こんにちは。京急蒲田駅から徒歩５分の英会話、ＤＬＳダイアモンドランゲージスクールです。
１０月になりましたね！前回の教室紹介動画はいかがでしたでしょうか？
本日は過去のDiamond TimesよりBODYのお題でレベル別の記事をご紹介します。
リーディングにお役立てください！
Lv.1
Being Tall
I’m 186 centimeters tall. Japanese people often tell me, “You’re so tall!” However, I’m not so tall in the U.S. Japanese people are shorter than Americans. Why? Are genetics (遺伝) the reason?
Harry Shapiro was an American scientist. He studied this topic.He measured (測る) the heights (身長) of Japanese people. Then, he measured the heights of Japanese immigrants (移民) who moved to Hawaii.
The Japanese immigrants had children.imTheir children were taller than average Japanese people. That seemed strange.
Shapiro concluded (結論づける) that genetics are important. However, diet (食事) and healthcare (健康管理) are also important. The immigrants’ children had Japanese genetics. However, they had American lifestyles. So, they became taller.
Lv.2
The Amazing Body
Every human being has a body, and we use it every day. We all know that we have a head, a neck, two arms, and two legs, but we still don’t know a lot of things about our bodies! For example, do you know how far our blood travels a day?
It goes about 96,540 kilometers a day, which is longer than twice as long as the circumference (円周) of the earth! Another miracle (奇跡) of the human body is that the nose can remember 50,000 different scents (香り)! What an amazing asset (強み) we have!
After knowing these facts about the human body, I feel I should be more confident in myself, and I feel I should take care of myself and respect it. What is the best way to do this? I know what it is: I should please my body with delicious food!Well, don’t get me wrong (誤解しないで), I’m doing it for my body, not for myself!
Lv.3
Tattoos
Ink, tacs, tats: these are just some of the words that refer to the increasingly common form of body art known
as tattoos. And with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics right around the corner (もう間近), the debate around the topic is starting to heat up (熱を帯びる). Residents of Japan are well-aware that tattoos are banned in most bathhouses, gyms, and ryokans.
But according to a2017 Pew Research Center study, nearly 40 percent of Americans aged 18 to 39 have a tattos. So will operators relax their anti-tatto policies for this international event, or will they expect foreigners to cover up?
Well, if the 2019 Rugby World Cup is any sign of the times(世相を表す), then the answear might be the latter(後者). Exactly one year before the tournament, World Rugby warned its players to cover up their tattos when using public facilities in Japan. All 620 players respectfully agreed to this request. However, that was only the players. And when Japan welcomes the entire world to Tokyo in 2020, there will be more foreingners than at any other time in history.
Personally, I firmly belive that foreingner should follow the customs of the country that they are in. But as attitudes towards tattos, particulary among the younger generation, shift and inbound tourists increase, it might be time for these policies to modernize(現代化する) as well.
身体に関する和製英語
英語のヒントとして、今回は身体に関する和製英語もご紹介します！
• Incorrect: スマート
• Correct: slim, thin
“Megan is smart” means that Megan is intelligent. It doesn’t mean her body shape.
The opposite of fat is “slim” or “thin.”
• Incorrect: スキンヘッド
• Correct: have a shaved head
Be extra careful! In American English, the word “skinhead” has a strong political meaning, about neo-nazis (ネオナチ). To talk about someone’s haircut, say: “Chris has a shaved head.”
• Incorrect: ヒップ
• Correct: (many choices)
In English, “hips” are bones (腰骨).
So, what do you call the part of the body that you sit on? We have many words in English, with different nuances: We can say “bottom” or “backside” (both are a little old-fashioned but neutral), “butt” (mild slang), or “ass” (inappropriate slang).
いかがでしたでしょうか？今年東京オリンピックを迎えましたが、いろんな意味で予想とは異なるオリンピックだったかもしれませんね。
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