外国でも平和を話し合うために

アダム・ベック

米国イリノイ州出身。ニューヨークの大学と、サンフランシスコの大学院で演劇を勉強。大学院生のときに「ピースコール」というボランティアとして、ヨーロッパのチェコで英語の先生をした。広島市東区在住。

English Challenge

前回の課題（広島や他都市で路面電車に乗ったことはありますか。印象や思い出を教えてください）には、多くの人が広島の路面電車について書いていました。広島市西区のKantaさんは入学式や卒業式など人生の節目とのつながりが深いと感じています。南区のBig Brotherさんは子どものころ電車内で、母親に高齢者に席を譲る大切さを教わった、とのこと。呉市のMackeyさんはノルウェーの路面電車に乗ったことがあるそうですよ！

さて、１０月になると涼しくなるとともに、「ひろしま国」１００号がやって来ます。「英語に挑戦」も１００回を迎えるのを前に、これまでを振り返ってみましょう。２００７年１月のスタート以来、五つの形式でやってきました。最初は、広島や原爆について短い文章を英訳する課題でした。続いて、広島から米国に留学中の少女がホストファミリーとの会話を英訳するもの、ヒロシマに関するクイズ、ヒロシマに関する短文についての質問、そして今の「ひろしま国」の特集を基にしたエッセー募集です。これらはいずれもホームページで見ることができます。

今回の課題へジャンプ

　　前回の日本語訳

Do you ever ride the streetcars in Hiroshima or in another city? What are your feelings or memories about riding a streetcar?

広島や他都市で路面電車に乗ったことはありますか。印象や思い出を教えてください

I enjoy riding the streetcars in Hiroshima. In fact, I used to live along a streetcar line so I rode them almost every day. I wish I still lived along a streetcar line! Many years ago, I lived in San Francisco. San Francisco, as you probably know, is famous for a special kind of streetcar called a "cable car." When I first moved to San Francisco, after graduating from college in New York, I found a job at an art gallery on the bay. To get there from my apartment, I would take a cable car. I didn't like the job very much, but I loved commuting by cable car! I especially enjoyed going down the big, steep hill which went down to the water. It was exciting (but a little scary!) and the view of San Francisco bay was beautiful. If you ever have a chance to visit San Francisco, I recommend a ride on a cable car!

私は、広島の路面電車に乗るのが楽しみです。以前は路面電車沿いに住んでいたので、ほぼ毎日利用していました。今も路面電車沿いに住めればいいのに！何年も前、私はサンフランシスコに住んでいました。ご存じの通り、サンフランシスコは「ケーブルカー」と呼ばれる路面電車が有名です。ニューヨークの大学を卒業後、初めてサンフランシスコに引っ越した時、湾岸沿いのギャラリーで働き始めました。アパートから通うのにケーブルカーを使いました。仕事そのものはあまり好きでなかったのですが、ケーブルカーで通勤するのが大好きでした！特に、海に向かって、大きくて急な丘を降りるのが楽しかったです。わくわく（少し怖かったですが）するし、サンフランシスコ湾がきれいに見えました。もしサンフランシスコに行く機会があれば、ぜひ乗ってみてください！

ベックさんのコメント

Mackey :	I've never been to Norway and I'd love to visit there! (In fact, my mother's parents are from Finland so I've always wanted to go to that part of the world. My grandfather's name was Gustav, too!) Anyway, it sounds like Vigeland Sculpture Park is a place I'd like to see one day. And I'll take a streetcar to get there! As for your essay, it was clearly written. Just one piece of advice: When you talk about going somewhere, it's better to say "My trip..." instead of "My travel..."
Kanta :	I enjoyed your essay. I agree with your feeling that the streetcars in Hiroshima are often connected to memories in people's lives. In my own life, I can vividly recall certain times that I was riding the streetcar... In your essay, you wrote: "There was a streetcar in Kure, but in 1976 it took off (?)." I understand why finding the right word was difficult, because I recently was working on an article about streetcars and had trouble with the same kind of sentence. In this case, one suitable word is "discontinue" ("it was discontinued").
Big Brother :	It sounds like your mother taught you well. I'm sure you'll hand down the same good manners to your own son. Your writing was strong, with only minor errors. For example, instead of "the downtown of Hiroshima," it's more natural to simply say "downtown Hiroshima." Thanks for your essay! Enjoy riding the streetcar with your son!
SOS :	You wrote another interesting and well-written essay. In fact, until I read the feature article about Hiroshima streetcars in Hiroshima Koku, and your essay, I hadn't clearly realized how special the streetcars in Hiroshima really are! As I mentioned in my own essay, I wish that I lived closer to a streetcar line so I could ride them more often! With regard to your writing, here are just a couple of small things: instead of "adventures spirit," try "adventurous spirit"; and instead of "environment friendly," try "environmentally-friendly" or "eco-friendly."

今回の課題は、「英語に挑戦」を振り返るとともに、今後への期待を聞きたいと思います。「これまでの英語に挑戦で最も役に立った、面白かった形式はどれですか。これからどんな形式でやってみたいですか。理由も教えてください」です。あなたの意見が、ここのコーナーで生かされるかもしれません。難しく考えなくてもいいので、気軽に送ってください。

What formats for English Challenge have been most useful or interesting to you so far? Why? What kind of format would you like to see in the future? Why?

The other day an old friend from the Czech Republic visited Hiroshima. (I was an English teacher in the Czech Republic many years ago.) When I took him to Peace Park, and Peace Memorial Museum, I was surprised at how much information I could share with him about Hiroshima and the atomic bombing. I'm certainly not an expert, but I have learned a lot about Hiroshima over the years. And one reason I have this knowledge is from writing English Challenge! So, for me, all the English Challenge formats have been useful and interesting because they help me learn about Hiroshima! As for the future, if the current format is changed to something new, I would like that new format to be useful and interesting for readers and also motivate more people to actively participate in English Challenge. Any ideas? Please let me know!

＜Vocabulary＞
the Czech Republic＝チェコ共和国　 certainly not＝とんでもない
knowledge＝知識　 as for＝～に関して　 motivate＝やる気にさせる
participate＝参加する

　※締め切りは１０月２日必着です。

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