Joel's Random Eikaiwa: 2016

2016-12-31

PTA English December Notes -- Christmas Party, with Games

I didn't get these notes done before the end of the year this time, either.
[get ... done => …を済ます（済ませる）]
[before the end of ... => …内]
[this time => 今度]
[either => どちらも、これでも（今度も）]

We met in one of the electives classrooms, to give us more room for the party.
[meet => 集合する (meet met met)]
[one of ... => …の一つ]
[elective => 選択教科]
[more room => （場所などの）余裕]
[to give us more room for ... => …のための余裕ができるように]

We played three word games in English, for practice.
[word game => （しりとりなどのような）言葉遊び]

First, we played the game we played last time, "Never have I ever ...."
[the game {that} we played {the} last time => 先ほどやったゲーム]
Then we played a variation of "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John", using numbers instead of books of The New Testament in The Bible.
[variation => 形を変えたもの]
[instead of ... => …のかわりに]
After that, we played "The Minister's Cat".
[minister => 牧師、お僧、大臣など]

At the end, we exchanged presents by drawing lots. I should have left more time to talk about the presents, I think. Sorry about that.
[exchange => 交換する]
[drawing lots => くじを引くこと]
[should have ... => …にしたほうが良かった]
[leave time => （予定に）時間をあける]

Never Have I Ever

The rules are in the notes for the previous lesson, but I'll summarize them here:
[summarize => 短くまとめる]

(This game is also on Wikipedia.)

Everyone holds up ten fingers.
[hold up ... => …を上に持つ、出す]
Each turn goes like this:
[turn => 番、当番]
[... goes like this => こういうふうに行く、こんな感じでやる]
1. The person whose turn it is tells something he or she has never done:
  [tell => おしえる、話をする] [something ... has never done => …は、やったことごないもの]
  
  Never have I ever _____.
2. Everyone who has done that thing folds one finger down.
  [everyone who has ... => …をやったことがあるみな]
3. Anyone who has folded all ten fingers down is out.
  [anyone who has ... => …をやったことがあるだれでも]
  [fold down => 下ろす]
  [out => 負けた（状態）]
The last person with fingers remaining up wins.
[fingers remaining up => 指が立ったまま残っている]

[解釈は先月のノートをご参考下さい。]

The unusual grammar is for emphasis:
[unusual => 変わった、普通ではない]
[grammar => 文法]
[emphasis => 強調]
[=> 珍しい文法は強調のためです。]

I have never flown like a bird.
[鳥のように飛んだことが一度もない。]
I have never ever flown like a cat.
[猫みたいに飛んだ（或いは逃げ出した）ことは絶対に無い。]
Never have I flown like an airplane.
[一度も飛行機みたいになって飛んだことがない。]
Never have I ever flown like a banana.
[バナナのように飛んだことは一切に、絶対にありません。]

[fly => 飛ぶ、逃げ去る (fly, flew, flown)]
[coop => かご、おり、小屋 (chicken coop == 鶏小屋)]
[fly the coop => おりを羽ばたいて逃げる]

[put/fold a finger down => 指をおる ("bend"はここではあんまり使わない。)]

helicopter (fly, flew, flown): Never have I ever flown in a helicopter.
ghost (see, saw, seen): Never have I ever seen a ghost.
pony [子馬] (ride, rode, ridden): Never have I ever ridden a pony.
Korea -- day trip (go, went, gone): Never have I ever gone on a day trip to Korea.
cruise around the world: Never have I ever gone on a cruise around the world.
tequila [テキーラ] (drink, drank, drunk): Never have I ever drunk tequila.
snowboard (ride, rode, ridden): Never have I ever ridden on a snowboard.
Never have I ever gone snowboarding.
viola [楽器のヴィオラ] (play): Never have I ever played the viola.
Aomori: Never have I ever gone to Aomori.
diamond [ダイヤモンド：（ダイ・モンド）] (buy, bought, bought): Never have I ever bought a diamond.
Dubai Atlantis Hotel (stay): Never have I ever stayed at the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai.
[Dubai => ドバイ]]
[United Arab Emirates => アラブ首長国連邦]
scuba diving [スキューバ] (go, went, gone): Never have I ever gone scuba diving.
St. Nick (Saint Nicholas) / Santa Claus (meet, met, met): Never have I ever met St. Nick.
Iceland: Never have I ever gone to Iceland.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

This is a group game useful for memorizing lists. The name comes from the list of names of books of the New Testament (in the Bible), which is not easy to memorize. But it can be used for other lists, like numbers in English or Japanese.
[group game => グループで遊ぶゲーム]
[memorize => 覚える、暗記する]
[comes from ... => …由来]
[can be used for ... => …にも使ってもいい]

(This is a simple game. It's a lot easier to play than to explain. If you are not embarrassed to be seen, practice while you read the description. That makes it simple to follow along.)
[easier to play than to explain => 説明するよりはやるのが簡単]
[not embarrassed to ... => …に恥ずかしくない]
[pratice while ... => …しながら練習する]
[description => 描写、説明]
[makes it simple to ... => …をやりやすくする]
[follow along => ついていく]

Everyone should sit in a circle.
[輪になって座る]

The rhythm is counted in four.
[四拍子のリズムです。]

The leader should show the rhythm. Clap your hands twice on your knees on one and two, then once together in front of you, then rest:
[clap hands on knees => 膝に手拍子]
[clap on one and two => １、２に拍子を]
[clap hands together => 手を併せて手拍子]
[in front of ... => …の前に]
[rest on four => ４に音を鳴らさない]

Clap (knees), clap (knees), clap (hands), rest.

After demonstrating the clapping twice or so, have everyone practice the rhythm in unison once or twice.
[in unison => 皆揃って、一致して、同度に]

Now demonstrate the rhythm, saying the first word in the list on the third count, then the second word, then the third, then fourth:
[saying ... => …を唱えて]

Clap (knees), clap (knees), clap (hands) -- "Matthew", rest.
Clap (knees), clap (knees), clap (hands) -- "Mark", rest.
Clap (knees), clap (knees), clap (hands) -- "Luke", rest.
Clap (knees), clap (knees), clap (hands) -- "John", rest.

If you are doing it with numbers, it will be
[数字の場合]

Clap (knees), clap (knees), clap (hands) -- "one", rest.
Clap (knees), clap (knees), clap (hands) -- "two", rest.
Clap (knees), clap (knees), clap (hands) -- "three", rest.
Clap (knees), clap (knees), clap (hands) -- "four", rest.

Then have everyone practice the first part of the list in unison. If the list is hard for some in the circle, you may want to practice the whole list in unison.
[the first part of the list => リストの頭部の何個]
[if ... is hard => …が難しかったら]
[for some => 何人かにとって]
[you may want to ... => …が望ましいかも知らない]
[whole list => リスト全体（"whole"と"hole"は同音意義です。）]

Next, have everyone in the circle number off, starting with the leader -- The leader is Matthew, the next person to the right is Mark, the next is Luke, and so on. Or, if using numbers, the leader is one, the person to the right is two, etc.
[have everyone ... => 皆に…をやってもらう]
[number off => 順に追って唱える]
[next to the right => 右の人]

(Or you might use ordinals: "first", "second", "third", etc. Any list of words will work.)
[ordinals => 序数]
[work => 巧く行く、適用できる]
[any will work => どれでもいける]

A list of books of the New Testament (more information here) is as follows:

Matthew [マ・シュー]
Mark [マーク]
Luke [ルーク]
John [ジョン]
Acts [アックツ]
Romans [ロー・マンズ]
Corinthians (1st & 2nd) [コ・リン・シ・アンズ]
Galatians [ガ・レー・シャンズ]
Ephesians [エ・フィー・ジャンズ]
Philippians [フィ・リ・ピ・アンズ]
Colossians [コ・ロー・ジ・アンズ]
Thessalonians (1st & 2nd) [テ・セ・ロー・ニ・アンズ]
Timothy (1st & 2nd) [ティ・モ・シー]
Titus [タイ・タス]
Philemon [フィ・レ・モン]
Hebrews [ヒー・ブルーズ]
James [ジェームズ]
Peter (1st & 2nd) [ピー・ター]
John (1st, 2nd, & 3rd) [ジョン]
Jude [ジュード]
Revelation [レ・ヴェ・レー・ション]

If you have more than twenty-one in the circle, you can use First and Second Corinthians, etc., but that requires speaking very quickly.
[if more than ... => …より多い場合]
[First Corinthians => コリント人への第一の手紙]
[that requires ... => …が必要]
[quickly => 素早く]

One popular option is starting with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, then shifting to numbers, one, two, etc.:
[popular option => 人気ある別のやり方]
[start with ... => …として初めて]
[shift to ... => …に切り替える]

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, one, two, three, ...

