クリストファー・ベルトンの「英語の世界」＜第２６号＞ [まぐまぐ！]

2008/05/11

クリストファー・ベルトンの「英語の世界」＜第２６号＞

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クリストファー・ベルトンの「英語の世界」

　　　　第２６号：０８年０５月１１日

Official Site: http://www.chrisbelton.com/

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------------------------------------ 目次 ------------------------------------

☆ What's New?
☆ Belton's Blog
☆ ワン・ポイント英語＜Not keen on＞
☆ Potluck －＜自分が［女子高生だ！］と分かった瞬間とは．．．＞
☆ オンライン英字小説－＜The Land of Words: Part IV＞

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☆ What's New?
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Nothing's new...:-)

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☆ Belton's Blog
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Well, it's Mothers' Day on Sunday, and once again I am in
a quandry as to whether or not to get a gift for my wife. Okay,
so she's not my mother so it probably isn't necessary, but I
always forget the protocol. Did I get her something last year?
If so, she might be disappointed if I don't get her something
this year.

Why is it that I can never remember what I did last year...?

This problem started more than thirty years ago. Before my
children were old enough to buy presents for Mothers' Day,
I always used to buy something on their behalf. But, when they
became old enough to buy their own gifts, I'm sure I continued
the practice of getting my wife something, as it had become a
bit of a habit. After all, kids buy Mothers' Day gifts to say
"thank you" for taking care of them for the previous year, and
she looks after me in the same way. Which means I should buy
her something, right?

But, if I didn't get her anything last year, she might remember
that and be disappointed because I forgot last year. What do I
do then?

Mmmmmm, this is going to require some careful thought. But,
whatever decision I come to, this year I will definitely take a
memo so I know what to do next year.

(Yeah, right...)

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☆ ワン・ポイント英語＜Not keen on＞
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★ Not keen on

Not keen onは何かがあまり気に入らないときに使うフレーズで、
I don’t like … very muchの代わりに使われます。tooはつけても
つけなくても構いません。

- Ken offered me some coffee, but I refused. I’m not (too) keen
　on coffee.
　ケンはコーヒーをいれてくれると言ったが、私は断った。あまりコーヒー
　が好きではないからだ。

- I love playing football, but I’m not (too) keen on cricket.
　私はサッカーをするのが好きだが、クリケットにはあまり熱心ではない。

- I’m not (too) keen on getting up early in the morning.
　私は早起きをあまり好まない。

- Gillian really enjoys watching romantic movies, but I’m not (too)
　keen on them.
　ジリアンは恋愛映画を見るのが好きだが、私はあまり興味がない。

- I like most vegetables, but I’m not too keen on cucumber.
　私はたいていの野菜は好きだが、きゅうりはどうも好きになれない。

keenという語は、次のように肯定形でも使えます。

- I am very keen on listening to classical music.
　私はクラッシック音楽を聴くのが大好きです。

- My wife is keen on Italian culture, so we visit Rome every
　summer.
　妻はイタリアの文化に関心があるので、私たちは毎夏ローマに
　行きます。

- She likes romantic films, but George is keen on action films.
　彼女は恋愛映画が好きだが、ジョージはアクション映画を好む。

- My company is keen on people who show initiative.
　私の会社はイニシアチブの取れる人材をほしがっている。

- We are very keen on ballroom dancing.
　私たちは社交ダンスに夢中です。

★ 上記の文は [イギリス英語教本－ベーシック・コース」から引用したもの
　　です。詳細はこちらへ：
　　http://www.chrisbelton.com/eng/book_eng_06.html/

★ 異なる内容の「ワン・ポイント英語」（イラスト付き）はOfficial Siteの
　　トップ・ページに定期的に更新しています。
　　http://www.chrisbelton.com/

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☆ Potluck －＜自分が［女子高生だ！］と分かった瞬間とは．．．＞
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★ 自分が［女子高生だ！］と分かった瞬間とは．．．

- ソックスが下がらないように糊でとめている
　you use glue to hold your socks up

- 現在の首相の名前が言えない
　you don't know the name of the current prime minister

- 曲が好きというのではなく、可愛いいという理由でCDを購入する
　you buy CDs because the artist is cute, not because you like the
　music

- 携帯電話を買い換えて、もう１０台目である。
　you are onto your tenth cellular phone

- セーターよりもソックスの方が糸を多量に使っている
　your socks use more wool than your sweaters

- 友達と一緒の時は大胆な行動をとるが、一人になると小さくなっている
　you are full of confidence when with your friends, but look embarrassed
　when alone

- アメリカン・ドリームとは渋谷のレストランの名前だと思っている
　you think the American Dream is a restaurant in Shibuya

