ニュースで学ぶ「現代英語」
ニュースで学ぶ「現代英語」 バイデン氏 大統領選から撤退を表明
8月7日(水)
BIDEN BOWS OUT OF RACE, ENDORSES VP HARRIS
U.S. President Joe Biden has dropped out of the race for the presidential election. He's endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the Democratic Party's nominee to take on Republican Donald Trump in November. Biden made the announcements on his X account on Sunday. He says it's “in the best interest” of his party and the country for him to stand down to focus solely on fulfilling his duties as president for the remainder of his term. He was set to become the party's official candidate by giving a nomination acceptance speech at the party's national convention in mid-August. It's believed that Biden's exit will allow about 4,000 state delegates to vote for a candidate at their own discretion. This is the first time in 56 years that an incumbent president seeking reelection has dropped out of an election campaign. The last president that did so was Lyndon Johnson back in 1968.
（2024年7月22日のニュース）
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remainder
[rɪˈmeɪndər]
- drop out of …「～を途中でやめる、～から手を引く、～から離脱する、～から落ち（こぼれ）る」
- president-elect「（まだ就任していないものの選挙で選ばれた）次期大統領」
- race for the presidential election「大統領選挙の選挙戦」
- to take on Republican Donald Trump と対決するために
take on …「～と戦う、～と対決する、～と対戦する」 - stand down to focus solely on fulfilling
stand down「降りる、辞任する、身を引く、退く」 - nomination acceptance speechは「指名受諾演説」
- delegateは「代議員」
- discretion「（自由）裁量、判断や行動の自由、決定権」
at one's (own) discretion「～（人）の判断で、～の自由裁量で、～の好きなように」
discretion「思慮分別、慎重さ」
-> Viewer discretion is advised.
Parental discretion advised.「ご覧になる前にお気をつけください」 - an incumbent president seeking reelection has dropped out of an election campaign 再選を求める現職の大統領が離脱した
promise「有望さ、伸びしろ」
pass the torch「（後継者などに）バトンを渡す」
new generation「新しい世代」
Republican National Convention「共和党の全国党大会」
unity「結束」
seesaw battle「抜きつ抜かれつの戦い」
That's the best way to unite our nation. So, I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation.
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Today, we will be convering a topic that is bound to excite all the science lovers out there.
For me, Biden's choice of words here was interesting. For years now, Republicans have been attacking Biden on his age. By emphasizing the words “new generation,” I think he was trying to underscore the age gap between not only him and Harris but also Trump and Harris.
She's experienced. She's tough. She's capable. She has been incredible partner to me and a leader for our ountry.
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ニュースで学ぶ「現代英語」 20億年前の地層から微生物
8月6日(火)
SCIENTISTS: MICROBES IN 2 BIL. YEAR-OLD ROCK MAY BE ALIVE
A team of researchers from the University of Tokyo say they appear to have found living microbes in geological strata dating back 2 billion years. If confirmed, they could be the oldest living microbes ever found on Earth. They were found in an area in South Africa called the Bushveld, known as one of the world's largest deposits of chrome, platinum, and other rare metals. A Japanese team, working as part of an international drilling project, took the sample at a depth of 500 meters. Associate Professor Suzuki Yohey says microscopic observation at a lab back in Japan found a large number of microbes in the rocks. He says detailed analysis found the presence of cells with DNA and protein which can only be generated by living things. He says this evidence strongly suggests the microbes are still alive. Suzuki's team plans to conduct a genome analysis to determine how old their microbes really are and what they can tell us about how life evolved on our planet.
（2024年7月19日のニュース）
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- microbeは「微生物」
geological strataは「地層」です。
geologicalは「地質学の、地質に関する」という形容詞で、
strataはstratum「層」の複数形 - 「データ」datum（単数）とdata（複数）も、単数形と複数形が同じパターンで変化する名詞
- depositは「何かが堆積しているもの」-> 地学では「鉱脈、埋蔵地、鉱床」
depositは「貯金、預金、保証金（デポジット）」としてよく使われます。 - chromeは「クロム」、platinumは「白金、プラチナ」
rare metalは「レアメタル」文字どおりには「希少な金属」 - at a depth of 500 meters.
- which can only be generated by living things
- genome「ゲノム」は、染色体上の遺伝子が持つ情報
That's amazing. This could be a key to unlocking hidden knowledge about life. I'm looking forward to finind out more about what they discover.
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They were found in an area in South Africa called the Bushveld, known as one of the world's largest deposits of rare metals.
They were found
in an area in South Africa called the Bushveld,
known as one of the world's largest deposits of rare metals.
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★関係代名詞のthatとwhich
・重要な情報を加えるときにはthatを使う。カンマは付けない。
・補足の情報を加えるときにはカンマ（に続けて）whichを使う。
They were found in an area in South Africa called the Bushveld, which is known as one of the world's largest deposits of rare metals.
-> the Bushveld that is known as one of the world's largest deposits of rare metals
英語ニュースでは、essential「不可欠な、重要な」情報に対してはthatを使い、そうではない情報に対してはカンマ＋whichを使うことが目安となっています。
一方、イギリス英語ではwhichが好まれます。
He says detailed analysis found the presence of cells with DNA and protein which can only be generated by living things.
国際英語という観点からは、thatを使っておけば無難だろうということになります。重要情報についてthatを使うかwhichを使うか迷う場合には、thatを使うことをお勧めします。
It's really amazing that today's news clip, which is mainly science -based is also great for studying English. I hope everyone likes the very topics that we discussed. I know I do.
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Today, we learn that you don't really know how convenient technology is untill it's suddenly gone.
