クリストファー・ベルトンの「英語の世界」＜第４１号＞ [まぐまぐ！]

2008/08/24

クリストファー・ベルトンの「英語の世界」＜第４１号＞

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クリストファー・ベルトンの「英語の世界」

　　　　第４１号：０８年０８月２４日

Official Site: http://www.chrisbelton.com/

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------------------------------------ 目次 ------------------------------------

☆ What's New?
☆ Belton's Blog
☆ ワン・ポイント英語－＜動詞としても使える名詞 Part II＞
☆ Potluck －＜英語の迷信－Part IX＞
☆ オンライン英字小説－＜The Land of Words: Part XIX （最終章）＞

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☆ What's New?
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☆ オンライン小説[The Land of Words]は今週で最終章を迎えます。
　　最後までに読みきれることが出来ましたでしょうか?

　　来週からはちょっとレベルを上げて、イギリスの寄宿学校のコメディー
　　ストーリーを投稿することにしました。

　　The Stoning of Hazelburyはイギリス南部にある寄宿学校の部活関係
　　の話です。

　　[The Stoning of Hazelbury]は8月31に始まります。ご期待ください．．．

☆ 『ハリー・ポッターと不思議の国イギリス』挿絵のオリジナル原画展
　　が、自由が丘にあるおしゃれなカフェSpoon Breadにて、８月３１日
　　までに開催されます。

　　ちなみに、この展示会はYahoo!ニュースで取上げてくれました。
　　タイトルは「親子で「ハリー・ポッター」の世界を紹介－自由が丘のカフェ
　　で書籍挿画展」で、下記のURLにてアクセスできます。
　　http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080812-00000000-hsk_jg-l13

☆ 8月11日から株式会社スペースアルク（http://www.alc.co.jp）のweb siteで
　　「SPACE ALC 洋書ガイド2008」という特集が始まります。
　　今回のテーマは「ファンタジー文学のすすめ」です。是非読んでみてください。
　　http://www.alc.co.jp/eng/feature/index.html

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☆ Belton's Blog
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Although this magazine is not issued until Sunday, I won't be
able to report on Saturday's signing session and live painting
performance at Spoon Bread until next week. Why? Well, it
hasn't happened yet. I usually issue the magazine on Saturday
afternoon or evening for distribution early Sunday morning, but
I have to do it on Friday this week because of tomorrow's
(Saturday's) event. However, I hope to post a report of the
event together with some photographs on the [イベント・企画]
page of my web site sometime within next week, so please drop
by later in the week to see if it's there.

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I mentioned last week that Great Britain usually gets more Olympic
medals during the second week of the tournament, and I was certainly
proved true. At this moment in time (Friday evening,) Britain
has won a total of 41 medals, 18 of them gold. Even the Brits are
surprised at this, as it is the first time in 100 years that we have
managed to get so many. And, when this is added to Japan's 24
medals (9 gold,) "my countries" have a total of 65 medals!!!! (27 gold,
18 silver, 20 bronze.)

That's an amazing achievement for two small island countries with
a combined population equal to only half of America.

But, there are now only two days left until the end of this year's
Olympics. I have readlly enjoyed the past two weeks and will feel
really sad when the closing ceremony comes to an end on Sunday.
There have been some unforgettable scenes that have both delighted
and moved me, and already I am looking forward to the 2012 Olympics
in London.

It's a long time to wait, but it's always worth it...:-)

In the meantime, the US Open tennis tournament starts next week
in New York, the last Grand Slam of the year, so I guess I'll have
something to keep me busy...:-)

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☆ ワン・ポイント英語＜動詞としても使える名詞 Part II＞
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★ 動詞としても使える名詞 Part I

☆ Wheel: （車輪の付いたものを）動かす、押す

- The hill was too steep, so he had to wheel his bicycle.
　丘の傾斜が非常に激しかったので、自転車を押して上がらなければ
　なりませんでした。

