2024年2月6日(火)の
伝統行事“寒の水”で無病息災を祈願
COLD WATER RITUAL PARTICIPANTS PRAY FOR HEALTH, GOOD FORTUNE
2024年1月21日のニュース
brave ... 危険などに）勇敢に立ち向かう、～をものともしない
douse（水などを）かける、ぶっかける、浴びせる
douse oneself in ...～を自分自身にかける、浴びせる「～をかぶる」
wear「身につける」
wear-wore-worn
loincloth「腰布」「ふんどし」
bountiful harvest「（農作物などの）豊かな収穫」
「五穀豊穣」
---
What did the men repeatedly draw wather from?
-They repeatedly drew water from wooden tubs placed along the way.
According to the interview, why did the person participate?
- I did it to fend off illnesses.
---
A group of men have braved freezing weather to douse themselves in cold water, in a ritual to pray for health and good fortune in central Japan's Nagano Prefecture.
The 27 men took part in a tradition called “Kan no Mizu” in the town of Miyota on Saturday night. The men wore only red loincloths and straw crowns as they began their walk to the town's Kumano Shrine. They repeatedly drew water from wooden tubs placed along the way.
The event is held on what's traditionally said to be the coldest day of the year. It returned to its full form for the first time in four years, after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The men arrived at the shrine, where they dedicated their crowns and prayed for good fortune and a bountiful harvest.
(Participant)
“This was my first time and I felt great. I did it to fend off illnesses.”
---
★想像力を働かせて
The men wore only red loincloths and straw crowns as they began their walk to the town's Kumano Shrine.
loincloths 「腰に巻く布」
---
rockとlock
Rick is a doctor.↗︎
---
2024年2月5日(月)
能登半島 北側でも２ｍ超の地盤隆起を確認
LAND UPHEAVALS OVER 2 METERS FOUND ALONG NORTHERN COAST
2024年1月21日のニュース
upheaval 持ち上がり 「隆起」「（社会などの）大変動、動乱」
submerge
expert「専門家」
類語 pundit
「専門家、評論家、コメンテーター」- a person who makes comments or judgments in an authoritative manner.
rocky terrain
active seabed faults
seismic shifts
---
How high were the land upleavals that were found in several locations in Wajima city?
-They say they found land upheavals of at least one meter in several locations.
Have large seismic shifts often been seen in this area?
-No.
This is probably the first time that such large seismic shifts have been seen.
---
Meanwhile, experts say the earthquake caused land upheavals of more than two meters in some places along the Noto Peninsula's northern coast.
A group of researchers has been examining the region. Associate Professor Ishiyama Tatsuya of the University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute is among them. Members of the group surveyed an area in Wajima City that is about four kilometers long. They say they found land upheavals of at least one meter in several locations.
They also say they saw upheavals of up to about 2.2 meters along the coast of the Wajimazaki-machi district. The group says rocky terrain that was likely submerged previously is now above water.
(Ishiyama Tatsuya / Associate Professor, Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo)
“This is probably the first time that such large seismic shifts have been seen. These findings will help us understand the kinds of earthquakes that may occur when active seabed faults shift.”
---
/h/が発音されない場合
upheavals「隆起」「アピーヴァル」
experts say the earthquake caused land upheavals of more than two meters
inhabitも、「イナビットゥ」
「気音」
peace talk「平和会談」
pea stalk「エンドウ豆の茎」
----
2024年2月7日(水)の放送内容
米 フーシ派をテロ組織に再指定
U.S. DESIGNATES HOUTHIS AS TERRORISTS
2024年2月18日のニュース
U.S. leaders have seen rebels backed by Iran launch attacks on ships around the Arabian Peninsula. So they've put the Houthis back on their list of “specially designated global terrorist” groups.
(Matthew Miller / U.S. State Department Spokesperson)
“These attacks against international shipping have endangered mariners and disrupted the free flow of commerce and freedom of navigation.”
The Houthis are based in Yemen. Since November, they've launched dozens of attacks on commercial vessels in and around the Red Sea. Over the past week, U.S. forces have been conducting strikes on Houthi positions to “degrade” their ability to carry out further attacks.
The terrorist designation bars people and companies in the U.S. from providing the rebels with any support.
