They’ve been waiting for this day for nearly a year.(ほぼ1年近く待ち続けました) The mothers of three detained American hikers began a long journey to Iran on Tuesday to secure their children’s release.(イランに拘束されている子どもを取り戻すため、母親が3名火曜日にイランへの長旅を始めたのです)
The three hikers, Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal are accused of espionage, and have been detained in Iranian prison since July last year. (拘束されている3名は、シェーンバウアー、サラショード、ジョシュファッタル、スパイ容疑で昨年7月から抑留されています) Nora Shourd says she’s anxious to see her daughter who is said to be suffering health issues. (ノラショードさんは健康問題を抱えている娘さんに会うのが待ちきれません) “I can’t describe how excited we are to get on the plane and see our kids finally. It’s very emotional day for us and very happy day and we really hope is we’ll be able to bring kids home. (飛行機に乗ってついに子どもにあえる。どれだけ興奮しているか、言い表せません。 ものすごく感動的でうれしい日になるでしょう。本当の望みは連れて帰れることなのですが) Shane’s mother Cindy says the three women have one goal to bring their children home. “Both moms and I have said we are going to bring our kids home. And I can’t wait to wrap my arms around Shane and tell him how much I love him, how much support they are getting from all over the world, and they are not alone. (シェーンの母シンディさんはこう言います。 私たち母親3人には、子供を家に連れて帰るという共通した目標があります。私はシェーンの身体に両手を回して、どれだけ愛情をそそいでいるか、どれだけの支援が世界中から寄せられているか、そして子どもたちは孤独ではないのだよ、と伝えてあげたい) The Iranian government says it has proved the Americans have links to XXXXX Intelligence services. But their families claimed that three were hiking and accidentally strayed across the border from Iraq. (イラン政府はこの3名がアメリカ情報局と通じているのを突き止めたと語っているのに対し、子どもの家族たちは、ただ徒歩旅行して道に迷い、たまたまイランへ国境越えしたのだと主張しています。) Under Iran’s Islamic law, espionage can be punishable by death. (イランでのイスラム法ではスパイ罪は死刑の可能性があります) Laura Fattal, the mother of Josh is urging Iranian authorities to release the three. “We are hopeful. We are hopeful. We have no definitive information. But we feel that it is a wonderful time to do that. And it would show such goodwill on the part of the Iranians.” (ジョシュの母ローラさんは、 イラン当局に対し3名を釈放するよう催促しています。 「私たちは希望を持っています。確固たる情報は入手できませんが、こういった行動にでることは素晴らしいことだと思います。 イランの人々にも好意が伝わるでしょうし) The White House has called for the Americans’ immediate release.” (ホワイトハウスは米国人の即時解放を求めています。)
XXXX Reuters New York. (ロイターニューヨーク支局のXXXXがお送りしました。
I am actually here in Erie, Pennsylvania. And I’m at St.Vincent Health Center here. (私は今ペンシルベニア州エリエのセントビンセントヘルスセンターに来ています。Now you are not going to believe this, because all of the nurses here wrote to nominate her.(信じられない話ですがここの看護師が全員、彼女を指名するよう書いてきたのです。 Her name is Almaz Gebremedhin. And they call her “Little A”.(彼女の名はアルメズゲイブラメヒン。まわりのみんなはリトルA と呼んでいます。) She has no idea I’m here at all.(彼女は私がここに来たことをまだ知りません) As a matter of fact, she’s actually a cleaning lady here at the hospital.(彼女はここで掃除婦をしています。) And she started her shift at about five o’clock. (朝5時からのシフトで働いており)She’s cleaning in the lobby right now.(今ちょうどロビーをきれいにしています) She has no idea that I’m here. But wait till you hear her story.(彼女のストーリーについてはもう少し待ってください。) It’s gonna blow your mind.(ジーンとくるようなお話ですから) Let’s go try to find her OK? Hi. (さあ、彼女を探してみましょう) I’m looking for Little A. Little A is the one I’m looking for. How are you doing? How are you? Hi there. Morning. Are you little A? Excuse me. Are you little A? (すみません、あなたがリトルAさんですか?)You are live on Good Morning America. (「おはようアメリカ」の生中継です。Are you a little shocked over here my friend? (あれ、ちょっとショックを受けましたか?) Let me tell you something. You are the woman of the year. (ちょっと言わせてください。あなたは今年のウーマンオブザイヤーに選ばれました。)Your coworkers here, all the nurses upstairs in the maternity ward – they nominated you because you are just so amazing. And that’s why I’m here. (この上の階の産婦人科の看護師さんたちがみんなであなたを指名したのです、とてもすばらしい女性だから)So what are you gonna say? Come on honey. It’s OK? Al right.(しっかりしてください、大丈夫ですか?) OK I’ve got to show you this. Come here. I’ve got a surprise for you. (こちらへきてください。見せたいものがあります。)Come on with me for a second. I promise. Come with me for a second. I’ve got to show you this.(ちょっとでいいからこちらへ来てください。あなたに見せたいのです) It’s an amazing, amazing story.(おどろくようなストーリーを) You’re an amazing lady. I wanna show you something right here. Because my friend, Robin Roberts in New York, has got a little piece that we want to show you. (ニューヨークにいる私の同僚が、あなたの過去を素晴らしい作品にしあげたのです。Check this out.
