語学の勉強

出典： The New Zealand Herald An Alexandra couple hope others can learn from their near-death experience after being trapped in their new "keyless" car in their own garage for almost 13 hours. garage [gərάː ʒ] … 車庫 Confusion about operating their Mazda 3 hatchback led Mollieanne and Brian Smith to believe there was no way to get out after they got stuck inside last month. After becoming trapped about 7pm on November 5, their attempts to escape included sounding the horn and trying to smash a window with a car jack . car jack … 車のジャッキ Mrs Smith said it was Guy Fawkes night , and no one would have noticed the horn due to fireworks. Guy Fawkes night … ガイ・フォークス・ナイト（ Wikipedia ） When they were freed by neighbours about 7.45am the next day, Mrs Smith was unconscious and her husband was struggling to breathe. struggle to … 必死で～しようとする、～しようと四苦八苦する She said they were told by emergency services if they had spent another half hour in the car and they could have died....

It’s cool, it’s classy and it’s just sold for 137,000 dollars. Yes, it could only be the original Batmobile. classy … しゃれた、スタイリッシュな The car was sold at auction over the weekend and it’s the first time the 1963 Batmobile was up for sale in decades. up for sale … 売りに出される A massive fan of the DC comics superhero spent three years customising a 1956 Oldsmobile 88 to resemble the car that Batman used in the comics from 1940’s to the 1950’s. Forrest Robinson who made the comic car a reality completed his Batmobile in 1963 and it became so popular that DC Comics leased the car from him. make ～ a reality … ～を実現する lease ～ from ～ … ～から～を借りる But he’s not the only one to give it a go . George Barris created a car for the TV series in the 1960’s, and that one sold for massive 4.2 million dollars at auction last year. give it a go … 試しにやってみる、挑戦してみる

出典： The Australian A child dies of suicide in Australia each week while between 50 and 60 more are hospitalised for trying to kill themselves, damning new data shows. die of … ～が原因で死ぬ damning [dǽmiŋ ] … 手厳しい、痛烈な Boys are twice as likely as girls to take their own lives, National Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell told federal parliament in a report tabled yesterday. table … 提出する Ms Mitchell’s report calls for age restrictions on the sale of headache tablets, warning that hanging and pharmaceutical or poison overdoses are the main causes of death. hanging … 首吊り overdose … 過剰摂取 Suicide risk peaks at the start of high school, with teenagers six times more likely to kill themselves at the age of 14 or 15 than at 12 or 13. Indigenous children aged four to nine are twice as likely to kill themselves as others the same age, while the suicide rate among Aboriginal teenagers is five times higher than for other teens. indigenous [indídʒənəs ] … 土着の、原住民の、先住民の Do...

My Rolex watch, which I bought 14 years ago, suddenly stopped working last week. Ideally, I should have had it overhauled every 5 years, but I didn't. I took my watch to a watch shop near my house that deals in expensive brand watches. The shop sent my watch to the Rolex authorized service center to get a quote for the repairs. get a quote … 見積もりを取る The shop called me yesterday to say that the repairs would cost about 69 thousand yen. To tell the truth, it was even more expensive than I expected. I had an option to cancel the repairs and send my watch to an unauthorized repair shop that offers more affordable services. However, the shop strongly recommended that I have my watch repaired by the authorized service center. They said that if I sent my watch to an unauthorized repair shop that might make improper repairs, the authorized service center would no longer accept the watch for further repairs. I was convinced by the shop's explanation and told them to start the...

出典： Financial Review How does an online education provider go about creating the social links between students that aid their study habits and support them through the rigours of their course? go about … ～に取り組む、取り掛かる rigour = rigor … 厳しさ Answer: Start a social network. That’s what Swinburne University’s online arm has done to give its more than 5000 students the ability to connect with one another and build the links traditionally created between students in face-to-face ­university study. arm … 部門 Launched in September this year, Swinburne Online’s new Connect feature lets students comment, set up groups, and exchange information about in a manner similar to a social network such as Facebook. Students can use it to find other students doing the same course, living in the same locality, or having common interests. “I can’t wait to chat with some people in the course and get started,” says one student in a typical post as her course is about to begin. Groups are ...

