遠山顕の英会話楽習　2020年7月　後半

～遠山顕の英会話楽習の7月のテーマと目的～

・Summer Special
・Welcome to English Theater

Dialog5「The Straw Millionaire」
（Teller）A long, long time ago, there lived a very poor, hard-working man. And it seemed that no matter how hard he worked, things never got better. One day, he went to a temple hall where a statue of Kannon Bosatsu, the goddess of Mercy was consecrated. And he started praying.
（Man）"Please, Kannon sama. Give me some good luck. If you do not listen to my prayers, I will lie down here and die. Kannon sama, this is my last wish. Please make it come true!"
（Teller）And so, the man prayed all day. When evening came, he kept on praying until he finally collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. Then, he heard the voice.
（God）"Psst. You! The man down there lying on the floor. Open your eyes".
（Teller）The man slowly opened his eyes.
（Man）"Who is speaking to me, may I ask?"
（God）"I am Kanzeon Bosatsu, goddess of Mercy. I am here to tell you that at last you shall have some luck".
（Teller）Then the kind goddess pronounced.
（God）"Hark thee well! You shall sleep all night long here in this hall. Upon waking, you shall leave this building, and instantly trip and fall".
（Man）"Story of my life..."
（God）"Silence! That shall be the beginning of your lucky streak. When you fall, you shall grab something. Whatever you have in your hand, you are not to let it go. Then, follow the road".
（Man）"Follow the road?"
（God）"Believe this! Never cast a shadow of a doubt on my prophecy".
（Teller）Then, the voice was heard no more.
（Man）"I must be dreaming... Somebody pinch me".
（Teller）Muttering to himself, the man fell asleep.

・straw：わらしべ
・the goddess of Mercy：慈悲の女神
・consecrate：奉献する，ささげる，神聖にする
・psst：周りに気付かれず，離れたところの人の注意を引く音
・You shall ～：そなたは～であろう「お告げの様な」
・hark thee well：よく聞け
・trip and fall：躓いて転ぶ
・story of my life：「自分の人生のネガティブな部分に対する独りごと」に近い反応表現
・lucky streak：幸運の連続
・never cast a shadow of a doubt on ～：～のことを一切疑わない
・prophecy：予言
・somebody pinch me：誰か私をつねってくれ
・Mutter：ぶつぶつ不平を言う、低い音を立てる

- Apply It -
a straw in the wind
　今後起こることを示唆する些細な出来事や知らせ
＊「風向きを知るために」藁を空中に投げる　→　わらしべが風の方向を教える．

Dialog6「The Straw Millionaire②」
（Teller）When he woke up the next morning, he got up, staggered out of the hall and tripped and fell.
（Man）"Yikes!"
（Teller）When the man got up, he was holding a straw in his hand.
（Man）"Hmm. Maybe I wasn't dreaming. But why a straw? Why not a one-ryo gold coin or a great big rice ball?"
（Teller）Then, a horsefly came flying toward him. The man caught it and fastened it to the tip of the straw.
（Man）"Oh, well. I'll just follow the road as Kannon sama directed me to do".
（Teller）So, the man began to walk down the road holding the straw with the horsefly buzzing on top of it. The man went a little further and met an old woman carrying a baby on her back. She was trying to put the baby to sleep but the baby wouldn't stop crying.
（man）"Don't cry, little baby. Here, let me amuse you. Peek-a-boo! Peek-a-boo"!
（Teller）The baby cried even harder. Then suddenly, the crying stopped.
（Man）"Oh! So you want this straw. Is that right"?
（Teller）The man gave the baby his straw with the horsefly on top of it. And the baby's face lit up with delight. Touched by the man's kindness, the old woman offered him three Satsuma tangerines.
（Wom）"You were really a big help. Here, please take these tangerines. I hope you like them".
（Man）"These are great! Thank you".
（Teller）So, the man accepted the woman's gift and resumed his journey.

（Teller）He followed the road a little further. And then, he heard a woman groaning. A young woman was crouched over on the roadside holding her stomach. And an old servant escort was standing helplessly beside her. The man approached them.
（Man）"Hello there. What seems to the problem?"
（old）"My lady suddenly felt pain. I believe she's suffering from heat stroke".
（Man）"Oh, that's serious. Wait a minute. I've got just what the young lady needs".
（Teller）Then, the man offered all of his tangerines to the young woman, who gratefully accepted them.
（Wom）"Oh, how very kind of you"!
（Teller）When she recovered, the young woman handed the man three rolls of exquisite silk.
（Wom）"Thank you very much, sir. I'll never forget your kindness".