Now that everyone is comfortable with the list and the rhythm you might want to go around the circle one more time, in rhythm, everyone clapping, but only the person whose turn it is speaking his or her own name or number.
[now that ... => …になっていて]
[everyone is comfortable with ... => 皆が…に慣れてきている]
[you might want to ... => …にしてもいいかも知らない]
[go around one more time => もう一回周る]
[in rhythm => 拍子に乗って]
[everyone clapping => 皆拍子を鳴らして]
[person whose turn it is => 順番の人]
[only ... speaking => …のみが唱えて]
[his or her own => 自分の]

Now you are ready for the beginners' level game.
[beginners' level => 初心者のやり方]

The leader starts the rhythm, with everyone clapping. On the third count, he says the name or number of the next person to lead.
[on the third count, he says ... => ３に…を唱える]
[... of the next person => 次の人の…]

Without breaking rhythm, the new leader names the next person to lead, and so on.
[without breaking the rhythm => 拍子を外さず]

When someone misses, everyone stops, and then that person starts the rhythm again.
[when ... misses => …がミスを起こすと]
[that person => （ミスを起こした）その人]

When everyone feels comfortable with the first level, take it up a level. At this level, the leader is not silent on the first two counts, but says his own name or number. :
[take it up a level => レベルをあげる]
[not silent => 黙ってはいない]
[says his own ... => 自分の…を唱える]

Matthew: Clap, "Matthew"; clap, "Matthew"; clap "Mark"; rest.

if Matthew picks Mark to continue.
[picks ... to continue => 続く（人）に…を示す（当てる）]

Then, if Mark picks Acts to continue,

Mark: Clap, "Mark"; clap, "Mark"; clap, "Acts"; rest.

If Acts then picks Philippians,

Acts: Clap, "Acts"; clap, "Acts"; clap, "Philippians"; rest.

And if Philippians then picks Galations,

Philippians: Clap, "Philippians"; clap, "Philippians"; clap, "Galations"; rest.

Doing that in numbers, 1, 2, 5, 10, 8, ...:

One: Clap, "one"; clap, "one"; clap, "two"; rest.

Two: Clap, "two"; clap, "two"; clap, "five"; rest.

Five: Clap, "five"; clap, "five"; clap, "ten"; rest.

Ten: Clap, "ten"; clap, "ten"; clap, "eight"; rest.

At the next level up, a person who misses the rhythm goes to the end of the circle, and everyone after that person moves up one, taking new names or numbers.
[a person who misses ... => …を外れる人]
[goes to the end => 末尾に移動する]
[everyone after that person => その（拍子を外れた）人の後の人皆]
[moves up one => 一つ頭の方へ]
[taking new names or numbers => 新しい（一の）名前や番号に変えて]

We did a round of using numbers so everyone could get used to it.
[round => 一回り]
[so everyone could get used to it => 慣れていけるように]

I suggested that, if starting from one is too easy, the list could start from eleven.
[suggest => 提案する、勧める]
[the list could start from ... => リストが（１の替りに）…から始まってもいいでしょう]

The Minister's Cat

(This game is also on Wikipedia.)

In Japanese, there is a game called "Taking the Tail", or 「尻取り」 (Shiritori). It's a word association game, where, in each turn, you think of a word that starts with the final 音 (on, loosely, syllabic character, or mora) of the previous word.
[there is ... => …はあるよ！]
[called ... => …という]
[tail => 末尾、尻尾]
[word association => 言葉の関連性]
[in each turn => 交代交代]
[think of ... => …を考えだす]
[starts with ... => …で始める]
[final ... => 末尾の…]
[syllabic > 音節の]
[mora => （かなの）泊、一つのかなの音]

There are English-language word games similar to Shiritori, called Word Chain games, in which you can start the next word with either the last sound or the last letter of the previous word.
[word game => 言葉で遊ぶゲーム、言葉遊び]
[similar to ... => …のような、…に似た]
[chain => 関連、関連性]
[in which ... => …になる、その中に…がある]
[can start with either A or B => A でも B でも始めてもいい]
[start the word with ... => …でその言葉を始める（その言葉が始める）]
[last sound => 最後の音（発音）]
[last letter => 末尾の文字]

There is also a game known as The Minister's Cat, in which you think of words to describe the cat according to their first letter.
[there is also ... => …もある]
[known as ... => …として知られる]
[minister => 牧師、僧、大臣]
[describe => 描写する、（想像できるように）説明する]
[according to ... => …に応じて、…に従って、…と一致して]
[first letter => 頭文字]

There are two versions. In the easy version, the first person says an adjective for the cat that starts with "A", the second thinks of a word that starts with "B", and so on, each player using the next letter of the alphabet in turn.
[easy version => やりやすいやり方、優しいバージョン、簡単版]
[adjective => 描写する語彙、形容詞]
[word that starts with ... => …で始める語彙]
[and so on => など]
[using ... => …をあてて]
[next letter in turn => 交代交代次の文字]

In the harder version, all players think of words that start with "A". When they have gone around the circle, or when no one can think of any more words, they start on words that begin with "B".
[harder => 難い、難しい]
[when they have gone around ... => …を回ったところ]
[no one can think of ... => 誰も…を考え出せない]
[any more ... => これ以上の…]
[start on ... => …でやりだす]

To make the game competitive, players who can't think of a word are out.
[make ... competitive => …を競争的にする]
[who can't think of ... => …を考え出せない]
[are out => 負けたものとする]

We played one round of the easy rules version of this game, in rhythm:

amicable: 友好的な
The minister's cat is an amicable cat.
brilliant: 天才ある
The minister's cat is a brilliant cat.
cute: 可愛い
The minister's cat is a cute cat.
dangerous: 危険な
The minister's cat is a dangerous cat.
elegant: 気質のある、優美な、洗練された、品の良い
The minister's cat is an elegant cat.
foolish: 思慮分別のない、愚かな
The minister's cat is a foolish cat.
giant: でかい、巨大な
The minister's cat is a giant cat.
happy: 幸せな、嬉しい
The minister's cat is a happy cat.
innocent: 無邪気な、無罪な
The minister's cat is an innocent cat.
(gentle は "j" ではなかった): 優しい、丁重な、物柔らかな
The minister's cat is a gentle cat.
jealous: 嫉妬深い、ねたむ
The minister's cat is a jealous cat.
kind: 親切な、思いやりのある、寛大な
The minister's cat is a kind cat.
luxurious: 豪華な
The minister's cat is a luxurious cat.
(The minister's cat has luxurious fur.)
magical: 魔法ある、魅力ある
The minister's cat is a magical cat.
(honest は "o" ではなかった): 味目で正直な、真実しか言わない
The minister's cat is an honest cat.
old: 年老いた
The minister's cat is an old cat.
printed: 印刷された（つまり、猫の絵か、猫の写真）
The minister's cat is a printed cat.

[JMR: Actually posted January 2nd, 2017 -- had to preserve links.]

2016-12-26

Simplifying Life ch01-2 -- The Serious Constable

(Previous)

(TOC)

注釈

"Uhnm, Danielle, ..." Michel stopped as they entered the shade in the little airport's waiting area.

"Hmh?"

"Would you mind if I pray out loud?"

"I've been praying in my heart."

"So've I, but I'd like to be a little more formal."

"Free-ists do formal things!"

"As you know."

"Yeah, I know. Go ahead. But I want my three minutes, too. It's about noon, anyway."

Across the tarmac, Omega took notice. "They've stopped. What are they doing?"

"The girl says she wants seafood?"

"Mitch is looking down now. Sonofagun. He's praying."

[That's actually a literal translation of the expression of surprise he used. The origins of the expression were pretty blasphemous in their language and culture, too, although nobody really thought about such things there, any more than we do here.]

"It couldn't hurt them."

In his prayer, Michel offered gratitude for their safe arrival and prayed for help, guidance, and protection for both of them for the remainder of the trip.

