日帰り愛知旅
愛知県刈谷市にある愛知教育大学で行われた「文部科学省特別経費プロジェクト 小中高英語教育 教員研修会」におよばれして、初日の会に参加してきました。
といっても都合で自分の出番のためだけに伺った形となった慌ただしい旅でした(今日は2日目が行われているはず)。それでも会場で感じた雰囲気、参加された小中高の先生方が醸し出される熱意を感じ取るには十分でした。多くの方が同大の卒業生の方と拝察しましたが、手作りの教育を行っておられる大学なんだなと直感しました。
詳細は無理矢理ついてきたShou-VR*くんが追ってコメントをあげると思いますが、あの熱意がある限りは「英語教育改革」の無理難題にも負けずに取り組んでいかれることと確信しました。Koyamamotoくん以下、ゼミ卒業生で教員になってヒーヒーいっている連中にはぜひとも味わってほしい、そんな会でした。
関係者のみなさま、いろいろとご尽力をいただき大変、ありがとうございました。(UG)
行きの車中。新富士あたり。
これがあのShou-VR*。断髪式はいつ?
unclog
派遣社員を増加させることが可能な社会へと向かっているそうです。
Abe's labor reforms may boost 'disposable' workers, crimp wages
“All the while, I’ve wanted to become a regular employee, but I couldn’t afford to choose jobs as daily living takes priority.”
Abe, in office a year, has found little traction so far with plans to unclog Japan’s sclerotic labor market. But now his government wants to ease rules, which could make it easier for companies to replace regular “salarymen” with temporary contracted workers.
この記事に出てくる”unclog”を『Wisdom英和辞典(第三版)』(三省堂)で調べると「の[障害を]取り除く,詰まりを除去する」などという意味がありました。ここでも取り上げられていますが、「血管などの菅がつまる」ことをclogといい、さらにここでは動脈硬化など「血管の硬化」をsclerosisといいますので、そこから比喩的に用いられたsclerotic labor marketを目的語にとっているので、unclogは「つまりを解消して流れをよくする」という意味合いで使われています。
いずれにしても正社員との賃金や社会保障の格差が解消されればよいのですが...。(Ume)
spacewalk
宇宙飛行士達が予定より早く国際宇宙ステーションの修復作業を終えたそうです。
NASA Astronauts End Spacewalk Early After 5 Hours
Two American astronauts conducted an urgent repair outside the International Space Station Saturday during a spacewalk that lasted five hours and 28 minutes.
The astronauts ran about an hour and a half ahead of what NASA expected to be their timeline.
Rich Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins, Expedition 38 Flight Engineers, began working at 7:01 am EST Saturday morning to replace a degraded ammonia pump module associated with one of the station's two cooling loops that keeps internal and external equipment cool, NASA said.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/nasa-astronauts-end-spacewalk-early-chilly-temperature-space/story?id=21297386
この記事に出てくる”spacewalk”を『Wisdom英和辞典(第三版)』(三省堂)で調べると「宇宙遊泳」という意味でした。今回任務にあたって宇宙飛行士達は何度か宇宙遊泳を経験していると書かれていました。人類の歴史で宇宙を歩いたことがある人は何人ぐらいいるのでしょうか。(Ume)
every man for himself
わたしも行ったことのあるアポロシアターの天井崩落事故には驚きました。every man for himselfは「(パニック時に)我先になる、人のことなんかかまっていられない」という意味のイディオムです。ここでは否定なので「パニックにならずに他人のことを気遣った、周りの人を気遣いあった」という意味になります。(UG)
Ceiling of London's Apollo Theatre collapses
The hundreds of theatergoers who packed into Central London's historic Apollo Theatre on Thursday night were expecting to watch a mystery.
But about 40 minutes into the play, shortly after 8 p.m., they got a drama instead.
"One of the actors said, 'Watch out!'" said one woman. "We thought it was part of the play."
