Tag Archive for BBC

US remembers Kennedy 50 years after assassination

BBC: US remembers Kennedy 50 years after assassination
Inaugural Address (全文)
Inaugural Address (日本語訳)

J.F.ケネディが暗殺されたのは1963年11月22日。今から50年前だそうです。日本ではタイムリーな事に彼の娘キャロライン・ケネディがアメリカ大使として就任しました。彼女は強硬なリベラル派だそうです。same sex間のmarriageも女性のabortionの権利も強く支持しているそうです。多分日本の政治家達と接したら唖然な事連続だろうと思います :mrgreen: 。で今回は50年前のJ.F.ケネディのinaugural address(就任演説)を取り上げてみたいと思います。オバマ大統領の就任演説に比べると遥かに難しいように感じます。当時は有権者としての底辺大衆はあまり意識されていなかったという感じなのでしょうか?引用として載せたテキストは歴史的に有名な後半残り3分部分です。「国があなたに何をするかではなく、あなたが国に何をできるかを尋ねるべきだ...」というやつです。国家という前提はどうか?と思いますが、民主主義の普遍的考え方を言っているわけです。日本の自民党政権の「国が全てをしてやっているんだ...まず始めに国家ありき...」という考えとは相当違うと思います。さらにはその後「アメリカが何をあなた達にするかではなく...」という世界に呼びかける姿勢、日本の総理大臣には絶対にあり得ないセリフですね。

 

Now the trumpet summons us again--not1 as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not1 as a call to battle, though embattled we are-- but1 a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself.

Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His2 blessing and His2 help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

  1. ここは"not...but..."「~でなく~だ」の構文が使われています。ただし、このようにnotが二つあったり、butが離れていると気付きにくいので注意しましょう。
  2. このHisは文の途中にもかかわらず大文字で書かれています。何の事か想像できますね。そうです、キリスト(神)の事になります。

summon 招集する、奮い立たせる
bear 耐える、担う、持つ
year in and year out 何年も ※day in day out = day after day
tribulation 苦悩
forge 鋳造する、築く、偽造する
alliance 同盟
shrink 縮む、ひるむ
devotion 献身的愛情、信仰心
fellow 同朋、仲間、特別研究員
ask of ~に要求する


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Fukushima leak is 'much worse than we were led to believe'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23779561
こういう記事を読むと日本政府与党、自民党とそれを支持した国民は本当に恥ずかしい、知的に倫理的に恥ずかしい人達なんだと今更ながら強く感じます。もとからアイディアとして垂れ流すために海に隣接して原発を建設したのではないでしょうか?そしてこの原発を誘致した地元の人達は目先の利益のために本当の故郷を失いました(実際は体制支持者達のせいですが)。正直打つ手は無いですよね。これを持ってもまだ原子力に依存しようとする野田-安部総理、自民党、経済界、マスメディア、保守派、ホッブス支持者...彼らの思考回路がちょっと理解できない。まさに太平洋戦争での大政翼賛会です。私は自分の生徒にはもう魚は食べないほうがいいと言ってあります。私のような中年にとっては、あと20年も生きられれば十分でしょうが、現在10代、20代の世代にとっては背負わされた困難が大きすぎる。...自民党を勝たせるためにこんなに重要な事を伏せていた東京電力や官僚達、いつか必ず大きな責任をとる日が来ると思います。東京オリンピック?世界からの日本への目はこの記事に書いてある通りですよ。
私はテレビを見ないので分からないのですが、日本ではこういった報道はされているのでしょうか?あるいは国民はまだくだらないお笑い番組にずっと気を散らされ続けているのでしょうか?

関連記事:
Fishing off Fukushima suspended for indefinite period (Japan Times)
Rate of radioactive flow to Pacific alarming (Japan Times)

Fukushima leak is 'much worse than we were led to believe'
By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News

A nuclear expert has told the BBC that he believes the current water leaks at Fukushima are much worse than the authorities have stated.

Mycle Schneider is an independent consultant who has previously advised the French and German governments.

He says water is leaking out all over the site and there are no accurate figures for radiation levels.

Meanwhile the chairman of Japan's nuclear authority said that he feared there would be further leaks.

The ongoing problems at the Fukushima plant increased in recent days when the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) admitted that around 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water had leaked from a storage tank on the site.

Moment of crisis

The Japanese nuclear energy watchdog raised the incident level from one to three on the international scale that measures the severity of atomic accidents.

This was an acknowledgement that1 the power station was in its greatest crisis since the reactors melted down after the tsunami in 2011.