出典： Fox News An English theme park has barred all single people from entering‚ just in case they are a paedophile . paedophile = pedophile [píːdəfàil] … 小児愛者 Puxton Park, a family-friendly theme park in a coastal town west of London, has a policy of not allowing single men or women through its gates in order to protect the children inside. Grandfather Matthew Richards, 54, said he was shocked to be refused admission when he attempted to see a falconry display on Thursday. falconry [fɔ́ːlkənri] … 鷹狩り "I was frankly amazed," he told the Western Gazette. "We have taken one of our grandchildren there before, and I saw that the falconry was there and thought it would be interesting to go back and see the displays. "I almost feel discriminated against ." discriminate against … ～を差別する Richards, a bird enthusiast, was doubly annoyed because he had travelled almost 25 miles to see the display. The park's managing director, Alistair Mead, has...

出典： CCTV Chinese President Xi Jinping has held a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Great Hall of the People. Xi said China hopes Japan will follow the path of peaceful development and adopt prudent military and security policies. prudent … 分別のある、良識的な、慎重な He also urged Japan to do more to enhance mutual trust with neighboring countries, and play a "constructive role" in safeguarding regional peace and stability. Xi said China has always attached importance to its ties with Japan. attach importance to … 重視する Abe said Japan wants to see through the "Four-Point" Consensus on improving bilateral ties, which was reached between the two countries just prior to his visit. see through … 最後までやり遂げる

出典： The Australian A paralysed man can walk again after receiving revolutionary treatment which one of the British scientists responsible hailed as a breakthrough “more impressive than a man walking on the Moon” — although others urged caution. hail … 称賛する、高く評価する Darek Fidyka was paralysed from the chest down, but can now walk using a frame after nerve cells from his nose were transplanted into his severed spinal column in Poland, according to research published Tuesday in the journal Cell Transplantation. sever [sévər ] … 切断する、分断する “When there’s nothing, you can’t feel almost half of your body. You’re helpless, lost,” the patient, who is now recovering at the Akron Neuro-Rehabilitation Centre in Wroclaw, told the BBC’s Panorama program, who filmed his remarkable recovery. “When it (the feeling) begins to come back, you feel you’ve started your life all over again, as if you are reborn,” said the 40-year-old Polish man, whose injuries were caused by a knife attack in 20...

出典： CNN How would you describe your local bank? Is it small, gray and drab ? Are the opening hours short and inconvenient? Does it almost always seem to be low on staff ? drab … 単調でつまらない、活気のない、殺風景な low on staff … 人手不足である The banks of the future are looking to inject new life into their outlets -- transforming formally dull environments into efficient, modern, tech-savvy destinations. inject new life into … ～に新たな息吹を吹き込む outlet … 店舗 formally … 格式張って、堅苦しく dull … 退屈な、単調な tech-savvy … テクノロジーに精通した Long lines and dated designs are being replaced with luxurious lounge areas, tailored service offerings and even robots. Banks, it seems, are about to become a whole lot cooler. dated … 時代遅れの a whole lot … 非常に、かなり、ずっと、大いに Groundbreaking design groundbreaking … 画期的な、革新的な "The bank branch of the future must be designed around customer engagement ," says Martin Shires, branch transformation manager at NCR, a consumer transaction technology company. "Ban...

出典： Foreign Policy On Sept. 24, as U.S. President Barack Obama addressed the United Nations General Assembly and called for countries to shoulder more international responsibility, Chinese President Xi Jinping was home in Beijing. That day, Xi conducted a seminar at Beijing's Great Hall of the People , a ceremonial building, in celebration of the 2,565th birthday of Confucius and its resonance to today. United Nations General Assembly … 国連総会 Great Hall of the People … 人民大会堂 Confucius [kənfjúːʃəs ] … （人名）孔子 resonance … 反響、共鳴 We will strive for the peaceful development of the world, Xi said, but he also reminded his audience that China was still a developing country, and its responsibilities should be commensurate with its status. strive for … ～に向けて懸命に努力する be commensurate with … ～に相応する、見合っている、釣り合っている There are many issues -- from North Korean disarmament to the war in Iraq and Syria, from the tensions in Ukraine to the spread of Ebola -- on which the United Stat...

出典： Daily Mail It's no secret that eating hamburgers and fries could affect your waist line but new research has found it can also take a toll on your brain. it's no secret that … ～はよく知られている take a toll on … ～に被害（損害）を与える、悪影響を及ぼす、負担をかける Researchers found that higher intake of a western diet by 14-year-olds had scored lower in cognitive tasks by the age of 17. cognitive task … 認知的作業 Within the western dietary patterns , the study found participants with a high intake of take-away food, deep fried potatoes, red and processed meat and soft drinks had negative associations that affected their reaction time, mental ability , visual attention , learning and memory. dietary pattern … 食習慣 mental ability … 知能 visual attention … 視覚的注意 While participants who had higher consumption of fruits and leafy green vegetables, had a positive cognitive performance. Researcher Dr Anett Nyaradi told Science Network that it could be due to increased micronutrient content from l...