It wasn't. Instead, it was part of the century-old structure's ornate plaster ceiling, which tumbled five stories onto the theatergoers, injuring scores of them, seven seriously, officials said.
"We heard a creak, somebody screamed, somebody from over there said, 'Look out!' and then the ceiling kind of creased in the middle and then just collapsed," said Hannah, who with her husband had snagged one of the last pairs of tickets to the performance in the 775-seat theater.
Though she said she herself felt "slight panic," she credited those around her for keeping their calm. "It wasn't every man for himself," she said, noting that several of her fellow theatergoers checked on those around them. "Everyone was looking out for each other, and in a couple of minutes, everyone was out."
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/19/world/europe/britain-london-theater-collapse/index.html?hpt=wo_c2
unfazed
猪瀬知事の辞職を受けてJPCが声明を出しました。unfazedはoverをともなって、「〜に(対して)動じない、〜を聞いてもうろたえない」という意味を表します。つまり「(辞職の)影響はまったくない」ということで粛々と準備を進めていくということでしょう。
先生、すみません。昨日の疲れからかまだ感想記がアップできません。もう少しお時間をください。(Shou-VR*)
Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics preparations remain unfazed over governor’s resignation
Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda said that Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic preparations will continue despite Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose’s resignation which comes in the light of revelations that he received 50 million yen loan from the controversial Tokushukai hospital group. Inose played a huge role in winning Tokyo’s second time to host the world’s biggest sporting event.
Elected as governor a little over a year ago, Inose submitted his resignation on Thursday to Toshiaki Yoshino, president of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly after pressure for his resignation mounted as details of the loan he received from the hospital group facing vote-buying charges came into question.
Vice President Masahiko Komura of the Liberal Democratic Party, of which Inose is a member, said that receiving a huge amount of money regardless if it’s a donation or loan for someone in his position is suspicious and “enough to warrant his resignation.”
愛知教育大学「文部科学省特別経費プロジェクト小中高英語教育教員研修会」感想
UG先生が書かれているように私も昨日は愛知教育大学で行われた教員研修会に参加させて頂きました。
先生は、「“声に表情”を持たせる音声指導」という演題で音声と意味に気づきをおこすためのアプローチ、音声指導の問題点、“声に表情”を持たせる取り組みをご教授されました。先生が繰り返し強調されていたポイントとしましては、音に感情あるいは心を込める必要がある、というものでした。確かに私の場合も、英語を口にする際は形式を考えることを優先してしまい、どうしても声がそれに伴っていないために意味と音声にズレが生じてしまっていることがあると、反省致した次第でございます。
汗を掻きながら熱のこもった講演を展開されているUG先生のお姿が非常に印象的でした。そして昨日は帯同させて頂き、また多大なるご迷惑をお掛け致してしまい、申し訳ございませんでした。並びに参加されていた小中高の先生方と学生のみなさん方にも大変お世話になりました。お陰様で様々な刺激を受け取ることが出来ました。末尾ではございますが、厚くお礼申し上げます。 (Shou-VR*)
facet
遺伝子組み換え作物のメリットとデメリットが論じられた記事になります。
facetは以前記事中にも表記されておりますので此方も併せてご参照頂ければと思います。(cf.my father's Great Expectations - 田邉祐司ゼミ 常時英心:言葉の森から)文中でのfacetは第二語義の「((正式))(心・問題・正確などの)面、様相」(『ジーニアス英和辞典 第3版』大修館)となります。念のためOxford Dictionaries Onlineも参照してみますと’a particular aspect or feature of something’ と掲載されていました。(Shou-VR*)
As I See It: Leave choice up to consumers by labeling genetically modified foods
Reporting on genetically modified (GM) crops has led me to conclude that eating such crops renders no problematic health effects, based on various research results. I personally feel that the issue is settled. However, many readers have continued to ask whether such crops are truly safe to eat. There are pluses and minuses to any kind of technology, and I've been struck by the difficulty of getting that message across.