In the thousands of submissions one story stands out like a shining bright light: an e-mail from the nurses of St. Vincent Health Center. (何千通もの応募の中で、ひときわ目立っていたストーリーがありました。セントビンセントセンターに居る看護師からのe-mailでした。
Where many lives begin, one story of motherhood touches people there every day.
たくさんの生命が生まれるこの場所で、ある母親のストーリーが多くの心を打っています。)Meet Almaz Gebremedhin. アルメズゲイブラメヒンさんを紹介しましょう。She’s a housekeeper on the maternity ward. “Little A.” they call her.(彼女はここ産婦人科の清掃婦、リトルAという愛称で呼ばれています)
“She’ll open up the door and she’ll go, Hi, girls. It’s Little A, and then we go, Oh, good.”
“She is everything, I mean. I would give anything to be ALMAZ.(アルメイズさんのようになれるんならなんでもあげちゃうわ、そのくらい彼女は私のすべてなんです。)
“When you talk to Almaz, you don’t realize what she’s been. She’s very upbeat,”
(いつも元気いっぱいいなんです、彼女と話をしてると過去のことなど誰も気づかないと思います。)
An Ethiopian refugee, she spent her childhood in Sudan. By the age of 15, she was in an arranged marriage and soon had five children. (エチオピア難民としてスーダンで幼少時代をすごした彼女。15歳で見合いをし、すぐに5人の子供が生まれます。
Then in 1993, with her husband, children and a young nephew, she came to America, to Pennsylvania. (それから1993年、夫と子供、それに甥を連れ、彼女はアメリカペンシルベニア州へ移住しました。 It was there that her husband left her — she was in a new country with six children all alone.そして夫が出てゆき、彼女は6人の子供を抱えたまま新しい国での生活を始めることとなります。)
“Once he left us, she was determined to succeed and not fail.” (父が出て行ったあと、お母さんはゼッタイに成功してやる、負けるもんかと心に決めました。)
From challenges to progress, Almaz stopped collecting public assistance and took three cleaning jobs, working more than sixteen hours a day. (挑戦から前進へ。アルメイズさんは生活保護受給をやめ、清掃婦の仕事を3つかけもち、1日16時間労働をこなすことにしました。)
In 2005, she and all her children became American citizens. (2005年には親子全員米国籍を取得)
“I’ve never seen her put herself first, ever, you’re wondering how a human being can do that.” (彼女が自分中心に考えたところなど見たことがありません。 人間があそこまでやれるものなのか、と思うでしょう。)
“No one knows her struggles. No one really knows what she really goes through.”