- She wheeled the pushchair to the supermarket.
　彼女はベービーカーを押してスーパーに買物へ行った。

☆ Pen: ～を書く

- So far he has penned more than forty books.
　彼はこれまで４０冊を超える本を書いた。

- Could you please pen your name at the top of the page?
　そのページの上にお名前を書いていただけますか？

☆ Elbow: ～をひじで押す、ひじで突く［押しのける］

- I was first in the queue, but an old lady elbowed me out of the way.
　列の先頭にいたのに、年配の女性に肘で押され、列の外に放り出されて
　しまった。

- She elbowed her way to the front of the crowd.
　彼女は群集を肘で押し分けて、先頭まで進んだ。

☆ Dog: ～に悩ませる、～を尾行する

- Recently he has been dogged by bad health.
　最近、彼は体の不調に悩まされている。

- People will think you are a stalker if you continue to dog her.
　このまま彼女を尾行し続けると、皆にストーカーだと思われるますよ。

☆ Screen: ふるいにかける、選り分ける、選別する、審査する

- Her desk is screened from view at the back of the office.
　部屋を仕切る（仕切って隠す）彼女の机は事務所の奥で仕切られ、
　見えなくなっている。

- Applicants will be screened for eligibility.
　応募者は適格かどうかの審査を受けます。

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☆ Potluck －＜英語の迷信－Part IX＞
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★ 英語の迷信－Part IX

☆ opals

- Unless you were born in October, it is unlucky to wear opals.
　10月生まれ以外の人がオパールを身につけるのは縁起が悪い。

☆ owls　ふくろう

- It is bad luck to see an owl in the sunlight.
　太陽の光の中でふくろうを見るのは縁起が悪い。

☆ pencils　鉛筆

- If you use the same pencil to take a test that you used for studying
　for the test, the pencil will remember the answers.
　試験勉強に使った鉛筆を試験で使えば、鉛筆は答えを覚えている。

☆ pepper　胡椒

- If you spill pepper you will have a serious argument with your best friend.
　胡椒をこぼしたなら、親友とひどい口論をすることになる。

☆ rabbits　うさぎ

- A rabbit's foot will bring luck and protect the owner from evil spirits if
　carried in the pocket.
　うさぎの足をポケットに入れておけば、幸運に見舞われ悪霊から守られる。

- If the first words you speak aloud on the first day of a new month are
　“white rabbit, white rabbit, white rabbit,” you will have good luck
　throughout that month.
　月の初めの日に最初に口にする言葉が「白うさぎ、白うさぎ、白うさぎ」ならば、
　その月は幸運に見舞われる。

☆ ravens　カラス

- To kill a raven is to harm the spirit of King Arthur who visits the world
　in the form of a raven.
　カラスを殺すのは、カラスの姿でこの世にやってきたアーサー王の魂を
　傷つけること。

☆ robins　コマドリ

- A wish made upon seeing the first robin in spring will come true - but only
　if you complete the wish before the robin flies away.
　その春、最初のコマドリを見かけたときに願いごとをすればかなう。ただし、
　コマドリが飛び去る前に願いごとをするように。

- If a robin flies into a room through a window, death will shortly follow.
　コマドリが窓から部屋の中に飛びこんできたときは、死がまもなくやってくる。

☆ rocking chairs　ロッキングチェア

- If you leave a rocking chair rocking when empty, it invites evil spirits to
　come into your house to sit in the rocking chair.
　ロッキングチェアを揺らしたまま立ち去ると、悪霊が家にやってきて
　ロッキングチェアに腰かける。

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☆ オンライン英字小説
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　　★★★★　 The Land of Words (by Christopher Belton)　★★★★

　　　　メルマガ限定オリジナル作品の「オンライン英字小説」の
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　連載を毎週提供します！

　　The Land of Wordsは出版されていないオリジナル小説です。

　　１９週間をわたって、毎週ワン・チャプターづつ発行しますので、是非是非
　　最後まで読んでみてください。

　　途中からの方はバック・ナンバーでキャッチアップできます。
　　Part Iはこちらへ：
　　http://archive.mag2.com/0000251837/20080420060000000.html

