympics in a pretty casual, sport-fan way, not in an official or textbook style.
We usually just say the Winter Olympics or the Winter Games.
People often say events rather than competitions. You’ll hear winter sports as a general term. Common ones people mention are skiing, snowboarding, figure skating, speed skating, ice hockey, curling, biathlon and bobsleigh. In conversation, people don’t list full official names.
The word athlete is common, but people also say skater, skier, snowboarder or player for ice hockey. You’ll hear gold medallist, silver medallist, bronze medallist, or more casually she won gold or he took silver.
Very common verbs are win, lose, beat, finish, and qualify. People say things lik “She won gold in the final”, “He didn’t qualify for the final", “They finished fourth, just off the podium”.
For judged sports, people often mention scores, points, penalties, or judging. Casual complaints like The judging was controversial or The scores felt a bit harsh are very common.