When he was done, Danielle said, without irony, "Thanks for including me in your prayer," and took a prayer rug from her backpack. She spread it out and knelt on it, and then proceeded to recite her noon prayers.

Beta was also watching at this point. "Prayer rug," she observed, to no one in particular. Then she added, "Their differences in religion don't seem to bother them too much."

"That's a good sign, maybe?" Omega was listening.

"Yeah. but it won't hurt to make sure."

Finishing with her formal prayers, Danielle also added prayer for protection and guidance for both of them, mentioning their families as well.

"And you included my family as well as yours. Thanks."

Danielle stood up and put her prayer rug away. "Didn't think you'd mind. Do we really have to ask each other's permission to pray any more?"

"Well, maybe, but I won't learn about your traditions unless you tell me."

"And I won't understand yours. Good point. So, what do you think we should do?"

"Too bad the airport doesn't have the staff to man the airport radio so we can call Professor Stewart from here. Let's go into town and see if we can find a place where we can call. Might eat something while we're there."

"I'm good with that. And maybe we'll find the constable."

"Maybe so."

They waved and called out to the two pilots, who waved back. Leaving their luggage where it was, they walked through the small airport lobby and out to the road in front. The road stretched straight away from the airport through sparse forest towards a cluster of buildings in the distance.

"The professor said a blue lamp would be an inn, where they'd have a radio. And a white lamp would be a restaurant. Maybe we could try the local cuisine while we're here."

"And a place with on orange lamp would be the constable's office. But there are no buildings closer than two hundred paces. And I don't see any lamps from here."

[Well, that's two-zero-zero base sixteen. 200_sixteen -- 512_ten. No, they don't have eight fingers on each hand. Just as some of our mathematicians and scientists became enamored of ten, some of their mathematicians and scientists had become enamored of base two a long time in their past, and most of the advanced countries in their world commonly used base sixteen and base eight for ordinary numbers.

Anyway, when I translate something someone in this novel says as "hundred", assume it means 100_sixteen (or 256_ten) unless I tell you it means 100_eight (64_ten). I'll try hard to warn you when someone is using base eight. Don't expect base ten, okay?]

"Well, the road leads only one direction, anyway." Danielle pointed towards the cluster of buildings.

"Don't see any taxis, either. I guess we walk."

It was not an unpleasant walk to the village. There was a path through the trees near the road, and the forest there was not too wild.

"This road is beautiful. Tangerine would be jealous."

"I'm sure she would."

"I wish she'd come. Sometimes I think she's jealous of you."

"I don't know why."

"You know."

"Do I, really?"

Danielle looked a little sharply at Michel. "I'm glad we aren't the same race. You're just a tad cold for my comfort, even for a free-ist."

Michel returned her gaze with a questioning expression, then, hearing footsteps ahead of them, looked back towards the path. "Who's that?"

The uniformed man approaching them hailed them by name.

"Forthright Michel? Sagewater Danielle?"

"By whom are we addressed?" Michel asked the protocol question.

The man replied, but not in protocol. "I'm Serious Sirius, the part-time constable here. I'm sorry I'm late. We had some sudden business come up in town." The protocol information was there, buried in the apologies, but it was clear that the islanders had different traditions from Michel and Danielle.

[No, I'm not joking around. He was named after the star we know as Sirius, and his family was known as the Serious family. It rhymed in the local island language, as well, which seems rather too much of a coincidence, but it is what it is. What can I say?]

"Constable Serious?" Both Michel and Danielle were a bit relieved.

Constable Serious showed them his ID. He was one of maybe three people living on the island who carried picture ID, for whatever that's worth.

"Your Professor Stewart asked me to check on you, and make sure you found our vagabond pilots."

"Hah. Vagabond pilots. The professor said they weren't exactly regular. Beta is a woman." Danielle was a little pointed in her tone.

"You've met them, ..."

"We met a rough-looking pair who called themselves Beta and Omega, claimed to know our names, and claimed to be our pilots." Michel took his turn to express a willingness to be corrected. "I'm not sure but they deliberately switched our names around."

"That would be Beta. Her sense of humor sometimes catches you by surprise."

"That's good to know," Danielle observed. "They suggested we get lunch while they pre-flight the plane."

"Typical. They could have had the plane checked over and fueled and waiting for you." Serious paused. "You didn't bring food for the long flight?"

"Sure we brought some. But we want to call the professor. And we could try the local cuisine."

"Great idea. We can arrange that, both the call and the lunch. But I need to talk with your pilots. Actually, if you wait for me, I'll open up the radio shack at the airport, and then I can show you around the town."

"Thanks, it'd help. Uhm, is that okay with you, Michel?"

"It sounds good to me."

Turning around, they looked again at the airport from the outside. The facade was a little overbuilt for the island, but not tastelessly so. From the front, the structure actually blended well into the surrounding jungle.

As they walked, Constable Serious told them about the airport. "At one time, we planned for it to serve ten flights a day. But my fellow islanders are mostly happy traveling by boat. And nobody has been willing to go to the trouble of certifying as a pilot. Well, no one but Beta and Omega, anyway."

Back at the airport, Sirius asked Beta how their fuel would hold up.

"Well enough."

"Can you pick up a woman on the next island over?"

"Beryl." Omega's voice showed concern. "The baby's still in breach?"

"They aren't sure, and she's having difficulty."

"No problem." Beta unbent herself from her examination of the landing gear and went over to the wall. An auxiliary tank hung there, and she took it down and brought it back to the plane. Omega stepped out of the plane and held the tank in place while she latched it down and tied safety straps over it.

"But we'll take some extra fuel to make sure," Omega commented.

Michel spoke up. "I'm a registered nurse back home. I've helped in obstetrics, so I could take a look at the woman if we go there first."

"There would be too many cultural issues, and I am a midwife, myself." Beta was firm in turning him down. "But thanks for the offer."

Omega spoke up. "There's still time to look around the island and try the food. Are you going to open the radio shack for them, Sirius?"

"Yeah."

"Tell the Professor it will take about six hours, so we should get there about midnight."

"You've filed the flight plans?"

"Oh yeah."

[You're probably wondering about the time. As a matter of fact, they use hexadecimal for time, as well: Sixteen hours a day -- eight hours from noon to midnight, and eight more from midnight to noon.

This is convenient, because it means four hours from dawn to noon and four from noon to sunset, at the equinoxes. One hour for them is roughly a quarter of the arc from horizon to zenith.

More about this later.]

In the radio shack, the Constable powered up the rig, set the call tone modulator for their island's key tones, and waited.

Each island had its own filter circuit for a specific set of key tones. The key tones, modulated into the carrier wave, would induce a small current in the receiver filter circuit, just enough to activate a sensitive relay. The relay, in its turn, would release a spring-wound bell alarm, alerting the human operator, if he or she were close enough to hear it.

Just in case, there were three alarms, which could be activated in turn, so you could try three times to raise the operator on the other end. After that, you hoped that the operator would eventually notice the purple flag on any of the alarms, indicated that the alarm had been triggered.

If that failed, there were specific times each day at which the designated radio operators would call each other for news.

Fortunately, Professor Stewart was waiting on their island, and responded immediately. Constable Serious told him the two students had arrived in good order, and that their estimated time of arrival at the island would be midnight. When the students had chatted briefly with their professor, they signed off, powered their rigs down, and wound and reset the alarms.

Again, they waved to the pilots as they left the airport with Constable Serious.

	Table of Contents	(Next)
(No annotations yet.)		(Japanese, someday?)

2016-12-16

Christmas Notes -- When Was Jesus' Birthday?

Makoto: Thanks for picking me up at the airport.

Tom: Oh, sure.

Makoto: Say, I heard something strange on the airplane.

Tom: Yeah?

Makoto: A woman behind me was telling the little girl beside her that nobody knows when Jesus' birthday really was.

Tom: Well, that's true. We don't.

Makoto: I thought it was December the twenty-fifth.

Tom: That's the date of a number of non-Christian winter festivals, actually.

Makoto: Then why is Christmas on December twenty-fifth?

Tom: It's a long story.

Makoto: No short version?

Tom: Hmm. Okay, for starters, you know that we don't have any hard evidence that the Biblical Jesus actually existed.

Makoto: I've heard that, but I thought it was just atheist arguments.

Tom: An atheist doesn't think it's just argument. At least, some of my atheist friends seem to be sincere about it.

