A2-29 / CEFR A2 / EPISODE 29

Hosting a Guest

Welcoming a friend with tea and cake

SceneAt Frank's home. Frank welcomes Tina with tea and a homemade cake.

Frank offers Tina matcha tea and cake in his home. — Select the illustration to view it at full size in a new tab.

Narrator

Frank is welcoming Tina into his home. He has made matcha and a cake.

フランクはティナを自宅に迎え入れている。抹茶とケーキを用意した。

Frank01

Welcome. Try this tea — a friend sent it from Japan.

ようこそ。このお茶を飲んでみて。友達が日本から送ってくれたんだ。

Tina02

Oh wow — it smells like my favorite latte! But... different.

わあ——私の大好きなラテの香り！でも…何か違う。

Frank03

Matcha. Grown in the hills near Kyoto. Yours has milk and sugar. This is just the tea.

抹茶だよ。京都の近くの丘で育ったんだ。君のはミルクと砂糖入り。これはお茶だけ。

Tina04

So this is the real thing! It's so green. And you made the cake too?

じゃあこれが本物なのね！すごく緑。ケーキもあなたが作ったの？

Frank05

I did. I practiced twice so today would go well.

作ったよ。今日うまくいくように、二回練習したんだ。

Tina06

You practiced... for me?

練習したの…私のために？

Frank07

You were kind to me from the start. A cake is just a small thank-you.

君は最初から僕に優しくしてくれた。ケーキは、ほんのささやかなお礼だよ。

Tina08

It's not small. Nobody bakes for me.

小さくなんかないわ。私のために焼いてくれる人なんていないもの。

Frank09

Then come again. Are you free next Saturday?

じゃあ、また来て。来週の土曜は空いてる？

Tina10

I'd love to, but I have a study group. How about Sunday?

行きたいけど、勉強会があるの。日曜はどう？

Frank11

Sunday. More time to practice baking cakes.

日曜ね。ケーキ作りを練習する時間が増える。

Tina12

Deal. ...Can the next cake be pink?

決まりね。…次のケーキはピンクにできる？

WORDS & CONTEXT

Words & context

“I'd love to, but I have a study group.”

This is a standard polite refusal pattern: show enthusiasm with I'd love to, explain the conflict after but, and offer another date such as How about Sunday? It softens the rejection.

“Deal.”

Deal. is a short response confirming an agreement. Tina treats the arrangement for Sunday as a small, friendly bargain.

“from the start” / “a small thank-you”

From the start means from the beginning, and a small thank-you means a modest gift of thanks. With the cake, Frank thanks Tina, who in A1-01 was not afraid of the stitches on his face and called him cool and special. It does not mean that Tina came to Earth in order to become his friend.

“Can the next cake be pink?”

"Can the next cake be pink?" She is asking about the color of the cake, not the matcha. The small punchline is that Tina, moved by Frank's thoughtfulness, adds a request for her favorite pink as soon as the next visit is settled.

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