ニュースで学ぶ「現代英語」 今週のスピーキング練習
7月10日(金)
Discussion Toolbox
月曜日放送回より
Many books and figures are available here, and I feel wowed every time I find something new.
wow「わあ！すごい！」といった驚きや喜びを表現する間投詞
でもありますが、動詞では「（誰かを）感激させる、圧倒させる」という意味です。
feel wowed
be wowed
「感激する、驚嘆する」を意味します。
People at the event were wowed by the drone show.なら、「人々はイベントでドローンショーに圧倒させられた」です。
比較的新しい表現として、
wow factorがあります。これは、初めて見るものなどについて
「人を驚かせたり感激させたりする要因、すごいと思わせる魅力」
という意味で、マーケティングでよく使われる表現です。
This new smartphone has so many great features, but the real wow factor is the camera.
「この新しいスマホは優れた機能がたくさんありますが、本当に驚くべきはカメラです」という意味です。
火曜日放送回より
Officials say that U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian inked the memorandum of understanding ahead of a planned ceremony on Friday.
understandingは
understand「理解する」という単語から派生していて、
基本の意味は「理解、理解力」です。
She has a deep understanding of Japanese culture.「彼女は日本文化について深く理解している」ですし、
My understanding is that ...「私の理解では〜です、〜という認識です」
ニュース本文のように「合意」という意味でも使います。これは「お互いの理解がある」、つまり「認識の一致」ということから「合意、了解」という意味になると捉えるといいでしょう。
come to an understanding「合意に達する、話がつく、折り合う」
では、understandingを使って「私の認識では、その政策は９月に効力を持ちます」
「効力を持つ」はgo into effect
【回答例】 My understanding is that the policy will go into effect in September.
木曜日放送回より
A giant panda has lost none of her pulling power three years after moving from Tokyo to China.
動詞pullの基本の意味は「引っ張る、引く」です。
この「引く」という動作から転じて様々な慣用句があります。
ニュース本文では、pulling power「人々を引き寄せる力」という表現で使われています。
pull the plug on ...は「コンセントを抜く」という意味から転じて
「〜を打ち切る、完全にやめる」という意味になります。
pull the plug on the project「プロジェクトを打ち切る」
pull the rug out from under somebody「誰かの足元の敷物を引く」という意味から転じて「（人の）足元をすくう、はしごを外す」という意味になります。
では、pullを使って「どうしてあんなに素晴らしいドラマシリーズを打ち切っちゃったの？」
主語はthey、「ドラマシリーズ」はseriesで表せます。
【回答例】 Why did they pull the plug on such a great series?
Why did you make such a perfect sentence?
Discussion Session
「お祝いのイベント」について
A: I'll always remember the yearly Easter egg hunt. My parents hid colored eggs around the house or in the yard, and we kids raced to find all of them. When we did, we got our Easter chocolate and candy and stuffed our faces.
B: Sounds fun. One thing I still remember from my time in Cairo, Egypt, is the celebration of the end of Ramadan.
A: That's a reason to celebrate — the fasting period is over, right?
B: Right. After a month of fasting during Ramadan, people celebrate Eid al-Fitr for about three days. They get together with family and friends, wear new clothes, enjoy special meals, and give to people in need.
A: Cool.
So, listeners, tell us about a memorable celebration you've experienced. （など）
Why did you make such a perfect sentence?
So, I used to like going to Setsubun celebration, which celebrates the change of the season in February. In my hometown, many food stands and food stalls were lined up, and you could buy delicious food like karaage, which is fried chicken, or nikumaki onigiri, which is rice ball wrapped in meat, and much more. And in the late afternoon, the Oni, Japanese demon, showed up. It was a bit scary, but for me, good memories.
That sounds like a fun celebration. I wanna go.
So, the one thing that I really liked about your answer was you were explaining some Japanese foods like karaage, right, which is fried chicken, and nikumaki onigiri, right? And I think you did a great thing by saying the Japanese plus the English. And why is that good? Well, when that person, if you're explaining to someone who doesn't speak Japanese, you give them the Japanese with the English. So if they go somewhere like Kyoto, and they want to eat a rice ball wrapped in meat instead of using English that people might not understand, they will use the Japanese. And that will make things much easier. And so that's a very good thing for all listeners to remember. If you're explaining a Japanese thing, you can say the Japanese, but provide the English too. That's a great way to do it.