・stagger out of：よろめきながら～を出て行く
・horsefly：あぶ
・Peek-a-boo!：いないいないバー！
・light up：（顔色が）パッと明るくなる
・Satsuma tangerine：薩摩みかん
・be a big help：おかげでおおいに助かる
・be crouched：かがみ込んでいる
・heat stroke：熱中症
・exquisite：極上の

- Apply It -
Everyone wants to play hardball.
　みんな､手加減を一切しようとしません

＊「play hardball」（硬球でプレイする）= 自分の意見や方法を「周囲を無視して」押し通すこと．「仕事の荒っぽさ，情け容赦ない手法」を表すときによく使う．

Dialog7「The Straw Millionaire3」
（Teller）The young woman and her servant thanked the man again and again as he went down the road.
As he walked on, the man reviewed the events of the day.
（Man）"Let me see now. I started with a straw, and gave it away. That brought me three tangerines. And I gave those away and that brought me three rolls of exquisite silk. So far so good".
（Teller）He followed the road a little further. And then he heard the voice.
（Sam）"Hey, you over there! Stop right where you are"!
（Teller）The man turned and saw a samurai standing on the roadside. A horse was lying on the ground beside him. The samurai glared at the man and said,
（Sam）"What do you say to trading your luggage for my horse"?
（Man）"But, sir, isn't your horse dead"?
（Sam）"Dead? Far from it! He's just resting! He is a little tired. That's all".
（Teller）Then the samurai approached the man, put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and growled.
（Sam）"I'm on an important mission and I need another horse! Your luggage will pay for it. So, are you going to make a deal or not"?
（Man）"I, I..." 　
（Teller）The man stood there speechless. The samurai grabbed the man's rolls of silk.
（Sam）"There, now you've got my horse, and I've got the silk. It's a done deal".
（Man）"Uh, just a minute, sir".
（Teller）The samurai ignored the man and went on his way. Now the man was left with a half-dead horse and was feeling pretty miserable.
（Man）"I knew it! I knew I would never get lucky. What am I going to do with the dying horse"?
（Teller）The man didn't have the heart to leave the poor animal. He knelt down and gently stroked the horse saying a prayer for it. And then it opened its eyes.
（Man）"Well, hello there fella. You've come back to life"!
（Teller）Much to the man's amazement, the horse quickly stood up and neighed loudly.
（Man）"Hey, Fella. What do you think? Shall we hit the road"?
（Teller）So, the man went on, this time, pulling a horse behind him.

（Teller）They follow the road a little further and came to a castle town.
（Man）"Say, fella. What do you say we find some food"?

・Let me see now.：ええっとー．
・what do you say to ...ing：～しないか
・glare at：睨みつける
・trade A for B：AをBと交換する
・Far from it! ：大外れ!/とんでもない!
・hilt：柄「the handle of a weapon or tool, especially a sword」
・growl：唸る
・on an important mission ：大事な使命を帯びて
・not have the heart to ～：～するような心根の者ではない
・knelt down：跪く
・fella：fellow
・come back to life：生き返る，息を吹き返す
・neigh ：いななく「(of a horse) make a characteristic high-pitched sound」
・castle town ：城下町

Dialog8「The Straw Millionaire4」
（Teller）Soon they arrived a huge mansion. The man went straight to the stable and spoke to a stable hand.
（Man）"Excuse me, sir. But I was wondering if I could have a little hay for my horse".
（stabl）"Sure you can. But just one moment".
（Teller）The stable hand looked over the horse, and then ran into the mansion. Then, he came running back with the owner of the estate. The wealthy man took one look at the horse, and cried out.
（Weal）"My Gosh! What a beautiful horse! It isn't often one sees a horse like that!"
（Teller）The wealthy man invited the man into his mansion.
（Weal）"Come on in! Make yourself at home. My oh my! You couldn't find a horse like that if you searched all over the country! Would you sell him to me? I don't care what the price is. How about one thousand ryo"?
（Man）"One, one thousand ryo..."
（Weal）"Make it two thousand. What do you say to two thousand ryo"?
（Man）"Two, two tha, tha. tha thau..."
（Teller）The man swayed and fell to the floor.
（Weal）"Young man! Oh, no! He's passed out! Daughter, bring us some water quickly"!
（Teller）The rich man's daughter came rushing into the room with cold water, and when she saw the man lying on the floor, she said,
（Wom）"Oh, father! It's that kind gentleman I was telling you about".
（Teller）Fate has a strange way of having people meet. It was the same young woman that the man had given the tangerines to earlier that day.
（Teller）A little later, when the man regained consciousness, he was lying on a fluffy futon, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar face.
（Man）"You are... You are the young lady".
（Wom）"Yes, kind sir, and this is my father".
（Weal）"And this is my daughter. Well, now that we know each other, I want to ask you something very important".
（Man）"Yes, sir".
（Weal）"Could I have your horse, and will you be my daughter's bride groom so that there will be a successor to my estate"?
（Teller）Upon hearing this, the man pulled the covers over his head and exclaimed,
（Man）"Oh my goodness! I'm on a roll"!
（Teller）And so, as the Kannon Bosatsu had prophesied, and since the man had followed her instructions, the man became very, very lucky. And soon, all the people in the area began to call him "the Straw Millionaire".

・mansion：屋敷
・stable：馬屋
・stable hand：厩務員，馬丁，馬手
・it isn't often one sees ～：～はめったに見られるものではありません
・sway：揺れる，よろめく
・pass out：気絶する
・fate has a strange way of ～ing：運命とは不思議なもので～ということになる
・regain consciousness：意識を取り戻す
・successor to …：…の跡継ぎ，後継者
・be on a roll：つきまくる
・prophesy ：予言する