2014-11-12

Topic for the Next Class -- More Hobbies? or Movies That We Like?

Well, I thought people might want to continue talking about hobbies and things we like.

But I also thought some might like to focus on Movies.

Other suggestions are of course also welcome, as always.

2014-11-09

Yet Another Version of Click-Scratch Mountain

(This is my westernized interpretation of the classic Japanese fairy tale/legend of revenge against a crop-destroying racoon-dog. I've mixed several versions with which I am familiar, and chosen a somewhat western-style ending.)

(Audio here. 音声はここです。)

A long, long time ago on Mount Tenjou, which is a little south of Edo and west of Mount Fuji, an old man lived with his wife.

They worked hard together, to make enough food to eat. But they had a problem.

A tanuki lived nearby.

Tanukis are like dogs, but with faces like raccoons. They are cute, but mischievous.

This tanuki was not just mischievous, he was mean.

The old man would go out every day to work in his fields and garden, and every day the tanuki would come to play.

First, he would stand on a tree stump and taunt the old man. The old man didn't mind that so much.

Then he would jump off the stump and run around the old man's gardens and fields, making a mess of things.

He would dig up the vegetables, steal the best daikon radishes and satsuma-imo
sweet potatoes, and leave the rest to wither in the soil.

A rabbit who lived nearby tried to talk the tanuki into being nice to the old man.
If you destroy all the old man's food, both he and his wife will die of hunger.
But the tanuki just laughed.
Silly, stupid old man. Be nice? Why bother?
Finally, the old man had had enough. One morning, he set a trap for the tanuki.

He hung a cage over the stump where the tanuki would stand and taunt him.

Then he mixed up some thick rice glue and spread it on the stump.

When the tanuki came, the old man scolded him.
You are rude. And you steal my food. And you destroy what you don't take.

You shouldn't be so bad.
The tanuki pretended to be insulted.
Me, bad? You're just a stupid old man! Stupid gets what stupid deserves!
And the tanuki tried to jump off the stump to run through the garden again.

But he was stuck in the glue.

While he struggled to get loose, the old man dropped the cage on him.

Now the tanuki was sorry.
Let me go! I promise I'll be good! I'll quit messing up your garden!
He cried and whimpered, but the old man tied him up and took him back to the house.

He showed the tanuki to his wife and said,
Now we shall have a treat for our stew tonight.
This made the tanuki really scared.

The old man hung the tanuki up by his feet from a rafter, and then went back to his fields.

The old woman happily started making millet dumplings.

The tanuki thought miserably about ways to escape.

He started whimpering and crying. But the old woman didn't pay any attention.

Then she started pounding rice to make mochi. It was hard work.

When she stopped to rest, the tanuki called to her and said,

That's hard work. You need a rest. If you untie me, I'll pound the mochi for you.
The old woman was tired, and without thinking, said,

Oh, that would be such a big help.
and untied the tanuki.

Now, most tanukis would have just run away, but this tanuki was really mean.

He took the mallet and, instead of pounding rice, hit the old woman over the head with it.

Then he stole the millet dumplings and ran away.

He ran past where the old man was working and stopped and shouted,
Hey, stupid old man! Your stupid wife untied me. So I killed her.
The old man screamed in panic and ran back to the house.

And then the tanuki stole more daikons and satsuma-imos and ran away.

When the old man got to the house, his wife was lying on the dirt floor, moaning in pain.

His neighbor, the rabbit, heard his screams and came running, too.

Together, they took care of her wounds and put her to bed.

When they had made sure that she would be okay, the rabbit said,
This time he has gone too far. He might actually have killed her. You take care of your wife, and I'll take care of that tanuki.
The old man thanked the rabbit and turned his attention to his wife.

The rabbit thought about how to stop the tanuki, and made some plans.

The next day he visited the tanuki, as if nothing had happened, and said,
You know, there is lots of kindling wood and grass on the mountain. If we go gather it, we can sell it in the village.
Making money sounded good to the tanuki, so he agreed to go gather grass and kindling with the rabbit the next day.

But he got up early, and went before the rabbit, and gathered all the good kindling wood and grass.

