NHKニュースで学ぶ現代英語 2025年5月勉強分②

2025-05-19

大阪・関西万博 開幕

< 見出し>VISITORS FLOCK TO WORLD EXPO 2025 OSAKA
・flock to ～：（多くの人々が）～に群がる

The 2025 World Expo in Osaka kicked off on Sunday.

The event’s theme is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives."

One hundred and fifty-eight countries and regions are taking part, and each pavilion is showcasing next-generation technologies to address global social challenges.

The venue is a man-made island.
・man-made：人間が作り出した、人工の、人為的な

Many people lined up in the rain to go inside.

“I wanted to see it once in my life.”

Among the exhibits is a miniature artificial beating heart made of iPS cells, as well as “flying cars.”
・Among 〇〇 is ～：倒置構文で、後半にくる主語を際立たせるようにしている。

Some exhibits showcase regions gripped by conflicts, including Ukraine.
・(be) gripped by ～：～に強く影響される、ひどく苦しめられる

Its theme is “Not for Sale," featuring a store where nothing can be purchased.

This is aimed at sending the message that Ukraine’s democracy cannot be bought or sold.

Expo organizers aim to minimize waiting time by requiring advance reservations for entry and pavilion visits.

But some pavilions offered same-day admission, leading to long lines there.
・lead to ～：～につながる、（結果として）～になる

タイで伝統の水かけ祭り

< 見出し>THAILAND’S SONGKRAN FESTIVAL BEGINS IN SHADOW OF QUAKE

People in Thailand are celebrating their traditional New Year.

Many are taking the opportunity to pray for recovery in neighboring Myanmar, with the holiday coming less than a month after a devastating earthquake.
・take the opportunity to ～：この機会に（この機会を捉えて）～する
・with ～（付帯状況のwith）：【 豆知識：with のイメージ 】参照

The Songkran festival started on Sunday.

Locals and tourists poured water on Buddhist statues at the landmark Wat Arun temple in Bangkok.
・landmark：歴史的建造物（の）

The act symbolizes cleansing, reverence, and good fortune.
・symbolize ～：〔～を〕象徴する、〔～の〕シンボルとなる
・cleansing：洗浄、罪を清めること
・reverence：崇拝、敬意
・fortune：富、財産、幸運　※GPT欄参照

The effects of the earthquake continue to weigh on many.
・weigh on ～：～の重荷となる、～（の心）を圧迫する

“I hoped for an end to disasters. I was feeling down, but I felt better after making that wish.”

The tremor also caused destruction in Thailand.
・tremor：揺れ、震え

It toppled a high-rise building in Bangkok that was under construction.
・high-rise building：高層ビル
　※一般に、エレベーターが必須の、高さが35～100メートル、または12～39階の建物。100メートル以上の建物は「超高層建築(skyscraper)」と呼ぶ。

Thai tourism officials say hotel reservations declined following the earthquake, but they’ve been gradually recovering.

UNESCO put the Songkran festival on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023.
・Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity：ユネスコの「無形文化遺産」

フランシスコ教皇葬儀 25万人がお別れ

< 見出し>POPE FRANCIS MOURNED IN FUNERAL MASS
・mourn：人の死を悲しむ、弔う

Pope Francis has been laid to rest after a solemn funeral.
・lay ～ to rest：～を埋葬する　※豆知識参照

Followers, world leaders, and foreign dignitaries gathered at the Vatican to bid him a final farewell.
・follower：「後について行く人」→「信者」
・dignitary：（政府などの）高官、要人
・bid：（あいさつ・別れなどを）述べる、告げる

The pontiff’s funeral mass started Saturday morning at St. Peter’s Square.
・pontiff：（ローマ・カトリック教会の長である）教皇 [pɑ́ntəf]　※豆知識参照
・mass：（キリスト教の）ミサ [mǽs]

The Vatican says over 250,000 mourners converged on and around the area.
・mourner：弔う人、会葬者
・converge：一点に集まる
・on the area：GPT欄参照

It says about 160 foreign delegations, including heads of state, attended the funeral.
・delegation：（政府などから国際会議などに派遣される）代表団、使節

World leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and French President Emmanuel Macron, offered their prayers in front of the pope’s coffin before appearing at the square.
・offer prayers：祈りをささげる、参拝する
　※この意味（祈り）では[prέər]、「祈る人」の意味だと「プレイヤー」と発音する。

After the mass, the pope’s body was taken to his final resting place.

Many people paid their respects on the roadside.

The pontiff was laid to rest at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome in accordance with his will.
・in accordance with ～：～に従って

That’s unlike many of his predecessors, who were buried at St. Peter’s Basilica.

The pope asked that his tomb be “simple.”

【 豆知識："pope" と “pontiff" の違い 】
どちらも「教皇」だが、微妙に異なる。
pope
papa「お父さん」と同じラテン語由来の言葉で、文字どおりには「父親（のような存在）」という、親しみがある意味になる。
pontiff
もともと人々と神をつなぐ「橋を架ける人」という意味で、正式な場面で使われることが多い名称。

【 豆知識："lay" と “lie" の区別 】
lay（他動詞）
何かを「横たえる」
活用は「lay-laid-laid」
lie（自動詞）
自分が「横たわる」
活用は「lie-lay-lain」

被爆者ら 核廃絶訴え世界各地を航海

< 見出し>ATOMIC BOMB SURVIVORS EMBARK ON PEACE BOAT VOYAGE
・embark on ～：（船など）～に乗り込む、（旅行など）～に出発する
・voyage：航海、船旅 [vɔ́iidʒ]

Survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings have embarked on a global sea voyage to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons, 80 years after the end of World War II.
・abolition：廃絶、廃止

Passengers on the Peace Boat voyage spoke to reporters at the port of Yokohama near Tokyo before departing.

Ito Masao survived the bombing in Hiroshima but lost some of his relatives.

The 84-year-old said he's alarmed that nuclear weapons are being used as a threat globally.
・be alarmed that ～：「アラームが鳴っているような気持ちだ」→「～（だということ）に恐怖や不安を覚える、危機感を感じる」

Kuramori Terumi, 81, from Nagasaki, said she wants to pass on survivor experiences to the next generation.

She added she will support efforts to achieve a nuclear-free world.

The survivors will speak about their experiences and mingle with local people at ports of call.
・mingle with ～：（人などと）交わる、交流する
・port of call：（船などが航海中に立ち寄る）寄港地 ※GPT欄参照

There will also be an onboard exhibit about Nihon Hidankyo, a group representing atomic bomb survivors that won last year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
・onboard：船内の、大きな乗り物の中の

【 豆知識："survive" の別の意味 】
survive ～で、「～を生き延びる」以外に「人より長生きする」という意味もある。
A survived B by 10 years.「ＡはＢよりも１０年長生きした」