But some nuclear experts are concerned that the problem is a good deal2 worse than either Tepco or the Japanese government are willing to admit.

They are worried about the enormous quantities of water, used to cool the reactor cores, which are now being stored on site.

Some 1,000 tanks have been built to hold the water. But these are believed to be at around 85% of their capacity and every day an extra 400 tonnes of water are being added.

"The quantities of water they are dealing with are absolutely gigantic," said Mycle Schneider, who has consulted widely for a variety of organisations and countries on nuclear issues.

"What is the worse is the water leakage everywhere else - not just from the tanks. It is leaking out from the basements, it is leaking out from the cracks all over the place. Nobody can measure that.

"It is much worse than we have been led to believe, much worse," said Mr Schneider, who is lead author for the World Nuclear Industry status reports.

At news conference, the head of Japan's nuclear regulation authority Shunichi Tanaka appeared to give credence to Mr Schneider's concerns, saying that he feared there would be further leaks.

``We should assume that what has happened once could happen again, and prepare for more. We are in a situation where there is no time to waste," he told reporters.

The lack of clarity about the water situation and the continued attempts by Tepco to deny that water was leaking into the sea has irritated many researchers.

Dr Ken Buesseler is a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who has examined the waters around Fukushima.

"It is not over yet by a long shot, Chernobyl was in many ways a one week fire-explosive event, nothing with the potential of this right on the ocean."

"We've been saying since 2011 that the reactor site is still leaking whether that's the buildings and the ground water or these new tank releases. There's no way to really contain all of this radioactive water on site."

"Once it gets into the ground water, like a river flowing to the sea, you can't really stop a ground water flow. You can pump out water, but how many tanks can you keep putting on site?"

Several scientists also raised concerns about the vulnerability of the huge amount of stored water on site to another earthquake.

New health concerns

The storage problems are compounded by the ingress of ground water, running down from the surrounding hills. It mixes with radioactive water leaking out of the basements of the reactors and then some of it leaches into the sea, despite the best efforts of Tepco to stem the flow.

Some of the radioactive elements like caesium that are contained in the water can be filtered by the earth. Others are managing to get through and this worries watching experts.

"Our biggest concern right now is if some of the other isotopes such as strontium 90 which tend to be more mobile, get through these sediments in the ground water," said Dr Buesseler.

"They are entering the oceans at levels that then will accumulate in seafood and will cause new health concerns."

There are also worries about the spent nuclear fuel rods that are being cooled and stored in water pools on site. Mycle Schneider says these contain far more radioactive caesium than3 was emitted during the explosion at Chernobyl.

"There is absolutely no guarantee that there isn't a crack in the walls of the spent fuel pools. If salt water gets in, the steel bars would be corroded. It would basically explode the walls, and you cannot see that; you can't get close enough to the pools," he said.

The "worsening situation" at Fukushima has prompted a former Japanese ambassador to Switzerland to call for the withdrawal of Tokyo's Olympic bid.

In a letter to the UN secretary general, Mitsuhei Murata says the official radiation figures published by Tepco cannot be trusted. He says he is extremely worried about the lack of a sense of crisis in Japan and abroad.

This view is shared by Mycle Schneider, who is calling for an international taskforce for Fukushima.

"The Japanese have a problem asking for help. It is a big mistake; they badly need it."

では英文の注意点を見ていきましょう(今回ちょっと時間が開いてしまいましたm(_ _)m)。青いマーカーと数字が附ってある部分です。下線付きの単語は下に意味を書いておきます。

  1. このthatは同格のthatです。文中でthatを見たときは1.代名詞、2.関係代名詞、3.that節(接続詞)、4.同格のthat(接続詞)の4つの可能性があります。どれも文法的にはっきり役割が違うものなのしっかり区別しましょう。
  2. "a good (great) deal"は比較級、最上級を修飾して「ずっと、はるかに」の意味になります。muchやby farと同じです。それから"a good (great) deal of"では「量」修飾する「たくさんの」となります。それに対して"a good (great, large, significant) number of"は「数」を修飾する「たくさんの」ですね。
  3. このthanは関係代名詞のthanです。as, but, thanは関係代名詞(あるいは擬似関係代名詞)になることがあります。その後に文の形が来るので分かりやすいと思います。ただし関係詞以下の文なので完全な形にはなっていません。thanの場合は「more + 名詞 + than + 文」の形をとる場合が多いようです。人によってはこれは接続詞だとか...色々な説があるようですが、所詮文法は後追いです。曖昧な部分は付きものですから、カテゴライズ出来ないなら深くは追求する必要はないでしょう。正直、重箱の隅をつつくような議論をする人にあまり英語が出来る人はいませんね :lol:。

ongoing 進行中の
severity 重大性
acknowledgement 承認、お礼
gigantic 巨大な
give credence to 信憑性を与える
by a long shot 決して(否定文で)
compound 組み合わせる
ingress 侵入
caesium セシウム(cesium)
isotope 同位体
strontium 90 ストロンチウム90
corrode 腐食する


