Reader's Digestには事件、事故、遭難、災害の記事が必ず一つはあります。 ２月号は "The day the Montain Moved" と題された雪山の遭難記事がありました。
They were nervous about hangfire, the unstable snow left along the edges of an avalanceh's path that can release at any moment
雪崩の記事で "B>hangfire" とは何でしょうか？
・Collins Dictionary: the delay of a gun firing or explosives detonating
・Dictionary.com: a delay in the detonation of gunpowder or other ammunition, caused by some defect in the fuze
なるほど、普通は銃や爆弾、花火などで火薬の点火/爆発が遅れて起こることを示していますが、RDの記事では最初の雪崩の後に遅れて次ぎの雪崩が発生することを恐れているのですね。
桜が散ったと思ったら花水木（dogwood）の花が満開になりました。
さて、今日の単語は "Diary of a Mad Old Man" の主人公最後の日記からです。 この日記の "I" は自分の事ではなく、息子の嫁を指しています。
"That wasn't it. Frankly, I was dead tired from humoring you all day yesterday. I simply can't bear having my feet fumbled with like that from morning till night. One day was enough to wear me out completely, so I ran away! I'm sorry." There was something studied, something unlike haer usual self in her tone of voice.
主人公はこの後入院し、日記は途絶えますが、小説はこの後に介護者や医者のメモが続いて終わります。上の引用文の最後に出てきた表現 "There was something studied" の "studied" は学習の意味で使う "study" とは関係がありそうな、なさそうな。辞書で意味を調べます。
・Collins Dictionary: carefully practised, designed, or premeditated ⇒ a studied reply
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: carefully considered or prepared: thoughtful: a studied response
・Macmillan Dictionary: studied behavior is planned and deliberate, so that it often seems false: studied calm/indifference
・Vocabulary.com: Studied describes a result achieved, not spontaneously, but by calculated and deliberate effort. It will probably take a studied effort to not appear nervous when you give an oral presentation.
Leaders often do not respond immediately to important events. They get a little background information first so they can give a studied response. When stars have to stand around on the red carpet before the Oscars to have their pictures taken, their smiles become less spontaneous and more studied. Even if you walk past a group of girls with studied nonchalance, they still know that you have noticed them.
なるほど、自然らしさがなく、故意の行為であることがばれてしまう行為に使われるのですね。勉強になります。 日本語では似た様な表現で「計算された/計算ずくの」がありますね。
文豪の作品でしたが、私にはこの小説の良さはさっぱり分かりませんでした。強いて言えば、歳をとるとこの小説の主人公のようにおかしくなる事がありますよ、との警鐘として理解することにします。
さて、今日の単語は "Diary of a Mad Old Man" の主人公最後の日記からです。 この日記の "I" は自分の事ではなく、息子の嫁を指しています。
"That wasn't it. Frankly, I was dead tired from humoring you all day yesterday. I simply can't bear having my feet fumbled with like that from morning till night. One day was enough to wear me out completely, so I ran away! I'm sorry." There was something studied, something unlike haer usual self in her tone of voice.
主人公はこの後入院し、日記は途絶えますが、小説はこの後に介護者や医者のメモが続いて終わります。上の引用文の最後に出てきた表現 "There was something studied" の "studied" は学習の意味で使う "study" とは関係がありそうな、なさそうな。辞書で意味を調べます。
・Collins Dictionary: carefully practised, designed, or premeditated ⇒ a studied reply
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: carefully considered or prepared: thoughtful: a studied response
・Macmillan Dictionary: studied behavior is planned and deliberate, so that it often seems false: studied calm/indifference
・Vocabulary.com: Studied describes a result achieved, not spontaneously, but by calculated and deliberate effort. It will probably take a studied effort to not appear nervous when you give an oral presentation.
Leaders often do not respond immediately to important events. They get a little background information first so they can give a studied response. When stars have to stand around on the red carpet before the Oscars to have their pictures taken, their smiles become less spontaneous and more studied. Even if you walk past a group of girls with studied nonchalance, they still know that you have noticed them.
