せっかくThe Shell Collectionを読んでいるので一つ位は貝の名前を覚えたいと思っていますが、その一つが出て来ました。
There were many such discoveries: a small horseshoe crab mounting a larger one in the wavebreak, a fistful of mussels clinging to the damp underside of rock. But it was wading ankle deep, when his toes came upon a small round shell, no longer than a segment of his thumb, that the boy truly was changed. His fingers dug the shell up, he felt the sleek egg of its body, the toothy gap of its aperture. It was the most elegant thing he'd ever held. "That's a mouse cowry," the doctor said. "A lovely find. It has brown spots, and darker stripes at its base, like tiger stripes.
"mouse cowry" は貝の名称とは思えませんが、辞書には "cowry" の説明が次のように書かれています。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A marine mollusk that has a smooth, glossy, domed shell with a long narrow opening, typically brightly patterned and popular with collectors.: The flattened yellowish shell of the money cowrie, formerly used as money in parts of Africa and the Indo-Pacific area.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: a small sea creature with a soft body and a brightly coloured shell, or the shell itself used in the past as money in parts of Africa and southern Asia: a cowrie shell
どうやら "cowry" は宝貝のことを指しているようです。"mouse cowry" はその "cowry" の一種でネズミほどの大きさがあるのでしょう。
Wikipediaにはどちらの説明もあり、"mouse cowry" で検索するとMuracypraeaの項目に転送され、次の説明と写真が掲載されています。（以下は抜粋）
Muracypraea mus, common name the mouse cowry, is a species of sea snail, a cowry, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries.
The shells of these rare cowries reach on average 38--45 millimetres (1.5--1.8 in) of length, with a minimum size of 30 millimetres (1.2 in) and a maximum size of 67 millimetres (2.6 in). They are pyriform, quite thick and heavy, almost swollen, with slightly square contours. The dorsum surface of these smooth and shiny shells is generally pale brown or beige, with a variable pattern of dark brown spots.
ネズミほどは大きくないですね。
The Shell Collectionを読んでいます。当然海の生物が沢山でてきます。今日はその内の一つを取り上げます。
A stone fish sting corroded the skin off the sole of the shell collector's owen heel, years ago, left the skin smooth and printless. How many urchin spikes, broken but still spurting venom, had he squeezed from Tumaini's paw? What would happen to these Jims if a banded sea snake came slipping up between their fat legs? If a lion fish was dropped down their collars?
映像で見た事があるだけですが、南洋の海にはウミヘビが出て来ます。たいていのウミヘビは縞模様がありますが、"banded sea snake" その様なウミヘビ指しているのでしょう。 "band" を辞書で見ると次のような説明があります。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A stripe or elongated area of a different color, texture, or composition than its surroundings: a long, narrow band of cloud
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: a strip (as of living tissue or rock) or a stripe (as on an animal) differentiable (as by color, texture, or structure) from the adjacent material or area
この辞書の "banded" の項には次の説明と例文がありました。
having or marked by narrow strips of different color: having or marked by bands: the red, black, and yellow banded king snake is sometimes mistaken for the venomous coral snake
A little girl is in her backyard filling in a huge hole when her neighbour peers over the fence. Curious, he calls out: "Hey, little girl, what are you up to there?"
"My goldfish died," the littel girl replies tearfully, without looking up, "so I'm burrying him."
The neighbour is concerned: "That's an awfully big hole for a goldfish, isn't it?"
The little girl pats down the last heap of earth and replies; "That's because he's inside your stupid cat."
ちょっと怖い子供ですね。ブラックユーモアでしょうか？
If you have diarrhoea, watch for: INSOLUBLE FIBRE wholewheat, bran, leafy vegetablues, broccoli and tomatoes
If you're constipated, watch for: SOLUBLE FIBRE oatmeal, beans, apples, strawberries, and blueberries
If you have gas and bloating, watch for: FRUCTAN AND GOS FIBRE
These groups of fibre are like fast food for the bacteria in your large intestine. Bacteria break them down quickly, which can lead to uncomfortable gas and bloating. High-fructan foods include garlic, onions, watermelon, cashews and pistachios. Inulin, an additive in many processed foods, is also a type of fructan. High-GOS (galacto-oligosaccharides) foods are mainly beans. Keep in mind that these foods aren't inherently unhealthy. But if your GI tract is sensitive to them, you may feel better if you cut back.
Note: GI: glycemic index, glycaemic index, or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates in food on blood sugar levels.
The Shell Collection by Anthony Doerrを読みます。この本はALC SPACEの「翻訳家が選ぶ洋書この１冊」（このページは最近消えたようです）にあった一冊で『「短編小説はもうやめた」という人へ』と紹介されていました。
１２歳になった頃には病気で眼が見えなくなった主人公は現在６３歳でケニアの東海岸のLamuに近い所に住み貝殻を集めて暮らしています。話には貝の名前はもちろん色々な海の生物の名称やケニアの言葉が出てくるので辞書は頻繁に引く必要がありますが、非常に興味の湧く話で久し振りに面白そうな小説です。
Automatically, as the next wave came, the shell collector raised his collecting bucket so it would not be swamped. As soon as the wave passed he plunged his arms back into sand, his fingers probing an alcove between anemones, pausing to identify a clump of brain coral, running after a snail as it burrowed away.