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Malala Yousafzai

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5X70VyjU0g

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23282662
BBCからです。先日マララ・ユサフザイが国連本部で演説をしました。彼女は2012年10月9日通っていた中学校から帰宅途中に複数の男に銃撃され頭部と首に2発の銃弾を受けました。銃撃された理由は、ターリバーンによる女子校の破壊活動を批判、女性への教育の必要性や平和を訴える活動をしたためです。彼女はまだ15歳です。
今回は英文解説はしません。スピーチも比較的聞きやすいと思います。

Shot Pakistan schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai addresses UN
12 July 2013 Last updated at 15:02 GMT

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban, has told the UN that books and pens scare extremists, as she urged education for all.

Speaking on her 16th birthday, Malala said efforts to silence her had failed.

She was shot in the head on a school bus by Taliban gunmen because of her campaign for girls' rights.

The speech at the UN headquarters in New York was her first public address since last October's incident in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley.

Malala has been credited with bringing the issue of women's education to global attention. A quarter of young women around the world have not completed primary school.

'Afraid of women'

After the shooting, Malala was flown from Pakistan to the UK for treatment, and now lives in Birmingham, England.

Amid several standing ovations, Malala told the UN on Friday that the Taliban's attack had only made her more resolute.

"The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions," she said, "but nothing changed in my life, except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born."

She continued: "I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all the terrorists and extremists."

Malala - who is considered a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize - said she was fighting for the rights of women because "they are the ones who suffer the most".

"The extremists were, and they are, afraid of books and pens," added Malala, who was wearing a pink shawl that belonged to assassinated Pakistan leader Benazir Bhutto. "They are afraid of women."

She called on politicians to take urgent action to ensure every child has the right to go to school.

中略

Unesco and Save the Children released a special reported ahead of Malala's speech.

It found that 95% of the 28.5 million children who are not getting a primary school education live in low and lower-middle income countries: 44% in sub-Saharan Africa, 19% in south and west Asia and 14% in the Arab states.

Girls make up 55% of the total and are often the victims of rape and other sexual violence that accompanies armed conflicts.

addresses 演説する
extremist 過激派
urge 強く勧める
silence 沈黙させる
be credited with ~と信じられている
contender 競争者
assassinate 暗殺する
accompany ~を伴う


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NSA leaks: US charges Edward Snowden with spying...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23012317
BBCからです。whistle-blower(内部告発者)エドワード・スノーデンの件で多少進展があったようです。この記事を編集している間に彼はロシアに移動しエクアドルへの亡命を希望しているようです。
しかし保守的になった国は必ず情報管制、情報統制に走りますね。9.11以前にあの二世大統領ブッシュの就任演説の時、冷戦が漸く終わったばかりにもかかわらず、すぐに新たな敵「テロ」を勝手に宣言したのを思い出します。若い人は知らないでしょうが、テロって以前から普通にありましたよ。それをブッシュがさも新たな強敵なごとく...仕立てたのです。あの時「あ、これは大変な事が起きるな」と察しました。実際のところアメリカは巨大な武力を持った軍事大国です。それを維持するために仮想敵はどうしても必要だったのです。そしてその希望にビン・ラディンが答えてしまったのです。あの時、ブッシュが「新たな敵」を宣言しなかったらあの9.11は決して起きなかったと(強く)信じています。
...それから、記事の全文は引用しませんでしたが、どうやらイギリスでも同様の情報監視が行われていたようです。

NSA leaks:1US charges Edward Snowden with spying

The US justice department has filed2 criminal charges2 against a fugitive ex-intelligence analyst who leaked details of a secret surveillance operation.

The charges against ex-National Security Agency (NSA) analyst Edward Snowden include espionage and theft of government property.

In May, Mr Snowden fled to Hong Kong after leaking details of a programme3 to monitor phone and internet data.

The US is also reported to be preparing an extradition request.

His leaks revealed that US agencies had systematically gathered vast amounts of phone and web data.

The criminal complaint2 was lodged2 with a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, court documents show, and a provisional2 arrest warrant2 had been issued, officials said.

Mr Snowden was charged with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful3 communication of classified communications intelligence.