なるほど、自然らしさがなく、故意の行為であることがばれてしまう行為に使われるのですね。勉強になります。 日本語では似た様な表現で「計算された/計算ずくの」がありますね。
文豪の作品でしたが、私にはこの小説の良さはさっぱり分かりませんでした。強いて言えば、歳をとるとこの小説の主人公のようにおかしくなる事がありますよ、との警鐘として理解することにします。
自分が死んだ時の墓地と墓を選ぶために主人公は京都に行きます。そして文房具屋にも立ち寄りました。
"As a matter of fact, there is something I'd like, if you happen to have it."
"What's that?"
"It may sound odd, but I'd like about a two-foot length of red lining silk and a wad of cotton wool." "Oh? What do you plan to use it for?"
"I have to make some rubbings right away, so need a dabber."
"I see. For a dabber, is it? Well, there must be something like that around. I'll ask my wife to look."
"rubbings" と "dabber"何でしょうか？ "rub" は擦ることで、"dab" は軽く叩く意味があるので何か化粧の道具の様でもありますが、そんな物を主人公が硯や墨を売る店で探す訳はないしと疑問に思いつつ読み続けたら、後の場面でその意味が分かる個所が次の様に出てきました。
I took out my new inkstone and placed it on the desk; then I poured in a little water and began slowly rubbing the stick of vermilion back and forth to make ink. I used up about half the stick. Next I tore the cotton wadding into four pieces, two larger and two smaller ones, rolled them into approximately three-inch and one-inch balls, and wrapped them in the red silk to make dabbers.
...
When I was young I traveled through China several times, and both there and here in Japan I have seen people making rubbings.
"rubbing" はいわゆる拓本ですね。それにしてもこの小説の主人公は息子の嫁の足型を自分の墓に仏足跡の代わりに作るなんて、変人としか言い様がない。
"As a matter of fact, there is something I'd like, if you happen to have it."
"What's that?"
"It may sound odd, but I'd like about a two-foot length of red lining silk and a wad of cotton wool." "Oh? What do you plan to use it for?"
"I have to make some rubbings right away, so need a dabber."
"I see. For a dabber, is it? Well, there must be something like that around. I'll ask my wife to look."
"rubbings" と "dabber"何でしょうか？ "rub" は擦ることで、"dab" は軽く叩く意味があるので何か化粧の道具の様でもありますが、そんな物を主人公が硯や墨を売る店で探す訳はないしと疑問に思いつつ読み続けたら、後の場面でその意味が分かる個所が次の様に出てきました。
I took out my new inkstone and placed it on the desk; then I poured in a little water and began slowly rubbing the stick of vermilion back and forth to make ink. I used up about half the stick. Next I tore the cotton wadding into four pieces, two larger and two smaller ones, rolled them into approximately three-inch and one-inch balls, and wrapped them in the red silk to make dabbers.
...
When I was young I traveled through China several times, and both there and here in Japan I have seen people making rubbings.
"rubbing" はいわゆる拓本ですね。それにしてもこの小説の主人公は息子の嫁の足型を自分の墓に仏足跡の代わりに作るなんて、変人としか言い様がない。
"Diary of a Mad Old Man" を読んでいます。日記を書いている主人公の性癖が段々と分かってきます。
Even with a woman of bad character, though, her badness mustn't be obvious. The worse she is, the cleverer she has to be. That is indispensable. Of course there are limits; kleptomania or homicidal tendencies would be hard to put up with, yet I can't rule them out entirely.
"homicidal tendencies" とは穏やかではありませんが、"kleptomania" も悪い性質には違いありません。頭文字が "k" なのでギリシャ語あるいはドイツ語由来の気がしますがとうでしょう？
・Collins Dictionary: a strong impulse to steal, esp when there is no obvious motivation: De Niro's jacket fell open and two shirts fell out; taking Goldstone's directions literally, he'd given in to Mario's kleptomania.
Word Origin: C19: klepto- from Greek kleptes thief, from kleptein to steal + -mania
・Vocabulary.com: an irresistible impulse to steal in the absence of any economic motive
Kleptomania is an addiction to stealing. People with kleptomania can’t help but steal stuff, whether they need it or not.