Houthi leaders say their strikes have been a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Officials in the Trump administration had added the Houthis to two terrorist lists. Their successors in the Biden administration revoked the designations to respond to a humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
2024年2月8日(木)の放送内容
富士通 英郵便局えん罪事件で補償検討
FUJITSU MAY PROVIDE COMPENSATION IN BRITISH POST OFFICE SCANDAL
2024年1月19日のニュース
Fujitsu has announced it's taking what it calls “appropriate actions,” including contributing to compensation for its role in a British Post Office scandal. Hundreds of branch managers were wrongly prosecuted due to the firm's faulty accounting software.
The Fujitsu Group released a statement on Thursday saying the company “offers its deepest apologies to the sub-postmasters and their families.” Fujitsu says it will be working with the U.K. government on steps it should take, based on the findings of a public inquiry being held in Britain.
Between 1999 and 2015, more than 700 British Post Office branch managers were prosecuted for theft, fraud, and false accounting. Fujitsu's software, Horizon, had indicated that money was missing from their branches.
In 2019, a U.K. court found the software to be flawed in a lawsuit filed by a group of postal managers and others. The scandal came back into the spotlight after a British TV drama about it this month.
2024年2月9日(金)の放送内容
ＪＡＬ新社長は客室乗務員出身
JAL APPOINTS EX-FLIGHT ATTENDANT AS FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT
2024年1月18日のニュース
Japan Airlines has appointed a former flight attendant as president. She will be the first woman to lead a major airline in the country.
Tottori Mitsuko is currently a senior managing executive officer. She will assume the new post on April 1.
She vowed to promote safety. Tottori joined the company in 1985. She said the crash that year of a JAL jet, which killed 520 passengers and crew, left a deep impression.
(Tottori Mitsuko / President appointee, Japan Airlines)
“We want to work with even stronger determination, with unwavering belief in safe flight operations, which are the foundation of the airline.”
Japan Airlines is drawing attention to safety procedures after a collision between one of its passenger planes and a Japan Coast Guard aircraft this month killed five people. All aboard the JAL flight survived.
2024年2月2日(金)
タイ政府 日本への観光客誘致に若者を派遣
THAI VOLUNTEER AIMS TO BRING TOURISTS TO RURAL JAPAN CITY
2024年1月15日のニュース
the boot/shoe is on the other foot「立場が逆転している」
tout「積極的に売り込む、宣伝する」「押し売りする、うるさく勧誘する」
tout [taʊt]
be modeled after ...は「～を手本として作られる、～を手本・モデルとする」
---
Japan has long been providing assistance in Southeast Asia, and now the boot's on the other foot. The Thai government has sent a volunteer to help a city in central Japan lure tourists from overseas.
On Monday, Unchaleeporn Prisawong was appointed a tourism coordinator of Hokuto in Yamanashi Prefecture. The Japanese speaker will work in the city for the next 12 months. As well as sharing local attractions on social media, she'll attend events in Thailand touting Hokuto's countryside charms.
(Unchaleeporn Prisawong / Thai volunteer in Japan)
“I'm looking forward to engaging with lots of people through my life here.”
The volunteer program is run by the Thailand International Cooperation Agency, a department under the country's foreign ministry. It's modeled after a similar one operated by Japan's JICA.
----
As well as sharing local attractions on social media, she will attend events in Thailand touting Hokuto's countryside charms.
As well as sharing local attractions on social media,
she will attend
events in Thailand touting Hokuto's countryside charms.
★複数の意味
「“～しながら”～する」
She will attend events in Thailand touting Hokuto's countryside charms.
「～して、“（そして）～する」（分詞構文）
She will attend events in Thailand, touting Hokuto's countryside charms.
「“～する”～」
She will attend [events in Thailand touting Hokuto's countryside charms].
Well, I thought back to my trip to Thailand, listening to story and I remembered how alive everything seemed to be there. Bright colors, exciting tastes, energetic charming people. If Ms Prisawong can bring that vitality into showcasing her Japanese home Hokuto, I think the tourism beniefits are bound to be big.
----
2024年2月1日(木)
台湾 次期総統に民進党の頼清徳氏
LAI WINS AS RULING PARTY LOSES MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT
2024年1月14日のニュース
---
president-elect
-elect「～に選ばれた（がまだ就任前である）人、～当選者、次期～」
PARLIAMENT [ˈpɑrləmənt]
Taiwan has a new president-elect, but his party has lost its majority in parliament. Lai Ching-te won the presidency in Saturday's elections in Taiwan. But his ruling Democratic Progressive Party, the DPP, will rank second in the legislative body.