Each of the charges carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence2. The complaint is dated 14 June although it was made public only on Friday.

Mr Snowden left a hotel in Hong Kong on 10 June after allowing newspapers to name him as the source of the leaks. His current whereabouts are unknown.

In the US, the charges were welcomed by Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I've always thought this was a treasonous act,'' he said in a statement. "I hope Hong Kong's government will take him into custody and extradite him to the US."

However, some Hong Kong politicians have voiced support for Mr Snowden.

Left-wing MP Leung Kwok-hung said Beijing should tell the authorities to protect him from extradition, and the people of the territory should "take to the streets" to shelter him.

The BBC's Juliana Liu in Hong Kong says Beijing is highly unlikely to interfere in the early stages of what could be a long legal battle.

Julian Assange, founder of the Wikileaks organisation, also issued a statement supporting Mr Snowden.

"The US government is spying on each and every one of us, but it is Edward Snowden who is charged with espionage for tipping us off," said Mr Assange, who has been living in Ecuador's London embassy for the past year, fighting extradition to Sweden for questioning on alleged2 sex offences.

Beijing influence

Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China, signed an extradition treaty with the US in 1998.

It has a separate legal system from the Chinese mainland, and Mr Snowden's right of appeal2 could drag out any future extradition proceedings for several years.

In a news conference on Saturday, Hong Kong police declined to comment on a local newspaper report that he is staying in a police safe house.

"According to Hong Kong's current system, if a jurisdiction that has signed the mutual legal assistance treaty has issued a request, then the Hong Kong government will treat it in accordance with4 current Hong Kong laws and systems," said police commissioner Andy Tsang.

以下略

それでは英文読解上の注意点を見ていきましょう。水色のマーカーと数字がふってある部分が注意点で、下線付きの単語は下に意味が書いてあります。

  1. 英文ニュースの見出しにコロン(:)があった場合、以下の4パターンどれかにあたります。1.~に関して(regarding...) 2.~によると(according to...) 3.~は言った(..said) 4.単なるカテゴリー品目。この場合は1の「~に関して」です。
  2. 法律用語になると普段とはちょっと違う意味合いが出てきます。法律用語で難しいからと避けるわけにはいきません。特にニュースなどを読むときは知っていると格段に理解が変わりますので覚えたほうが良いでしょう。思いつくものを列挙しておきます。
    file(提訴する), lodge(告訴する), appeal(上訴する), suit(控訴), complaint(告訴状),  warrant(~状), provisional(仮~),alleged(~疑惑の), attempted(~未遂の), sentence(判決、判決を下す), convict(~に有罪判決を下す),detain(拘留する), execute(~を執行する), probation(執行猶予), prescription(時効), penalty(刑), settlement(和解), charge(容疑), suspicion(容疑), plaintiff(原告), defendant(被告), prosecutor(検事), juror(陪審員), judge(裁判官), court(法廷), trial(裁判)...
  3. イギリス英語とアメリカ英語で綴りに微妙に違いがあるものがあります。注意しましょう。完璧に知る必要はないと思いますが、知識として知っておかないといざとなったとき戸惑ってしまいます。日本人にとってはアメリカ英語がベーシックですから、注意すべきイギリス英語の綴りをいくつか列挙しておきます。よく見ると特徴がありますよ。
    behaviour (behavior), honour (honor), colour (color), centre (center), theatre (theater), programme (program), kirogramme, (kirogram), criticise (criticize), realise (realize), practise (practice), cosy (cozy), wilful (willful), enrol (enroll), cheque (check), kerb (curb), mould (mold), dreamt (dreamed), learnt (learned)...
  4. "in accordance with"は「~によると」です。これも同じ意味合いはまとめて覚えてしまいましょう。学校のテキストに出てきたら一つ一つ別個に覚える...は今の学校教育の一番の問題点です。「教科書に載っていることだけを覚えればいい」は単に文部科学省の理屈です 👿 。英語習得にはまったく通用しません。in accordance with= according to= as per 「~によれば」です

file 提出する、提訴する
fugitive 逃亡中の
surveillance 監視
espionage スパイ行為、諜報
extradition 送還、身柄引き渡し
complaint 告訴状、不平
lodge 申し立てる、小屋
provisional 仮の
arrest warreant 逮捕状
wilful(willful) 意図的な
whereabout 所在
treasonous 反逆の
take into custody 拘留する
extradite 送還する
territory 領土
take to the streets 街頭でデモをする
tip off 密告する
alleged 疑わしい~、申し立てられた~
offence 違反
Special Administrative Region 特別行政区
drag out 長引かせる
news conference 記者会見
jurisdiction 管轄区域、司法権
in accordance with ~によれば