Makoto: What about the shrines over in Jerusalem?

Tom: Well, what about Japan's traditional history back around Jimmu?

Makoto: Okay. No evidence for that, either. But I always thought you guys had harder evidence. I mean, you believe in Jesus, don't you?

Tom: Well, you don't have to believe all the stories told about the Boddhisatva are true to believe there was an original Gautama, do you?

Makoto: I guess you have a point there.

Tom: Anyway, soon after most of the apostles were martyred, there was some discussion about having a celebration for Jesus' birthday. There does seem to be evidence of those discussions.

Makoto: But they didn't know when?

Tom: According to some interpretations, it was thought that the date was suppressed to avoid the celebrations.

Makoto: By the enemies of the Church?

Tom: By the Church leaders. Such celebrations easily turn idolatrous.

Makoto: Wow. But, so Christmas shouldn't exist? What happened?

Tom: Whether Christmas should exist or not is another question, but what happened was a Roman emperor named Constantine.

Makoto: Sounds like someone from Star Wars.

Tom: Heh. Whether he was a good guy or bad guy is still a subject of debate. But Christianity became the official religion of the Roman empire about then. And the early Christ Mass mostly began during his reign as emperor.

Makoto: I think I see. So how about the date?

Tom: Those who seemed to know most about it at the time argued for a date in spring -- March or April.

Makoto: That would double up on Easter, wouldn't it?

Tom: There were apparently some who worried about that.

Makoto: How about now?

Tom: Late August or early September are favored theories these days.

Makoto: No midwinter?

Tom: Some did and do argue for for December. But, apparently, they wanted to borrow an existing festival -- horn in on another religion's holiday.

Makoto: Another religion?

Tom: Druidism and the pre-Christian religions of the area, and the Roman worship of the Sun God among others. Lots of religions seem to have some sort of festival just a few days after winter solstice.

Makoto: Son God?

Tom: The sun in the sky, shining down on you, sometimes dies. He is reborn three days after solstice.

Makoto: Winter solstice? Three days after the twenty-second would be the twenty-fifth.

Tom: Yeah.

Makoto: So is that the reason you're not very big on Christmas? My sister sometimes calls you a Scrooge.

Tom: Bah! Humbug! Heh. No, we just don't have much money yet. The boutique isn't doing very well, and we both have to work a lot of part-time jobs.

Makoto: Yeah. Small fashion stores are subject to the winds of fashion.

Tom: And I forget, and she waits for me. That's the real reason we came to visit my family this year, so I wouldn't forget.

Makoto: Well, hey, I'm looking forward to meeting your family. Mom said she was jealous when I left.

Tom: Dad says he thinks he and Mom can make it to Japan next Christmas, and some of my sisters are talking it up as a family reunion over there.

Makoto: That'd be sweet.

2016-12-13

A Christmas Quiz

Nativity, by Botticelli, from Wikimedia

1: What is Christmas? (Choose the best answer.)

It is the Easter Bunny's birthday.
It is Santa Claus's birtday.
It is Saint Nicholas's birthday.
It is the birthday of Jesus Christ.
It is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

2. When is Christmas?

It's on December the 24th.
It's on December the 25th.
It's on January 1st.
It's on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

3. When is Christmas Eve?

It's on December the 24th.
It's on December the 25th.
It's on December 31st.

by Jorge Barrios, from Wikimedia

It's on the first Saturday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

4: What is the meaning of the Christmas tree?

It represents eternal life.
It means different things to different people.
It was borrowed from ancient Germanic and Druid traditions.
It is a place to put presents under.
All of the above.

5: When was Jesus Christ born?

He was born on December the 25th.
He was born on April 6th.
He was born on January 6th.
He was born in August or September.
People do not agree about when he was born.

Leaf disc dedicated to Sol Invictus
in holdings of the British Museum
image from WikiMedia

6: Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th?

The date was calculated from assumptions about events in the Bible.
The date was borrowed from a religion that worshiped a sun god born on December 25th.
It was chosen because it was close to winter solstice.
The Roman Emperor declared it to be the official birthday of Jesus Christ.
(A), (B), and (C) above.

Iced Christmas Cake
by Martin Belam
from Wikimedia

7: What does "Christmas" mean?

It's the name of a kind of cake.
It means we must remember Saint Nicholas.
It is the "mass", or solemn festival of Jesus Christ.
It means Jesus' birthday.
It's how much a fir tree weighs.
It means, "Fir trees must increase."

St. Nicholas
from Saint Catherine's Monastery
via Wikimedia

8: Who brings presents to children in December?

Santa Claus does.
The Christ Child does.
Father Christmas does.
Saint Nicholas does.
Sinterklaas does.
All of the above.

9: When is Christmas in Australia and New Zealand?

In fall.
In winter.
In spring.
In summer.
In autumn.
All year long.

10: What do Americans do on Christmas Eve?

Go on dates with their special girlfriends or boyfriends.
Visit the families of their special girlfriends or boyfriends.
Go to Church for religious services.
Go to Church for a Christmas party or dance.
Stay home with their families.
Work overtime.
Different people do different things at different times.

Answers:

1: (E). See #5.

2: (B), although it varies in some traditions.

3: (A). (The evening before Christmas.)

4: (E). Fir trees are common elements of many religions and traditions, but had no particular meaning in early Christianity.

5: (E). There is no record of the actual date. According to some people, the accounts in the Bible indicate a date in late summer or early fall. Other people suggest a date in spring. The arguments for winter are considered rather weak.

6: (E). Although there is no record of the date, there are many records of arguments about the date, and of the official declaration of the state religion by Emperor Constantine.

7: (C): "Christ Mass".

8: (F).

Santa Claus is a common tradition around the world.
The Christ Child (Christkind) is a German and Austrian tradition.
Father Christmas is a tradition in the UK.
Saint Nicholas is a tradition in much of Europe, and the origin of Santa Claus.
Sinterklaas is a tradition in Holland and Belgium. The red suit he wears is the origin of Santa's red suit.
There are many more similar traditions in many countries.

9: (B). December is summer in the southern hemisphere. However, some people do try to remember the Christmas spirit all year long.

10: (G). The most common thing is to try to spend time with family.

PTA English December Topic -- Christmas, of Course

Well, it goes without saying that we will talk about Christmas.
お解りのことだと思いますが、クリスマスが今回の話題となりました。

We plan for a present exchange, so please bring an inexpensive gift. Please don't spend more than ¥1,000 on it.
プレゼント交換が計画に入っています。1,000円以下の、お金がかからない程度のプレゼントを持ってきていただければ、と思っています。

Of course, homemade (handmade) is fine!
お手作りならもちろん、うれしい。

Unfortunately, I haven't had time to make anything, so I'll bring something cheap.
恐れ入りますが、私は時間に迫って手作りなどに手を付けれなかったので、何らかの安いものを持ってきます。

[homemade/handmade: 自家製、手作り]

And it looks like we'll repeat the parlor game we tried last time. (The notes for the last lesson are here.)
前回の「パーラーゲーム」（居間遊び？）をまた今回もやって見るようです。（前回のノートはここにあります。）

[JMR201701031415:
~~If I have time, I'll introduce a Christmas themed parlor game or two.~~
~~時間の余裕があれば、クリスマス関連のゲームも紹介してあげましょう。~~
(Nothing but games. :-)
The notes for December 2016's Christmas party are finally up.
2016年12月のクリスマスパーティのノートをやっとう投稿できました。
Sorry it took so much time. Maybe we played too many games.
こんな時間かかって、ごめんなさい。ゲームが多すぎたかも知りません。

]

[JMR201612132252:

I put together a Christmas quiz of sorts in English. I don't know yet if I'll use it in class.
何らかの英語のクリスマスクイズを作りました。授業に使うかどうかはまだ決めていません。

]

[JMR201612161326:

Here's a little dialog about the date of Christmas that I started last year and finished today:
去年、クリスマスの日付を特定することについて、対話例を書き始めたけど、今日なんとか完成しました。

]

I posted a very few notes on Christmas a few years ago, here.
数年前のことでしたが、クリスマスについて少しだけの参考になるようなものを投稿しました。ここです。

[JMR201612131512:

Finally got the Christmas notes from last year up. Sorry it took so long. And you might be interested in the errata about winter solstice.
やっと去年のクリスマスノートを投稿しました。こんなに時間がかかってすみませんでした。そして、冬至についての誤報訂正も面白く思っていただけるかも知れません。

]

2016-11-18

Homestay: Asking for Help, and Other Requests

(previous -- 前)

Home Stay – Asking for Help, and Other Requests

(Notes)

Nanami: Mrs. Jones, can you help me with my homework?

