Preface
Language is culture. The two cannot be taught or learned apart from one
another. The best way to learn a language is to travel to a country where thetarget language is spoken and experience the culture. As this is not always
possible, learning from interesting content is the next best thing. American Vibes
is our answer to those who are interested in learning English through American
culture. This textbook is meant to take you on a journey where you will learn,
not only the language and history, but what lies in the hearts and minds ofAmericans.
It is impossible to capture how Americans think about any one topic. It isa diverse country with passionate people who love to share their opinions. We
interviewed over 70 people from age 15 to 100, so learners can get a true pictureof how Americans think and feel about a variety of issues. As a teacher, it was
important for me to find real people using natural language to discuss things thatthey truly care about. It is also important that, because this book is video-based,
you can see the non-verbal ways people communicate. This is a feature rarely
found in textbooks today.
As for traveling around and finding interesting cultural and historical things
to present; there is no better job. I was able to combine two things I care deeply
about. The first is teaching English to Japanese students — something I havedone for the last 25 years. Next is trying to present the fascinating country,
where I was born and raised, as a fun and interesting topic of study. The result
was a true combination of depth and humor that I hope the students will find as
captivating as I did.
Our journey was intense: two years, 20,000 kilometers, 11 different states or
districts, and over 60 on-location reports capturing the images of America andthe thoughts of those people. Looking back, it was the best job in the world. What
could be better than meeting new people and learning new things every day? It
was an absolute pleasure and I hope that feeling comes through when you use thisbook on your journey of English learning.
Todd Rucynski

Acknowledgements
First, I need to thank the fabulous crew of Fluent Films. We had Jack Lee III as production
manager on the East Coast, Sarah Moliski in California, and the indefatigable Jenny, in-between,
filling more roles than I could possibly mention. Your passion and energy fueled this project.
Script supervising, additional camerawork, as well as other production duties were performed byMichael Harter, Itsuka Homma, Daniel Wiseman, Kanako Arimoto, Kevin Brown, Yu Matsuoka,
Mizuki Kudo, Quinn Otterbeck, Shione Niinuma, Seth Schroeder, and Taiga Rucynski. Thisnever would have happened without your valuable contributions.
All drone footage and photos filmed by Meem Andrisakis. You can see more of his magnificent
work here: https://www.photosbymeem.com/
Make up for Sarah Moliski @sarahmoliski provided by the fabulous @alethea_spencer in LA.
Of course, this book is nothing without the people who generously shared their voices and ideas:
Boston: Rich, Sandra, Hana, Coach Scott and the Bunker Hill Community College Soccer
Team. Maine: Nate, Chrissy, Mike, and Ben from https://www.lukeslobster.com/ New York City:
Isaac, Yobi, Alexandra, Jerry C., Alex, and Jeffrey. Washington, D.C.: John, Evlando, Ashley,
Mary, Sam, and Josh. Charleston: Zach, Brendan, and James Scott of http://jamesmscott.com/
Savannah: James Byrne and Marvin. Oswego: Banna, Eve, Gwen, Dom, Tom, Mike, Jason
and Carol from http://rudyshot.com/ Austin: Clinton, Erika, Ariel, and Alehandro. Saint Jo:
Randy, Donna, Carrie and Alan & Denise Chamberlain at the Four Winds Ranch. Santa Fe:
Kata, Andres, Hector, Sofia, David, and Georgina. Arizona: Colton, Mercedez, Scott, Brian, andClementine. Los Angeles: Jay Mohr, Sarah, Lauryn, Alethea, Sergio, Carl, and Aya. Seattle:
Maddie, Quinn, Daniel, and Steve.
Special thanks to my friend Jay Mohr for giving his time, support, and apartment, and for being
the first Hollywood star in a Japanese textbook. Study more at: https://www.jaymohr.com/
Please have a look at the art of Donna at https://donnahowellsickles.com/ and Randy at http://
randymeador.com/. I will always remember real Texas hospitality. Thank you both.
Invaluable insight and editing were provided by Timothy Gutierrez (readings) and Jun Iesaka(voices). I consider you both brothers. My sanity has been saved by both of you more than once.
Last but not least, the team from Kinseido. Big thanks to Michi Tsutahara for enduring mytime schedule. I know that wasn’t easy. I am grateful that you pushed me when I needed tobe pushed. Thank you to my new writing partner, Yoko Nakagawa. I am sure your Japanesecontributions will greatly enhance the appreciation of our content by both students and teachers.
Finally, to Aoi Nishida, an editor who never misses a thing, and a wonderful human who knows
exactly how to handle me under pressure. Thank you for always making our books the best they
can be.