The word kleptomania comes from the Greek word kleptes for "thief" and mania for “madness.” Pyromania makes people want to light everything on fire, and kleptomania makes people want to steal all the time. People who have kleptomania - kleptomaniacs - are crazy about stealing. Rich people can have kleptomania, which shows their stealing isn't for economic reasons. When you have kleptomania, the rush of stealing is similar to the rush of other addictions.
Even with a woman of bad character, though, her badness mustn't be obvious. The worse she is, the cleverer she has to be. That is indispensable. Of course there are limits; kleptomania or homicidal tendencies would be hard to put up with, yet I can't rule them out entirely.
"homicidal tendencies" とは穏やかではありませんが、"kleptomania" も悪い性質には違いありません。頭文字が "k" なのでギリシャ語あるいはドイツ語由来の気がしますがとうでしょう？
・Collins Dictionary: a strong impulse to steal, esp when there is no obvious motivation: De Niro's jacket fell open and two shirts fell out; taking Goldstone's directions literally, he'd given in to Mario's kleptomania.
Word Origin: C19: klepto- from Greek kleptes thief, from kleptein to steal + -mania
・Vocabulary.com: an irresistible impulse to steal in the absence of any economic motive
Kleptomania is an addiction to stealing. People with kleptomania can’t help but steal stuff, whether they need it or not.
The word kleptomania comes from the Greek word kleptes for "thief" and mania for “madness.” Pyromania makes people want to light everything on fire, and kleptomania makes people want to steal all the time. People who have kleptomania - kleptomaniacs - are crazy about stealing. Rich people can have kleptomania, which shows their stealing isn't for economic reasons. When you have kleptomania, the rush of stealing is similar to the rush of other addictions.
消費税が上がったせいで色々な物やサービスの価格や料金も上がりました。昨日利用した都バスの料金は￥206（現金なら￥210）と何か中途半端な感じのする金額でした。週に一回テニスをしているテニスクラブの生ビールの値段も大ジョッキは￥600となり、高く感じます。（以前は￥590なので十円上がっただけですが） でも、テニスの練習の後のビールはおいしいので止めたくはありせん。
そこで一句：
"To beer, or not to beer. That is a question."
そこで一句：
"To beer, or not to beer. That is a question."
"Diary of a Mad Old Man" に掛け軸が出てきます。そこには永井荷風が書いたという詩があり、その中の英語表現になるほどと思いました。
For seven autumns I have lived in Azabu Valley.
Frost lingers; the old tree shelters the Western Hall.
Laughing, I set myself tasks all week long.
I sweep leaves, air my books, and then air my winter clothes.
"air my books"、"air my winter clothes" とは、ここでは夏の湿気含んだ本や衣類を空気にさらして乾燥させることの様です。辞書で確認します。
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to become dry and/or fresh, or to cause to become dry and/or fresh: My mother always airs the sheets before she makes the beds.: Leave the windows open to let the room air a bit.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to place something in an open area where there is a lot of moving air to make it cool, dry, or clean: The blankets were left outside to air.
・Macmillan Dictionary: if you air clothes, sheets, etc. or they air, you put them in warm or moving air until they are completely dry and smell clean
For seven autumns I have lived in Azabu Valley.
Frost lingers; the old tree shelters the Western Hall.
Laughing, I set myself tasks all week long.
I sweep leaves, air my books, and then air my winter clothes.
"air my books"、"air my winter clothes" とは、ここでは夏の湿気含んだ本や衣類を空気にさらして乾燥させることの様です。辞書で確認します。
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to become dry and/or fresh, or to cause to become dry and/or fresh: My mother always airs the sheets before she makes the beds.: Leave the windows open to let the room air a bit.
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to place something in an open area where there is a lot of moving air to make it cool, dry, or clean: The blankets were left outside to air.
・Macmillan Dictionary: if you air clothes, sheets, etc. or they air, you put them in warm or moving air until they are completely dry and smell clean
谷崎潤一郎の『瘋癲老人日記』の英訳版 "Diary of a Mad Old Man" を読み始めました。 谷崎の小説は何も読んだことはありませんが、有名な作家であることは知っています。タイトルからして妄想的な内容ではないかと想像しています。私が読むのはHoward Hibbett氏の翻訳により第１版が1967年に出版されたものです。
私の興味は話の内容の他に英語の表現、そして特に単語にあり、又興味の無い方には迷惑でしょうか、植物名にも大いに関心があります。日記に早速覚えたい植物名が出てきました。
Today striped pampas grass, lizard's tail, and a kind of saxifrage were arranged in a shallow celadon bowl in my room.
