難関大学を目指し、英文記事を読む！

ちょっとコーヒーブレイク

「難しい」と思って取り組むと幻惑される人もいるかもしれません。高校入試レベルのものもいくつかあります。上智の先生たちは高校生のできなさを知っているようです。まず最低限の知識のない人はお断り、ということかもしれません。難関大学であればあるほど「基礎」重視なのです。

  In its short lifetime, the Internet has already ( 1 ) the world's greatest home library. It is also on its way ( 2 ) the world's greatest shopping mall, and ( 3 ) telecommunication networks improve, it may even become the world's number one television and radio network as well.
   You might expect the Internet to be an ( 4 ) source of material for ( 5 ) your English well, you're right. The Internet is an awesome resource for just ( 6 ) every language skill imaginable ---and most of it is still free.
   That's the good news.The bad news is that there is ( 7 ) much material that it can be difficult to find ( 8 ) is most suitable for you. And since anyone is free to publish on the Internet, there is ( 9 ) material that is not particularly good. The Internet is, unfortunately, ( 10 ) world's greatest junkyards.
(Fredrickson Terry April 20, 2004. http://www.bangkokpost.net/education/site2002/cv,a0102.htm) [2005 上智]

(1) (a) becoming (b) become   (c) becomes   (d) became
(2) (a) to becoming  (b) as become   (c) as became   (d) to become
(3) (a) for     (b) on      (c) though   (d) as
(4) (a) inadequate   (b) eager  (c) interested   (d) excellent
(5) (a) improving  (b) to improve  (c) improve   (d) to improving
(6) (a) like  (b) as  (c) to  (d) about
(7) (a) as  (b) over   (c)  so  (d) not
(8) (a) that  (b) where   (c) such  (d) what
(9) (a) many  (b) a little  (c) a lot of  (d) a few
(10) (a) one of  (b) top of  (c) one of the  (d) top of the

identityとterrorist

   The destruction of the World Trade Center, the attack on the Pentagon, Timothy McVeigh's brutal act in Oklahoma, the deadly bombings in Saudi Arabia and Africa in 1997 and 1998, and the attack on the United States Ship Cole in 2000 further clarified a frightening reality. It is abundantly clear that we, as a country, must accept that the ever-increasing struggles for power and identity by dissident groups and individuals will directly affect us. Terrorist actions are no longer made up of threats or isolated incidents involving government officials or United States citizens traveling by choice in areas of high risk --- they are a fact of everyday life on the streets of America.
   While we have focused billions of dollars on countering terrorism in recent years, we are quite obviously still at risk. [2005　成蹊大学(法[部分]）]

１．identityについて考えて見ましょう。terroristとidentityとはどう関連しているでしょうか。

２．下線部について、代名詞が指すものについて具体的に説明しつつ、わかりやすく日本語にしてください。

＜確認すべき単語＞
destruction
brutal
clarify
frightening
reality
abundant
struggle
power
identity
dissident
individual
made up of
threat
isolated
incident
involving
official
choice
focuse
counter
recent
obvious
at risk

以上、文脈からしっかり意味を捉え、単語だけ切り出すことはぜず、文章のまま覚えてします。カードに書いて覚える場合は、カードの片面英語だけを書き、それを見てそれを含む一文全体を口に出して言ってみる。カードの裏に日本語訳を書くことはしないこと。

現在分詞、過去分詞、動名詞

Freezing technology that truly preserves the quality of fresh fish is relatively new. Developed by the Japanese fishing industry in the 1990's to preserve the catch on long trips,"superfreezing" can reduce the core temperature of a 500-pound tuna to minus 70 degrees in about a day and a half. Packed in artificial snow ground from dry ice and surrounded by liquid nitrogen, that fish can be preserved in good condition for as long as two years. "It's an amazing product," said a restaurant owner who recently bought a medical freezer, [transplant / store / designed /to / organs], to keep tuna in his restaurant's basement.
[2005 東京理科大]

１．[　]内を並べかえて、意味の通る文にしなさい。

２．Freezing、fishing、superfreezing、amazing、それぞれ文法的に説明しなさい。

３．Developed、Packed、surrounded、preserved、designedはすべて過去分詞。ここでの使われ方について説明しなさい。

４．Packed in artificial snow ground from dry iceのgroundについて文法的に説明しなさい。

５．内容から考えて（といっても理系の人にとっては常識だと思うが）liquid nitrogenは日本語で何ですか。

仮定法

Tom Sawyerの一節です。学校サボって、川に泳ぎに行かないように、Aunt Pollyは、下着とシャツを糸でぬいつけておきます。しかし、トムは糸つきの針をもっていて、泳いだあと、縫い付けるという対応策を実行しています。しかし、Half-brotherのSidがその日縫い付けた糸の色の違いを指摘したので、川にいったことがばれてしまいます。