I, too, was previously focused on the negative aspects of GM crops. I once even reported on a paper released overseas that the spread of genetically altered crops could inadvertently increase the use of pesticides.
During a visit in 2002 to Nebraska in a region of the Midwestern United States known as the Corn Belt, I saw firsthand the growing of GM crops. There, I realized that I had been staring at just one facet of the issue.
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20131222p2a00m0na001000c.html
muzzle #2
餃子の王将を展開する王将フードサービスの社長が銃殺されたニュースです。
muzzleは過去に別語義として取り上げられておりますので併せてご確認頂ければと思います。(cf. muzzle - 田邉祐司ゼミ 常時英心:言葉の森から)muzzleといいますと第一語義の「(動物の)鼻口部」(『ジーニアス英和辞典 第3版』大修館)でお馴染みかと思いますが、転じて、文中では第四語義の「銃[砲]口」(ibid)となります。最後にLDOCEを参照してみますと’the open end of a gun, where the bullets come out’と定義されていました。(Shou-VR*)
Ohsho Food Service president was gunned down with .25 caliber handgun: sources
KYOTO -- The assailant who gunned down Ohsho Food Service President Takayuki Ohigashi outside his company's headquarters here on Dec. 19 used a .25 caliber automatic pistol, investigative sources have revealed.
Police said the four shots fired at Ohigashi all hit him, with one bullet going right through his body. There were no reports of gunshots in the area, and investigators suspect the attacker used a silencer.
It is said that .25 caliber pistols, which have a muzzle diameter of about 6 millimeters, are easy to use as they have little recoil. Police officers in Japan normally carry .38 caliber weapons, which use bigger bullets with more killing power.
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131221p2a00m0na014000c.html
gestation #2
「ハリー・ポッター」シリーズがロンドンのウエストエンドでミュージカルとして上演されることが発表されました。
gestationには以前にUG先生が採り上げられていましたが「妊娠;懐胎期間」を表す単語(『プログレッシブ英和中辞典』小学館)。
cf. http://d.hatena.ne.jp/A30/20120706/1341537051
そして,その他に今回のように「(アイデアプランなどを)温めること」という意味もあります(『プログレッシブ英和中辞典』小学館)。よってAfter a year in gestation「1年もの構想期間を経て」と解釈できます。(Koyamamoto)
'Harry Potter' play coming to British stage
(CNN) -- There's some magic coming to a British stage.
Author J.K. Rowling has announced she is developing a play based on her "Harry Potter" stories. According to her website, Rowling is working in collaboration with award-winning producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender on the project.
"Over the years I have received countless approaches about turning Harry Potter into a theatrical production, but Sonia and Colin's vision was the only one that really made sense to me, and which had the sensitivity, intensity and intimacy I thought appropriate for bringing Harry's story to the stage," Rowling said in a statement.
"After a year in gestation it is exciting to see this project moving on to the next phase. I'd like to thank Warner Bros. for their continuing support in this project."
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/20/showbiz/harry-potter-rowling-play/index.html?hpt=hp_c3
alphabet soup
Cracking the Code of Change
In our experience, the reason for most of those failures is that in their rush to change their organizations, managers end up immersing themselves in an alphabet soup of initiatives. They lose focus and become mesmerized by all the advice available in print and on-line about why companies should change, what they should try to accomplish, and how they should do it. This proliferation of recommendations often leads to muddle when change is attempted. The result is that most change efforts exert a heavy toll, both human and economic. To improve the odds of success, and to reduce the human carnage, it is imperative that executives understand the nature and process of corporate change much better. But even that is not enough. Leaders need to crack the code of change.
http://hbr.org/2000/05/cracking-the-code-of-change
この論文の中に出てくる” Alphabet soup”を『Wisdom英和辞典(第三版)』(三省堂)で調べると「(略語が多く)難解な言葉,理解困難な略語」(hard-to-remember acronym)という意味がでてきました。(Ume)