The Host Family Email
Rina is a Japanese junior high student staying with the Clark family in Australia for three weeks. She writes a short email and asks her teacher to check three underlined choices. The email says: 'Dear Mr. and Mrs. Clark, I have been in Mito for two weeks. Every morning I (1) ___ [am used to / used to] taking the 7:15 train to school, but last Monday I missed it because I was talking to my host sister. At school, there are (2) ___ [few / a few] students who have been abroad, so everyone asks me questions. I am happy, but I have (3) ___ [borrowed / lent] my dictionary to three classmates and now I cannot find it. Could you send my blue one? Best, Rina.' Rina wants the email to sound natural and accurate because her host parents will read it.
1. Choose for (1) and explain how 'Every morning' and 'but last Monday' decide it.
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The correct choice is am used to. 'Every morning' describes a present routine, and 'I have been in Mito for two weeks' shows the situation is current. 'Be used to + -ing' means 'be accustomed to.' 'Used to + base verb' would mean a past habit that has stopped, but Rina still takes the 7:15 train; last Monday was one exception. The word 'but' sets the routine against that one failure. If 'used to' were correct, missing the train last Monday would not be a surprising contrast. The sentence's point is that she is now accustomed to the train but made one mistake, so 'am used to' fits the meaning.
2. For (2), choose 'few' or 'a few.' Use 'everyone asks me questions' as evidence.
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The correct choice is a few. 'Few students' means almost none, and that would not explain why everyone asks Rina questions. 'A few' means some, a small number, which is enough to make her noticeable and interesting. The following clause 'so everyone asks me questions' is the clue: it is a result, and a result needs a cause. If there were few students with abroad experience, the result would more likely be that nobody asks her anything. The context, not just the word's dictionary meaning, decides the answer.
3. For (3), choose 'borrowed' or 'lent.' Which direction matches 'now I cannot find it'?
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The correct choice is lent. Rina gave her dictionary to three classmates, so the dictionary left her possession; that is why she cannot find it now. 'Borrowed' would mean she received three dictionaries from classmates, which would not explain why her own blue dictionary is missing. The direction is: lend = give temporarily to someone; borrow = receive temporarily from someone. The phrase 'my dictionary' and the request 'send my blue one' confirm that the dictionary belongs to Rina and is no longer with her. The context makes the choice clear.