難関大学を目指し、英文記事を読む！

Bird-flu experts question advice on eating poultry

Can people catch the H5N1 avian flu virus from eating infected poultry? Colin Blakemore, chief executive of the UK Medical Research Council, says the public need not worry. "There is no evidence of transmission to people by eating cooked eggs or chicken," he said on BBC radio last week, adding that the only food risk he could see was from "drinking swans' blood".

Blakemore's sound bite came a day after Britain's first case of H5N1 in a wild bird was confirmed —-- a dead swan found floating in a harbour in Cellardyke, Scotland. And it echoes a slew of recent reassurances by governments worldwide and by the World Health Organization (WHO), all conscious of damaging public confidence and the poultry industry.

But many flu scientists are concerned that, although the risks are low compared with those associated with contact with diseased birds, there is not enough evidence to say that the virus cannot be transmitted by eating infected poultry. "Oral transmission is an open question," says Masato Tashiro, a virologist at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo. "Direct evidence of oral infection is lacking, but so too is proof against."
[from Nature 13 April, 2006]

内容：
1.鳥インフルエンザに感染した鶏肉を食べることは、感染の心配なし、というUK Medical Research Councilの関係者のコメントがラジオニュースで流されたことに対して、専門家の多くはどんな意見を言っていますか。

文法・語法：
1.although the risks are low compared with those associated with contact with diseased birds,のthoseはどの言葉を受けていますか。

2.　so too is proof againstを、
proof against it....で書き始めたら、soの内容を具体的に表現するとすれば、あとにどう続ければよいでしょう。

語句：
a slew of=a large number of
sound bite:BBCのラジオニュースで流された発言
virologist=vir(us)/o/logistブログ「Natureを読む」参照。

Dieting

obesity(肥満)ととも（それ以上に）テーマとしてよく扱われる。以下の文章は空所補充ですが、選択肢がありません。自分で考えなくてはいけないのですが、文章の意味がイメージできれば解答できそう。答えを聞くと「な～んだ！」というレベルです。肩の力を抜いてやってみましょう。

   Do you want to lose weight, keep it off, and stay fit? The truth is, there are no magic diets or shortcuts to weight loss and fitness. Both old fashioned common sense and modern science agree; the best combination for keeping a trim and healthy body is a well-balanced diet, along with a program of regular ( 1 ).
   Most of us realize this truth  yet often we find it hard to practice, and so we forget it. Often, we hope some new diet plan or weight-loss program will provide a quick solution. This hope creates big business. In the US alone, weight-loss products are a $35 billion a year industry. Unfortunately, the results from using these products are disappointing  and sometimes dangerous. Research shows that most people who use quick weight-loss diets soon ( 2 ) all of the weight they have lost, or even more. Furthermore, they may damage their kidneys, liver and other ( 3 )  as well as suffer mental depression and loss of confidence.
   Let's look at some of the recent popular quick diets. One of the most popular is the high protein diet. This diet allows people to eat lots of protein, but they must severely limit all carbohydrates. In the short run this can reduce weight, but in the long run it can be harmful because it doesn't ( 4 ) the body with necessary elements. Another common method is the liquid diet. It relies on nutritional supplements with few calories and offers the convenience of not having to cook meals. But using supplements leads to an unbalanced diet and it takes the fun out of ( 5 ).
[2006年　札幌医科大、II部分]

的中！05年度首都大学東京（都市教養）

０５年度の首都大学東京（都市教養）の一問目の英文は、2004年度高校2年、3年対象クラスで取りあげた英文でした。

The Best American Essays 2003
"Bumping Into Mr. Ravioli", Adam Gopnik

これは、10ページ弱のエッセイです。筆者は、「妄想」のなかに友達を作り出してしまう娘の父親です。娘のOliviaは、決まって"I bumped into Charlie Ravioli."と言って話を始めます。そして、彼女の思うにことが運ばないと嘆きます。それは、彼の忙しさゆえだというのです。その彼の多忙さこそ、筆者はニューヨーク市民の現状だと・・・・