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ニュースで学ぶ「現代英語」 世界各地でシステム障害
8月5日(月)
TECH GLITCH CAUSES GLOBAL CHAOS
Tech workers around the world are scrambling to deal with an IT outage that's causing widespread chaos. The disruption has impacted hospitals, grounded flights, and locked millions of people out of the electronic devices they rely on. Authorities in the U.S. have responded to the outage by notifying major airlines that they won't allow them to fly.
(Passenger) “They let me know that my flight was canceled and that they can't rebook it for the day because it's likely that more flights later on will get canceled. And then, so, I can try for tomorrow, but they said it's best to just leave.”
The AP says about 1,500 flights have been canceled and thousands of others delayed. Executives at Microsoft say the glitch was caused by a bug in software that was released by U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The outage has disrupted operations at transportation hubs around the world, including Narita Airport near Tokyo.
（2024年7月20日のニュース）
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- outageは「（供給や機能の）停止」
power outageなら「停電」単にoutageだけでも「停電」 - groundは、動詞として使うと「～を地に置く」や「（飛行機を）離陸させない、地上にとどめる」という意味になります。grounded flightは「フライトを離陸させないようにした、飛行機の運航を停止させた」
- lock A out of …「Ａを～から締め出す、Ａを～に入れない」で、ここでは電子機器が使えない状態になったことを表しています。
I've locked myself out of my room. - In other words, the woman is saying that the airline can't do anything to help her for the next day or two. So they recommended that she leave the airport to find another form of transportation to her destination.
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They let me know that my flight was canceled and that they can't rebook it for the day.
They let me know
that my flight was canceled
and that they can't rebook it for the day.
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It's a probram you can listen to, watch and learn from over an over again from anywhere and at anytime.
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Repetition is importan for evryone from beginner to advance.
You can also watch news footage on the app.
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Everyone, please make good use of the app and remember Rome wasn't built in a day. It's the same with English. Let's practice a bit day by day.
You can do it!
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SCIENTISTS: MICROBES IN 2 BIL. YEAR-OLD ROCK MAY BE ALIVE
A team of researchers from the University of Tokyo say they appear to have found living microbes in geological strata dating back 2 billion years. If confirmed, they could be the oldest living microbes ever found on Earth. They were found in an area in South Africa called the Bushveld, known as one of the world's largest deposits of chrome, platinum, and other rare metals. A Japanese team, working as part of an international drilling project, took the sample at a depth of 500 meters. Associate Professor Suzuki Yohey says microscopic observation at a lab back in Japan found a large number of microbes in the rocks. He says detailed analysis found the presence of cells with DNA and protein which can only be generated by living things. He says this evidence strongly suggests the microbes are still alive. Suzuki's team plans to conduct a genome analysis to determine how old their microbes really are and what they can tell us about how life evolved on our planet.
（2024年7月19日のニュース）
TECH GLITCH CAUSES GLOBAL CHAOS
Tech workers around the world are scrambling to deal with an IT outage that's causing widespread chaos. The disruption has impacted hospitals, grounded flights, and locked millions of people out of the electronic devices they rely on. Authorities in the U.S. have responded to the outage by notifying major airlines that they won't allow them to fly.
(Passenger) “They let me know that my flight was canceled and that they can't rebook it for the day because it's likely that more flights later on will get canceled. And then, so, I can try for tomorrow, but they said it's best to just leave.”
The AP says about 1,500 flights have been canceled and thousands of others delayed. Executives at Microsoft say the glitch was caused by a bug in software that was released by U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. The outage has disrupted operations at transportation hubs around the world, including Narita Airport near Tokyo.
（2024年7月20日のニュース）
BIDEN BOWS OUT OF RACE, ENDORSES VP HARRIS
U.S. President Joe Biden has dropped out of the race for the presidential election. He's endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the Democratic Party's nominee to take on Republican Donald Trump in November. Biden made the announcements on his X account on Sunday. He says it's “in the best interest” of his party and the country for him to stand down to focus solely on fulfilling his duties as president for the remainder of his term. He was set to become the party's official candidate by giving a nomination acceptance speech at the party's national convention in mid-August. It's believed that Biden's exit will allow about 4,000 state delegates to vote for a candidate at their own discretion. This is the first time in 56 years that an incumbent president seeking reelection has dropped out of an election campaign. The last president that did so was Lyndon Johnson back in 1968.
（2024年7月22日のニュース）
NAURU PRESIDENT ON DIPLOMATIC SHIFT TOWARD CHINA
The leader of Nauru has spoken to NHK about why the Southern Pacific island nation recently severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China. President David Adeang was in Tokyo to attend the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting. Nauru established diplomatic relations with China in January and severed ties with Taiwan.
(David Adeang / Nauru President) “We are confident that we will be on the right side of history for partnering with China at this time. China is not a country that you can ignore. Its size, particularly of its economy, tells you that it has a lot to contribute to the world, but also it has a lot of technology through which to support the development of small island developing states such as Nauru.”
Nauru has a population of just over 12,000.
（2024年7月20日のニュース）
SURVEY POINTS TO SHIFTING VIEWS ABOUT WORK AND PLAY
“All work and no play makes Japan a dull place.” Now, hang on — or so suggests a new survey. Nearly two-thirds of respondents value their free time more than their jobs. The figure is a record high. The non-profit Japan Productivity Center conducted the annual poll on about 3,300 people. More than a third say they find purpose in leisure rather than their job. And over 30 percent say they try to wrap up their work in good time to have fun elsewhere. Only about 12 percent place more value on work than leisure. Comparable data started in 2009. And the latest results point to a growing awareness about work-life balance. One official involved in the poll says the coronavirus pandemic and rise in remote working probably saw people reassess how they want to live. The survey also asked people how they spend their free time. Almost half say they travel in Japan.
（2024年7月22日のニュース）