2009/07/19
クリストファー・ベルトンの「英語の世界」 ＜第８８号＞
============================================================================= クリストファー・ベルトンの「英語の世界」 第８８号： ０９年０７月１９日 Official Site: http://www.chrisbelton.com/ ============================================================================= ------------------------------------ 目次 ------------------------------------ ☆ What's New? ☆ Belton's Blog ☆ ワン・ポイント英語 － ＜猫の比喩－Part II＞ ☆ Potluck － ＜イギリス版オヤジ・ギャグ＞ ☆ オンライン英字小説 － ＜Koropokkuru: The End of a Colony/Chapter #3＞ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ☆ What's New? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ☆ 「例文でまるごと覚える 28日完成 合格できる単熟語 英検2級」（ASK) が出版されました。 ☆ 「多聴多読マガジンVol.15」は07月06日に出版されました。今回の 連載記事のテーマは[My Stroke of Insight (by Jill Bolte Taylor )] 。 また、連載小説[Gateway to Hell]の第２章が搭載します。 今回は [Chapter Three: Sanctuary and Insight]です。 （ちなみに、今回のPage 27にインタービューも．．．！） ☆ 今月のAsahi Weeklyの連載記事は本日（１９日）に発行されます。 今回のテーマは[Suspense and Thrillers]です。 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ☆ Belton's Blog ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the first time in over a year I have had a Harry Potter week. With the latest Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) being released last week and the older movies being shown on TV, my homepage has been scoring hundreds of access hits with the keyword "Harry Potter." I guess everybody is looking for information on the new movie, so they are probably a bit disappointed when they find me, but personally I found it quite pleasant as it reminded me of the five-year period that I was heavily involved in this series of books. And, to bring back the memories even further, I have been asked to write an essay on Harry Potter for the [秋の読書] special that the Asahi Weekly newspaper will run on September 27th. Maybe I should write a new book and name it "Harry Potter and the Happy Author"... :-) ------------------------------------ We have now reached the part of the year where I get one hour less sleep every day. My dog, Coral, dislikes the summer heat, and if the sun is too hot she sits in a shadow and refuses to move. I can under- stand that, I guess, as the termperature 20cm above the sun-heated concrete and asphalt is a lot higher than it is at 173cm. She also wears a thick fur coat, so it can't be very comfortable. My usual schedule is to get up at around 7 o'clock, eat breakfast and read the newspaper, and then take her for a walk for about an hour or so at just after 8 o'clock. By then, however, the sun is too hot for her, so now I get up at 6 o'clock and take her for a walk before breakfast. This has two advantages; 1) Coral can enjoy her walk, and 2) I get to start work about one hour earlier than usual. But, the greatest advantage comes at the end of the summer, when I can revert to the normal schedule and get an extra hour's sleep every day... ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ☆ ワン・ポイント英語 ＜ 猫の比喩－Part II＞ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ★ 猫の比喩－Part II ☆ not enough room to swing a cat 「狭いスペース」の意味。このcatは動物の猫ではなく、cat of nine tails と呼ばれる鞭を指しています。これは水兵の体罰に使われた鞭で、 金属片のはめこまれた9本の革紐を柄に取りつけたもの。この鞭に よる背中の傷が、猫の爪のひっかき傷に似ているのです。狭い部屋 の中で鞭をふるえば、鞭が壁にあたってしまいます。 - My new apartment is very cheap, but there’s not enough room to swing a cat. 今度のアパートは家賃がとても安いが狭苦しい。 - My wife has put so much furniture in our living room that there’s not enough room to swing a cat. 妻が居間にたくさん家具を置いたので、狭くてたまらない。 ☆ fight like cat and dog 猫と犬は天敵同士。そのけんかはとても激しいものです。 - If I leave my children unattended for even a moment, they end up fighting like cat and dog. 