出典： National Post The shipwreck Canada found in the Arctic a month ago is HMS Erebus, personal flagship of Capt. Sir John Franklin on his doomed attempt to find the Northwest Passage . shipwreck … 難破船 flagship … 旗艦、主要船 doomed … 運の尽きた、不運の、絶望的な Northwest Passage … 北西航路 Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement in the House of Commons a little before 3 p.m., ending a month of speculation . Stephen [stí:vən] … スティーブン House of Commons … 庶民院、下院 speculation … 憶測、推測 “I’m delighted to confirm that we have identified which ship from the Franklin expedition has been found,” Harper told the House of Commons. “It is, in fact, the HMS Erebus.” expedition … 遠征隊 The wreck is the one Parks Canada ’s archeologists were most hoping to find. Since it was Franklin’s own ship (the other was called Terror), they’re hoping it will contain some of his personal effects . The expedition’s leader may even have died on the ship. Parks Canada … パークスカナダ（カナダの国立公園を管理する政府機関） arc...

出典： The Globe and Mail A Griffon military helicopter made an unexpected landing on the front lawn of a summer home Monday in Nova Scotia . Nova Scotia [nòʊvə skóʊʃə] … ノバスコシア州 The chopper touched down on Shaw Island around 10:30 p.m. as a precaution after its main rotor clipped the antenna of a Coast Guard ship. chopper … ヘリコプター touch down on … ～に着陸する as a precaution … 予防措置として、万一に備えて、念のため No was hurt in the incident, which occurred during an exercise . exercise … 演習 A local resident says the helicopter landed on the property of Scotiabank president Brian Porter, who wasn’t at home at the time. The military says it will investigate what caused the helicopter to clip the ship’s antenna.

出典： Newsy More than 30 people are reported dead after a volcano unexpectedly erupted in Japan Saturday. Specific casualty numbers are hard to come by , since Japanese officials do not confirm deaths until after a doctor's formal examination. casualty … 死傷者 come by … 手に入れる、入手する But according to the BBC, officials say about 31 people were found dead of heart and lung failures on Mount Ontake, a popular hiking spot this time of year because of its autumn foliage . autumn foliage … 紅葉 Including the 31 discovered, 45 people remain unaccounted for Sunday. Workers were forced to suspend rescue efforts over fears of a toxic gas build up on the mountaintop. remain unaccounted for … 行方不明のままである Local officials estimate more than 250 people, mostly hikers, were on the mountain when it erupted. This video shows hikers hurrying down the mountain before being engulfed in the ash cloud, which covered the mountain in almost a foot of ash. And now NHK reports officials are war...

出典： TIME The CDC says more needs to be done to fight Ebola before it's too late Ebola [iːˈboʊlə] … エボラ出血熱 The window of opportunity to stop the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is “closing quickly,” a top health official said Tuesday. window … 何かをするための時間や期間の枠 outbreak … 大発生、大流行 “The number of cases is so large, the epidemic is so overwhelming and it requires an overwhelming response,” Dr. Tom Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told reporters Tuesday after returning to the U.S. Monday from a trip to the affected countries. epidemic … （病気などの）蔓延、流行 Despite the efforts of health workers from the affected countries and elsewhere, cases of Ebola will continue to increase, Frieden said. Moments after his remarks, an aid group announced that another American doctor fighting the outbreak in Liberia has been infected. Liberia [laɪˈbɪriə] … リベリア Groups like Doctors Without Borders that are treating patients are overwhelmed ...

出典： The Washington Post Chronic disease management is a big issue in modern medical care: Hypertension, diabetes, asthma , obesity and allergies are among the conditions that can severely impinge on people’s lives, raise their medical bills and even lead to premature death . It is not surprising that health-care practitioners may try to frighten people with chronic disease into changing their lifestyles and getting care: Lose weight or you may have a heart attack. Manage your insulin or you may lose a limb . Take these meds or you may have a stroke . chronic disease … 慢性疾患 asthma … ぜんそく impinge on … ～に影響を与える、～を侵害する premature death … 早死 health-care practitioners … 医療関係者 frighten A with B … BでAを怖がらせる frighten A into B … Aを脅してBをさせる limb … 手足 stroke … 脳卒中 Heather Alva, a medical student, offers a more positive strategy: Introduce new patients to what she calls mentors — older patients who have successfully lived with chronic disease. Give them someone to emulate . ...