The results show that Lai received 40 percent of the ballots cast ― that's nearly 5.6 million votes. Hou Yu-ih of the largest opposition Kuomintang Party garnered nearly 4.7 million votes. Voter turnout was 71.86 percent, down more than three percentage points from the last election held four years ago.
Lai's position is that China and Taiwan are different. He has pledged to continue the policies of President Tsai Ing-wen, who fostered cooperation with the United States in an effort to counter Beijing.
---
Taiwan has a new president-elect, but his party has lost its majority in parliament.
Taiwan has a new president-elect,
but his party has lost
its majority in parliament.
★「その」と訳されるthe、its、that
it => 特定の１つだけ
that=>「まさにその」と強調
Listening to Jazz for the first time was incredible. I'll never forget that feeling.
that's nearly 5.6 million votes
このthatは、直前にある頼氏の得票数を指しています。直前の一文全体を指す
its「it（それ）が所有する」具体的な、特定の１つだけ
its majorityは「民進党の持っている（議会での）過半数」
the「特定である」ことを表す
theの後には何らかの表現が省略されていることが多く、
the presidencyは、the presidency (of Taiwan)が略されたもの
慣用表現では特定感がなくなり、theが落ちることが多い
ニュース冒頭でのin parliamentは、本来はin the parliamentと言うべきですが、
theが省略されたin parliamentのみでも「議会で（の）」という慣用表現として使われています。
When I was in eighth grade, it was me.
It was a tight race but I've said lots of good things. Like making the school lunches better, making the more drink machines, something like that.
Well, I didn't do anything... I made a lot of promises but I didn't keep them.
But, good experience.
---2024年1月31日(水)
大谷選手の契約金後払い 加州が問題視
CALIFORNIA TAX OFFICIAL: OHTANI'S LA DODGERS DEAL COULD BE UNFAIR
2024年1月9日のニュース
defer
[dɪˈfɜr]
deferral 繰延
[dɪˈfɜrəl]
skip out on
「（本来ならやるべき仕事や約束を）サボる、避ける、～に参加しない」
「（自分を必要としている人を）置き去りにする」
sensation「知覚、感覚」「興奮、感動」
> 比喩的に人や物「大評判、世間を沸かせる人や物」
680 million>１００万が６８０ある「６億８０００万」
defer「繰り延べる、延期する、先送りする」
deferral
should he return to Japan
「もし彼が日本に戻れば」if he returns to Japan
in the case that he returns to Japan「彼が日本に戻る場合」
---
How does Malia Cohen describe the deal?
- the deal could be unfair.
What is Cohen calling on Congress to do?
- To rectify the imbalance immediately
---
Japanese baseball star Ohtani Shohei's new contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers is one of the biggest in sporting history. But a state official in California has raised a red flag over the deal, which could see him skip out on millions of dollars in taxes.
The two-way sensation is set to earn a record-breaking 700 million dollars over 10 years. And 680 million of that will be deferred until after the contract expires. But California State Controller Malia Cohen says the deal could be unfair. She points out Ohtani could potentially escape payment of state income taxes, should he return to Japan.
Cohen criticizes the current system for allowing top earners unlimited deferrals. And she's calling on Congress to rectify the imbalance immediately.
---
★代名詞のthat
The two-way sensation is set to earn a record-breaking 700 million dollars over 10 years. And 680 million of that will be deferred until after the contract expires.
700 million dollars「７億ドル」
680 million「６億８０００万（ドル）」
★倒置
She points out Ohtani could potentially escape payment of state income taxes, should he return to Japan.
=> If Ohtani should return to Japan, he could potentially escape payment of state income taxes.
should he return to Japan
if he should return to Japan「もし日本に戻ることになったら」
---
2024年1月30日(火)
フィリピンで黒いキリスト像に人々が願かけ
BLACK NAZARENE PROCESSION IN PHILIPPINES RETURNS
2024年1月9日のニュース
---
What is the religious icon believed to have?
-The religious icon is believed to have miraculous healing powers in Asia's largest Catholic country.