When the rabbit arrived, the tanuki was carrying it all back down, tied on his back. He said,
Sorry, there's no more good wood or grass.
And the rabbit said, 
Oh, well, I guess I'll head back down, too, then.
The rabbit walked behind and, while they talked, struck flint against a blade.
Click. Scratch.
The tanuki was surprised.
What's that click-scratch sound?
And the rabbit answered.
Well, you know, they call this mountain, "Click-Scratch Mountain."
The tanuki didn't know any such thing, but he was embarrassed to admit it.
Oh, yeah. That's right.
And the rabbit continued,
It's for the call of the click-scratch birds that live on this mountain.
After they had walked a little further, some sparks from the flint had taken hold in the grass in the tanuki's bundle.
Crackle. Pop.
Again, the tanuki was surprised.
Did you hear crackling and popping?
And the rabbit answered.
Well, you know, they also call this mountain, "Crackle-Pop Mountain," for the call of the crackle-pop birds that also live here.
The tanuki didn't know whether to believe this, but, before he could ask more questions, he felt the heat on his back.
Oow! Ooh! Hot! Hot! Ouch! Owwwwww!
And he ran all the way down the mountain, which only fanned the flames and made the fire burn hotter.

By the time he reached the river and jumped in, he was very badly burnt.

The rabbit followed behind. He called from the bank,
Are you hurt? I'm sorry I couldn't keep the crackle-pop birds out of your wood.
The tanuki crawled back to the bank, and the rabbit helped him back home.

He had a suggestion.
I have some salve that should help that burn.
And the tanuki said,
Oh, thank you.
But what the rabbit had prepared was a paste of cayenne pepper and salt.

On his way to get the paste, he stopped by the old couple's house.
How is she doing?
The old man said,
She's feeling better today. I think she'll be okay, if I don't have to keep that tanuki out of our food.
So the rabbit told him,
I don't think you'll have to worry about him for a while.
And he explained how the tanuki was going to need time to heal from his burns.
Oh, dear.
said the old woman from her bedroll.
You could have died.
the rabbit said.

The old woman answered,
But we were going to eat him. Don't hurt him any more, please.
So the old man took some real salve and visited the tanuki with the rabbit.

When the tanuki saw the old man, he got scared. But he couldn't move.
Hello.
Uhm. Hello. I'm sorry I hurt your wife.
She's feeling better today. Maybe she'll be okay. You're hurt.
The tanuki thought for a moment and then said,
I'm sorry I stole your vegetables and destroyed your garden.
Are you, now? Well, we have some salve that should help your burns.
The tanuki didn't know what to think.

The old man continued as he dressed the tanuki's burns.
If I don't have to keep you out of my vegetables for a few weeks, I should be able to nurse her back to health.
And the tanuki said,
You won't have to worry about me any more.
So the rabbit took care of the tanuki, and the old man took care of his wife.

After a while, when everyone was healthy, they all got together for some soy bean soup.

Then they became friends.

And the tanuki started helping the old man with his gardens and crops instead of destroying them.

And the old man and woman shared their vegetables with their friends, the rabbit and the tanuki.

And the tanuki was no longer mean. He was still mischievous, but he was no longer mean.


2014-11-03

October 27th Vocabulary And Phrases -- 単語および表現

We talked about hobbies and favorite things.
[趣味や大好きなものについて話しました。]
hobby (・ビー)
趣味、お稽古
favorite (フェー・ヴォ・リット)
一番お気に入り、大好き
[Examples below may or may not have come up in the lesson.
以下はレッスンからの例文とそうでもない例文が混在しています。]


[趣味を聞きましょう。]
[途中のままです。]

**********************
What are your hobbies?

May I ask, what kind of hobbies do you have?
[ご趣味(の種類)について聞いてもいいですか?]

What do you like to do in your spare time?
[暇の時、どんなことをやるのが好きですか?(つまり、どんなことやりますか?)]
spare time
自由に過ごせる時間、暇ある時
What's your favorite thing to do?
[どんなのをやるのが一番好きですか?]

** 例えば
spring (スプリング)
バネ、泉、春、跳ねる、湧き出る
movie (ムー・ヴィー)
映画、動画 ( "move" + "-y"、「動きそうなもの」)

********************
[趣味を言いましょう]

I like to go to (the) hot springs.
[温泉に行くのが好きです。]

I like to watch movies. [映画を見るのが好きです。]
I like watching movies. [映画を見ている状が面白いです。]
I like to go to the movies. [映画に行くのが好きです。]
I like going to the movies. [映画に行ったりするのが好きです。]

I like to golf. [ゴルフをやるのが好きです。]
I like golfing. [ゴルフしている状態が面白いです。]
I like to go golfing. [ゴルフしに行くのが好きです。]
I like going golfing. [ゴルフに行ったりするのが好きです。]

I like to cook. [お料理するのが好きです。]
I like cooking. [お料理の状態が面白いです。]
I like to cook okonomiyaki. [お好み焼きをお料理するのが好きです。]

I like to bake cookies and cakes. [クッキーやケーキを焼くのが好きです。]
I like baking.  [焼いている状態が面白いです。]

I like to run. [マラソンすること]
I like running.
I like to listen to music. [音楽を聴くこと]
I like listening to music.
I like to take naps. [昼寝・一眠りすること]
I like taking a nap.