(お母さんが耐えてきた苦労はだれにもわからないでしょう。)The struggle is what the children remember most, like making ends meet. (苦労、それは子供たちが一番つよく覚えていることでした。例えばお金のやりくりなど)
“You can just tell, she looked stressed just because of the fact she had all these bills on the table and she still had all of us in the house.” (テーブルの上に請求書がいっぱい置いてあって、いらいらしているのがわかりました。)
“We all went out for breakfast to eat and she didn’t have enough money to pay for us, I ‘ve seen her kind of cry a little bit, you know. (ある日みんなで朝食を外で食べたことがありました。そのときお金が足りないのに気づいて少しだけ泣いたのを覚えています。)And to me, that’s one moment that I notice where she almost caved in. But from that day on, she never showed us that face ever again. (私にしてみれば、母が弱音をはいたのはこの時だけ。それ以降2度と同じ顔を私たちに見せませんでした。
“She taught us how to respect people. She taught us how to work hard. She taught us how to love unconditionally. She taught us how to give. She taught us never to quit and to follow your dream.” (他人を敬い、懸命に働き、無条件で人を愛し、与え、そして決してくじけず夢を追い続けなさい、と母は教えてくれました)
Just listen to what a mother can do. All of her children graduated at the top of their high school classes, and all going on to Pen State – and all on scholarship. (女手一つでここまでできるのでしょうか? 彼女の子供は全員高校を優秀な成績で卒業し、ペンシルベニア州立大学に奨学金で入ったのです。
“I don’t think Almaz understands what she really did with the accomplishments with her children.” . Her children say Almaz lives up to her name. It means “diamond” in her native language. (アルメイズさんは、自分が大きな偉業をなしたと思っていません。彼女の子たちはこう言います。「おかあさんはただ自分の名前に答えただけ。アルメイズという名前は母国語でダイヤモンドの意味なのですから」と)
“It’s a quietly shining diamond. That’s exactly what a mother is.” “She’s a rare jewel. She is the best mother any kid could ever ask for.” “She wanted us just to explore the world you know, and make our own choices basically.” (静かに輝くダイヤモンド、それが母なのです。珍しい宝石で、どんな子でも望むような母親像だと思います。世界を見て回りなさい。自分のことは自分で決めなさい、とか言います。
“Every day, I want to tell her that I love her and, Thank you for making me a better person. Thank you for making me the man that I am. You did it. It’s because of you.”
She’s not just inspiring her children. “She’s definitely somebody who has sacrificed for her children, and doesn’t seem to resent in any way.”この人は子供に感銘を与えただけじゃないわ。子どものために自己犠牲をしてきた人なの。どんな場合でも腹をたてないような。“There’s a strength in this woman, most of us never experienced.” (この人には強さがある。他の誰も経験しなかった強さが)
So this morning, good morning America. Emeril Lagasse, salute a mother and her American dream. We’ll end with the message to Almaz from her oldesy son.(おはようアメリカと司会者エメリルラガッシは、母親とアメリカンドリームに敬意を表し、最後に長男からのメッセージをお送りして終わりたいと思います。
I love you so much. You mean the world to me. And if I can give the world, I would.
It was early this year that I learned of a female Asahikawa resident who got full score in TOEIC
Boy, what sort of a woman is she? I wondered to myself. How could she get full score of 990 in the test where 900 is regarded as an advanced learner?
Isn’t she a hermit, weird , or eccentric?
My growing interest in her led me to search more about her online.
1. Name: Akemi Nozuki,
2.Online nickname : Monto
3. Occupation : teaching at university and a technological college as well as tutoring privately.
4.Career : graduated from Monterey graduate school California U.S.A.
5. Others : She’s a steady contributor to the promotion of language education as is shown in her enthusiastic activity with some non-profit organizations as well as in her own blog.
These are the details and general impressions about her as a result of searching.
The other day I ventured to ask her for an interview and she kindly accepted.
The minutes of the interview are as follows. I hope you’ll like them.
(Nomura) Miss Nozuki, I thank you very much for your comments to my blog which is far less interesting than yours.
First of all, let me ask you about TOEIC test. To all appearances, getting a full score is far beyond common sense.
How did you build up your skills of reading and listening?
(monto) It was really a surprise for me.
I was told later that low scorers did better than high scorers for a specific question in the test, so it was regarded as inappropriate and got removed from scoring.
So I did not answer the whole questions correctly.
(Nomura) But full score is a full score.
(monto) Thanks a lot. (lol) Well,
A proverb goes “What one likes, one will do best.”
I’d say the reason for my best record is simply a result of my hard working. English language has done me so much – information, friends, experiences – things I couldn’t have enjoyed in my own cultural background.
