「社会人のための英語回路構築トレーニング自習帖」著者のブログ

2018年12月17日06:00

カテゴリ: コラム; 英単語

デモ（demonstration）

フランスのデモは終息の兆しが見えません。

「デモ」は勿論「デモンストレーション」の短縮語です。デジタル大辞泉の解説によれば「デモンストレーション」は次の意味で使われます。
１抗議や要求の主張を掲げて集会や行進を行い、団結の威力を示すこと。示威運動。デモ。
２宣伝のために実演すること。
３競技大会で、正式の競技種目以外に公開される競技・演技。公開演技。

英語の「demonstration」は「demonstrate」という動詞の名詞形です。

「demonstrate」には上記の日本語にはない次のような意味もあります。日本語の「デモ」から類推して失敗することがありますので要注意です。
① 「を論証する、証明する」（prove）。The theories were demonstrated to be false.
② 「の根拠となる」。His sudden departure had demonstrated how unreliable he was.
③ 「を表にだす」。She demonstrated her love for her husband by the sacrifice she made.

「demonstration」は次のように対応します。「競技大会で、正式の競技種目以外に公開される競技・演技。公開演技」の意味はないようです。
① 論証、証明
② 実証、証拠
③ 表示、表明

eigoakahige

2018年12月16日06:00

カテゴリ: 教材; When We Were Orphans

Kazuo Ishiguro: When We Were Orphans (277)

As I leant towards him into the glare of the lamp, an odd feeling came over me that behind my back the darkness had grown and grown, so that now a vast black space had opened up there. Uncle Philip had paused to wipe some sweat from his forehead with the heel of a hand. But now he looked at me intently and continued:
‘I went to see Wang Ku later that day at the Metropole. I did what I could to try and stop the calamity I knew would come. But it was no use. What he told me that afternoon was that far from being angered by your mother, he’d found her spirit – that’s what he called it, her “spirit” – highly attractive. So much so that he wished to take her back with him as a concubine, back to Hunan. He proposed to “tame” your mother, as he would a wild mare. Now you must understand, Puffin, the way things were then, in Shanghai, in China, if a man like Wang Ku decided on a course like that, there was little anyone could do to stop him. That’s what you must understand. Nothing at all would have been achieved by asking the police or whoever to guard your mother. That might have slowed things down a little, but that’s all. There was no one who could protect your mother from the intentions of a man like that. But, you see, Puffin, my great fear was for you. I wasn’t sure what he intended to do with you, and that’s what I was really pleading for. In the end, we came to an agreement, I would arrange things so that your mother was alone, unguarded, if at that same time I could take you right away from the scene. That’s all I wanted to do. I didn’t want him to take you too. Your mother, that was an inevitability. But for you, there was something to plead for. And that’s what I did.’

註釈：

As I leant towards him into the glare of the lamp, an odd feeling came over me that behind my back the darkness had grown and grown, so that now a vast black space had opened up there.
「glare」は「まぶしい光」。

Uncle Philip had paused to wipe some sweat from his forehead with the heel of a hand. But now he looked at me intently and continued:
「intently」は「熱心に、夢中で」。

‘I went to see Wang Ku later that day at the Metropole.
「the Metropole」は「メトロポールホテル/新城饭店 1935開業、14階建。サッスーン財閥所有の当時最先端の豪華ホテル。 1964年に現在の名称で営業再開。（「上海歴史ガイドマップ」木之内誠）。

I did what I could to try and stop the calamity I knew would come.
「calamity」は「不幸、災難」。

But it was no use. What he told me that afternoon was that far from being angered by your mother, he’d found her spirit – that’s what he called it, her “spirit” – highly attractive.

So much so that he wished to take her back with him as a concubine, back to Hunan.
「so much so that … 」で「非常にそうなので・・・」。「concubine」は「側室」。

He proposed to “tame” your mother, as he would a wild mare.
「propose to …」は「・・・する積りである」。「tame」は「を飼いならす」。「as he would a wild mare」は「as he would tame a wild mare」の略。「mare」は「メス馬」。

Now you must understand, Puffin, the way things were then, in Shanghai, in China, if a man like Wang Ku decided on a course like that, there was little anyone could do to stop him. That’s what you must understand. Nothing at all would have been achieved by asking the police or whoever to guard your mother. That might have slowed things down a little, but that’s all. There was no one who could protect your mother from the intentions of a man like that. But, you see, Puffin, my great fear was for you.

I wasn’t sure what he intended to do with you, and that’s what I was really pleading for.
「plead」は「を嘆願する」。

In the end, we came to an agreement, I would arrange things so that your mother was alone, unguarded, if at that same time I could take you right away from the scene.
「in the end」は「結局」。

That’s all I wanted to do. I didn’t want him to take you too.

Your mother, that was an inevitability.
「inevitability」は「避けられないこと」。

But for you, there was something to plead for. And that’s what I did.’

『今日のイデイオム』

「so much so that … 」
「非常にそうなので・・・」

「in the end」
「結局」

eigoakahige

2018年12月15日06:00

カテゴリ: コラム; 英単語

ラウンドアップ（roundup）

日経新聞の夕刊に「ウオール街ラウンドアップ」という囲み記事があります。

この「roundup」は「round up」という成句の名詞形と考えてよいと思います。

「round」は普通「丸い」の意の形容詞、「１回り」意の名詞（「第三ラウンド」等）、「・・・の周りに」の意の前置詞（around と同じ）として使われますが、動詞としても使うことができます。

自動詞としては「丸くなる」「回る」「巡回する」「完成する」の意になります（他動詞もあります）。

「up」は副詞で「上へ」がコアとなるイメージですが、そのイメージが発展して「完成した状態に」「完全に、まったく、すっかり」の意になることがあります。「drink up」は「飲み干す」、「clean up the room」は「部屋をきれいに片づける」。

これらの合わせ技として「round up」は次のような意味になります。
（１）をかり集める、を寄せ集める
（２）（犯人など）を検挙する
（３）（数・金額など）を切り上げる
（４）（ニュースなど）を総括する

「roundup」は
（１）かり集めること
（２）一斉検挙
（３）（ニュースなどの）総括、まとめ、要約
の意。「ウオール街ラウンドアップ」は勿論（３）の使い方です。「ウオール街総括」。

eigoakahige

「社会人のための英語回路構築トレーニング自習帖」著者のブログ

デモ（demonstration）

Kazuo Ishiguro: When We Were Orphans (277)

ラウンドアップ（roundup）

eigoakahige