Chapter Overview
Warm-up
Answer these simple questions in order to activate what you know about the topic.
Think about what you already know about a place or issue.

Vocabulary Preview
Learn or review these words and expressions that you will meet in the videos.

1

Getting to Know the Place

Watch the first video to learn about the city in the chapter. You will also hear frompeople who live there. Answer the questions to check your understanding of what
you learned from the video.

2

Learning More

Watch the second video to go a little deeper into the city and the historical, cultural
and/or social issues which affect the city. Some chapters also feature local people
who talk about their views on the place. Develop your note-taking skills throughcompleting the cloze exercises following the transcript of the video.

Reading
Read a short essay on historical events or social issues relevant to the city. Gaina deeper understanding of the area and the successes and challenges people
living there have faced. Answer the questions to test your understanding. Starta discussion based on the issues raised by the questions. The reading section
is followed by American Eyes, a Japanese column that taps into historical andcultural topics of interest adjacent to the chapter.

American Voices
Listen to Americans who share their thoughts and opinions on a variety of issues. The
English is authentic as they are not actors. Practice speaking about the issues before
you watch. Listen closely, then expand your ideas by adding words and expressions
that you hear the people use. React to the people’s viewpoints; expand your ideas
and express yourselves better than before. Tips for listening are provided in the
Listening Highlight section. Use the tips to better understand the video content.

AMERICAN VIBES

People, Places and Perspectives

Table of Contents
Map of the United States …………………………………………………………………………………………………8
New England—Where It All Began

Chapter 1

Boston, Massachusetts ……………………………………………………… 11

Chapter 2

Maine …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17

The Biggest and the Best?

Chapter 3

New York City 1 …………………………………………………………………………… 23

Chapter 4

New York City 2 …………………………………………………………………………… 29

The Center of the U.S. Government

Chapter 5

Washington, D.C. ……………………………………………………………………… 35

The South—History and Charm

6

Chapter 6

Charleston, South Carolina …………………………………………… 41

Chapter 7

Savannah, Georgia ………………………………………………………………… 47

Everytown, USA

Chapter 8

Oswego, New York ………………………………………………………………… 53

Texas—A Country All Its Own?

Chapter 9

Austin, Texas ………………………………………………………………………………… 59

Chapter 10

Saint Jo, Texas …………………………………………………………………………… 65

The West—Nature and the Native American Spirit

Chapter 11

Santa Fe, New Mexico ………………………………………………………… 71

Chapter 12

Arizona— Grand Canyon, Route 66 ………………………… 77

The Entertainment Capital of the World

Chapter 13

Los Angeles 1 ………………………………………………………………………………… 83

Chapter 14

Los Angeles 2 ………………………………………………………………………………… 89

Explore the “Emerald City”

Chapter 15

Seattle, Washington ……………………………………………………………… 95

American Voices—Interviews

58

What is your typical diet?

64

What makes you most proud of yourcountry?

70

What is your fashion sense?

76

Meet artists in Santa Fe

82

What concerns you most about the futureof your country?

16

Meet a college soccer team in Boston

22

Can you describe yourself in one word?

28

What is happiness?

34

What is your image of Japan?

88

Meet performers in Hollywood

40

What is a friend?

94

46

Meet a history writer in Charleston

If you could stay any age, what age would
you stay?

52

Do you believe in love at first sight?

100

Meet a young Seattleite

7

Map of the United States
Seattle● Seattle
Washington●

PortlandNorth Dakota

Montana● Bismarck

Oregon
●

Idaho

Boise

South Dakota

Wyoming

Nebraska
Nevada● San Francisco

●

Utah

California

DenverColorado
KansasLas Vegas●★

Grand Canyon● Los Angeles●●

Oklahoma

Santa Fe

Williams
Arizona●Oklahoma City

New Mexico

Saint Jo ●Texas

Austin ●Grand Canyon

Williams

8

Santa Fe

Oswego

Maine
Port Clyde● Bar Harbor● Port Clyde
Vermont
New Hampshire

Minnesota●

Wisconsin
Michigan● New York City

Detroit ●Maryland●Ohio
West Virginia

Kansas City●

DelawareWashington, D.C.