Why had the procession been canceled?
-The excitement among the worshippers was especially high as the procession had been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Devotee)s < devote
devotee>devote「（全てまたは多くを）ささげる、充てる」から派生
「（何かに）熱心な人、愛好者、熱心な信者」
carriage 山車
--
A centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ has returned to the streets of Manila for the first time in four years.
Hundreds of thousands of worshippers joined to try to get close to the statue in the hopes of making their wishes come true.
A carriage holding the wooden statue called the Black Nazarene was paraded Tuesday through the capital. The religious icon is believed to have miraculous healing powers in Asia's largest Catholic country. Devotees scrambled to get close. Some tried to climb onto the carriage.
(Worshipper)
“I pray that the life of my father will be prolonged, because he suffered a stroke. My siblings and I want him to live for a long time.”
The excitement among the worshippers was especially high as the procession had been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
---
★曖昧母音
worship「崇拝、礼拝、参拝」=> worshipper(s
hundreds of thousands of worshippers joined to try to get close to the statue
worship
worshipper
worshipper
capital
Manila
procession
★「ブラック・ナザレ」
Black Nazarene
Nazareneとは「ナザレ人（びと）」
ナザレはもともとイスラエルにある地名キリストが育った場所
the Nazareneとtheを付けると、イエス・キリストを指す言葉
なぜBlack「黒い」
---
2024年1月29日(月)
米大統領選候補者選び トランプ氏好発進
TRUMP WINS IOWA CAUCUSES
2024年1月16日のニュース
caucus [ˈkɔkəs]「党員集会」
primary「予備選挙」=> primary election
indictment「起訴」> indict「起訴する」
indict
[ɪnˈdaɪt]
reclaimはre-「再び」＋claim「求める、請求する」=>「取り戻す」
implications「（引き起こされるだろう）影響」>implicationsと複数形
When will the next U.S presidential election take place?
-In the U.S. presidential election, the Democratic and Republican parties hold caucuses and primaries in states across the country to select their presidential candidates for the November vote.
What is Trump facing in four separate cases?
- Trump is facing indictments in four separate cases as he tries to reclaim the White House.
---
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has won the Iowa caucuses. This is the first vote in the nationwide contest to choose the Republican Party's candidate for this year's presidential election.
(Donald Trump / Republican presidential candidate)
“This is the beginning of something very important. I think it's the most important election in the history of our country.”
In the U.S. presidential election, the Democratic and Republican parties hold caucuses and primaries in states across the country to select their presidential candidates for the November vote. The opening contest in the Midwestern state of Iowa is said to have huge implications for the overall race.
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are among the other Republican candidates.
Trump is facing indictments in four separate cases as he tries to reclaim the White House. There have also been legal attempts in some states to strip him of his eligibility to join the primaries.
---
★自然な英語
“This is the beginning of something very important. I think it's the most important election in the history of our country.”
I think it’s a good idea to study abroad.
There are many students in our class.
★選挙でよく使われる言葉
caucus「党員集会」
primary「予備選挙」 =「予備選挙」primary election
approval rating（approval rate）「支持率」
support rate
political rally「政治集会」
=> rally「（自転車レースやテニスなどの）ラリー」「集会、大会」
camp「陣営」
the Biden camp「バイデン陣営」
the Trump camp「トランプ陣営」
re-election「再選」
elector「選挙人」
---
2024年2月2日(金)の放送内容
タイ政府 日本への観光客誘致に若者を派遣
THAI VOLUNTEER AIMS TO BRING TOURISTS TO RURAL JAPAN CITY
2024年1月15日のニュース
Japan has long been providing assistance in Southeast Asia, and now the boot's on the other foot. The Thai government has sent a volunteer to help a city in central Japan lure tourists from overseas.
On Monday, Unchaleeporn Prisawong was appointed a tourism coordinator of Hokuto in Yamanashi Prefecture. The Japanese speaker will work in the city for the next 12 months. As well as sharing local attractions on social media, she'll attend events in Thailand touting Hokuto's countryside charms.
(Unchaleeporn Prisawong / Thai volunteer in Japan)
“I'm looking forward to engaging with lots of people through my life here.”
The volunteer program is run by the Thailand International Cooperation Agency, a department under the country's foreign ministry. It's modeled after a similar one operated by Japan's JICA.