Stephen KingのThe Girl Who Loved Tom Gordonを読み始めました。
家族で山歩きに来ていた９歳の少女Trishaは小用の為に皆から離れ、そのせいで遭難してしまいます。
つい最近、世界的に有名な女性登山家が遭難したとのニュースを思い出しましたが、Trishaは大丈夫でしょうか？
Halfway out, something moved under her. She looked down and saw a fat black snake slithering through the leaves. For a moment every thought in her mind disappeared into a silent white explosion of revulsion horror. Her skin turned to ice and her throat closed. She could not even think the single word snake but only feel it, coldly pulsing under her warm hand Trisha shrieked and tried to bolt to her feet, forgetting that she wasn't yet in the clear. A stump of branch thick as an amputated forearm poked agonizingly into the small of her back.
"in the clear" は慣用句のようなので辞書を見ます。
・Collins Dictionary: free of suspicion, guilt, or blame: You ought to be able to alibi each other, put everyone in the clear.
・The American HeritageR Dictionary of Idioms: Free from danger or suspicion of wrongdoing, as in: The evidence showed that the suspect was actually in the clear.
ここではまだ蛇の危険（？）から逃れてはいないの意味のようです。
上の引用個所の最後に出てきた "small" は 12/31/2011 にカズオ・イシグロのNever Let Me Goで覚えた単語です。
The Japan Times、Jan.7のCulture欄の記事 "'Miss Doc' shows the struggles of a lone female doctor in rural Japan" から引用します。
Change comes slowly to the Japanese film industry. The hagiographic biopic about a doctor, scientist or similarly distinguished personage — rarely seen in Hollywood since the days of Jack L. Warner and Louis B. Mayer — is still alive and well here.
"hagiographic biopic" の "biopic" は 5/15/2009 に取り上げ覚えた単語ですが、"hagiographic" の方は分からないので辞書を見ます。名詞形の "hagiography" で次の様な説明がありました。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: idealizing or idolizing biography: a hagiography about a famous politician
・Vocabulary.com: A hagiography is a type of biography that puts the subject in a very flattering light. Hagiographies are often about saints.
The two halves of hagiography refer to holiness and writing, and it is something written about holy people. Originally, a hagiography was a biography of a saint written without skepticism or criticism. A hagiography idealizes the subject and puts them on a pedestal. These days, a hagiography is not necessarily written about a saint, but it still idolizes the subject. A hagiography makes the subject seems like a hero, or at least a wonderful, nearly perfect person.
A man was wandering around in a field, thinking about how good his wife had been to him and how fortunate he was to have her.
He asked God, "Why did you make her so kind-hearted?"
The Lord responded, "So you could love her, my son."
"Why did you make her so good-looking?"
"So you could love her, my son."
"Why did you make her such a good cook?"
"So you could love her, my son."
The man thought about this.
Then he said, "I don't mean to seem ungrateful or anything but ... why did you make her so stupid?"
"So she could love you, my son."
お気に入りの女優が結婚した時に思い出すと良いジョークでした。
典型的な団塊世代の一人として過ごして来たので、同世代の多さには慣れていますが、あと３０数年頑張ることができればこの女性と同じことが言えるかな？ A lady in the nursing home I work in was celebrating her 102nd birthday.
A reporter from the local paper came to interview her, and asked what was the best thing about being her age.
The lovely lady looked at him straight and said, "No peer pressure!"
母は２６歳、父は５２歳で亡くなったので、私にはこの可能性はほとんど無いでしょう。
Some of Donald Trump's utterances are offensive. His nativist demagoguery is outright fascist.
But Trump also says stuff that other politicians and the media are ...
...
Donald Trump has surged to the top of the Republican heap by saying outrageous things, issuing over-the-top insults and making ridiculous proposals. Some of his utterances, like his sexist remarks about Carly Fiorina’s looks, are offensive. His nativist demagoguery, calling for mass arrests and deportations of Latinos and a visa ban to Muslim visitors, are outright fascist.