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Bob Dylan nominated for top French honour...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22764470
前回長くなってしまったので、今回はちょっと短く 😉 。BBCよりです。ボブディランにフランスのレジオン・ドマール勲章が授与されることが決まったそうです。別にさほど驚くべきニュースではありませんね。それより去年ノーベル文学賞を与えられなかった方が残念でありません。誰が時代を作ったかというと彼やジョンレノンですよね。あるいは故J.D.サリンジャーとかね...。中国の作家ではなかったと思います。この記事に書かれているようにどこの国にも、創造的な人間に反感を抱く保守反動派は必ずいますね。「戦争賛成!人を殺せ!」のほうが余程恐ろしいことなのに。それから大麻のことですが、ポールマッカートニーの方がそちらでは有名なのですけどね?

Bob Dylan nominated for top French honour

_67960725_dylan_apBob Dylan was an icon of the anti-war and civil rights movements in the 60s

Veteran US singer Bob Dylan has been nominated for France's top distinction, the Legion d'Honneur, an award previously given to Sir Paul McCartney.

His nomination, by culture minister Aurelie Filipetti, was approved by the award's 17-member council.

Chancellor Jean-Louis Georgelin wrote in Le Monde that although the panel originally rejected the nomination, Dylan, 72, was an "exceptional artist".

The "tremendous singer and great poet" got a lower rank of the award in 1990.

Satirical weekly Le Canard Enchaine (The Chained Duck) reported in May that Dylan's nomination was rejected because of 1 his opposition to the war in Vietnam, where 2 France was a former colonial power, and his alleged use of cannabis.

However, Georgelin did not elaborate on the reason why the nomination was originally blocked, simply citing3 a past "controversy".

Top US honour

Singer-songwriter Dylan shot to fame in the 60s as an icon of the anti-war and civil rights movements.

Songs such as The Times They Are a-Changin' and Like a Rolling Stone became synonymous with the 60s counterculture, and he became a poster-boy for a disenchanted generation.

The artist also became an informal historian of America's troubles with tracks like Blowin' In The Wind, but his decision to move away from traditional guitar in favour of an electric version in the mid-60s proved controversial among die-hard folk fans.

He was awarded the top civilian honour in the United States, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in May 2012.

Earlier this month, he was made an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Recipients of the Legion d'Honneur, the Legion of Honour, include U2 frontman Bono, artist Louise Bourgeois, singer Charles Aznavour and actor Jean Reno.

それでは文法上の注意点を見ていきましょう。水色のマーカーと数字のふってある場所が注意点です。下線のついた単語は下に意味を書いておきました。

  1. because ofは「~のせいで」です。無責任な参考書や学校の教師は「~のために」と教えますが、それでは目的のfor the purpose ofやin order to doなどと、ごっちゃになってしまいます。原因をあらわす「~のせいで」と覚えましょう。because of = on account of = due to = owing to...同じ意味の熟語はまとめて覚えてしまいましょう。because ofとon account ofは悪い理由を言うために多く使われます。ただし最初はまとめて覚えればいいです。覚えるハードルを高くするのはやめましょう。
  2. 関係副詞の非制限用法です。先行詞がVietnamという固有代名詞なので必然的に非制限用法になります。関係代名詞(which)か関係副詞かで迷うときは先行詞を関係詞以下に戻して考えましょう。この場合なら"France was a former colonial power"の中に単体でVietnamが戻れる場所はありません。"France was a former colonial power in Vietnam"とinを伴えば戻れます。ということはinの意味がもとから含まれるwhereを使わなければいけません。
  3. これは普通の分詞構文です。分詞構文とは分詞(現在・過去)が接続詞の意味合いを表すものです。分詞は他にも形容詞の役割を果たす制限用法と補語になる非制限用法があります。分詞をしっかり理解すると英文法に自信がつきますよ!

civil rights movement  黒人公民権運動
distinction 名誉(称号、勲章)、区別
exceptional 例外的
tremendous 途方もなく
satirical 風刺的な
colonial 植民地の
alleged 疑惑の、申し立てられた~
cannabis 大麻
elavorate 詳しく述べる、成功に作る
cite 述べる、引用する
controversy 議論
shoot of fame 名声をつかむ
icon 偶像
synonymous 同意語
counterculture 反体制文化
poster-boy 看板男
disenchanted シラケタ、魔法から目覚めた
die-hard 頑固な(決して死なない)
recipient 受賞者、受取人


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Musicians: Bob Dylan