8/19 - 8/21, 2019

遠山顕の英会話楽習   Monday, August 19

What a difference a day makes.
―――

Wow! That was pretty amazing. The Goddess sounded a little scary.
Yeah, she started "Psst!"
Yeah.
That was funny.

So to begin the beginning…
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
A long, long time ago…
Yes.
… this man was very poor and unlucky.
Uh-huh.
… goes to a temple and for the last time, he prays to Kan-non sama.
Yes.
Yeah. What's he got lose, right?
And he prays very hard.
Yes.
All day long.
Oh, wow! And finally he hears this voice.
Finally.
She was very quiet at first, wasn't she? She says "Psst!"
I guess that's a kind of a way of saying "Hey, you!"
And then she starts talking to the man.
Yes.
Her prophecy is that he is going to have some luck from now on.

(prophecy = 予言 a prediction of what will happen in the future)

Oh, good.
Uh-huh.
But he has to follow exactly what she says though.
Right.
He has to go to sleep and then he is going to wake up
... in the morning and leaves the building.
And then he is going to trip and fall.
"Story of my life," he says.
OK.
But what she says ... so she says when he trips he'll grab something.
Uh-huh.
Right? I don't know what. We don't know what he is going to grab. But he can't let go.
I see.
Hmm...
He has to hold on to it.
―――

Questions;
Here's the first question for you.
Who talked to the man at the temple hall?

Kan-non sama, the Goddess of Mercy.

Well, the Goddess of Mercy.
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
She was pretty forceful.

(forceful = expressing opinions strongly and demanding attention or action)

Yeah, you would think for a Goddess of Mercy, she would sound very kind and loving.
Well, she did it first, and then he started disbelieving her.
Yeah.
And so she started get a little irritated, maybe.
So she had make her point.

(make one's point = 主張を通す)
Right.
―――

Question 2
OK.
Did the man believe the prophecy?

No. He thought he was dreaming and fell asleep.
OK.

Wasn't he talking about something like pinching him or something?
Yeah, we say that quite a bit when we don't believe it actually happens, "Somebody pinch me. I must be dreaming."

Because it'll hurt, so you'll realize you're not dreaming. ... that you’ll realize you're awake.

Well, this is the end of Act 1 but I wonder what will happen in Act 2.
Well, the Goddess of Marcy said that he would wake up in the morning and leave the building.
And then he is going to trip and fall. So she says when he trips he'll grab something.
So what is going to be in his hand?
Or maybe he won't trip and fall and he'll just go home.
No.
I think he'll grab a bag of money that was dropped by some robbers and he'll live happily ever after.

(robber = burglar, thief)

  • A robber is someone who steals money or property from a bank, a shop, or a vehicle, often by using force or threats.
  • A burglar is a thief who enters a house or other building by force.
  • A thief is a person who steals something from another person.

How about he grabs a copy of Eikaiwa Gakushu and goes home?
And learns how to speak English.
Yeah.
Great.
And then he gets... you know, does really well for himself and great success.
Yeah… becomes an interpreter.
An International star.
It's the interesting ideas.
Yeah ... of an International fame.

(fame = celebrity, honor, glory)


==================


遠山顕の英会話楽習   Tuesday, August 20

So here's Act 2, we just heard it.
Yes.
And he did trip and fall.
Just like the Goddess had said he would.
That … prophesied, yeah?

(prophesied = 予言された)

But, when he gets up…
He has a straw in his hand.
Wow!
He has to keep it, right? Just like she told him to do.
OK.
But along the way he catches a horsefly and he attaches it to the tip of the straw.
And we also know he is very kind to people, because the next person that he meets is an old woman with a baby on her back.
And the baby was crying. Don’t forget.
It is crying.
Yeah.
And it wouldn't stop crying.
No.
No, but the baby stops crying, all of a sudden. Because it sees the straw with a horsefly on it.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
And he gave it to the baby, and baby's face lights up, and it's really happy. The baby loves it.
So the lady thanks him.
Yeah.
For his kindness. She offers uh...
Three satsuma tangerines.
Yeah.
So he keeps wondering after he gets the tangerines. He comes across a young woman and her servant, right?
Yeah, and her servant says, "My lady suddenly felt pain. I believe she's suffering from heatstroke.”