"burrow" の単語は知っていましたが、snailsが穴を掘って逃げる状態を "burrow away" と簡単に表現できるのは日本語からの発想からでは出て来ませんね。
ところでこのsnailは素早く穴を掘って逃げれるので動きの遅い巻貝ではなくヤドカリを指していると思いますがどうでしょう？
現在私はThe Asiatic Society of Japanを休会中ですが、メールで送られてくるASJ Bulletinsは読んでいます。 来年は又ASJに復帰し、なるべく毎月の例会に出る予定です。
11月17日に開かれる予定の例会は高円宮妃の提案により始まった学者の卵によるプリゼンテーションの月で、会誌に4人の若い学者の紹介と演題が掲載されていました。プリゼンターの一人、英国から研究のために立教大に留学しているMs. Charlotte Payneのプリゼンテーション紹介文に興味のある単語が出てきました。
Her current projects include a long-term field research project on entomophagy (the eating of insects) in rural Japan, and a collaborative health and nutrition project in Northeastern Zimbabwe. With reference to original data gatered over a 19-month period on the attitudes and practices surrounding these food insects in central Japan, she will discuss the conjecture that edible insects are an overlooked natural resource and potential source of income for rulal Japanese communities.
"entomophagy" がその単語ですが、括弧内に書かれているように「虫を食べる事」がその意味と分かります。辞書での説明も確認します。
・Oxford Dictionary: The practice of eating insects, especially by people.: He says entomophagy is a more environmentally friendly practice.
・Segen's Medical Dictionary: Consumption of insects as a food. Outside of the US and other developed nations, arthropods and other insects are a major source of nutrition; they are rich in vitamins and lysine--an amino acid deficient in the diet of those subsisting on grains--and provide up to 60% of the dietary protein in rural Africa
先日行った諏訪で土産物屋をのぞかなかったので現在も売られているかどうかは分かりませんが、子供の頃蜂の子の缶詰が田舎（諏訪）から送られて来て食べたことがあるのを憶えています。
昆虫学の "entomology" は "etymology" と紛らわしいのですが何とか覚えた単語です。常識的に考えると "phagy" に食べる意味があるはずなのでついでに調べます。
・Wiktionary: Forming nouns with the sense of eating in a specified manner, normal or abnormal.
"-phagy" の例として "anthropophagy" (The eating of human flesh by human beings.) と言う恐ろしい単語があります。
２年前(11/19/2012) にダンスを形容する表現 "Their movements are as spare and angular ..." で "angular" が使われていて、その時は "spare" の意味だけを調べ、 "angular" は特に辞書で確認はしませんでしたがOctober 27のThe Japan Timesに掲載されていた写真（http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/10/26/national/the-kimono-as-an-evolving-art-form-mets-exhibit-in-nyc-traces-rich-history/#.VE7WL5Vxkic）に次の説明がありました。
A ripped, angular kimono by Yohji Yamamoto is part of a current exhibit at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
その写真を見ても着物のようには見えず、ただこの "angular" の意味が気になり辞書を見ます。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: having little flesh so that the shapes of your bones can be seen : thin and bony: She's a tall, angular girl.
・Macmillan Dictionary:an angular part of your body is not covered by much flesh so that you can see the shape of the bones: a tall man with an angular face
改めて写真を見ると、薄い服で "rips" から腕などの肌が見えていました。
・Vocabulary.com: Whether it’s a face with strikingly lean bone structure, a tall rectangular building, or a something written in Arabic script, anything that is characterized by sharp angles can be described as angular.
The word angular describes objects that have sharp angles, such as something with many corners and few soft curves. You’ll also hear it used to describe a person’s face or body. A tall, thin person with prominent bones can be described as angular. The word can be used figuratively to describe movements that are jerky and not smooth, such as the angular dance moves that go with a fast rock song.
October 27のThe Japan Times記事タイトル "Lotte’s new earphones help users measure their mastication levels" に見慣れない単語 "mastication" が出て来ました。記事を読み続けると意味が分かりました。
Now Lotte has created earphones that record the number of times you move your jaw, along with the speed and strength of each bite.
"mastication" は噛むことですね。辞書の説明を見ます。
動詞の "masticate" の項目は全ての辞書にありますが、名詞の "mastication" の項目があるのは次の二つの辞書だけでした。
・WordNet: biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow
・Vocabulary.com: biting and grinding food in your mouth so it becomes soft enough to swallow: "It’s best just to rest the muscles of mastication," Johnson says.
今日の単語はReader's Digest ９月号のBook Digestコーナーにあったものです。
Remember colouring-in books and paint-by-numbers sets that turned everyone into an instant "artist"? Now Melbourne-based graphic designer Thomas Pavitte hijacks the dot-to-dot drawing style to fuel a kidult craze for follow-the-instructions drawing.
上の "kidult" は "kid" + "adult" から作られ、子供の様な大人と容易に推測できますが、辞書にある単語か確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: An adult with childish tastes.: ‘No, the awful truth is that we have become a nation of kidults: adults who think, and behave, like children.’
・Collins Dictionary: an adult who is interested in forms of entertainment such as computer games, television programmes, etc, that are intended for children: You may be a "kidult" -- not such a good thing for your children.
９０才で亡くなった義父の晩年の頃を思い出しました。散歩に行くと破れたフェンスを見つけてはそこを通り抜けようとしたり、ドングリを拾ってはポケットに沢山貯めていました。もちろん家に帰れば集めたドングリの事は忘れています。少年の頃に戻った様でこれも "kidult" ですね。
I was alone in a lift when a girl stepped in with a phone pressed to her ear. "I have to go," she told the person on the other end. "There's a cute guy standing here."
Before I could react, she turned to me and said, "Sorry for lying. I just wanted to end that conversation."
昨日のラグビーのニュージーランド、マウリ・オールブラックスとの試合、最後に逆転されて全日本は惜敗しましたが善戦でした。残念ながらラグビーはもう見るだけのスポーツになってしまいましたが、私には見るだけでも面白いスポーツです。夜はフィギュアスケートの中国大会を見ましたが羽生選手の思わぬ事故での負傷。意地で試合を続行しましたがハラハラしました。怪我の影響が今シーズンのこれからの試合に残らないと良いですね。
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