NHKニュースで学ぶ現代英語 2025年3月勉強分②

2025-03-14

老朽水道管の耐震化に新技術活用

< 見出し>JAPAN’S UTILITIES TAPPING AI TO PLUG LEAKS IN WATER SYSTEM
・utilities：（ここでは）水道インフラサービスを提供する企業や機関
・tap：利用する、活用する
・plug：穴をふさぐ、漏れを防ぐ

Japan’s water supply has become increasingly prone to leakage.
・prone to ～：～しがちな、～の傾向がある
　※主にネガティブな事柄が続く。
・leakage：漏出、漏れ

The problem has been traced to aging pipes and damage from natural disasters.
・(be) traced to ～：～に原因をたどる、～に起因する

Moving to plug the holes, system operators are drawing on the powers of AI technology.
・move to ～：～するために行動する
・draw on/upon ～：～を活用する、利用する

Japan’s water pipelines span 700,000 kilometers.
・span ～：（数字を入れて距離や期間について）～にわたる、～に及ぶ

Forty percent of these pipes will exceed their durable life in the next 10 years.
・durable：耐久性のある、長持ちする

Kubota, a machinery maker that produces water pipes, is employing AI data analysis to tackle the problem.

Its system predicts corrosion progress and the probability of water leakage.
・corrosion：腐食 [kəróuʒən]

The predictions are based on how long the pipes have been in use and the quality of soil around them.

This allows pipes to be checked without the need for excavation.
・excavation：掘削、発掘 [èkskəvéiʃən]

Tenchijin is a Tokyo-based firm funded by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
・Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency：JAXAのこと

It’s using satellite data to identify water pipes at risk of leaking.
・identify：特定する
・(be) at risk of ～：～の危険、リスクがある

The company’s AI system analyzes ground temperature and shifts in the Earth’s surface.

コメ価格 過去最高へ

< 見出し>JAPAN TO RELEASE RICE RESERVES AS PRICES HIT RECORD

The price of rice, a Japanese staple, is hovering at record highs and shows no sign of reversing course.
・reverse course：「進路を逆にする、流れを反転させる、方向を反転させる」→「価格が下落に転じる」

Figures from an industry group show the price index for the February-to-April period rose to 77 last month.
・industry group：業界団体
・price index：価格指数

That is the highest since the data became available 13 years ago.

Data from the agriculture ministry also show rice prices at an all-time high.
・all-time ～：これまでで最も～な、空前の

The average per 5 kilograms at about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan was 3,650 yen, or 24 dollars, for the week through January 26.
・through ～：～までの（「期間の終わり」を表す）

That’s up nearly 80 percent from a year earlier.
・from a year earlier：（今から）1年前の時点から

The agriculture minister says the government will release rice reserved for emergency use into the market in response to concerns about rice distribution.
・distribution：流通

The government had previously released stockpiles only in response to extremely poor harvests or disaster.
・stockpile：備蓄、備蓄品

This would be the first release of rice stocks aimed at smoothing distribution.

マグロの食べ頃を知る新技術

< 見出し>JAPANESE RESEARCHERS CLAIM TO FIND BEST TIME TO EAT SASHIMI

Raw tuna, or tuna sashimi, is a dish that’s gained a following around the world for its savory flavors.
・gain a following：後に続く人々・ファン・支持者を獲得する

Now Japanese researchers say they’ve found a way to make it even better by identifying the best time to eat it after thawing.
・thaw：（冷凍したものを）解凍する [θɔ]

The flavors in fresh fish come in part from amino acids.
・in part：１つには、一部分は

But after extended chilled storage, muscle fibers can start to degrade when thawed.
・chilled storage：冷蔵保存

A team at the RIKEN research institute and Hiroshima University conducted a study to figure out the optimal time for taste.
・optimal：最適な

They thawed frozen tuna fillets and stored them at a low temperature.
・fillet：（魚や肉の骨なしの）切り身　※豆知識参照

They then used a special microscope to observe the muscle fibers over time.
・over time：時間の経過とともに
　※overtime「時間外に」と混同しないよう注意。

They found there was little change for the first 12 hours.
・little change：ほとんど変化がない
　※cf. a small change：小さい変化、変更

There was then some minor degradation between 24 and 48 hours after thawing.

And beyond that, only a few muscle fibers remained.

【 豆知識：fillet/filet の発音 】
fillet：（魚や肉の骨なしの）切り身（アメリカ英語ではfiletとつづることもある）

２パターンの発音があり、
・イギリス英語では「フィレット」[fílit]
・アメリカ英語ではフランス語寄りの「フィレイ」[filéi]
と発音することが多い。

日米首脳が初の会談

< 見出し>ISHIBA TOUTS INVESTMENT IN SUMMIT WITH TRUMP
・tout ～：～を売り込む、～を強調する [táut]

Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed regional security and economic issues at their first summit meeting.

Ishiba emphasized the massive amount of Japanese investment in America.

At the summit held on Friday, Ishiba told Trump Japanese automakers would be building new factories in the U.S.

“Japan has been the largest investor for the United States in the last five consecutive years. Building upon that, we are ready to further increase our investment to the United States.”
・build upon ～：～の上に築く、～を踏まえる、～を土台にする

Trump responded by saying his tax policies make the U.S. an attractive destination for car manufacturers.

But he said the two nations need to address an imbalance in trade relations.
・imbalance：不均衡、アンバランス [imbǽləns]

“We do want to work on the deficit. We have about a 100-billion-dollar deficit with Japan, which I’m not surprised, ’cause you’re very good negotiators, I will say. But we want to work on that and get that down to even. Equality, I call it. Let’s be equal.”
・work on ～：～（の改善）に取り組む
・deficit：赤字 [défəsit]
　※cf. surplus：黒字 [sə́ːrplʌs]
・I will say.：「～と言っておきます」といったようなニュアンス。
・I call it.：「私はそれを～と呼ぶ」「私はそれをこう定義する」　※下記GPT欄参照

バルト三国 ロシアへの電力依存を解消

< 見出し>BALTIC STATES DISCONNECT FROM RUSSIAN POWER GRID
・baltic：バルト海の
・power grid：送電網

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on Saturday disconnected from a Russian-controlled electricity grid, ending their dependence on Russian energy.
・Lithuania：リトアニア [lìθuéiniə]
・electricity grid：電力網

In Lithuania on Saturday, military helicopters and vehicles sent from security authorities patrolled around a newly set up power facility to guard against possible acts of sabotage by Russia.

“Indeed, that’s really the symbolic, historical, and very practical step of the Baltic states in our long journey for energy independence. Now we are becoming totally independent.”
・symbolic：象徴的な

The Baltic states were annexed by the Soviet Union during World War II and were under its rule for about half a century.
・annex：付け加える、付加する、(特に武力で領土などを）併合する

Since the three countries joined the European Union and NATO in 2004, they’ve been working to phase out dependence on Russian energy.
・phase out：段階的に廃止（解消）する

The three countries are due to be connected sequentially to the power grids of continental Europe by Sunday.
・be due to ～：～する予定である、～することになっている
・sequentially：連続して、順次に