あとはぜひ通読してみてください。現代の状況、視点の理解につながり、他の英文の理解のためにも役に立つと思います。またこの小論集は、毎年秋に出ています。2004年版、2005年版も目をとおしてみることをお勧めします。

補助的に使える教材

『話題別英単語 リンガメタリカ CD』

基礎知識として、利用できそうな教材です。テーマ別になっているので最低限の情報が得られます。一般常識に自信のない人はとりあえず聞いてみるといいでしょう。書籍版を購入しなくても、スクリプトがついているので、CDだけ購入すればよいと思います。（ただし、版元で在庫切れになっているようです。読み間違えの修正版をだすのでしょうか。）

どうしても、訳がほしい人には以下の「本体」があります。利点は、補足解説が人によっては役に立つかもしれません。問題点は
１．本文に入る前に単語の解説がある
２．日本語訳文がこなれていない。単語を覚えることに主眼にしているためか、文脈に即した日本文になっていない。訳文にたよらず英語だけを読む方がいい。
３.出典を確認したり、前後関係を知りたい場合に大学名だけなので、確認する場合不便。学部、出題年くらいは併記してほしいところ。
『話題別英単語リンガメタリカ』
中澤 幸夫 (編さん)

06年京都大学前期

しばらく休んでしまいました。今後週２回の位のペースで更新してゆくつもりです。

以下は今年の京大の問題です。一部の英語教師の間では、悪い入試問題として槍玉に挙げられます。しかし、この程度の英文は余裕で「処理」できるくらいの力は付けたいものです。[なお、この部分は平易です。これ以下の部分はちょっと考えないと意味の通る訳にはなりません]

まず、読んでみましょう。

   In the Greek peninsula early in the fifth century B.C., there emerged a group of individuals, many of them with beards, who were singularly free of the anxieties about status that tormented their contemporaries. These philosophers were untroubled by either the psychological or the material consequences of a humble position in society; they remained calm in the face of insult, disapproval and poverty. When Socrates saw a pile of gold and jewellery being borne in procession through the streets of Athens, he exclaimed, "Look how many things there are which I don't want." When Alexander the Great passed through Corinth, he visited the philosopher Diogenes and found him sitting under a tree, dressed in rags, with no money to his name. Alexander, the most powerful man in the world, asked if he could do anything to help him. "Yes," replied the philosopher, "if you could step out of the way. You are blocking the sun." Alexander's soldiers were horrified,expecting an outburst of their commander's famous anger. But Alexander only laughed and remarked that if he were not Alexander, he would certainly like to be Diogenes. Antisthenes was told that a great many people in Athens had started to praise him. "Why," he answered, "what have I done wrong?" Empedocles had a similar regard for the intelligence of others. He once lit a lamp in broad daylight and said, as he went around, "I am looking for someone with a mind." Having watched Socrates being insulted in the market place, a passer-by asked him, "Don't you worry about being called names?" "Why? Do you think I should resent it if a stupid horse kicked me?" replied Socrates.
[06京都大学（部分）]

◎文法・語法
１．there emergedは、there is 構文の変形。there livesなどと同様主語は動詞の後にある名詞。

２．Socrates saw a pile of gold and jewellery being borne in procession through the streets of Athens
は、S+V+O+C（現在分詞）の文型。意味合いとしてはCがbeingが書かれていること。
a.I heard  the song being sung by Nancy.
b.I heard  the song sung by Nancy.
のニュアンスの違い。

３．"Yes," replied the philosopher, "if you could step out of the way. You are blocking the sun."
couldは「仮定法過去」。

４．Having watched Socrates being insulted in the market place, a passer-by asked him, ...
分詞構文

５．"Why? Do you think I should resent it if a stupid horse kicked me?"
「仮定法過去」

◎言葉　name
１．... he visited the philosopher Diogenes and found him sitting under a tree, dressed in rags, with no money to his name.

２．Don't you worry about being called names?

nameがどんな意味合いで使われているかまず類推し、その後辞書で確認してみよう。

◎設問は、下線部訳。