NHKニュースで学ぶ現代英語 2024年7月勉強分④
“ドクターイエロー”運行終了へ
< 見出し>YELLOW SHINKANSEN RAILWAY ICON NEARS END OF THE LINE
・the end of the line：終点
Fans of Japan’s shinkansen bullet trains are getting ready to bid farewell to a colorful icon of the tracks.
・bid：～を言う、（挨拶などを）述べる
※sayよりずっとフォーマルで古めかしい言葉で、目的語も大抵決まっていて、 farewellのほかには、goodbye「さようなら」やgood night「おやすみ」、good morning「おはよう」など挨拶のフレーズ。
Railway operators say they will phase out the so-called “Doctor Yellow” inspection cars.
・phase out：徐々に、段階的に廃止する
The eye-catching seven-car vehicle was created based on the shinkansen.
It’s off-limits to ordinary passengers and operates only once about every 10 days.
・off-limits to ～：～の立ち入り禁止、～は入ることを許されていない
Seeing it is said to bring happiness, and it has become popular among railway fans.
The cars are used on tracks between Tokyo Station and Hakata Station in Fukuoka Prefecture. Central Japan Railway plans to retire theirs in January.
West Japan Railway will do the same in 2027 or later.
Going forward, inspections will be carried out with devices installed on regularly operating shinkansen trains.
・going forward：将来的には、今後は
バイデン大統領に撤退要求
< 見出し>POLL: 72% OF REGISTERED VOTERS SAY BIDEN SHOULD DROP OUT
A new poll shows a growing majority of registered voters in the U.S. say President Joe Biden should not seek reelection.
・seek：〔物や場所などを〕見つけようとする、探し求める
It comes after his debate performance last week that many analysts have labeled a disaster.
Biden struggled in his first face-to-face match against his predecessor, Donald Trump, in this year’s presidential race.
・predecessor：前任（者）
※cf. successor：後任（者）、後継者
The Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee stumbled and appeared to lose focus multiple times.
・presumptive：（事実に基づいた合理的な）推定に基づく、推定の、仮定の
・stumble：口ごもる、言葉に詰まる、言いよどむ
・lose focus：集中力を切らす、まとまりがつかなくなる
CBS News and YouGov surveyed more than 1,100 registered voters over two days after the debate.
Seventy-two percent said Biden should not be running for president. That’s a 9 percentage-point jump compared to February.
・percentage point：（パーセント）ポイント」で、２つのパーセント間の差を示す単位
Meantime, a 10-point jump among Democratic registered voters. Forty-six percent responded saying Biden should not run.
・respond：（アンケートや聞き取り調査に）回答する
Leading U.S. newspaper The New York Times echoed the same sentiment in an editorial Friday.
・echo：同じ感情・考えを示す、他人の考えに共鳴する
・sentiment：感想、意見、思い
・editorial：社説
※この回での解説「physicist J. Robert Oppenheimerにtheが付いていない」は「オッペンハイマーの孫が来日会見」参照。
宇治の“平等院蓮”が見頃
< 見出し>LOTUS FOUND IN 200-YEAR-OLD SOIL IN BLOOM IN KYOTO
Next, a unique type of lotus flower is in bloom at a Buddhist temple in western Japan.
It comes from a seed dating back 200 years.
Byodoin Temple in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, dates back to the 11th century.
It’s listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.
The temple puts pots of lotus flowers on display every year.
・put ～ on display：～を展示する、陳列する
The variety is called the Byodoin Temple Lotus.
・variety：（同類のものが各種ある中での１つの）種類、品種
It was grown from a seed found during excavation work at the temple 25 years ago.
・be grown from ～：～から栽培される、増殖させる
・excavation：発掘、掘削 [èkskəvéiʃən]
“The lotus has a very transparent, clean feel to it. The transparent whiteness helps clear the mind.”