"nativist"、こう言う表現があるのですね。 ネイティブ以外は受け入れない、排他主義の人を指しているのでしょう。辞書で確認します。 ・Oxford English Dictionary: chiefly US The policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants: a deep vein of xenophobia and nativism
他のほとんどの辞書は "nativism" の説明だけを載せていますが、説明の詳しい次の辞書の説明を引用します。
・Vocabulary.com: People who oppose immigration because they feel their culture will be lost or blended in with a new one can be said to believe in nativism.
There have been times in history that nativism allowed a culture to survive, particularly Native American Indian tribes. When the dominant group practices nativism, however, the result looks a lot like a hatred or fear of people who look different, speak a different language, and hold different beliefs than the majority of people.
今日取り上げる単語もThe Japan Timesからで、Dec.21の記事です。記事の見出しは "Celebrating success with catfish and cupcakes" です。
A look at two power couples of African descent who have focused their skills, talents and wherewithal on introducing tastes of the West to Eastern ...
In the spirit of Kwanzaa, the weeklong celebration of black heritage that starts Saturday, this month’s Black Eye looks at two power couples of African descent who have focused their skills, talents and wherewithal on introducing the unique tastes of the West to Eastern palates. Having both launched their endeavors in 2015, I’d like to take a moment to celebrate the success they have found thus far here in Japan.
見かけ上は名詞に見えない "wherewithal" ですが、どんな意味でしょう？ 辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: The money or other means needed for a particular purpose: they lacked the wherewithal to pay
・Vocabulary.com: If you have the wherewithal to do something, it means you've got what you need to make it happen.
Another word for wherewithal is resources, which can mean money, energy, support, or some other necessary means. If you have the wherewithal to build a new house, it can mean you have the knowledge and patience to do it yourself, or that you've got the money to pay someone to build it for you. The word combines where and withal -- a now-obscure word that means "in addition." Don't forget to spell it with only one l.
CNN’s Paula Newton: The key to covering other cultures is maintaining ‘respect’ The topic of cultural appropriation has been a hot one in 2015, with a kimono display at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts drawing a small protest and a slew of articles that discussed culturally insensitive Halloween costumes. With this in the background, how easy is it to do a show about experiencing new cultures?
"cultural appropriation" の "appropriation" は知らない単語ではありませんが、ここでは私の知っている意味（割り当て、充当金、予算割当額）ではありません。そこで辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: often derogatory The artistic practice or technique of reworking images from well-known paintings, photographs, etc., in one’s own work.: The appropriation and resignification of images and other cultural products, of course, is a common cross-cultural occurrence.
なるほど、駄目押しに、分かり易い説明があるので私の好きな次の辞書も見ます。
・Vocabulary.com: Appropriation is the act of taking something, usually without permission, like stealing your brother's french fries when he is momentarily distracted.
Appropriation originally referred to the taking of private property, usually by the government.
Nowadays, appropriation can be positive or negative, but generally refers to taking something and making it your own -- like using melodies from other types of music in your song or your company’s appropriation of new technology to improve their product.
Appropriation can also refer to the setting aside of funds by the government for a specific purpose, like for improving school systems or supporting the arts.
When one girl had finished the English portion of the examination, she removed her glasses and started the maths questions.
"Why aren't you wearing your glasses?" she was asked.
She responded, "My glasses are for reading, not for mathematics."
当たらないとは分かっていますが、年末ジャンボ宝くじを６千円買ってしまいました。
結果はいつもの通りです。代わりにお金の増える冗談で自分を慰めます。
What is the quickest way to double your money?
Fold it in half!
学校の先生は生徒との色々と面白い体験をするので、Reader's Digestにその特集があり、これはその一つです。
After a colleague had finished his English lecture and his class had filed out, a student stayed behind do confront him.
"I don't appreciate being singled out," he told his teacher.
The teacher was confused. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know what the 'oxy' part means, but I know what a 'moron' is, and you looked straight at me when you said it."
注: The word oxymoron is itself an oxymoron; in Greek, oxy - means "sharp" or "wise," while moron means "foolish."
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