You sound just like the servant in the story.
You are good at doing mimicking people.

(mimicking = to imitate or copy in action, speech, etc., often playfully or derisively)

That's amazing!
And he has just what she needs.
Yeah, surprisingly
Tangerines.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah. Now she's hydrated.
Yeah. And she's recovered, and feels good. And in exchange for the tangerines, she gives him three rolls of silk. Exquisite silk.
Exquisite silk.

(exquisite = elegant, graceful)

That's quite a trade up from tangerines to silk.
Yes.
Well, it's from a piece of straw.
Yes.
―――

Here is the first question for you, Carolyn.
OK.
Who did the man meet first after he started his journey?
―――

An old woman with a crying baby on her back.
And the baby liked the man's straw so much.
Yes.
You know, horsefly, it was probably buzzing, making a noise. I don't know.
I picture kind of moving around or something, kind of, shaking like a rattle. 

(rattle = ガラガラ)

Yeah, I don't know how he attached it to the straw. That's still a mystery.
―――

OK, here is the second question for Jeff.
All right.
What did the young woman give the man for his help?
―――

Three rolls of exquisite silk.
So it was not just silk.
No, it looks like it’s very high quality and very beautiful.
Exquisite silk.

Yeah, so he is really trading up.
Yes.
Silk for tangerine. That's great. Of course, he helped her. What… she could have really, maybe died of heatstroke. I mean, you know, she was in a really bad way so the tangerines were really what she needed. So it's a good trade.
Yeah!
What… she really appreciated his help, right? And she says, "I'll never forget your kindness."
There you go.
Wow! Sounds just like her.
You know, strange.
Just like her.

So, here is a big question, again. What will happen next?
OK. Umm... What do you think, Carolyn?
Well, he's carrying three rolls of silk with him.
So maybe, he'll sell it.
Sell it for a lot of money, and go home and live happily ever after.
Yeah.
The end.
Or maybe he'll exchange them for a copy of Eikaiwa Gakushu.
Yeah, that would be kind of trading up, too.
Yeah.
Or maybe, he'll regret it.
No, no, no. His English will get better. He'll become an international star.

Well, that's about it for today. So until next time...
Keep listening
Keep practicing
And Keep on smiling and looking forward to Act 3.
Right.


=================


遠山顕の英会話楽習   Wednesday, August 21

Oh, here is an interesting topic, I hope.
Oh, sure
It's about a proverb, which goes 溺れる者は藁をもつかむ。わらしべをつかまんとする。
A drowning man clutches at a straw. You know, those two proverbs.
Yeah.
Arguably, supposed to be synonymous, identical.

(arguably = ほぼ間違いなく、議論の余地はあるかもしれないpossibly, probably, maybe, perhaps)
(synonymous = of a word or phrase) having the same meaning as another word or phrase in the same language.)

OK.
But there is one part that is not like わらをもつかむ, right? This is "grabs a straw."
So, it's in a hand.
It's in a hand.
OK.
And this English proverb goes "clutches at a straw." Now...
Yeah.
What's the meaning of "clutches at a straw"?

It feels like more he’s trying to
He's trying to ... trying to get it.
Yeah, trying to grab it. He's trying to get it.
But he or she doesn't have it.
Right. It's the motion of grabbing at it or clutching at it. Yes.
Oh, I see. So it's not in his or her hand yet.
No.
Not yet.
No.

Would actually... clutch or grab it, anything.
Yeah.
Even a straw.
Oh, yeah, a hint of straw. He is so desperate.

(a hint of = 少量の、少しだけ、ちょっぴり)

Yeah.

But in this story
Yeah.
He grabbed a straw.
Yes.
And
Yeah, he has it in his hand.
Yeah.
And he actually grabs a horsefly as well. He catches one.
Yeah.
So that's where he started.
Yes.
Right.
Straw.
With a straw.
Grabbing a straw.
And then making the best of the situation by making a little toy or something out of it.
Yeah.
By caching a horsefly, and attaching that to the tip of it.
Yeah. And then his luck gets better and better.
Yeah, he keeps trading for better and better things.
He always seems to have the right thing for the right situation.
What a story!
Yeah.