外国でも平和を話し合うために

アダム・ベック

米国イリノイ州出身。ニューヨークの大学と、サンフランシスコの大学院で演劇を勉強。大学院生のときに「ピースコール」というボランティアとして、ヨーロッパのチェコで英語の先生をした。広島市東区在住。

English Challenge

東日本大震災は、日本だけでなく世界中に衝撃が走りました。しかし、国内外から寄せられている支援は、本当に心温まるものです。先日、広島市の繁華街を歩いていたら、被災者を支援しようと募金を呼び掛ける若い人たちのグループをたくさん見ました。

人間は苦難を避けることはできません。次世代を担う若い人たちにとって苦難に立ち向かうことは、挑戦する機会になるのだと思います。

前回の課題（あなたの住んでいる地域や古里の特産品は何ですか）に対して、宮城県出身で広島大に通うMURATAさんは素晴らしい投稿をしてくれました。「In a normal situation, the local specialty of my hometown is rice. But a lot of rice fields were flooded by this disaster. Maybe the rice in Miyagi cannot be grown for several years. However, through this disaster, I thought that the power of the people who live there is very strong! I believe that we will taste the delicious rice grown in my hometown again someday（普段、私の地元の特産品はお米です。しかし今回の災害で多くの田んぼが水に漬かりました。恐らく何年も宮城ではお米が取れないでしょう。しかし、地元の人たちのパワーは強いはずです！いつの日か必ずおいしいお米が食べられる日が来ると信じています）」と書かれていました。

災害では甚大な被害を受けるのはもちろんですが、MURATAさんが指摘しているように、同時に、人間の底力と前向きに生きる強さも表に出てくると言えるでしょう。

今回の課題へジャンプ

　　前回の日本語訳

What are the local specialties of the place where you live or the place where you grew up?

あなたの住んでいる地域や古里の特産品は何ですか

I grew up in a small city called Quincy in the U.S. state of Illinois. Quincy, in fact, lies right beside the Mississippi River. About 20 minutes away by car, on the other side of the river in the state of Missouri, is another small city called Hannibal. Hannibal was Mark Twain's hometown. Mark Twain is the well-known American writer who wrote such books as "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn." If you go to Hannibal, you can see many of the places that appear in these books, including the cave from "Tom Sawyer" (Yes, it's a real cave!) However, because of this link to Mark Twain, his name is used everywhere in the area on goods and businesses. So if you want to buy Mark Twain goods and see places like the "Mark Twain Bank" and the "Mark Twain Steakhouse," I recommend a visit!

私は米国・イリノイ州のクインシーというミシシッピ川沿いの小さな市で育ちました。車で２０分ほど行った対岸に、ハンニバルというミズーリ州の小さい市があります。ここはマーク・トウェインの古里です。マーク・トウェインは有名な米国の作家で、「トム・ソーヤの冒険」や「ハックルベリー・フィンの冒険」といった作品があります。ハンニバルには「トム・ソーヤの洞窟」（本物の洞窟です！）はじめ、物語に出てくる場所がたくさんあります。マーク・トウェインとのつながりがあるため、いろんな商品やビジネスに、彼の名前が使われています。マーク・トウェインの商品や、「マーク・トウェイン銀行」「マーク・トウェイン　ステーキハウス」などを見たい人は行ってみてください！

ベックさんのコメント

Ms. MURATA :	I was so sorry to hear that your family was affected by the disaster in eastern Japan. I'm sure you were very, very relieved when you learned that they're all okay. I was touched by your essay. One suggestion: When you talk about the earthquake and the tsunami, you can say that your hometown "suffered a lot of/enormous/tremendous damage." That would be a more natural expression.
Ms. vine eggs :	The bridge you describe near the JR Kaita Station sounds interesting. I'd like to see it someday. When I was a child, I lived near the Mississippi River and I often crossed the same long bridge to get from one side of the river to the other. It was an old, shaky bridge, though, and I sometimes felt nervous going across it. Your essay was nicely written, but here's one way to make this sentence sound more natural: "When I was a child, I was very fond of this bridge. I called it the ‘triangle bridge.’”
Ms. Mackey :	I was excited to see the photo of your cute baby! Thank you for sharing it! I hope all is well with you both these days. Are you eating "bikkuri manju" together? It sounds very tasty! I'd like to try it! For the last paragraph, here's a version that would be a bit more natural: "When my father and I went for a walk together, we bought it on the way home. When we got home, we first sniffed the sweet smell. Then we ate it right away. I loved the cream, and it has a mild vanilla smell! Now I feel like going to eat some right now!"
Ms. tambourine :	Thank you for another essay. I imagine you're busy these days, getting ready to go off to university. I wish you the best of luck! Yes, I understand what you mean about Hiroshima dialect. In fact, I still don't really understand it very well! Your essay was generally good. Just be careful of small things like "I moved to Hiroshima" or "I want to meet many kinds of people".
Mr. SOS男 :	I know the topic was a bit hard for you to write about, but I appreciate your effort. And your essay was, as usual, well-written. (That soba sounds good, too!) I continue to be impressed with your sophisticated sense of English writing. Just one tip for today: the word "lacking" is possible in that context, but "lack" feels more natural to me. Keep up the good work, SOS!

今回の課題は「地震や津波に関して、あなたの考え、感じ方、経験など書いてください」です。あえて漠然とした質問にしています。どんなことでも構いません。自由に書いて送ってください。

Please write something related to the earthquake and tsunami.
What are your thoughts, feelings, impressions, or experiences?

The victims of the terrible earthquake and tsunami are facing so many hardships: losing loved ones, losing their homes and belongings, losing their communities. In some cases, people have lost everything except their own lives. Donating money and goods is, of course, one important way that everyone can help. Another important way to respond is for us to keep in our minds how precious life is. When I see people who have so much, in the blink of an eye, it reminds me that I must live each day of my life as fully as I can. And if I can live with that kind of positive spirit, perhaps I can have a more positive impact on the world, too, during my time here on earth. As I watched the shocking scenes of the tsunami, I thought of the old expression "Seize the day." Let us remember to live, live, live, while we have the gift of life.

＜Vocabulary＞
hardships＝苦悩, loved ones＝愛する人たち, belongings＝所有品, respond＝反応する, precious＝大切な, seize＝つかむ

　※締め切りは４月３日（必着）です。

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外国でも平和を話し合うために

前回の日本語訳

ベックさんのコメント

Please write something related to the earthquake and tsunami. What are your thoughts, feelings, impressions, or experiences?

　　前回の日本語訳

Please write something related to the earthquake and tsunami.
What are your thoughts, feelings, impressions, or experiences?