Alice: Sure. What do you need?

Nanami: Can you tell me how to pronounce this word?

Alice: Oh. That's "Uluru. Oo loo roo."

Nanami: Thank you. May I ask a favor?

Alice: Yes. What is it, Love?

Nanami: Tomorrow is free activity day,
and some of my friends and I want to go to the beach.

Alice: That sounds like fun.

Nanami: How can we get there?

Alice: You can take the bus.
Or maybe we can ask Art to drive you there.

Art: I heard that.

Alice: Well, what do you think, Pet?

Art: Let me call work to be sure I can get tomorrow off.

Nanami: How much is the bus?

Alice: It'll run maybe five dollars.
Let's check the Internet.

Nanami: Thanks. Will there be a route map?

Alice: Oh, yes. Should we call your friends' host families?

Nanami: Could we? I'd like that.

Alice: You bet. Okay, who's going?

...

Notes

Can you help me with ...?: （助けて欲しい時、手伝って欲しい時の）おねがいしていい？]
Sure.: きっと。いいよ。
What do you need?: 「なにが要る？」よりも、「どうしました？」など
Can you ...?: 「あなたは…ができますか？」よりも、
「…してもらえますか？」
「…していただけますか？」
tell me how to ...: …のやり方を教えて
pronounce: 発音する
May I ask ...?: 聞いていいですか？　頼んでいいですか？
favor: 「好意」よりま、「お願い」、願い事
Love: 親しくするつもりで「あなた」とか「きみ」という
free activity day: 自由に活動を選ぶ日
sounds like fun: （聞いたが）面白そう、楽しそう
get there: あそこまでたどり着く
How can we get there?: 「どうやっていけますか？」
「どうやって行ったらいいですか？」
take the bus: バスを乗る（選択肢をとる）
drive you there: 直訳の「あなたをあそこまで追い立てる」ではなく、
連れて行く、向かわせてあげる
hear（原）, heard（過去）, heard（過去分詞）: （耳にする）聞く
Pet: 親しくするつもりの「あなた」〜親密の関係のみ！
（可愛いがっている意味のつもりが飼っている意味に取られる可能性が高いから）
let me call: 電話で連絡させて下さい
work: 仕事 => 職場
be sure: 確認する
get （時間） off: 休みをとる
How much is the bus?: ここで、バスの値段ではなく、運賃ですね。
run: 走る => 行く（かかる）
Will there be ...?: …ありますか？
Should we ...?: （過程文の「Shall we ...?」、丁寧な「Let's ....」）
ここでは、「しませんか？」
Could we ...?: （過程文の「Can we ...?」）
ここでは、しましょう。
I'd like that.: 「それがいいと思う。」
You bet.: （お金かけても良いほどの）了解。
who's ...?: who is ...?

2016-11-17

PTA English Class November Notes -- Simple Everyday English

Here are the notes for November's class:

"I'd Walk a Thousand Miles" is a popular song by Vanessa Carlton. It was released in 2001 and 2002, and was very popular in the USA, Europe, and Australia, but not in Japan.
[I'd Walk a Thousand Miles: 一千マイル歩くわ！（ポピュラーソング）]
[Vanessa Carlton: ヴァネッサ・カールトン（歌手）]
[release: 解放させる => 登場させる]

ONE OK ROCK performed a live cover of the song in September 2014, at Yokohama Stadium.
[ONE OK ROCK: ワンオクロック（日本のロックバンド）]
[live: 生（演奏）]
[cover: ]

The name of the band, "ONE OK ROCK", is a pun. It can be read as "one o'clock", the time, or as "one okay rock", meaning "a good rock (sound/music)". The band used to practice at one o'clock in the morning, when it was cheap.
[pun: 駄洒落（だじゃれ）]
[be read: （受動態の「ビー　レッド」）]
[mean: 意味する]
[used to ...: （昔は）…する習慣があった]
[when ...: …の時]
[cheap: （価格が）安い、特価の]

A pun is a "play on words", or playing with words.
[play: 遊び、しゃれ、作戦など]
[play on words: 言葉上の遊び]

We listened to "A Thousand Miles" and talked a little about the meaning:
[talk about ...: …について話し合う（しゃべり合う）]

(Poetry is always subject to personal interpretation, and mine is not the only interpretation.)
（詩だって、個人の解釈によるものです。いろんな解釈がいいでしょう。）

Phrases from "A Thousand Miles"

making my way
[（道を作って=>）道を辿っていて]

home bound
[家に向かっている]

staring blankly ahead
[ぼんやりとじっと前を見て]

making a way through
[通る道をあけて行って]

miss
[さみしく思う、懐かしく思う]

wonder
[戸惑う、「何かしら？」のように不思議に考える]

fall into the sky
[「空に落ちる」とは何の意味でしょう？]

pass by
[通り残される]

I'd walk a thousand miles
[一千マイル歩くわ！]

I wonder if ...
[（こういうことが）あるかしらと戸惑う]

everything's so wrong (everything is)
[すべてが間違っている（感じ）]

I don't belong
[（こういうところに）居るはずはない]

living in ...
[…の中に生きていて、住んでいて]

let you know
[（あなたに）知らせる、知ってもらう]

drown
[おぼれる]

let this go (let it go, let go)
[（これを）手放す、開放する、そのままに放っておく]

(You can find the whole lyrics via Google or Yahoo, etc.)
（その元の歌詞はグーグルやヤフーなどで調べることができます。）

make your way through life
[自分の人生の道を開拓する（切り開く）]

Parlor game (game that can be played at home without special equipment)
[パーラーゲーム（「居間の遊び」？）特別な道具や備品を使わず、家で遊べるゲーム、という感じかな？]

Never have I ever! (Non-drinking version)

[non-drinking version: ビールなどを飲まないバージョン]

I have never done that.
[それをやったことは全くありません。]

never ever
[生涯に一切にない]

(1) Players hold up ten fingers.
[hold up: 上げる]

(2) The first person says something that he or she has never done.
[he or she: 性別がわからなければ両方を指摘します。]
[something that ...: …の何か]
[A has never done B.: AはBをやったことがない。]
[say: 言いあげる]

For instance,
[例えば、]

Never have I ever swum in the Osaka Castle moat.
「大阪城の堀に泳いだことは絶対にない。」
Never ever have I been to the moon.
お月様に行ったことは一切にない。
I have never ever flown like a bird.
小鳥のように飛んだことは一度もありません。
Never have I ever cheated on a test.
テストをズルうしたことは絶対にありません。
etc.

(3) Everyone who has done that thing puts one finger down.
[everyone who ...: …の皆さん]
[A has done B: AはBをやったことがある。]
[put down: 下す]

(4) Then the next player tells something he or she has never done.

The winner is the most boring.
[most boring: もっとも面白いことやっていない人]

Can you help me with this job?
[with ...: …で]
[job: 仕事、作業、家事など（の一コマ）]

yummy (casual word for "delicious")
[「うまい」のように、「美味しい」の砕けた言い方]

The (homestay) everyday English example will be posted separately, later.
[（ホームステーの）毎日英会話例文はしばらくして、別に投稿します。]

2016-11-14

PTA English Class November Topic: Simple Everyday English

I want to offer my apologies for not getting the notes for the Osaka Castle tour up. I'm working on it when I can.
大阪城ツアーの覚書を投稿できずお詫びいたします。投稿できるように努力します。

This month's class will be focused on simple everyday English.
今月また、日常の簡単な英会話をメインにします。

I'll try to get some practice material up.
練習用の文を投稿しようと思っています。

But, even if I do, I'd rather work from everyone's questions. Please bring questions.
けれども、練習用の文ができても皆様の質問からやって行きたいのです。質問を持ってきていただければ、お願いします。

[JMR201611172219:
Here are the notes for the class, except for the practice material: http://joels-random-eikaiwa.blogspot.com/2016/11/pta-november-notes-simple.html.
]

[JMR201611181131:
And here is the practice material, with annotations:
http://joels-random-eikaiwa.blogspot.com/2016/11/homestay-ask-for-help--requests.html.]