(Nomura) So these two elements – like and enjoy – were your driving forces.
(monto) After all, TOEIC score is just a yardstick by which people can judge your skills in reading and listening only. It doesn’t ensure your all round performance.
Another reason for my full score is that I’ve been good at grammar ever since I was small. I remember I was a strange elementary school girl , because I loved Japanese grammar most. (lol)
(Nomura) That brings me to the next topic. Some of my students were saying like “I love English. I want to be able to speak fluently. And I’ve tried hard to memorize new words and phrases. Still I’m unable to use them the way I want. Now what sort of advice would you give to those people?
(Monto) I’d say to them they’ve got to create more chances to practice their new words and phrases. As long as you are in Japan, you can’t sit and wait for those opportunities to come. Don’t wait. You gotta create.
(Nomura) I couldn’t agree with you more. But when you respond that way, they’ll surely come back and say, “How can I do it when I have no one to practice with?”
(Monto) They may be right. But the professional teachers such as the ones on TV or radio programs say they were taking advantage of every minute, irrespective of whether with a partner or not, to practice their language skills – for instance, trying to explain everything that catch their eyes as they walked along the street. This story was quite impressive for me. All of these efforts added up to meaningful results – leading those people to what they are today.
(Nomura) Even when you are all alone, you can do something to make a progress.
(monto) I know it may sound easier said than done, though.
(monto) 言うは易し、・・・ではありますが。余談ですが、生徒さんからよく、どうやって単語やイディオムを覚えるのですか?ときかれることがあります。先日、こんな方法はどうだろう?と思ったものがあるので、この場を借りてご紹介させてください。たとえば、You took the words right out of my mouth.(私の口からその言葉をとった→私も今言おうとしていた)これを覚えようと思ったんです。それで、これはどんな場面なら使えるだろう?とまず考えました。そして、出来るだけ具体的に場面設定してみたんです。アメリカ人と二人でショッピングに来ている。そして、少し疲れてきた。ちょっとお茶でも飲まない?って提案してみようかなと思っていた。ちょうど、その時、相手がWhy don’t we have a cup of coffee somewhere around?と言ってきた。「今だ!これを使え!」You took the words right out of my mouth!
このシミュレーションは効果があり、今でも、すぐに口をついて出てくるようになりました。
(野) あ、それぼくも昔やったことありますよ。
(monto) え、どんなふうにですか?
(野) たしか映画のなかのフレーズだったと思います。 With respect (相手の名)、 that’s not the answer I’m expecting to hear from you. (お言葉ですがね○○さん、私が聞きたい答えはそんなんじゃないんです。)
かっこいいセリフだなあ、いつか使ってみたいなあって思いましてね。
(monto) それで?
(野)ある商談の時、アメリカ人の取引相手に言ってみました。マーロンブランド風に。
(monto) 相手の反応はどうでした?
(野) むっとした表情で、Then, what do you want me to say? じゃあなんて言えばいいのですか? と。
It sounds like a joke, but it’s not. (冗談のように聞こえますがそうではありません)
How do you get a two hundred pound bear out of a tree?(体重200ポンド(約100キロ)のクマを木からどうやって下ろすでしょう?)
The answer, very carefully. (答えは、注意深くです)That’s right.
It took firefighters hours to lower the bear with tranquilizer darts, harness and a ladder truck (催眠剤入りの矢、固定具、はしご車をつかい、消防隊員がこのクマを下ろすのに数時間もかかりました) **** and has more of this video. Adrian.