"lizard's tail" と "saxifrage" の植物ですが、前者については通訳ガイド（の勉強中？）、wisteriaさん、のブログ（http://guide-wisteria.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2010/07/lizards-tail-44.html）に説明と写真があるのを見つけたのでそれを参照して頂くことにして、ここでは "saxifrage" について調べます。植物名については英英辞書を見ても分かりにくいのでWikipediaもしくはGoogleで写真を探して見ます。
次ぎの文はWikipediaの "saxifrage" の項の冒頭の説明です。
Saxifraga is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 440 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils.
Googleの検索でも色々な花の写真が出てきます。小説の舞台は５０年以上昔の東京のなので、その中の「ユキノシタ」を指している様です。 子供の頃、庭に生えている「ユキノシタ」の葉を揚げた天ぷらを食べたことを思い出しました。
私の興味は話の内容の他に英語の表現、そして特に単語にあり、又興味の無い方には迷惑でしょうか、植物名にも大いに関心があります。日記に早速覚えたい植物名が出てきました。
Today striped pampas grass, lizard's tail, and a kind of saxifrage were arranged in a shallow celadon bowl in my room.
"lizard's tail" と "saxifrage" の植物ですが、前者については通訳ガイド（の勉強中？）、wisteriaさん、のブログ（http://guide-wisteria.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2010/07/lizards-tail-44.html）に説明と写真があるのを見つけたのでそれを参照して頂くことにして、ここでは "saxifrage" について調べます。植物名については英英辞書を見ても分かりにくいのでWikipediaもしくはGoogleで写真を探して見ます。
次ぎの文はWikipediaの "saxifrage" の項の冒頭の説明です。
Saxifraga is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 440 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils.
Googleの検索でも色々な花の写真が出てきます。小説の舞台は５０年以上昔の東京のなので、その中の「ユキノシタ」を指している様です。 子供の頃、庭に生えている「ユキノシタ」の葉を揚げた天ぷらを食べたことを思い出しました。
健康に関する記事もReader's Digestの定番です。"Sleep banking" と題された記事の "banking" の意味が直ぐにはピンと来ませんが、記事を読みます。
Anticipating too little sleep in the near future? Recent data suggest you can bank sleep in advance to offset the effects of sleep deprivation, says sleep specialist Dr Christopher Winter. Go to bed one to two hours earlier than you normally would for a few days before your expected lack of sleep, he says: "You'll have more energy than you would if you hadn't been sleeping well beforehand."
なるほど、文脈からすると "Sleep banking" は寝貯めですね。辞書にこの様な例があるか調べます。
・Collins Dictionary: any supply, store, or reserve, for future use ⇒ a data bank, a blood bank
・Cambridge English Dictionary: A bank of something, such as blood or human organs for medical use, is a place that stores these things for later use: a blood bank; a sperm bank
眠りを貯める例は見つかりませんでしたが、上の辞書の例の様にお金以外の物を貯める例はあったので "Sleep banking" は寝貯めで間違えないでしょう。
Anticipating too little sleep in the near future? Recent data suggest you can bank sleep in advance to offset the effects of sleep deprivation, says sleep specialist Dr Christopher Winter. Go to bed one to two hours earlier than you normally would for a few days before your expected lack of sleep, he says: "You'll have more energy than you would if you hadn't been sleeping well beforehand."