Here are some links to everyday English topics we've worked with in the past:
以前に取り上げた日常英語のトピックへのリンクあります。

And here are some links to other material I've posted about everyday English:
また、日常英語について、ボクが以前に投稿している資材へのリンクもあります。

Don't try to look at everything, just pick one or two and see if they inspire some questions.
全部を読まなくていいと思います。一つ、二つ見ていただければ、質問が自然と浮かんでくると思います。

2016-11-04

Simplifying Life ch01-1 -- The Pilots (annotated)

注釈なし

Michel and Danielle stood with their luggage piled on a hand truck at the edge of the tarmac, looking around at the small airport. They had just arrived on the only regular flight to the island airport. There was one more long hop to their final destination, and it was scheduled on a local chartered flight.
[Michel: 男性の名前、「ミ・チェル」や「ミ・シェル」という]
[Danielle: 女性の名前、「ダ・ニ・エール」という感じの発音]
[stand, stood, stood: 立つ、立った、立った状態の]
[luggage piled on ...: …に詰められた荷物]
[hand truck: 荷台、荷車]
[tarmac: （俗）タールマック、ターマック（タールを舗装した）滑走路（商品名から）]
[around: 周りを、周りに]
[regular flight: 航空の定期便]
[long hop: 長距離飛行 (反論的意味、"hop" => 「片足飛び」)]
[local: 局地の]
[chartered flight: 特別予約飛行]

Their supervising professor had introduced them to each other just a year ago, and had suggested they work together on their advanced degree projects. They were both studying island cultures, and they both needed to do research fieldwork.
[supervising professor: 指導教授、指導教官]
[introduce: 紹介させる]
[suggest: 提案する、勧める]
[advanced degree: 修士号や博士号などの学士号より上の上級学位]
[both: 二人どちらも（双方、両方）]
[island cultures: 島文化、島国文化]
[fieldwork: フィールドワーク（野外研究、実地調査）]

So their professor had suggested they cooperate. If they did their fieldwork at the same island locations, they could back each other up when they had trouble.
[cooperate: 協力する、協同する]
[each other: お互い様]
[back each other up: お互いの後方を守る、お互いを助ける]

They found it easy to work together, and getting their plans to mesh hadn't been too hard, although they added plans for service projects to fill in time they might be waiting for each other.
[find, found, found: 見つかる、見つけた、見つかる状態の]
[find it easy to ...: …が結局用意に、楽にできる]
[mesh: 網目（網目に作る）]
[get ... to mesh: かみ合いになってもらう、噛み合わせる]
[add: 加える]
[service project: 奉仕活動]
[fill in time: 暇の空きを埋める]

Now they were on their way to their first island.
[be on ... way: （道についている）道の途中]

So they looked around the tiny airport, trying to find their charter company. Asking airline staff had produced only puzzled looks, shaken heads, and nods in various directions.
[tiny: 極端に小さい、ちっぽけな、ちっちゃな]
[produce: （生み出す）結果を出す]
[puzzled looks: （惑わされた表情）不思議そうな顔]
[shake ... head: 頭を（否定に）振る]
[nod: 頭を（肯定の意味に）縦に振る]

Their professor had told them that the only charter company available was small, and not very professional, but the responses when they asked were surprising. It was as if no one they talked to knew about any charter company.
[only ... available: 唯一の予約や取引ができる…]
[responses: 反応の複数]
[surprising: 仰天させる、驚きを起こす]
[as if ...: まる…のよう]
[know, knew, known: 知っている、知り尽くしている、知られている状態]
[no one ... knew: 誰も知らなかった]

The airport cleared out as the passengers on the regular flight went their various ways. The flight crew finished up post-flight checks, secured the plane, and left for their quarters or the local canteen.
[clear out: （澄んで行く）その場にいる人が去っていく]
[go ... ways: その道に（去って）行く]
[finish up: 完了させる]
[post-flight checks: 航空後の診査、状態の確認]
[secure: 固定する、安全を固める、戸締りして鍵をかける]
[quarters: 寝泊まり（部屋）、居所、宿泊、住い]
[local canteen: 近所の飲み屋]

Finally, there was no one left in the airport but a couple of rough-looking characters lounging in a corner in some shade.
[no one left but ...: …以外は誰も残っていない]
[a couple of ...: …の２つ組、…の二人組み]
[rough-looking character: 人格がざらざらそうな人物、乱暴そうなもの、ごろつき]

"I guess we should try asking those two over there?" Michel suggested.
[guess: 当てずっぽく考える]
[those two: あの二人]

Danielle's eyes rounded. "I'll wait here and cover your back," she joked.
[cover ... back: 後ろ盾になる、後方を守る]

Michel nodded and half-smiled. "That actually might not be a bad idea."
[actually: 実は]

Danielle shook her head. "Just kidding. Let's go with safety in numbers."
[shake, shook, shaken: 振る、振った]
[kid: （やぎの子が遊ぶように）ふざける]
[go with ...: …で行きましょう]
[safety in numbers: 人数による安全]

So they walked over to the rough pair, pushing the hand truck in front of them, and Michel asked, "Do you speak Manganese?"
[Manganese: マンガン語（マンガンの国や民族の言葉）]

[Manganese is the language which Michel and Danielle speak. I know. It's a metal. I'll tell you more about that, later.]
[metal: 金属]

"What's it to ya?"
[ya => you]
[（きみらに関係あるもんか？）それはどうした？]

Michel blinked and looked closer. Not only was the voice feminine, but on closer examination the roguish person he had addressed was, indeed, a woman. He glanced at Danielle and read surprise in her face, as well. The way she was dressed, and the way she carried herself, one would never guess she was not male.
[not only A but B: Aだけではなく、Bも、AところかB]
[look closely: 細かいところを見る]
[look closer: 見直す]
[feminine: 女性流]
[examination: 調査、検閲など]
[roguish: 荒っぽい、悪漢の]
[address: （に）話しかける]
[indeed: 実際に]
[glance at ...: …をちらっと見る]
[read (リード), read (レッド), read (レッド): 読む、読んだ、読まれる状態の]
[read surprise in her face: 彼女の顔を見て、びっくりしていることがわかる（注意：文法によって過去形です。）]
[way ... dressed: …の服装]
[way ... carried ...self: …の身振り]
[one: 人（代名詞用法）]
[would never guess ...: …だと検討つかない]

Michel continued, "Uhm, we've scheduled a charter flight and we were wondering whether you'd know where the company is."
[uhm, ...: あの…]
[wonder whether ...: （不思議がった気持ちで）…について伺う]
[where ... is: （…がどこにあるか、）…の在り処]

"That would be us. I'm Beta and this is my partner, Omega. You must be Dan, and your girlfriend must be Michelle."
[that would be ...: …だと思う]
[must be ...: …になるでしょう]
[Dan: "Daniel"（ダ・ニエル）という男性の名前のニックネーム]
[Michelle: 女性の名前（「ミ・シェール」という）]

[Translating the names was difficult. I had to take some liberties. I hope you don't mind.]
[translating ... was difficult: …を訳すに苦労した]
[take liberties (with): 勝手に扱う（=>勝手に訳す）]
[hope ...: …だといいと思う]
[mind: 気にする]
[I hope you don't mind.: お構いなしにしていただければ。]

"I'll get your bags," Omega offered.
[bags: 荷物 (baggage)]
[I'll get ...: …を任せて下さい]
[offer: 差し上げる]

"Where's your plane?" asked Michel.
[plane: airplane]

"Oh, yeah," said Omega. "I knew we were forgetting something. You guys wait here with your bags and we'll go get the plane out of the hangar." And they headed out across the airstrip to a building that looked too small to contain an airplane.
[Oh, yeah.: やっぱり。そうだった。]
[forgetting: 忘れっ放しにしている]
[you guys: きみら]
[hangar: 飛行機の格納庫]
[head: 向かっていく]
[airstrip: 滑走路]
[too small to contain ...: …を格納するに小さすぎる]

"You're not going to correct them." Danielle was not asking.
[correct: 直す、訂正する]

"No. I wish there were a constable around."
[constable: 警官や巡査などの治安関係の公務員ん]
[around: 周辺に]

"No constables, either."
[(There are no ... either.): …すら無い]

Omega called out across the strip as they went inside the putative hangar, "Hey, if you guys want to hang around and explore the town before heading out, we don't mind."
[call out: 声あげる]
[across ...: …の向こう（から、へ）]
[putative ...: …と考えられるもの、推定上の…]
[hang: ぶら下がる]
[hang around: （その近辺に）ぶらつく、うろつく]
[head out: （外へ向かう、）出かける]
[We don't mind.: （我々は）構いません。]

"No thanks, our professor is waiting for us."