ニュースで学ぶ「現代英語」 シャンシャンの誕生日 日本から約100人が中国へ
7月9日(木)
JAPANESE GIANT PANDA FANS REUNITE WITH XIANG XIANG
A giant panda has lost none of her pulling power three years after moving from Tokyo to China. Many of Xiang Xiang's loyal Japanese fans have traveled all the way to see her to say happy birthday.
Xiang Xiang turned nine on Friday. She was born at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo and transferred to China based on an agreement between the two countries. She now lives at a conservation center in Sichuan Province. About 100 fans gathered to see the panda.
(Japanese visitor)
“She's so adorable. I'm glad I came here. I even made a T-shirt.”
The facility also raises Tokyo-born twins Xiao Xiao and Lei Lei, who were handed over in January. The twins are due to make their public debut after adapting to their new environment.
Japan has no giant pandas for the first time in half a century. The first two arrived in 1972 when Beijing and Tokyo normalized diplomatic ties.
（2026年6月13日のニュース）
has lost none of her pulling power で「彼女の人々を引き寄せる力をまったく失っていない」となります。 none は「少しもない」ことを強調しています。
pulling power は「人々を引き寄せる力」です。主にイギリス英語として使われる表現で、
アメリカ英語では drawing powerといいます。 We’d probably say a driving power.
all the way は「はるばる、わざわざ」という意味です。
turned nine on Friday.
based on an agreement between the two countries.
transfer は「移す、移転させる」という意味です。
conservation は「保護、保全」です。
Conservation, conserve. That's kind of the main part. The basic idea of conservative and conservation is protect.
adorable は「愛らしい、とてもかわいい」という意味です。同じ「かわいい」を意味する cute に比べて、大切にしたくなるような強い愛着を含むニュアンスがあります。
Adorable. Everyone says that your dog is adorable.
hand over は「引き渡す」という意味です。
are due to make their public debut
adapt to ...は、「～に順応する、適応する」です。
Japan has no giant pandas for the first time in half a century.
normalized diplomatic ties.
adapt
自動詞「順応する、適応する」
The twins are due to make their public debut after adapting to their new environment.
例1: Companies need to adapt to the ever-evolving market.「企業は進化し続ける市場に適応しなければならない」
例2: She adapts quickly to change in the workplace.「彼女は職場での変化に慣れるのが早い」
Change:
Adapter
Very good, and it the same idea, right, like changing, changing a little bit to fit the environment.
例3: be slow to adapt「慣れるのに時間がかかる」
他動詞「順応させる、適応させる」
「適合させる、合わせる」（「何かに合わせて変える」といったニュアンスを含む）
例4: He adapted the lesson for beginners.「彼はその授業を初心者向けに合わせた」
「改作する、脚色する」
例5: The novel was adapted into a movie.「その小説は映画化された」
I think of African traditional costumes. When I read a book about African traditional costumes, I was very surprised by their variations and colors. Seeing them makes me happy.
I still remember one of my high school teachers telling us, actually, we know nothing about Africa. They have different languages, cultures, and religions inside, but still, we regard them as Africa. Those words made a very big impact on us.
It's like a world of different things, like the languages. There are so many different languages, and they are so different. And also different climates. Yeah.
ニュースで学ぶ「現代英語」 米・イランの大統領が覚書署名
7月7日(火)
US, IRAN PRESIDENTS SIGN AGREEMENT ENDING CONFLICT
The White House says the agreement to end the conflict between the U.S. and Iran is signed and in effect.
Officials say that U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian inked the memorandum of understanding ahead of a planned ceremony on Friday.
A White House official posted a video on social media that showed Trump signing a copy of the document during a dinner meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
A senior U.S. official briefed reporters on the text of the agreement. The official said it contains 14 points, including navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The document reportedly says Iran will make its best efforts to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days.
Iran's media outlets quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying that Tehran will collect fees for services it provides in the strait.
Trump touted the agreement as he departed the Group of Seven summit. He said it will achieve all of his administration's goals and “much more.”
（2026年6月18日のニュース）
- be in effect は「効力を持っている」
- ここでのinkは動詞で「署名する」です。センテンス１の sign の言い換えになっています。
- memorandum of understanding は「合意事項の覚書」です。ここでの understanding は「合意、了解」という意味です。
Memorandum of understanding: You might see it abbreviated as MOU sometimes.