・transparent：透明な、透き通った
・feel：（人に与える）感じ、印象、雰囲気
・have a ～ feel to it：～のような感じを持っている、～のような雰囲気をまとっている
※慣用表現
The flowers will remain in bloom until mid-July.
【 豆知識：「～年に/～年前に 遡る」の表現 】
・date back ～ years：～年前に遡る
・date back to ～：（ある特定の時期や時代）～に遡る
ウィキリークス創設者 母国に帰国
< 見出し>ASSANGE RETURNS HOME A FREE MAN
・free man：（束縛を強制されない）自由人、自由の身
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has gone home a free man.
He agreed to a plea deal with U.S. authorities for publishing military secrets and returned to Australia to a hero’s welcome.
・plea：懇願、申し立て
・plea deal：司法取引
・hero’s welcome：英雄を迎えるような（大）歓迎
Supporters greeted Assange upon his arrival.
He had wanted to avoid going before a court in the continental U.S.
・go before (a/the) court：裁判に持ち込まれる、出廷する
・the continental U.S.：アメリカ本土（ハワイ州を除いた４９州とワシントンＤ.Ｃ.）
※cf. the contiguous U.S.：アラスカ州とハワイ州を除いた地続きの４８州とワシントンＤ.Ｃ. contiguous：隣接する
So he appeared before a judge in the American territory, the Northern Mariana Islands.
・before a judge：出廷する
He pleaded guilty to violating U.S. espionage law.
・plead guilty to ～：～（の罪）で有罪を認める
※cf. plead not guilty：法廷で『（私は）有罪ではない』と申し立てる、無実を主張する
・espionage：スパイ（行為）、諜報 [éspiənɑ̀ʒ]
Assange started WikiLeaks in 2006, publishing sensitive documents on U.S. elections and military activity in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But he divided people. Some looked at him as a whistleblower, some as a threat to national security.
・whistleblower：（内部）告発者
※whistle「笛」＋blower「吹く人」
In 2019, a U.S. grand jury indicted him on 18 felony counts for leaking classified material.
・grand jury：大陪審
・indict：非難する、起訴する [indáit]
・felony：重大な犯罪、重罪
・count：論点、（起訴状の）訴因
・classified：機密の、極秘の
・classified material：機密事項、機密情報
He had spent years fighting extradition, the last five in a British prison.
・extradition：（刑事裁判権の及ばない領域に逃亡した容疑者の身柄の、管轄国への）送還、引き渡し
He has been sentenced to time already served and has been reunited with his family.
・reunite：再結合する、再会する、仲直りする
※re- ＋ unite「結合する、合体する
円安で豪ワーホリ過去最多
< 見出し>WEAK YEN LURES JAPANESE TO WORKING HOLIDAYS IN AUSTRALIA
The weak yen has prompted many young Japanese people to travel abroad in search of higher pay on working holidays.
・in search of ～：～を求めて、～を目的に
About half of them are choosing Australia, driving the number there to record highs.
・drive：（人や物事などをある状態に）向かわせる、追いやる
The Australian government issued more than 14,000 working-holiday visas to Japanese citizens in the 12 months through June last year.
・in the 12 months through June：６月までの１２か月間で
That was an all-time high. But more than 12,000 have already been issued during the nine months since then to March.
・all-time high：過去最高、史上最高
Australia’s minimum hourly wage will rise by 3.75 percent from July to just over 24 Australian dollars, or about 16 U.S. dollars.
・just over：ほんの少し超える
That’s two-and-a-half times higher than Japan’s nationwide average.
But Associate Professor Oishi Nana at the University of Melbourne says not everyone is making that much.
“Many young people from different countries come to Australia to try and find jobs. But Japanese people don’t negotiate, even if they get offered lower wages.”
Oishi says it’s important to be well prepared, including acquiring good language skills.
【 豆知識：～よりも〇倍・・・ 】
～よりも２倍高い
two times (twice) higher than …
two times (twice) as high as …
など