"Well, it will take us a couple of hours to get the plane ready, so you might as well look around. The luggage will be okay where it is."
[take (time): 時間がかかる]
[get ... ready: …の用意を済ます]
[might as well ...: …でもすればいいでしょう]
[where ... is: …の在る場所（で）]

Omega walked into the shade of the hangar and started working the doors open. "She says their professor is waiting for them," he said, nodding absently.
[shade: 日陰（のあるところ）]
[work: 操作する、動作する、いじる]
[start working ... open: …を空けることにとりかかる]
[says ...: …と言っている]
[absent: 欠席]
[nodding absently: ぼんやりとうなずいて]

"Waiting for them, huh?" was Beta's response as she ducked beneath his arms, slipped through the hangar doors, and went to the airplane inside.
[..., huh?: …か？、…ね。]
[duck beneath ...: …の下を通り抜ける]
[slip through ...: …をくぐる（滑り通る、さっさと通る）]

On the other side of the airstrip, Michel and Danielle discussed what they should do.
[discuss: 話し合う、相談する]
[what they should do: するべきこと]

Danielle was not comfortable with the situation. "I want to make sure those two really are our charter pilots."
[not comfortable: 気持ち悪い、不快に思って、納得できない]
[situation: 様子、有様、立場、状態]
[make sure: 確認する]

"I do, too. Should we take the luggage with us?"

"How?"
[どうやって？]

"Good question."

Michel ran over to the hangar and asked, "Are you sure the luggage is safe there?"
[run, ran run: 走る、走った、走られた状態]
[run over: わたる]
[be sure that ...: …だと確実に思う、確信する]
[Are you sure?: 本当に思うんですか？]
[is (will be) safe: 安全なの、大丈夫なの]

"No less safe than anywhere else on this island," Omega replied with a shrug. Beta was in the cockpit with a list, running through the pre-flight checks, and Omega was checking the things she read out.
[no less safe than ...: …よりも危険なのではない]
[anywhere else: 他の場所]
[with a shrug: 肩をすくめて]
[cockpit: 操縦席]
[run through ...: …を行き通す（診通す）]
[check ...: …を確認する]
[read out: （声をあげて）読み出す（注意：文法によって過去形です。）]

"That's somehow not very reassuring."
[somehow: どうにか、どうも（否定的文法に）]
[reassure: （更に）安心させる]
[not reassuring: 安心に思えない]

"It's out of the way where it is now. We'll keep an eye on it, go get yourselves some lunch. You might want to get some tamales for dinner, too. It's a long flight."
[out of the way: （道から外れている状態=>）邪魔にならない（場所など）]
[keep an eye on ...: …を看ておく（見守る）]
[get lunch: 昼ご飯を（手に入れる）食べる]
[you might want to ...: …が望ましいかも知れない]
[tamales: タマレス（主にトウモロコシ粉を使った南米風の蒸しパン。肉入りも、豆煎りも、チーズ入りもある。）]
[get ... for dinner: 夕飯のために手に入れる]

[We'll call them tamales. The grain was like corn, and the meat somewhat like beef, and the beans, well, they were legumes by most definitions. Tomatoes? Onions? The flavors were a bit different, but the recipe and the overall effect was similar -- in my opinion, anyway.]
[We'll call them tamales.: タマレスといいましょう。]
[like ...: …のよう（なもの）]
[well,: さて、]
[legume: 豆類]
[by most definitions: 一般の考え方によっては]
[flavors: （それぞれの）味]
[a bit different: やや違う]
[recipe: 調理法、作り方]
[overall effect: （全体の）結果的には]
[similar: 同様、似た]
[in my opinion, anyway: まあ、自分の考えでは]

He returned to where Danielle was waiting, and reported the conversation.
[conversation: 会話（の内容）]

With not much else for options, they decided to follow Omega's advice.
[not much else: あまり他にない]
[option: 選択肢、選ぶ道]
[follow advice: （助言に従う）勧めたとおりにする]

	Table of Contents	(Next)
Without Annotations		(Japanese, someday?)

2016-11-03

Simplifying Life ch01-1 -- The Pilots

(TOC)

注釈

Michel and Danielle stood with their luggage piled on a hand truck at the edge of the tarmac, looking around at the small airport. [JMR201611260922: The airport was nestled into the rain forest of one of the more populated islands in the subtropical archipelago they were visiting. ] They had just arrived on the only regular flight to the island [JMR201611260922: ~~airport~~ ]. There was one more long hop to their final destination, and it was scheduled on a local chartered flight.

Their supervising professor had introduced them to each other just a year ago, and had suggested they work together on their advanced degree projects. They were both studying island cultures, and they both needed to do research fieldwork.

So their professor had suggested they cooperate. If they did their fieldwork at the same island locations, they could back each other up when they had trouble.

They found it easy to work together, and getting their plans to mesh hadn't been too hard, although they added plans for [JMR201612261113: extra ] service projects to fill in time they [JMR201612261113: ~~might~~ would ] be waiting for each other.

Now they were on their way to their first island.

So they looked around the tiny airport, trying to find their charter company. Asking airline staff had produced only puzzled looks, shaken heads, and nods in various directions.

Their professor had told them that the only charter company available was small, and not very professional, but the responses when they asked were surprising. It was as if no one they talked to knew about any charter company.

The airport cleared out as the passengers on the regular flight went their various ways. The flight crew finished up post-flight checks, secured the plane, and left for their quarters or the local canteen. [JMR201612261115: And the airport staff, few that there were, also shortly left, their jobs done for the day. ]

Finally, there was no one left in the airport but a couple of rough-looking characters lounging in a corner in some shade.

"I guess we should try asking those two over there?" Michel suggested.

Danielle's eyes rounded. "I'll wait here and cover your back," she joked.

Michel nodded and half-smiled. "That actually might not be a bad idea."

Danielle shook her head. "Just kidding. Let's go with safety in numbers."

So they walked over to the rough pair, pushing the hand truck in front of them, and Michel asked, "Do you speak Manganese?"

[Manganese is the language which Michel and Danielle speak. I know. It's a metal. I'll tell you more about that, later.]

"What's it to ya?"

Michel blinked and looked closer. Not only was the voice feminine, but on closer examination the roguish person he had addressed was, indeed, a woman. He glanced at Danielle and read surprise in her face, as well. The way [JMR201612261117: ~~she~~ the woman ] was dressed, and the way she carried herself, one would never guess she was not male.

Michel continued, "Uhm, we've scheduled a charter flight and we were wondering whether you'd know where the company is."

"That would be us. I'm Beta and this is my partner, Omega. You must be Dan, and your girlfriend must be Michelle."

[Translating the names was difficult. I had to take some liberties. I hope you don't mind.]

"I'll get your bags," Omega offered.

"Where's your plane?" asked Michel.

"Oh, yeah," said Omega. "I knew we were forgetting something. You guys wait here with your bags and we'll go get the plane out of the hangar." And they headed out across the airstrip to a building that looked too small to contain an airplane.

"You're not going to correct them." Danielle was not asking.

"No. I wish there were a constable around."

"No constables, either."

Omega called out across the strip as they went inside the putative hangar, "Hey, if you guys want to hang around and explore the town before heading out, we don't mind."

"No thanks, our professor is waiting for us."

"Well, it will take us a couple of hours to get the plane ready, so you might as well look around. The luggage will be okay where it is."

Omega walked into the shade of the hangar and started working the doors open. "She says their professor is waiting for them," he said, nodding absently.

"Waiting for them, huh?" was Beta's response as she ducked beneath his arms, slipped through the hangar doors, and went to the airplane inside.

On the other side of the airstrip, Michel and Danielle discussed what they should do.

Danielle was not comfortable with the situation. "I want to make sure those two really are our charter pilots."

"I do, too. Should we take the luggage with us?"

"How?"

"Good question."

Michel ran over to the hangar and asked, "Are you sure the luggage is safe there?"