I like fashion. [ファッションが好きです。]
I like making fashionable clothes.
[ファッショナブルな衣服を作るのが好きです。]
make
作る、作り上げる
fashionable
ファッショナブルな、お流行りの
I like books and music. [本と音楽が好きです。]
I like reading books and listening to music.
[本を読んだりすることも、音楽を聞いたりすることも好きです。]

I like cars and movies. [車も映画もすきです。]
I like driving cars and watching movies, but not at the same time.
[車を運転するのも映画を見るのもすきですが、同時にするのではありません。]

I like popular culture.
[流行している文化てきなものが面白いです。]

My favorite thing to do is write computer programs.
[やるのに一番台好きなのはコンピュータプログラムを作ることです。]

My favorite thing is to make clothes.
[「make clothes」の代わりに「sew」でも「sew clothes」と言ってもかまいません。]

My favorite thing is to lie on the grass and watch the clouds go by.
[芝生に横になって雲が流れていくのを眺めるのが大好きです。]

My favorite clothes are all natural cotton.
[私のお気に入りの服はすべて天然綿でできています。]
natural
自然の、天然の、自然のままの
clothes, clothing
服、衣類
[同音異字:clothes (服), close (閉める) →クローズ]
[同音ではない:clothing (服), closing (閉めている最中の状態)]
[同音ではない:close→クローズ (閉める), close→クロース (近い)]

I like to make my own clothes.
[自分の服を作るのが好きです。]
~ own A
自分自身の A
my own A
私自身の A
your own A
あなた自身の A
I like to get into a hot bath.
I like to soak in a hot bath.
[入浴が好きです。(お湯の場合)]
[現在の英語では、「bath」と「tub」を自由に置き換えるのが多い。] 
soak
浸す、浸かる
bath
入浴、浴びる事とその施設、浴場
tub
おけ、お風呂、お風呂すること
bathtub
浴槽
hot springs
温泉
take a bath
体を洗うために入浴する
I don't like mosquitoes. Mosquito bites itch.
[蚊は好きではない。刺されたところが痒い。]
mosquito (モ・スキー・ト)
mosquito bite (モ・スキー・ト バイト)
蚊に刺されたところ及び刺されること

****************************
[詳しいことを聞きましょう。]

Let's find out more.

Do you like movies?
[映画が好きですか?]

What's your favorite movie?
[第一のお気に入りの映画はなんですか?]

What's your son's favorite movie?
[相手の息子の好みを聞く文です。]

[いきなり「Who do you like?」と聞かれたら、どいう誰かがわからないのです。]

Do you like listening to music?
[音楽を聞くのが好きですか?]

Who's your favorite singer?
[大好きな歌手はだれですか?]

Does your daughter like music?
[お娘さんは音楽が好きですか?]

Who's her favorite singer?
[彼女の一番お気に入りの歌手はどなたですか?]

Do you like reading books?
本を読むのがお好きですか?

Who is your favorite author? [作家、著作者]

Does your teacher like books?
[あなたの先生は本が好きですか>」]

Who is your teacher's favorite author?

What singers do you like these days?
[今のお気に入りの歌手はどなたですか?]

What authors do you read?
[誰の本をよく読みますか?]

Where's your favorite place to visit?
Were do you like to go?
[よく行くところはどこですか?(大好きと好きの違い。)]

What kind of cakes do you like?
[好きなケーキの種類が好きですか。]

What kind of cakes do you like to bake?
[どんなケーキの種類を焼くのが好きですか?]

**************************
[人のことを言いましょう。]

Talking about other people.

[息子娘の大好きな映画を言いあげましょう:]

My son's favorite movie is Frozen.

My daughter's favorite movies are the Harry Potter series movies.
series (セィ・リーズ)
連続の映画など(「列挙」の意味)
My mother likes to sew clothes. [服を縫うこと]

I have many clothes that my mother made.
[お母さんが作ってくれた服を沢山持っています。]
have A
A を持つ、 A が有る
many
多くの(一個一個で数をとる物に対して)
much
沢山の(量で測る物に対して)
My sister likes to look for cloth to make clothes with.
[姉は服を縫うための生地を見るのが趣味です。]
cloth (klアth〜"cloth" の最後の "th" は濁っていません。)
布地(生地)
My uncle likes to wear Hawaiian shirts.
wear (過去: wore, 過去分詞: worn)  
着る、身に着いたままにする
put A on B (過去: put, 過去分詞: put)
AB に取り付ける
put {clothes} on, put on {clothes}
{clothes} を着る、{clothes} を身に着ける
[つまり、]

I put my favorite shirt on this morning.
[今朝、大気に入りのシャツを身に着けた。(今でも着ている確率が多い。)]

I wore my favorite short this morning.
[今朝、大気に入りのシャツを着た。(今は違うシャツを着ているかも知れません。)]


******************************
[趣味の関連の話をしましょう。]

Talking about hobbies and interests.