Think about the last time you were on a roller coaster. You probably remember the time, the place, who you were with — and might also feel either excited or terrified, depending on whether you love or hate roller coasters. 最後にジェットコースターに乗ったときのことを思い出してみてください。おそらくその時間、場所、一緒にいた人を覚えているでしょう。そして、ジェットコースターが好きか嫌いかによって、興奮したり恐怖を感じたりするかもしれません。 That's because our memories don't exist in isolation. Our brains attach a lot of context to any given memory — including any strong emotions that go along with it. これは、私たちの記憶が孤立して存在しているわけではないからです。私たちの脳は、どんな記憶にも多くの文脈を付け加えます。それに伴う強い感情も含めてです。 語彙解説： • in isolation … 孤立して、単独で、個別に • go along with … ～に伴う、～に付随する Now, neuroscientists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been able to actually change those emotions in lab mice, thanks to a technique that lets researchers turn individual neurons on or off using blue light. 現在、マサチューセッツ工科大学の神経科学者たちが、実験用マウスのそうした感情を実際に変えることに成功しています。これは、青い光を使って個々のニューロンをオン・オフできる技術のおかげです。 語彙解説： ...

（字幕をオンにしてご覧ください） - Lesley Ann Warren, 20 seconds to curtain, Miss Warren. curtain … 開演、終演 - OK, thank you. Thank you, Scooter. - Good luck to both of you. - Good luck to both of us? - Oh, don't wish us good luck. We got talent. We've got drive. We've got charisma. So don't wish us no lousy, stinking, rotten luck. wish someone good luck … （人の）幸運を祈る、（人）の前途を祝福する lousy … 最低の、ろくでもない stinking … ひどい、胸くその悪くなる rotten … 不愉快な、たちの悪い - Wish me luck. - It's The Muppet Show with our very special guest star, Lesley Ann Warren. Yeah! # It's time to play the music # It's time to light the light # It's time to meet the Muppets on The Muppet Show tonight # It's time to put on makeup # It's time to dress up right # It's time to get things started # Why don't you get things started? # It's time to get things started # On the most sensational, inspirational, Celebrational, Muppetational # This is what we call The Muppet Sho...

<Revised on Dec. 12, 2019> Yesterday my wife told me that Thailand Fair was held at a nearby shopping mall, and authentic mango parfait was available there. We immediately set off to enjoy the parfait with our children. After arriving at the mall, we looked for the sign of Thailand Fair, but couldn't find it. Instead, we saw a sign of "Taiwan Fair," which served mango parfait at one of the booths. My wife said, "Oh, I mistook Taiwan for Thailand." However, I couldn't understand how she could have mistaken them. In Japanese, Taiwan is written as "台湾" in Kanji characters, and Thailand is written as "タイ" in Katakana characters. There is no possibility of mistaking them. I didn't ask about it persistently because it wasn't a big deal after we enjoyed excellent mango parfait.

One day I told my wife that I wanted to go to Hawaii someday. She said that she couldn't understand why I wanted to go there even though I couldn't swim and I didn't do any marine sports. I said, "I just want to go there!" [ source ]

現在形 … 現在の事実を表す 過去形 … 過去の事実を表す 原形 … 事実が確定していないことを表す ● 彼が腹を立てていることが事実である場合、that節内の動詞は現在形になる (直説法現在)。 It is natural that he is angry with you. ● 事実がどうであるかにかかわらず、彼が腹を立てるのは当然だという場合、that節内の動詞は原形になる (仮定法現在)。 It is natural that he be angry with you. ● イギリス英語では、仮定法を使わずに should+動詞の原形 を使うことが多い。 It is natural that he should be angry with you. 【参考記事】 仮定法現在について

verb + "up" の意味は大きく3つのカテゴリーに分けられます。 1. increase speak up … 大声で話す、はっきり話す 　 Could you please speak up? 　 もっと大きな声で話していただけますか？ turn up … （音量などを）大きくする 　 Turn up the TV a little. 　 テレビの音量をもう少し上げて。 blow up … （風船などを）膨らませる、爆発させる 　 Because of too much taking care of others, I feel like I could blow up. 　 他人に気を遣いすぎて、もう爆発しそう。 cheer up … 元気づける、励ます 　 Thanks for trying to cheer me up. 　 励ましてくれてありがとう。 grow up … 成長する 　 What do you want to be when you grow up? 　 大きくなったら何になりたい？ 2. move bring up … 持ち出す、育てる 　 Don't bring up that story. 　 そんな話を持ち出さないでくれ。 catch up … 追い付く 　 Go ahead. I'll catch up with you soon. 　 先に行ってください。すぐ追いつきますから。 sit up … 起き上がる、きちんと座る 　 Sit up straight. It's rude to sit like that. 　 背筋を伸ばして座りなさい。そんなふうに座るのは失礼ですよ。 3. complete fill up … 満たす、いっぱいにする 　 Please fill up the tank when you return the car. 　 車を返すときはガソリンを満タンにしてください。 finish up … 仕上げる、終わらせる 　 I have to finish up my homework tomorrow. 　 明日までに宿題を終...