"Siddy, I'll lick you for that."
In a safe place Tom examined two large needles which were thrust into the lapels of his jacket, and had thread bound about them—--one needle carried white thread and the other black. He said:
"She'd never noticed if it hadn't been for Sid. Confound it! sometimes she sews it with white, and sometimes she sews it with black. I wish to geeminy she'd stick to one or t'other?　---I can't keep the run of 'em. But I bet you I'll lam Sid for that. I'll learn him!"
[from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer]

エンジ色の文が仮定法です。ただ、

１．She'd never noticed if it hadn't been for Sidの部分は、学校文法の形とは違います。どう直せばいいですか。

２． I wish to geeminy she'd stick to one or t'other?　は、she'd=she wouldの形をとる仮定法。学校文法ではどの程度この辺のニュアンスを扱うかどうかわかりませんが、この文脈ではどんな気持ちが現れているでしょうか？なおgeeminyはGemini（間投詞）からきた表現です。これを辞書でチェックしてみると納得できると思います。

３．lickはどんな意味でしょう。この文章でほぼ同じ意味でつかっている言葉があります。それはどれですか？

４．下線部については、前者はone...the other, 後者はkeep up with them。入試では必須事項なのでしっかり使い方、意味合いを確認しておきましょう。

なお、Confound it!は、「悪態言葉」ですが、confoundの基本的な意味は確認しておいてください。

Dollyの誕生

ちょっと古いのですが、Dollyの誕生の問題を扱った英文です。まず一読してください。

The announcement in February 1997 of the birth of a sheep named Dolly, an exact genetic replica of its mother, sparked a worldwide debate over the moral and medical implications of cloning. Several U.S. states and European countries (a. ban) the cloning　of human beings. (b. Overlook) in the arguments about the morality of artificial life is the fact that, at present, cloning is a very inefficient procedure.

関西学院大の問題（2000年）では、下記の問い（一部）がありました。このブログでは、訳や文法的解説はあまりしないのですが、ここの問題はきわめて基礎的なので扱ってみたいと思います。

まず、(a.ban）です。どうでしょうか？選択肢は下記です。

1. did banning 

2. have banned 

3. have been banned 

4. would have baned

1.は文法的規則違反、2.は現在完了・能動、3.現在完了・受動、4.仮定法過去完了。

次に、(b.Overlook)、

1. Overlook    

2. Overlooked   

3. Overlooking      

4. Overlooks

1.は原形、2.は過去形or過去分詞、3.現在分詞、4.三人称単数現在。

ここの文型はS+V+C？

ちなみに...the fact that ...のthatは、同格の名詞節を導くthat。

どちらもきわめて基礎的な問題です。これが問題になるというところに出題者側の皮肉があるのか？？？

要約

どう「要約」するかで、思考の習慣が身についているかどうかがわかります。毎年東大では平易な英文を要約させる問題が出題されます。ずいぶん以前になりますが、highlight markerを利用することの問題点を論じた文があり、今でも教材として、また学習のあり方を伝えるために取り上げています。

以下の英文をまず読んでください。

What specifically makes us human? The complexity of our language? Our problem-solving strategies? You may be shocked by my suggestion that, in some very deep sense, language and some aspects of human problem solving are  no more or less complex than the behaviors of other species. Complexity as such is not the issue. Spiders weave complex webs, bees transmit complex information about sources and quality of nectar, ants interact in complex colonies, beavers build complex dams, chimpanzees have complex problem-solving strategies, just as humans use complex language. Nor are our problem-solving skills so remarkable: there are human beings who have perfectly normal human mental abilities, but who nevertheless are unable to solve certain problems that a chimpanzee can solve.  There is, however, one extremely important difference betweed human and non-human intelligence, a difference which distinguishes us from all other species. Unlike the spider, which stops at web weaving, the human child---and, maintain, only the human child---has the potential to take its own representations as objects of cognitive attention. Normally, human children not only become efficient users of language ; they also have the capacity to become little grammarians. By contrast, spiders, ants, beavers, and probably even chimpanzees do not have the potential to analyze their own knowledge.
[2000 Tokyo] 

下線部について、文章にそくして分かりやすく説明してください。（実際の問いは「次の英文の内容を４０～５０字の日本語で要約せよ」です。こちらもやってみてください。）

lies & gossip

   Lies are fascinating because there are so many possibilities for invention and elaboration. In a liar's mouth, facts are no longer boring and predictable, but interesting and surprising. The sense of unlimited possibility is what lies have in common with another vice that most people find irresistible: gossip. Gossip is interesting because what we hear and pass on to others may be the truth, but it could also be a wild fantasy; we are captivated by the very uncertainty of what we hear.