[「この映画は本間に長すぎる」と言いましょう。]

This movie's just too long.
[この場合、 "movie's" は "movie is" の省略です。]
just (ジャスト)
只々、ただ単に、ちょうど
The Incedible Hulk is a movie about a famous comic book superhero, Hulk.
famous (フェー・マス)
有名な
comic book
漫画(アメリア風)
superhero
超英雄

I make a lot of the clothes for my family.
I make many of my family's clothes.
[家族の服を結構多く作っています。]
lot
(同一の様式の物の)区切りの分、分け前
a lot of A, lots of A
A の沢山
Do you use nuts in your cookies and cakes?
[クッキーやケーキ(を作るとき)に、ナッツ類を使いますか?]

Adding nuts to my cookies and cakes makes them more nutritious.
[ナッツ類をクッキーやケーキに入れると栄養を向上する。("make"には「状態を作り出す」意味もあります。)]
add
追加する(料理の場合は「入れる」と考えていいです。)
make A
A の状態を作り出す、A になるようにする(A にさせる)
nutritious
栄養になる、滋養分の多い、栄養たっぷり
make nutritious
栄養にする、滋養分を付け加える
nutritive
栄養上の
nutrient
栄養素、栄養分
nutrition
栄養、栄養学
These donuts are good! [このドーナッツ、おいしい!]

I make them myself. [自作です。]

You put chopped walnuts in your donuts. [クルミを入れています、ね。]

It adds to the nutritional value. [栄養分を増す]
chopped, minced
細かく切った
Donuts that you buy at the store are not nutritious.
[お店で買うドーナッツは栄養があんまりない。]

My wife often adds walnuts to her salads.
[妻はよくクルミをサラダに入れてくれます。(ここで、"her"というのは彼女自身が作ってくれるサラダを指摘するためです。)]

Have you ever made yakisoba with almonds or walnuts?
[焼きそばにアーモンドやクルミを入れて作ったことがありますか?]

No, I haven't. [(そんなのをやったことが)無い。]

How about broccoli?

Sometimes I make yakisoba with broccoli. Sometimes I do that.
[ブロコリを入れることはある。たまにします。]

Are nuts nutritious? [栄養ある?]

Nuts are full of nutrients. [栄養たっぷり。]

How do you make your yakisoba sauce?
[あなたの(独特な)焼きそばソースをどうやって作りますか?(「ソース」よりも「サース」)]

I make my own yakisoba sauce with plums, apples, persimmons, prunes, raisins, tomatoes, shredded daikon radish, minced ginger root, minced onions, finely minced garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, and cumin.
I make my own A.
自分独特の A を私が作ります。
with B
B を使って
I don't believe you. [そんなのは信じられない。]

I make the sauce fresh in the frying pan.
[フライパンでソースを当たらし作って、]

Then I just stir-fry the rest of the ingredients in with the sauce as I go.
[他の材料をソースが入ったまま炒めていきます。]

What else do you put in your yakisoba? [それ以外は?]
else
その他
Well, cabbage, of course.
[まあ、キャベツはもちろん。(キャ・ベッジ)]

Do you ever go to a hot springs?
[温泉へ行くことない?]

I'd like to, but I don't have time.
[行きたいけど暇が無い。]

Sometimes I go to the public baths to relax.
[時々気を楽にするため、お銭湯に行きます。]

Public baths are kind of like hot springs, but you are not in the middle of nature.
[銭湯はなんとか温泉に似ているが、大自然の真中ではない。]
nature
大自然、自然界、世界の性質
Soaking in a hot springs is very relaxing.
[温泉に浸かるのは(とても)気が楽ですね。]

The minerals in the water make your skin smooth.
[湯のミネラルの所為、つるつるした肌になってしまう。]
skin
皮膚、肌
smooth
なめらかな、つやつやした、すべすべした、つるつるした
But if you soak too long, your skin becomes wrinkled.
[長すぎに浸かるとシワシワですね。]
wrinkle
しわ、しわを寄せる
become (=be+come) A
A になる
[become wrinkled == get wrinkled]