- ここでのbrief は「（人に）概要を伝える、必要な情報を伝える」です。
- containは「含む」です。
- ここでの navigation は「航海、航行」です。
But navigation originally comes from the sea. For example, the Navy. Yeah. So it all comes from finding your way through the sea.
--
※ここでの navigation は「カーナビ」ではなく、「航海術・進路を決めること」という本来の意味を指しています。
So, with the conflict apparently easing, how are people in the U.S. viewing the outcome of the Iran situation?
Critics say the missile strikes didn't achieve much. And the president made too many concessions to Iran. Instead, many oil facilities were damaged, and tensions were increased in the Gulf region.
So things have gotten worse?
Right. One lawmaker called it the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.
Foreign policy is a dangerous place to make blunders, right?
ニュースで学ぶ「現代英語」 ドイツで日本のポップカルチャー祭
7月6日(月)
Today we have some news about Japanese culture.
EVENT IN GERMANY WOWS FANS OF JAPANESE POP CULTURE
An event highlighting Japanese pop culture in Dusseldorf, western Germany, is hitting the spot with anime and manga fans.
The event opened on Friday in the city, which hosts many Japanese businesses. It's one of the largest events of its kind in Germany, with about 1,500 individuals and businesses operating booths.
German media say the manga market in Germany more than doubled over the five years through 2023, indicating growing interest in Japanese pop culture.
Some visitors wore costumes of their favorite anime and manga characters.
(Male visitor)
“I was interested in Japan, especially the samurai era, and have gradually become hooked on modern Japanese culture.”
(Female visitor)
“Many books and figures are available here, and I feel wowed every time I find something new.”
The event runs through Sunday. Organizers expect a record 230,000 visitors in total.
（2026年5月30日のニュース）
- ここでの highlight は動詞で、「（イベントなどで）呼び物にする、強調する」という意味です。
- hit the spot は「まさに求めていたものである、欲求を満足させる、狙い通りの効果をもたらす」といった意味です。
- ここでは business が businesses と複数形になっています。このように数えられる名詞として使うと、「業務」という意味ではなく「企業、会社」という意味になります。
- of its kind は「そのたぐいの、この種の」という意味です。
- indicate は「（～ということを）示す」という意味です。
- wore costumes of
- become hooked on ... で「～のとりこになる、～にはまる」という意味です。
- ここでの wow は動詞で「（誰かを）大喜びさせる、感激させる」という意味です。
- event runs through Sunday. : Sunday のように時を表す名詞につく through は、「～を含めて～まで」という意味になります。
- in total は「合計で、全部で」です。
Anime and manga are popular all over the world now. And events like this one show that fans are really passionate. I think that it's a great way to connect people across different countries.
An event highlighting Japanese pop culture in Dusseldorf, western Germany, is hitting the spot with anime and manga fans.
An event highlighting Japanese pop culture
in Dusseldorf, western Germany,
is hitting the spot with anime and manga fans.
★単語や熟語のもともとの意味
An event highlighting Japanese pop culture in Dusseldorf, western Germany, is hitting the spot with anime and manga fans.
「日本のポップカルチャーを呼び物にしているイベント、ドイツ西部のデュッセルドルフにおける、がまさに求めていたものとなっています、アニメや漫画のファンの。」
まず、highlightという単語の中には「light」(光)があることに注目してみてください。文字どおりには、highlightとは「明るい光を当てる」つまり「(スポットライトを当てて)目立つようにする」ことでしょう。
自然な日本語表現としては、「強調する、呼び物にする、紹介する」など様々に訳されますが、highlightという言葉には「光」というキラキラしたニュアンスがあります。
次にpop cultureですが、これはpopular cultureが短くなったものですね。
語源的にpopularとは「people(人々)の」なので、
pop cultureとは「(貴族などではなく)普通の人々が楽しむ文化」
となります。
hit the spotは「まさに求めていたものである、欲求を満足させる」といった口語表現です。
もともとの意味としては、お腹がペコペコのときにおいしいものを食べて、お腹の中の
the spotちょうどいい「その場所」にhit(当たる)
この、欲求に対して「命中する」動きをイメージしてみれば、hit the spotのニュアンスを体で理解することができるでしょう。
Christy, what comes to mind when you hear hit the spot?
In my mind, I see it as an arrow hitting a perfect bullseye. It's like having a cool, refreshing drink on a hot day, or going to the onsen after a long hike.
Try to highlight one new word every day. When you use it naturally in conversation, it will really hit the spot.