子どもたちから一瞬でも目を離すと、たちまち大げんかになる。 - Their marriage started off without trouble, but within a year they were fighting like cat and dog. ふたりは難なく結婚生活を始めたが、1年もたたないうちに激しく いがみあうようになった。 ☆ catnap 「居眠り」のこと。猫はいつでもどこでも眠ることができ、眠ったかと思う とすぐにパッと目を覚まします。 - The movie was so boring that I ended up catnapping. 映画があまりに退屈だったので、ついうとうとしてしまった。 - My wife spends most of her evenings catnapping in front of the television. 妻は夜、ほとんどテレビの前でうたた寝をしている。 ☆ Cheshire cat Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland（『不思議の国のアリス』）に登場する猫で、 いつもにたにた笑っています。ひとりでにやにや笑っている人や、ものごとが うまくいってうれしくてたまらない人を指して使います。 - What are you smiling at? You look like the Cheshire cat. 何をにやにやしているの？ まるでチェシャーキャットみたい。 - Rosemary looked like the Cheshire cat after Peter proposed to her. ピーターからプロポーズをされて以来、ローズマリーはひとり悦に 入っている。 ☆ cat on hot bricks ひどく動揺した、パニック寸前の人に使います。猫を熱いレンガの上に置くと、 興奮して暴れまわりますから。 - I don’t know what the problem is, but he looked like a cat on hot bricks after he received that telephone call. いったい何があったのか知らないが、彼はあの電話を受けたあと、 ひどく動揺していた。 - John has been like a cat on hot bricks since he heard that his company is planning a restructure. 会社がリストラを計画していると聞いて以来、彼はすっかり気が動転している。 ☆ put the cat amongst the pigeons 猫を鳩の群れの中に放せば大混乱になることから、「騒ぎのもとをつくる」 という意味で使われます。 - She certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons when she cancelled her wedding. 彼女が結婚式をキャンセルしたので、ひどく厄介なことになった。 - The prime minister put the cat amongst the pigeons when he suggested the constitution should be amended. 首相は憲法改正を提案し、大混乱を巻き起こした。 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ☆ Potluck － ＜イギリス版オヤジ・ギャグ＞ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ★ イギリス版オヤジ・ギャグ Man: Doctor, doctor, I keep thinking I am a dog. Doctor: How long has this been going on? Man: “Ever since I was a puppy. 男： 「先生、先生、わたしは自分のことをずっと犬だと思いこんでいるん です」 医者： 「いつからそうなのかね？」 男： 「子犬だったころからです」 Secretary: Doctor, doctor, the invisible man is here for his appointment. Doctor: Tell him I can’t see him. 秘書： 「先生、先生、透明人間の方が予約していたといってやって来たの ですが」 医者： 「あなたを診る（見る）ことはできないと伝えなさい」 ※ seeには「見る」「診察する」の意味があります。 Man: Doctor, doctor, people keep ignoring me. Doctor: Next, please! 男： 「先生、先生、みんながわたしを無視するんです」 医者： 「はい、次のかた！」 Man: Doctor, doctor, my son has swallowed my pen, what should I do? Doctor: Use a pencil 男： 「先生、先生、息子がわたしのペンを飲みこんでしまったんです。どうしたら いいでしょう？」 医者： 「鉛筆をお使いなさい」 Man: Doctor, doctor, it hurts whenever I press any part of my body with my finger. What do you think the trouble is? Doctor: You have a broken finger. 男： 「先生、先生、指でからだを押すと、どこを押しても必ず痛むんです。 どこが悪いんでしょうか」 医者： 「指の骨が折れているようですな」 Man: Doctor, doctor, I have a terrible pain in my left leg. Doctor: Don’t worry, it’s only old age. Man: It can’t be. My right leg’s the same age, and that doesn’t hurt. 男： 「先生、先生、左脚がひどく痛むんです」 医者： 「心配はいりません。歳のせいですよ」 男： 「そんなはずはありません。右脚も同じ歳ですが、そっちは痛くないん ですから」 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ☆ オンライン英字小説 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ★★★★ Koropokkuru: The End of a Colony ★★★★ (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！ 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/0000251837/20090706103319000.html ----- Koropokkuru: The End of a Colony ----- Chapter Three Full Stomachs and More Friends ‘Oh, no!’ squealed Chiaki. ‘They’re hungry, the poor little things. Run back to the house and get something for them, will you, Koki?’ ‘Why me?’ exclaimed Koki indignantly. ‘You go!’ ‘Shhhhh...!’ hissed Chiaki, placing a finger in front of her lips. ‘Don’t shout! You’re scaring them.’ Koki looked down at the two tiny Koropokkuru and saw that they were huddled together and staring at him fearfully. His heart melted, and he smiled at them encouragingly. ‘I’m sorry. Don’t be scared. What would you like to eat? I can get you anything you want.’ The two small creatures looked at each other and quickly reassumed their former stance with their hands held out in front of them. ‘Potato,’ they repeated. ‘Hungry.’ Koki grinned at them and said, ‘Okay, potatoes it is. I’ll be back as quickly as I can.’ While Koki was gone Chiaki tried to communicate further with their newfound friends by asking them their names. They obviously didn’t understand what she was saying, so in the end she pointed a finger at her nose and said, ‘Chiaki.’ She then pointed the same finger at the Koropokkuru and said, ‘You?’ They seemed to understand this, as the girl pointed a tiny finger at her own nose and said, ‘Tresi’ in a high-pitched voice. She then pointed to the boy and said, ‘Yup.’ ‘Tresi and Yup,’ laughed Chiaki delightedly. ‘What beautiful names! It is a pleasure to meet you, Tresi and Yup. Do you live here alone?’ Once again the Koropokkuru couldn’t understand what she was saying, so she slowed her voice down and spoke in single words. Just as she had managed to discover that they lived deeper in the forest, Koki can running back with a large plastic bag. ‘Here you are,’ he said, slightly out of breath. ‘Potatoes!’ He took a potato out of the bag, leaned forward and handed it to the girl. He then took another and gave it to the boy. The two Koropokkuru imme- diately fell greedily on the potatoes and began eating. They chomped away with looks of rapture on their faces, until Chiaki was sure they couldn’t force any more into their tiny stomachs. When the last of the potatoes had finally disappeared into their mouths, Tresi and Yup sat back contentedly and rubbed their fat bellies. Yup burped loudly, and then looked at them in embarrassment, causing Chiaki and Koki to laugh loudly. Chiaki told Koki their names, and Koki pushed the plastic bag with the remaining potatoes across to them. ‘There’s another nine or ten potatoes in there if you’re still hungry,’ he said, pointing at the bag. Tresi looked longingly at the bag, but instead of taking another potato, she stood up and moved her hands up to her face. Cupping them around her mouth, she blew into them. A high-pitched bird-like noise echoed around the woods. Chiaki and Koki looked at each other in puzzlement, but then Yup stood up and started jumping up and down excitedly while pointing deeper into the woods. The two children turned their attention to the direction he was pointing, and exclaimed in wonder at the sight. From beneath a patch of butterbur leaves came more Kokopokkuru in single file. They were led by an old man whose face was almost entirely concealed behind a long, gray beard and who held a staff in his right hand. Chiaki counted at least ten of the small creatures. When they saw the bag of potatoes on the ground, they suddenly rushed forward and accepted one each from Tresi. Only the old man ignored Tresi. He walked over until he was standing in front of Chiaki and Koki, and then bowed deeply. ‘Thank you on behalf of the Koropokkuru,’ he said in perfect Japanese. ‘My name is Nipa.’ ＜Chapter #4は来週につづく＞ (C) Christopher Belton, all rights reserved ============================================================================= 発行者の紹介 ------------ 発行者はイギリス人作家クリストファー・ベルトンです。『「ハリーポッター」が 英語で楽しく読める本』シリーズをはじめ、TOEIC、英検、英会話、多読、 ライティングなどの数多くの英語教材を出版する傍ら、海外では小説家として 知られているプロ・ライターです。 オフィシャル・サイトは下記のURLにて、是非アクセスしてみてください。 http://www.chrisbelton.com/ ============================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