"No less safe than anywhere else on this island," Omega replied with a shrug. Beta was in the cockpit with a list, running through the pre-flight checks, and Omega was checking the things she read out.

"That's somehow not very reassuring."

"It's out of the way where it is now. We'll keep an eye on it, go get yourselves some lunch. You might want to get some tamales for dinner, too. It's a long flight."

[We'll call them tamales. The grain was like corn, and the meat somewhat like beef, and the beans, well, they were legumes by most definitions. Tomatoes? Onions? {JMR201612261122: Cumin? Cayenne? } The flavors were a bit different, but the recipe and the overall effect was similar -- in my opinion, anyway.]

He returned to where Danielle was waiting, and reported the conversation.

With not much else for options, they decided [JMR201612261123: to they might ] follow Omega's advice.

	Table of Contents	(Next)
With Annotations		(Japanese, someday?)

Simplifying Life, a Novel for Students of English -- Table of Contents

Simplifying Life

a Novel for Students of English

By Joel Matthew Rees

Published on blogspot.com

from November 2016

This is intended to be useful as practice reading for Students of English at the high school level and above. I'm borrowing some ideas from (the rough draft of) my first novel, but intend to avoid most of the philosophical deep diving I did in that.

(Fat chance of me actually failing to philosophize, though.)

Chapter 1 -- Flying in to the Islands:
- Part 1: Michel and Danielle meet their charter pilots.
  - with Japanese annotation
  - (In real Japanese, someday)
- Part 2: Constable Serious is introduced.
- (next part)
(next chapter)

2016-10-18

PTA English Practice for October -- Walking to the Castle Grounds from the Station

(Previous)

Sherry: I don't see the castle.
This is just another busy street.

Michiko: We're facing the wrong direction.
The castle is behind us.
[face => 向かう]

Sherry: Behind us?
Why doesn't the subway exit open towards the castle?
[open towards 〇〇 => 〇〇に向かってひらく、戸口〇〇に向かっている]

Jun: This station is not just for the castle.
A lot of people go to work near here.
[not just for 〇〇 => 〇〇だけのためではない]

Tom: How far is the castle?

Jun: About two hundred meters.
We go to that stoplight on the left and turn left, ...

Jun: ... around this corner, and we can see it.
There it is, right it front of us.

Osaka Castle and Inui Turret from corner near Temmabashi Station

Sherry: Oh? That's the castle?
It looks so small.

Jun: That's just the turret on the northwest corner.
[turret => 櫓]

Sherry: Oh. Well, if that's just the turret
on the northwest corner, ...

Michiko: It's called the Inui Turret.
乾櫓 (Inui Yagura) in Japanese.

Osaka Castle -- Inui Turret from Temmabashi, closeup

Jun: Above the trees
behind the turret,
you can see the top
of the main castle tower.
[~~I do want to get a picture of that. Maybe later.~~
There it is:]

Sherry: Really?
I can't tell.
It looks like
one building to me.

Tom: What does Inui mean?

Michiko: The northwest wind is a dry wind.

Sherry: It means all that?

Jun: It means "dry".
But it also means "northwest",
and "wind from the northwest".

Tom: Why so many meanings?

Jun: Just the history of the word
and words it sounded like.

Tom: What are these buildings we are walking past?

Michiko: The buildings on our left
are prefectural government buildings,
tax offices and that kind of stuff.
[prefecture => 都道府県]
[prefectural government building => 府庁舎]

Tom: Oh. Suddenly I feel like I want to be very quiet.

Jun: That's funny.

Sherry: Why?

Jun: People often hold protests here.
It can get very noisy.
[protest => 抗議活動]

Tom: Really? That must be interesting to see.

Michiko: Not really. Not usually.
Sometimes the protests get a little scary.
[scary => 怖い感じをさせる]

Sherry: But it's important that people can protest.

Jun: True, ...

Tom: How about on the right?
It looks like there's an exercise ground
on the other side of the netting.
Is that a school?

Michiko: Yes, honey, that's a public high school.
There's a technical school squeezed in there, too.

Tom: It's very tight quarters.

Sherry: I think I see it now.
I mean, I don't see it now.

Tom: What?

Sherry: I thought there was a pointed roof on the turret.
But I don't see the pointed roof any more.

Jun: That was the top of the castle.
Now it's hidden behind the trees.

Michiko: Well, here we are at the corner.
We can take the walkover over there on our left,
or we can wait for the light.
[walkover => 歩道橋の陸橋]

Sherry: Let's take the walkover.
I don't mind climbing stairs.
What's that building on the other side of the street, there?

Michiko: On the north of the castle?

Sherry: Yeah.

Jun: That's a private school.
It's a combined junior high school and high school.

Michiko: There's an elementary school, too,
on the other side of the junior high school.

Jun: Michiko and I both went there.
The name is a little confusing.
[confuse => 混乱や矛盾を起こす]

Sherry: What's it called?

Michiko: 「追手門」 (Oh-te-mon).

Tom: Didn't you say that was
the name of the front gate of the castle?

Jun: That's 「大手門」(Oh-te-mon).
They're different characters.
The school is "The gate of the pursuing hand",
but the "big hand gate" means the front gate.

Tom: Oh-kay.

Sherry: Why is the school named like that?

Michiko: The school has a longer history than it has.

Tom: Honey, you are being very cryptic today.
[(be) cryptic => 不可解な（話をする）]

Osaka Castle west moat, looking south

Michiko: We can talk about that
later. We came to see
the castle, today.
It's a nice view
of the outer walls
of the castle from up here
on the walkover, isn't it?

Sherry: Yes, it is.
Let's take some pictures.

Tom: Those moats are as big
as they looked on the map.
How do we get across? Swim?
[moat: 堀]

Michiko: I'll hold you clothes while you try it.

Tom: I guess I'll pass.
It doesn't look like it would be very easy
to go swimming there, anyway.

Jun: Or fishing. I was joking when I said that.

Tom: I thought you were joking, of course.
Can you take a picture of Michiko and me
with the turret behind us?

Inui Turret from northwest (Ohtemon-mae) walkover

Jun: Sure. Let's got Sherry in there, too,
And then we can trade places.

Sherry: If that's your old school, sweetheart, ...

Jun: Don't embarrass me.

Michiko: Relax, Jun. You're among friends.

Jun: But, ...

Sherry: Let's take some pictures with the school
in the background, too.

[Sorry this is so much English. I need more pictures, but I haven't taken them, yet.]

(to be continued ...)

2016-10-16

PTA October English Class Topic: Osaka Castle (Reprise)

Yep. We are going to go to the castle again.
そうよ。また大阪城に行きます。

Last year we had a wonderful tour guide.
昨年は素晴らしいツアーガイドがいらしゃいました。

This time, I am going to pretend to be a tour guide, and we'll do the tour in English. Mea culpa.
今度は申し訳なく、私がツアーガイドの振をします。ツアーは英語で行うつもりです。

I really wanted to be already prepared, but I've been busy with classes (and my other work). I now have some time, so I will try to put up some that previews where we intend to go.
もう早用意しているはずでしたが、授業（及びその他の仕事）で忙しくてまだできていません。やっと、時間を設けることができました。行く道の予告らしきものを投稿しようと思っています。

(To be added shortly. Maybe.)

I was not able to put last year's notes up. (My apologies.) I may be able to resurrect them.
昨年のノートを投稿することができませんでした。（ごめんなさい。）復活させるかも知れません。

But here is the announcement of

last year's lesson 昨年のレッスン

の発表です。その投稿に
In that post, I mentioned

のことをお知らせしました。
Of course, there is other information on the web, in many places and in many languages. For example,
無論、ウェブのいろんな所に、いろんな言語で沢山の情報が他にあります。例えば
Osaka Castle Park 大阪城公園
Osaka Castle Park Birds 大阪城公園の鳥

The only preparation material that I was able to post last year was just
昨年、用意できた資材は

a dialog about looking at the castle on the map
地図でお城を見ることの会話例。

ぐらいでしたが、
And you might be interested in the posts on directions to the castle from last summer:
去年の夏のお城への案内投稿がもしかしてご関心かも知れません。

[Added 18 October:

Finally made time to post some of my notes from last year:
去年のノートのいくらかを投稿できました。

Vocabulary 単語

]

See you at the lesson.
また、今度のレッスンに宜しくおねがいします。

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