Yeah. Something to see. That’s for sure. (これは見ごたえありますよ、確かに)
We’ve all heard of cats getting stuck in trees, but a bear? (木の上で立ち往生するネコ、なら聞いたことはありますがクマとは・・・)
That’s exactly what happened in Oxnard today, as you are about to see the video.(これが本日オクスナードで起こった事件です。早速ビデオをみてみましょう) It’s pretty wild. (大変に野性的です)
Picture will be coming. (映像入ります。⇒ADの声ですねきっと)
You could call it an unbearable position. ((寝るには)耐えられない場所、といえます。⇒注 ここでunbearableという語を用いているのは真ん中にbearという言葉がふくまれているのでダジャレをねらっているため、とおもわれる)
But this two hundred pound black bear looked right at home as he slept wedged in a tree in this Oxnard Cemetery. (ですが、ここオクスナード共同墓地の木の上で、V字型になって寝ているクマはくつろいで見えます)
The Fish and Game officials peppered the bear with tranquilizers after it climbed up this tree to take a nap. (クマが上に登って昼寝を始めたのち、Fish and Game (野生動物などを保護する官庁組織)の職員らが催眠剤入りの矢をクマに向かって捲きました)。
The darts were supposed to make him fall to the ground. (矢を使えばクマは下に落ちるはずだったのですが)
But he got tangled in the branches instead. (そのかわり、枝々の中にからまってしまいました)
Police say he was initially spotted near fire station, then up a tree in the condo complex, and then started prowling the neighborhood near the cemetery around 2 a.m. (警察の話によると、このクマはまず消防署近くで発見され、続いてマンション敷地内の木の上に登っているところを目撃されました。そして午前2時ごろ共同墓地付近をうろつき出したのです)
The big guy eventually went over the cemetery wall and at dawn he could see three tranquilizer darts poking from his fur.(それからとうとう墓地の壁を超え、中へ侵入、明け方に3発の睡眠剤入りダート(矢)が撃ち込まれました。)
After several hours, fire fighters brought in a massive harness and a ladder truck and crews carefully lifted the sleepy sluggish bear from the branches with his head hanging and arms and legs dangling. (それから数時間後、消防隊員が大型のハーネス(固定具)とはしご車を手配、そして慎重にクマを持ちあげました。頭や手足をだらりとさせて。
All before being safely loaded into the back of a truck. まもなくトラックの後ろへ積み込まれました。
And officials have taken the bear to a nearby facility to look **** before releasing him back to the wild. (その後クマは、官庁職員によって近くの施設へ移動、もとの野生の場所へ戻す前に***をします。 ⇒注 この部分聴き取れなかったなあ、おそらく「検査」に類する単語だとはおもうのですが)
And I guess that is supposed to show you that when you’ve got to take a nap when you are tired, tree works. (この事件でひとつわかったわね。疲れて昼寝をしたいときは木の上がいいってこと。)
Why not. Regardless of where it is. (そのとおりね、どこにあろうと寝られるものね)
But I would imagine that is a costly operation to get this guy down. (だけれどこのクマを下ろす作業にどれだけかかったのかしら)
First of all, looking at the video・・・ how large he is, but really tied up a lot of resources as well. (うーん、意味わからんなあ。このresourcesには国の資源という意味があるそうなので、警察や消防など多くの国家機関を拘束させた、という意味ではないかと思います)
Absolutely Fish and Game officials down there as well as fire fighters took more than two hours just to figure out how to get the bear out of there safely. (クマをどうやって安全に運び出すかを考えるだけで2時間以上もかかったのですから。)
But yes we certainly tied up a lot of resources and we have no idea exactly how much it cost, but certainly time consuming. (確かに多くの機関を巻き添えにしました。金銭的にどれだけ費用がかさんだのか見当付きません。時間が多くかかったことは確かですが)
You’ve got to take a nap at grandmother’s house and get on the bed, not on a tree like that.(まあ、寝るんだったらおばあちゃんの家にでも行ってベッドで寝るのがいいですよ、あんなふうに木の上で寝ちゃあダメ。
No I would not give you false hope
On this strange and mournful day
But the mother and child reu-nion
Is only a motion away, oh, little darling of mine.
I can’t for the life of me
Remember a sadder day
I know they say let it be
But it just don’t work out that way
And the course of a lifetime runs
Over and over again
No I would not give you false hope
On this strange and mournful day
But the mother and child reu-nion
Is only a motion away, oh, little darling of mine.
I just can’t believe it’s so,
and though it seems strange to say
I never been laid so low
In such a mysterious way
And the course of a lifetime runs
Over and over again
But I would not give you false hope
On this strange and mournful day
When the mother and child reu-nion
Is only a motion away,
Oh, oh the mother and child reunion
Is only a motion away
Oh the mother and child reu-nion
Is only a moment away