- 不満感を表現する言葉がすべて“むかつく”で片付けてしまう
　the only word available in your vocabulary to express discontentment
　is 'mukatsuku'

- 父親のことを「スケベじじ」と呼んでいる
　you call your father a "sukebe jiji"

- アヒル座りが一番楽である
　your favorite sitting position is ahiru-suwari

- 週末と学校の休み中は夜行性になる
　you become nocturnal on weekends and during school vacations

- 英国とイギリスは２つの異なった国であると思っている
　you think Eikoku and Igirisu are two different countries

- 彼氏の写真は携帯の電池の下に貼ってある
　you have a picture of your boyfriend under the battery of your cell phone

- 歴史の知識は１９９８年から始まる
　your knowledge of Japanese history starts from 1998

- 形容詞の前に必ず「超」を付ける
　you use the word 'cho' before every adjective

- 趣味はカラオケ
　your hobby is karaoke

女子高生の皆様、ごめんなさい．．．m(_ _)m

（来週は「オタク」を狙います．．．:-）

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☆ オンライン英字小説
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　　★★★★　 The Land of Words (by Christopher Belton)　★★★★

　　　　メルマガ限定オリジナル作品の「オンライン英字小説」の
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　連載を毎週提供します！

　　The Land of Wordsは出版されていないオリジナル小説です。

　　１９週間をわたって、毎週ワン・チャプターづつ発行しますので、是非是非
　　最後まで読んでみてください。

　　途中からの方はバック・ナンバーでキャッチアップできます。
　　Part Iはこちらへ：
　　http://archive.mag2.com/0000251837/20080420060000000.html

----- The Land of Words: Part IV -----

Tsubasa and his father concentrated on the sound of the wind. If
they listened carefully, it seemed as if it contained voices. The more they
concentrated, the clearer the voices became.
''Look out, Tsubasa!' called one of the voices. 'There is something
coming out of the forest.'
'Did you hear that?' Tsubasa asked his father. 'It sounds like
mum's voice.'
'It is my voice, Tsubasa,' said the voice again. 'We can see you on
the computer screen.'
'You can hear us, too?'
'Yes.'
'Is everybody with you?'
'We're all here, Tsubasa,' came Sayaka's voice. 'And I can't believe
you let go, dad. We should all be there with you?'
'Is it dinner time yet, Tsubasa?' said a voice that Tsubasa did not
recognize. 'I'm hungry.'
'Who's that?' asked Tsubasa. 'I can hear another voice.'
'Nobody here said anything,' said Tsubasa's grandmother. 'You
must be imagining things.'
'You're not imagining things, Tsubasa. It's me, Shaggy.'
'Shaggy? You can talk?'
'What are you talking about?' asked Sayaka's voice. 'Shaggy isn't
talking. You're crazy!'
'I'm not crazy. Maybe only I can hear him. Shut up and let me
listen. Say something else, Shaggy.'
'It's true, Tsubasa. Nobody else can hear me because nobody else
is really listening. I communicate with telepathy. All dogs do.'
'You mean you have always been able to speak?'
'Yes. I spoke to you all the time. You just never listened.'
Tsubasa looked at his father. 'Can you hear Shaggy, too?'
'Yes, I can. It's amazing! Who would have thought...'
'Tsubasa!' came his grandmother's voice, interrupting his father's
words. 'You don't have the time to waste talking rubbish. You could be in
danger. Look over at the forest. There's something coming out of it!'
Tsubasa and his father moved to the side of the large stone, and
saw a huge creature with a sword in each hand moving slowly towards
them. The creature stood ten meters tall, and with each step, it brought the
two swords arcing down to the ground in powerful swings. Large chunks
of soil and sparks flew from the ground with each swipe.
'Oh, my!' exclaimed Tsubasa's father. 'Maybe we should move a
bit further away. It looks like it's coming straight at us.'
The two began to walk swiftly to the left, closer to the forest that
seemed to surround them. Without breaking stride, the huge creature
turned towards them and continued to advance.
'Tsubasa!' came his grandmother's voice. 'I can see something
white on a tree a bit further over to your left. Maybe it holds a message.'
'Yes, I can see it, too,' cried his mother. 'You'd better hurry up...'
Tsubasa and his father quickly scanned the area over to their left.
Sure enough, a piece of old parchment was nailed to a tree. They hurried
across to it, and began to read.

＜Part Vは来週につづく＞

(C) Christopher Belton, all rights reserved

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クリストファー・ベルトンの「英語の世界」

発行者：クリストファー・ベルトン
オフィシャル・サイト： http://www.chrisbelton.com/

発行システム：『まぐまぐ！』 http://www.mag2.com/
配信中止はこちら： http://www.mag2.com/m/0000251837.html

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