In my last English lesson, my teacher told me to choose the most important thing for my happiness from several choices. I chose "not wanting more than you've got". The teacher asked me why I thought so. It was a bit difficult for me to explain the reason in English. I said something like the following. - The more we get, the more we want. - We can't be satisfied no matter how much we get. - We can't get everything. - We should live within our limits. However I'm not sure whether my answers were to the point. [ source ]

I went to see the movie "Godzilla" this morning. It was certainly a fun movie. However I felt the storyline was a bit shallow, though this could be said for all Godzilla movies. The movie was screened in two versions: 2D and 3D. The 2D version had English audio and Japanese subtitles. The 3D version was Japanese-dubbed. To be honest, I prefered the English audio version. But I actually chose the 3D version because I wanted to see how much the 3D effects provided realistic vision. My result was, to my disappointment, I didn't feel the movie took advantage of the 3D effects effectively. I thought it might have been unnecessary for the movie to be 3D. I should have seen the 2D version with English audio and Japanese subtitles. [ source ]

aptitude (n.) ... natural ability to do something I work with a lot of freelance translators. My job is checking translated documents for mistakes. Most translators are very competent. However, to my disappointment, there are some translators who I think lack an aptitude for translation work. predicament (n.) ... a difficult or unpleasant situation in which you don't know what to do Benesse is one of the largest correspondence education companies in Japan. One of the staff was arrested for hacking the personal information of several million customers. Benesse is in a predicament where it has completely lost its customers' trust. [ source ]

I've read in a web article that, in Australia, people celebrate Christmas in July as well as in December. According to the article, Christmas in December is in the hot season in Australia. Therefore people want to have a Christmas party in the cold season as people in the northern hemisphere do. I wonder how common celebrating Christmas in July is among Australian people. [ source ]

pang (noun) ... a sudden strong feeling of physical or emotional pain In my childhood, I accidentally broke my younger brother's plastic model while we were fighting. He picked up the plastic model and wept over it silently. I felt a great pang of guilt at the sight of his grief. [ source ]

出典： CBS News RINGWOOD, N.J. - A frightened bear cub got its head stuck in an oversized cookie jar while rummaging through some trash and had to be rescued from a tree in New Jersey. rummage through … ～の中をかき回して捜す Environmental Protection Department spokesman Larry Ragonese says the 6-month-old cub apparently found the animal crackers jar Friday night in Ringwood, near the New York border. As the 28-pound animal tried to eat what remained in the jar, the cub apparently pulled the container over its head and it got stuck. pull ～ over one's head … ～を頭からかぶる The cub became spooked when approached and went up a tree, but got wedged about 40 feet up. spook … 驚かす、驚く get wedged … 動きがとれなくなる DEP staffers arranged netting in case the bear fell to the ground. After the animal was tranquilized by a DEP biologist, it was brought down and local firefighters gingerly cut the jar off its head. gingerly … 非常に慎重に、用心深く

出典： Breaking News English Parents in the U.K. face being punished if their children are continually late for school. 英国では、子供たちが学校に遅刻ばかりしていると、その親が罰を受けることになります。 Britain's Education Secretary Michael Gove has announced he will crack down on what he terms "problem parents". 英国の教育大臣であるマイケル・ガヴは、彼が「問題親」と呼ぶものに対して断固たる措置を取ると発表しました。 crack down on … ～に断固たる措置を取る、～を厳しく取り締まる、～を厳罰に処する term A B … AをBと称する、呼ぶ、名付ける He said too many families fail to " face up to their responsibilities" by ensuring their children get to school on time, and are "ready to learn and show respect for their teacher". 彼は、我が子を時間どおりに登校させたり、教師に対する敬意を進んで学び示すようにしたりすることで親としての責任に向き合おうとしない家族が多すぎると話しました。 face up to … ～を認める、～を直視する、～に向き合う、～に立ち向かう Parents are already slapped with a £60 ($100) fine if their child is repeatedly late for school. 遅刻を繰り返す子供の親には、既に60ポンド（100ドル）の罰金が科されています。 be slapped with … （罰金などを）科される、（義務などを）課される However, 20,000 of these penalties were unpaid last year, ...