なるほど、文脈からすると "Sleep banking" は寝貯めですね。辞書にこの様な例があるか調べます。
・Collins Dictionary: any supply, store, or reserve, for future use ⇒ a data bank, a blood bank
・Cambridge English Dictionary: A bank of something, such as blood or human organs for medical use, is a place that stores these things for later use: a blood bank; a sperm bank
眠りを貯める例は見つかりませんでしたが、上の辞書の例の様にお金以外の物を貯める例はあったので "Sleep banking" は寝貯めで間違えないでしょう。
Reader's Digestには料理や食べ物に関する記事が必ずあります。次ぎの文は２月号からの抜粋です。
Instead of using the standard lettuce, tomate and cucumber salad combination, try something different. Why not mix together tune, lima beans, thinly sliced red onion, cucumber and watercress? Top with a zesty citrus dressing and you have a salad that is far from boring. Or try zucchine, pickled gherkins, capers and herbs, topped with some grilled chickin? Use different flavours, textures and ingredient combinations to make an interesting and delicious salad.
"gherkins" はどう発音するのかも分からない初めて見る単語ですが、調べると何度も食べたことのあるものでした。
・Collins Dictionary: the immature fruit of any of various cucumbers, used for pickling
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: a small cucumber that is used to make pickles
発音は "h" を無視すれば良いのですが、"german" の "ger" とは違う発音なのでご注意を。上の後者の辞書は実際の発音へのリンクがあるので簡単に発音を確認できます。
Instead of using the standard lettuce, tomate and cucumber salad combination, try something different. Why not mix together tune, lima beans, thinly sliced red onion, cucumber and watercress? Top with a zesty citrus dressing and you have a salad that is far from boring. Or try zucchine, pickled gherkins, capers and herbs, topped with some grilled chickin? Use different flavours, textures and ingredient combinations to make an interesting and delicious salad.
"gherkins" はどう発音するのかも分からない初めて見る単語ですが、調べると何度も食べたことのあるものでした。
・Collins Dictionary: the immature fruit of any of various cucumbers, used for pickling
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: a small cucumber that is used to make pickles
発音は "h" を無視すれば良いのですが、"german" の "ger" とは違う発音なのでご注意を。上の後者の辞書は実際の発音へのリンクがあるので簡単に発音を確認できます。
日曜日に野次馬根性旺盛の家内のお供で、前日のニュースで知った皇居の坂下門から乾門を通り抜ける一般公開に出かけました。人の多さは予想通り、待ち時間１時間で散策はゆっくり歩いても３０分たらず、期待に反して、近所の桜並木や公園にも負ける程度の桜木の本数でした。ついでに普段も一般公開している東御苑にも寄って来ましたが、こちらの方は年に何度も来る価値のある東京の隠れ名所である事を再確認しました。
さて、Reader's Digestを読み始めて７～８年経ちます。今まで読者の声の欄を除き全ての記事を読んでいましたが、最近は図書館の貸し出し期限内に楽に読める様になってきたのでこれからは読者の声の欄も読むことにします。投書欄の文に早速気になる表現があったので早速そこから引用します。
Being a mother makes my skin raw to other mother's sorrow. I can only imagine Naomi Hiratsuka's pain at the loss of her young daughter, Koharu ("Japan's Tsunami: One Mother's Grief", November).
"makes my skin raw" と言う慣用句があるのかと思いましたが、単に "raw" を次ぎの意味で比喩的に使っているのだと思います。
・Collins Dictionary: (of the skin, a wound, etc) having the surface exposed or abraded, esp painfully
・Macmillan Dictionary: if your skin is raw, it is very sore: His face was raw from the cold.
・Vocabulary.com: hurting
さて、Reader's Digestを読み始めて７～８年経ちます。今まで読者の声の欄を除き全ての記事を読んでいましたが、最近は図書館の貸し出し期限内に楽に読める様になってきたのでこれからは読者の声の欄も読むことにします。投書欄の文に早速気になる表現があったので早速そこから引用します。
Being a mother makes my skin raw to other mother's sorrow. I can only imagine Naomi Hiratsuka's pain at the loss of her young daughter, Koharu ("Japan's Tsunami: One Mother's Grief", November).
"makes my skin raw" と言う慣用句があるのかと思いましたが、単に "raw" を次ぎの意味で比喩的に使っているのだと思います。
・Collins Dictionary: (of the skin, a wound, etc) having the surface exposed or abraded, esp painfully
・Macmillan Dictionary: if your skin is raw, it is very sore: His face was raw from the cold.
・Vocabulary.com: hurting
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