Teacher’s collegeで学ぶ英語 (Week 9)

来週はThanksgiving Holiday Weekということで、授業が一週間休みになります。

Lesson 22 (November 16)

発音練習 – /f/ and /v/ を区別する練習をしました。発音練習は、授業内の生徒の発言の様子を見た先生が気になる場合に行われます。

I wish…の文の復習 – 前週も行ったI wishの文の作り方について、Test 3を振り返りつつ多かった間違いについて解説をしてもらいました。内容はWeek7, 8の記事で書いたものに近く、改めて確認をしました。

「紙の本は消えるか？」– 2つの記事が紹介され (こちらのBBCの記事とこちらのエッセイ)、電子書籍の台頭と紙の本の販売数の減少について意見をまとめていきました。新しく学んだ英語表現があったので書いておきます。

Journalists and fellow writers berated and condemned him; (criticized angrily)
E-books would spike in popularity once they became as easy and enjoyable to read as printed books. (a sudden large increase in the number or rate of something)
Although printed books remain the most popular means of reading, over the past decade e-books have made a valiant effort at catching up. (very brave, especially in a difficult situation)
In 2007, with Amazon’s release of the Kindle, that attitude abruptly changed. Almost immediately, the device began causing palpitations in the publishing industry. (if you have palpitations, your heart beats quickly in an irregular way)
Amazon had the clout to go to publishers and say, ‘This is serious. We want your books,’ (power or the authority to influence other people’s decisions)
Sales of e-books, which constitute about 20% of the book-buying market, have plateaued. (if something plateaus, it reaches and then stays at a particular level)
Pew’s newest data, collected in March and April this year, also corroborates the fact that e-book readership has steadied over the past year. (to provide information that supports or helps to prove someone else’s statement, idea etc)
“[The publishing] guys are all sort of breathing a sigh of relief, saying ‘Whew, half our market doesn’t like reading on screens,’” Stein says. “The problem is that they’re reading the tea leaves incorrectly.” (the art of identifying symbols and interpreting messages found in the shapes and configurations of tea leaves.)

reading the tea leavesって何のことだ？と思ったら、お茶の葉で行う占い (Tasseography) のことだったんですね。ここでは、茶葉を読む＝先を見通すという意味で用いられているようです。

Lesson 23 (November 18)

仮定の文を作る – いくつか場面が設定され、If only… / I wish… / I’d sooner… / X behaves as though… / It is time I… / I’d rather… を用いて文を作りました。

【Set 1: You have recently started a new job and you are incredibly upset with every aspect of your new post: the work you do is boring, your boss is a borderline psychopath*, and your colleagues are a bunch of two-faced, brown-nosing morons. 新しい仕事を始めたが、仕事内容が退屈であるうえ、上司や同僚に問題を感じている状況】

If only my boss were in a different department!
I wish my colleagues would stop flattering our boss.
I’d sooner changed my position to leave my current boss and colleagues.
My boss behaves as though he were an arrogant king.
It is time I negotiated my annoying situation with HR.
I’d rather my job were something different.

【Set 2: You are 16 years old and live with your parents. They control your life and don’t let you spread your teenage wings. 自分は16歳で、両親が自分の生活を支配していることに苦痛を感じている状況】

If only my parents made me free!
I wish my mother allowed me to hang out with my friends in the evening.
I’d sooner started living alone.
My dad behaves as though only he could make a decision about my life.
It is time I could insist on doing everything in my own way.
I’d rather my life were independent of my parents.

Cultural Exchange – 3人の会話(リスニング音源)を聞き、それぞれの人物が外国で経験した困りごとや、新しい環境に適応していく過程についてまとめました。キーフレーズは以下の7つ。

speak our minds / assertive / make a good impression / dry (sense of humor) / dramatically / overwhelmed / living in a bubble

2人目の話し手がスペインについて、夕食が夜の11時で困った！と訴えていたので、クラスメイトのスペイン人に実際にそうなのかと聞いたら、食べる時間は本当に遅いそうです。夕食は10時-11時頃に食べる習慣だそうで、昼食は3時なんだとか。未だにお昼ご飯を12時ごろに食べるのに違和感があると言っていました。

Lesson 24 (November 20)

旅行で経験したmemorableな思い出について話す – 最終テストについて発表があり、自分の故郷やゆかりの地を題材に、旅行ガイドになったつもりでプレゼンをすることになりました。そのため、その前段階として過去の旅行の思い出や面白かったことについて、ペアを組み話し合いました。

Final Presentation – Be the best travel advisor! がお題となり、10－15分のプレゼンを再来週に全員が行うことになりました。含める内容としては、以下の3項目

Anticipate problems that travelers may face.
Offer advice on how to do some preparation before the trip.
Share a must-visit/must-eat/must-buy etc. list

について触れながら、sub-topic2つあるいは3つ（このうち、1つは必ずLanguageについて扱う) を取り上げるようにとのことでした。スライドも各自で準備します。

現在完了と現在完了進行形 – 全員が既に知っている内容ですが、完璧に理解することを目標に先生が解説をしてくれました。

【ルール1】The present perfect continuous can be used to emphasize the length of time that has passed. The present perfect simple is generally neutral（現在完了進行形は、経過した時間の長さを強調するために使われる。現在完了形は中立の立場にある):

They‘ve been waiting for hours! (This emphasizes the length of time).

They‘ve waited for hours. (This doesn’t emphasize the length of time).

【ルール2】On the other hand, the present perfect simple is often used when we’re talking about how much or how many. This isn’t possible with the present perfect continuous (量や数について話すときは現在完了形が使われ、現在完了進行形は使われない):

She‘s drunk three cups of coffee this morning.
She‘s drunk at least a litre of coffee today.

(NOT: she’s been drinking three cups of coffee this morning).

【ルール3】The present perfect continuous often focuses on the action itself, while the present perfect simple focuses on the fact that the action is completed (現在完了進行形は行動に焦点を当てるが、現在完了形はその行動が完了したという事実に焦点を当てる):

I‘ve been reading the book you recommended. (I’m enjoying it, but I’m not finished).
I‘ve read the book you recommended. (I’ve finished it, so we can talk about it).

We use ‘yet’ and ‘already’ with the present perfect simple:

Have you read the book yet?
She’s finished her work already.

This difference is often used to talk about different kinds of results in the present. The present perfect simple is used when the action is finished, and the result comes from the action being finished (現在完了形は、ある行動が終わろうとしているときに生じる結果について述べるときに使える):

I‘ve eaten dinner, so let’s go out.
She‘s done all her homework, so she can relax this evening.
I‘ve made a cake. Would you like some?

The present perfect continuous is used when the result comes from the action itself. It doesn’t matter if the whole action is finished or not. The result is often something we can see, hear, smell, or feel (現在完了進行形は、ある行動の最中に生じる結果について述べるときに使える):