----- The Land of Words: Part XIX （最終章）-----

Later that evening, Tsubasa was sitting in his bedroom, still
astonished at the events of the day. It was, he decided, the happiest day of
his life. Both he and Sayaka were now able to go to school in America, a
dream that they had both had ever since hearing their mother's stories of
her childhood in America. But Tsubasa was still confused as to how
everything had worked out. He hadn't applied for a scholarship or
entered a competition for an airline. Who was responsible for everything?
Just then, the door opened slightly and Shaggy stuck his head into
the room.
'Hello, Shaggy,' said Tsubasa. Shaggy pushed the door open
further and walked into the room. He rested his head on Tsubasa's lap,
and looked up into his eyes. 'I'll miss you,' he said.
Tsubasa jumped in surprise. 'I caught your thoughts, then!' he
exclaimed. 'We can still communicate?'
Shaggy's thoughts flooded into his mind. 'Yes, Tsubasa, if you
listen hard enough, you can hear me.'
Tsubasa placed his hand on Shaggy's head and scratched the back
of his ear. 'Well, it certainly has been an exciting day, hasn't it?' he said.
'But I still don't understand how it happened. How could such a thing
even be possible?'
'Everything is possible, Tsubasa,' said Shaggy. 'If you want
something bad enough, there are ways to make dreams come true. Of
course, it helps if you have a dog.'
Tsubasa looked at hard at Shaggy. 'What do you mean? Are you
saying that you had something to do with this? That's right, you seemed
to know all of the answers when we were in the game, didn't you? What is
going on?'
Shaggy wagged his tail, but kept silent.
'Shaggy,' said Tsubasa, 'Did you arrange the web game? Tell me,
Shaggy. I have to know.'
Shaggy sighed and nuzzled his head further into Tsubasa's lap. 'A
dog is duty-bound to help his master, Tsubasa. Not only are we capable
of telepathy, we are also able to persuade other humans to carry out
certain tasks for the benefit of our owners. We have much more power
than you think.'
'But, how can that be? I've never heard of dogs helping their
masters.'
'Yes, you have. You just didn't realize that dogs were involved.
Dog owners have far fewer accidents than people without dogs, and they
tend to be much more successful in their ambitions. For example, have
you ever heard stories of people who canceled trips or arrived late at
airports so that they failed to board airplanes that were destined to crash?'
Tsubasa nodded.
'Well, in every case you will discover that those people had a
dog.'
'But, how could you arrange everything that happened today?
Just one dog...'
'Today's event was a large project, so many dogs were involved.
First of all, I had to prove to them that you were worthy of studying in an
English-speaking country, and that is why you had to pass the language
test. As you cleared it so admirably, there was no problem getting them to
force their owners into accepting you and Sayaka in America. Which
reminds me, your host family has a brown and white corgi named Rover.
He was especially helpful, so please give his tummy an extra tickle when
you meet him.'
'But Shaggy...' stammered Tsubasa. 'I don't know what to say.
Thank you so very, very much.'
The tears began to flow down Tsubasa's face as he hugged Shaggy
tightly. Shaggy turned his head up and licked the tears away. But his tail
was not wagging. It was turned down and tucked between his legs.
A single tear crept out of the corner of Shaggy's eye.
'Good luck, Tsubasa. Make the most of this opportunity. And
don't forget, follow your heart. I'll miss you...'

------ The End ------

＜来週は新しい小説 (The Stoning of Hazelbury -- Part I) が始まります＞

(C) Christopher Belton, all rights reserved

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クリストファー・ベルトンの「英語の世界」

発行者：クリストファー・ベルトン
オフィシャル・サイト： http://www.chrisbelton.com/

発行システム：『まぐまぐ！』 http://www.mag2.com/
配信中止はこちら： http://www.mag2.com/m/0000251837.html

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