Indiana

Illinois

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Chicago ●●Rhode Island
Connecticut

New York

Minneapolis

Iowa● Boston
Massachusetts● Oswego

Virginia

KentuckySaint Louis
MissouriNorth Carolina● Nashville

New York City

Tennessee
South Carolina
Arkansas●

MemphisMississippi

Louisiana● Charleston
Alabama

Georgia● Savannah● New Orleans
FloridaSavannah● MiamiAustin9

Chapter13

Los Angeles 1

映画の街ハリウッド。セレブの邸宅が建ち並ぶビバリーヒルズ。アメリカ最大の日本人街リトルトー
キョー。これらはいずれもカリフォルニア州のロサンゼルスにあります。アメリカ西海岸に位置するカリ
フォルニア州は年間を通して雨量が少なく、温暖で過ごしやすい気候が特徴です。その最大の都市である
ロサンゼルス（Los Angeles）はスペイン語で「天使たち」を意味し、その名前が示す通り、スペイン、メキシコなどのヒスパニック系の民族も多く、国際色豊かな地域です。

Warm-upWork in pairs and answer the questions.
1. Locate Los Angeles on the map on page 8.
2. Share your images of Los Angeles with a partner.
3. Do you like movies? Name your favorite movies or actors.
83Vocabulary Preview
Match each word or phrase with the Japanese.
1. realty[]

5. exclusion act[]

2. make up[]

6. round up[]

3. honor[]

7. internment camp[]

4. motion picture[]

8. heritage

[

]

b. 遺産
f . 排斥法

d. 名誉を与える
h. 構成する

a. 映画
e. 強制収容所

1c. 検挙する
g. 不動産Getting to Know the Place

Watch the video and answer the following questions about Los Angeles.
1 What did the Hollywood sign read when it was

built?
a. Hollywood Realtyb. Hollywoodlandc. Holly Woodlands

2 Which category was added to the Walk of

Fame in 1984?
a. Television and Radiob. Motion Pictures and Musicc. Theater and Live Performance

3 What is one star that is NOT found in thevideo?
a. Jackie Chanb. Jaws
c. Martin Scorsese

84

Los Angeles 1 Chapter

13

4 What is one thing Carl says about the vibe of

Los Angeles?
a. It runs at a faster speed than New York.
b. It is more relaxed than New York.
c. You can’t get away from the entertainment
industry.

2

Learning More

Watch the video about Little Tokyo, the largest Japanese town in the
country, and then complete the following notes.
A brief history
1905~
1941
1942
Today

Japanese population 1
Population peaked at
Relatively. ➡ The3

The Japanese were taken to
6grew until 2
4

.
came.

5

camps.

Japanese people live here.

How to enjoy Little Tokyo▶ A great place for shopping
You can buy some of the most 7➡

8

Japanese foods.

sushi, udon, and even mochi 9

You can also get cool1110

, etc.

.

▶ The Nisei Week Festival
It started in 12

and is held in 13

The idea is to promote Japanese

14.
and traditions.

There are many things to do.
15
eating contest➡A
A parade with children, 16
17

leaders and the festivalof the year

85

Reading
DL 26

CD 26

Read the passage and answer the following questions.

Hollywood: Upstaging New Jersey
Holly wood is the mov ie capital of theworld. But this wasn’t always the case. In
fact, a series of events combined to make that
happen. If any of the key moments in history
5

did not occur, people may never have heard of
Hollywood and the famous song might havebeen “Hooray for Fort Lee, New Jersey!”

The Globe Theatre in Hollywood

The small town of Fort Lee, across the river from New York City, had goodreasons to be the first movie capital. The first was Thomas Edison, the inventor
10of motion picture equipment. His laboratory was nearby. Another reason was thattalented Broadway actors were close by and could star in the new silent movies.
A third reason was that Fort Lee had the Hudson River and a rock formation
called the Palisades, which were perfect scenery for the movies. During its mostproductive time, 1908-1917, Fort Lee was home to seven major studios and made15

over 900 films. Universal Studios started in Fort Lee.
Despite these advantages, things were not perfect. First, Edison wanted tocompletely control the movie industry. Second, coal was rationed during WWI,
and it became increasingly difficult to heat movie studios. To get around this,the studios moved 2,700 miles away to far away Hollywood, California.

20

Hollywood had near perfect weather and did not require any heating like placeson the East Coast. At that time in Hollywood, land prices were cheap, and it haddesert, ocean, and mountains with snow not too far away. Movie producers could
make movies that looked like virtually anywhere in the world. By the 1920s,
Hollywood was the fifth largest industry in the nation.

