Pounding Rice Cakes With My Neighbors in Japan

Full script

Read the whole talk.

All slides in one place. Read it through once, then practice slide by slide.

1. 01Pounding Rice Cakes in Japan

   Hello, everyone. I'm an English teacher from Ireland, and I live in a small town in Nagano. Last December, my neighbors invited me to make mochi, or rice cakes. Let me tell you about it.

   大家好。我是一名來自愛爾蘭的英文老師，住在長野的一個小鎮上。去年十二月，鄰居們邀請我一起做麻糬，也就是年糕。我來跟大家講講那天的事。

2. 02Cooking the Rice

   First, we cooked sticky rice in a big steamer. It smelled really good. Then we put the hot rice into a large wooden bowl.

   首先，我們用一個大蒸籠蒸糯米。聞起來特別香。然後，我們把熱騰騰的米飯放進一個大木臼裡。

3. 03Pounding the Rice

   Next, we pounded the rice with a heavy wooden hammer. One person hit, and another person turned the rice with wet hands. We shouted together each time!

   接著，我們用一把很重的木槌搗米。一個人負責捶，另一個人用溼手翻動米團。每捶一下，我們都一起喊口號！

4. 04Eating Together

   Finally, we made small round cakes and ate them right away. They were soft and warm. My favorite was mochi with sweet bean paste.

   最後，我們做成一個個小圓餅，馬上就吃了。又軟又熱乎。我最喜歡的是包著甜豆沙的麻糬。

5. 05Conclusion

   My arms were tired, but I was very happy. That day, I felt like part of the town. Thank you for listening.

   我的胳膊很累，但我非常開心。那一天，我覺得自己成了小鎮的一分子。謝謝大家的聆聽。