１．liesとgossipの共通点と相違点をまとめてみましょう。

２．fascinating, boring, interesting, surprisingに共通する点がわかりますか。

   In spite of the proverb, the truth is seldom as strange or interesting as fiction. Most of us don't want to know the painful facts about other people's lives. I often feel burdened when friends confide in me about their marriage problems, childhood traumas, or job dissatisfactions. Even though I try my best to console and reassure, I can't help wishing that my friends had told someone else.
(2001京都府立)

１．ここでのthe proverbとはどういうものか。

２．my friends had told someone elseはどんな気持ちの表れか。文法的な問題を踏まえて考えてみよう。

なお、「うそ」について英文は、ときどき出題されます。日本大学(2005)など。

meet

「多義語」とも言えますが、意味の根っこには統一的なイメージがあります。
１．定番
In the last century we humans have so vastly expanded our use of water to meet the needs of industry, agriculture, and a rapidly increasing population that now, after thousands of years in which water has been plentiful and virtually free, its scarcity threatens the supply of food, human health, and global ecosystems.（京都府立大）

２．バリエーション
The thrust of the article was that we need not feel we are helpless if disease tries to tear away at our bodies, and that we can have greater confidence in the reality of a healing system that is beautifully designed to meet most of its problems.(東邦大）

３．おまけ
...a romantic affair could meet with an obstacle. （愛知教育大）

４．定番＆基本
The local education board has also set up a counseling desk to meet needs varying from translating school memos and report cards to parents, to sending counselors to schools to meet students, parents and teachers. (愛知教育大学)

５．昔は受験問題の定番だった。
We're having trouble making both ends meet.

広い意味で「出会う」ですが、単に「出会う」だけではなく、「中身」も問題になるということでしょうか。まとめて言えば「出会って、かつ対応する、あるいは引き受ける」という意味合いです。

immunity

「センター試験」の英文で使われていたimmunity。これがこれまで使われた例はちょっと思い当たらない。しかし、immuneという形容詞は出てくる。これまで東邦（医）、奈良女子大（2003、同じ英文が2004に北海道大学。当スクール的中！ ）。ただどの大学も注がついている。以下は、奈良女子大（北海道大学）で出題された英文の一部。まず読んでみてください。

Scientists have concluded that chimpanzees are not useful for AIDS research because, even though their genetic makeup differs from ours by about 1 percent, their immune systems deal much differently with the AIDS virus. Many scientists test drugs and vaccines on animals simply because they are required to by law rather than out of scientific merit. This is a shame, because our medical technology is beginning to provide alternatives. We can perform many tests on cell and tissue cultures without needing to harm animals. Computer simulations can also cut down on the number of animal tests we need to run. We aren't exploring these alternatives vigorously enough.

１．ここでいうthese alternativesを箇条書きにしてみよう
２．tissue culturesとはなにか？（tissueは「ちり紙」ではない。cultureは「文化」ではない。cultivateから連想できるか？tissue cultureと一まとまりで言う場合が多い。）

なお、「センター試験」immunityがでてくる英文第四問Cは、きちっと読んでおくとこれからの試験でも役に立つ思うのでアップしておきます。（問題をはずして英文のみ）06center4.pdfをダウンロード

Alzheimer's disease

入試問題では下線部の和訳が課されています。挑戦してみてください。
   Imagine your brain as a house filled with lights. Now imagine someone turning off the lights one by one. That's what Alzheimer's disease does. It turns off the lights so that the flow of ideas, emotions and memories from one room to the next slows and eventually ceases. And sadly --- as anyone who has ever watched a parent, a sibling, or a spouse succumb to the spreading darkness knows there is no way to stop the lights from turning off, no way to switch them back on once they've grown dim.
[from 2001 Tokushima-dai]

最近は「認知症」といわれている「アルツハイマー病」。この呼称は関係の専門家の間では評判が悪いようだ。「老人性痴呆」は、senile dementiaで、「痴呆」はdementia。dementiaの訳語として「認知症」は誤解を招く、というのが反対の理由。それでdementiaに｢認知失調症｣という呼び名を提案しています。ちなみに「アルツハイマー老人性痴呆」は、英語でsenile dementia Alzheimer's type（SDAT）。

運動によって予防が可能、という趣旨の最新のnews。
Exercise helps to flush a toxic molecule from the brain and causes a beneficial one to move in and protect nerve cells, research on mice shows. The discovery might help to explain why staying fit and keeping mentally active seem to fend off Alzheimer's  disease in humans.
[...]
Mattson(a researcher at the National Institute on Aging, in Baltimore)notes that the link between exercise and brain health is still not certain in humans, although the evidence is mounting up. Other research has found that staying mentally agile or even maintaining a slim physique may help to protect against Alzheimer's and other brain disorders.
[2 December 2005, [email protected]]

discoveryとはどういうことかまとめてみましょう。