25

All of this may never have happened if Edison had been more flexible or if war
had not come when it did. It is up for debate whether the magic of Hollywood
would have been as strong had the studios never moved westward.
Notes

upstage「後 方 に 追 い や る、 人 気 を 奪 う」 “Hooray for Hollywood”「ハ リ ウ ッ ド 万 歳（映 画 Hotel
Hollywood（1973）のテーマ曲で、現在もアカデミー賞のセレモニーなどで使われる）」 Fort Lee「フォート・リー（ニュージャージー州にある人口約 38,000 人の街）
」 the Palisades「パリセイズ（ハドソン川下流の急な崖の連なり）」 ration「供給制限する」 Universal Studio「ユニバーサル・スタジオ（ハリウッドのユニバー

86

サルシティにある映画スタジオ兼テーマパーク）」

Los Angeles 1 Chapter

13

Answer if the following statements are true (T) of false (F).
[T / F]

1. Broadway actors were used in early films.

2. Thomas Edison moved from New Jersey to Hollywood with movie actors.
[T / F][T / F]

3. Universal Studios began in Hollywood.

Answer the following questions.
1. Why did it become difficult to heat movie studios in New Jersey during WWI?

2. Name three reasons the studios moved to Hollywood.

多様なルーツを持つ「アメリカ人」の街
現在のロサンゼルスのある地域には、約１万年前から人類が暮らし、紀元前 8000 年頃からはネイティブ・アメリカンの部族が定住を始めたと言われています。1769 年には、15 世紀後半の新大陸発見以降植民地を拡大していたスペインがカリフォルニアを併合。
その後、同様にスペインの植民地であったメキシコが 1821 年に独立戦争に勝利したことで、カリフォルニアはメキシコ領となりました。1848 年にはメキシコがアメリカ・メキシコ戦争（米墨戦争）で敗北したため、カリフォルニアはアメリカの領土となり、現在に至ります。
カリフォルニア州内でも、特にロサンゼルスは多種多様な民族や人種で構成されています。ヨーロッパ系に加え、ヒスパニック系は全米最大規模で、中東系、アジア系、アフリカ系、そしてネイティブ・アメリカ
ンも多数居住しています。映像で Sergioが話しているように、ロサンゼルスは、それぞれ独自のスタイルを持つ小さな村が集まった都市と言えるのです。
ロサンゼルスは日本人とも関わりの深い街です。19 世紀末、ロサンゼルス在住の日本人漁師による日本食店の開業
が、リトルトーキョー発祥のきっかけとなりました。リトルトーキョーは、一時は 30,000 人を超えるほどの規模になりましたが、第二次世界大戦中、多くの日系人が強制収容所に入れられ、一時は消滅しました。戦後は再生し、映像で紹介されていたように様々な飲食店やイベントによって賑わいを取り戻しています。1992 年に開館した全米日系人博物館では、戦前の日系人の生活の様子や強制収容所時代の遺物が展示され、彼らの歩みを後世に伝えています。

Banners greeting travelers to Los Angeles

87American Voices#

13

Let’s meet three performers
who work in show businessin Hollywood.

DL 27

CD 27

A Watch two young performers talk and match the person with what

was said.

1 [

[

]
]

2 [

[

]
]

a. I’m more focused on film, television and film.
b. Los Angeles offers the opportunity to follow your dreams.
c. I’m from Florida and I wasn’t ready to be cold yet.
d. I love acting and love stand-up comedy.
B Now let’s watch the famous actor Jay Mohr. Which of the following

did Jay say?
a. Many people with incredible dreams cometo LA, but they realize that they’re very small
fish in a very large pond.
b. Many people with a lot of experiences cometo LA, but young performers never flourish.
c. Life treats you well in LA. It’s a beautiful city.
C Share your ideas with your classmates.

1. Who are your favorite actors and why?
2. Jay describes his position as “middle class in show business.” If you
were him, would you try to push the ceiling higher to be even more
successful? Or would you be happy to be “middle class”?
ロサンゼルスのあるカリフォルニア州の英語は、アメリカ国内では標準語とされており、日本人でも比較的聞き取りやすいと言われています。映像に登場した２人の若い女性の話した方は、イントネーションに抑揚があることも聞き取りやすさの要因の１つでしょう。例えば Sarah は “performing at stand-up comedy clubs, ⤴
going for hikes ⤵ ” のように、複数の例を挙げるときに並列関係がわかるように、語尾の上げ下げを意識して発音しています。

88