ＳＦのThe Martian by Andy Weirを読んでいます。
I ache all over. And the shovels I have are made for taking samples, not heavy digging. My back is killing me. I foraged in the medical supplies and found some Vicodin. I took it about ten minutes ago. Should be kicking in soon.
事故で主人公一人だけが火星に取り残され、その日誌が続き、主人公以外は余り出てこないので分かり易い話ではあります。Vicodinは痛み止めか何かの薬の様です。"kicking in" はその効き目が出てくる意味と思いますが、辞書で確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: (especially of a device or drug) become activated; come into effect.: I think the medication is finally kicking in and that was what I was waiting for.
・Collins Dictionary: If something kicks in, it begins to take effect.: As discounts kicked in, bookings for immediate travel rose by 15%.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to start to have an effect or to happen: It takes half an hour for the medication to kick in.
The Martian by Andy Weirを読み始めました。SFの様です。
CHAPTER 1
LOG ENTRY: SOL 6
初っ端に出てきたこの略語の様な "SOL" が分かりません。
この後もLOG ENTRY: SOL Xの出だしがあり、数字のXの値が増えて続きます。
...I didn't die on Sol 6.
...
A sol is 39 minutes longer than a day, so it works out to be 1425 days.
小文字で書かれている場合もあるので略語でもなさそうです。辞書を見ます。
・Collins Dictionary: a solar day as measured on the planet Mars, equal to 24.65 hours:
・Wikipedia: The term sol is used by planetary astronomers to refer to the duration of a solar day on Mars. A mean Martian solar day, or "sol", is 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds
火星の1日の事ですね。ＳＦオタク以外の人でも知っている単語なのか気になります。
３０年位前に買ったまま読んでいない本が出てきたので、読むことにしました。 Artificial Intelligence by Lawrence Stevensですが、余りAIのレベルが大した事がなかった頃の本なので読む価値も余りないとも思われますが、図書館から借りて読む本の合間に読むことにします。
The literary and oral traditions of automata are rich. Back in the Middle Ages, for example, Pope Syslvester II claimed to have a forturne-telling robot that would respond with "yes" or "no" when asked questions. Also in the Middle Ages, a group of Arab astrologers claimed to have created a thinking machine called the Zairja, which could hold forth on philosophical subjects.
熟語 "hold forth" の意味が分からないので辞書を引きます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Talk lengthily, assertively, or tediously about a subject.: he was holding forth on the merits of the band's debut album
・Collins Dictionary: to speak for a long time or in public: He was still holding forth about the family's tendency to high cholesterol when something moved just beyond the French windows.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to talk about a particular subject for a long time, often in a way that other people find boring: She held forth all afternoon about/on government incompetence.
これは覚えて置きたい熟語ですね。
There were more sharks than ever now around the peach. The water was boiling with them. There must have been ninety or a hundred at least. And to the travelers on top, it certainly seemed as though the peach were sinking lower and lower into the water.
"Action stations!" James shouted. "Jump to it! There's not a moment to lose!" He was the captain now, and everyone knew it.
"Action stations!" は二つの名詞が並んだ表現の様ですが、文脈からすると命令に違いありません。辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: The positions taken up by military personnel in preparation for action (often as a command or signal to prepare for action): Copland ordered action stations at midnight
・Collins Dictionary: the positions taken up by individuals in preparation for or during a battle: If Jocard's team was indeed at action stations, they must inevitably have lost touch at that point
. ・Cambridge English Dictionary: used to tell people to get ready immediately to do the particular jobs that they have been given to do: Right, everyone - action stations! We're starting in three minutes.
学校英語には出てきませんが、子供はこの様な本から色々な表現を学ぶのですね。
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahlを読んでいます。
"I do hope you'll find it comfortable," Miss Spider said to the Old-Green-Grasshopper. "I made it as soft and silky as I possibly could. I spun it with gossamer. That's a much better quality thread than the one I use for my own web."
"gossamer" はクモの糸を指していることは文脈から分かります。難しそうな単語ですが、子供向けの本には結構出てくる単語で、前にも取り上げた気がするのですが、記録にないので今回取り上げました。以下が辞書の説明です。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A fine, filmy substance consisting of cobwebs spun by small spiders, seen especially in autumn.: So I made a classic cross-hair from spider's gossamer and used it to pinpoint a cell in the area I wanted to watch.
・Collins Dictionary: a filmy cobweb often seen on foliage or floating in the air: Sometimes one scarcely dared breathe for fear of blowing away the gossamer thread of sound.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: the very thin thread that spiders produce to make webs
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahlを読み始めました。Roald Dahlの作品は2013 AprilにCharlie and the Chocolate Factoryを読んだので2冊目ですが、これも少年・少女向けの話でしょう。
Quickly, Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker called in carpenters and had them build a strong fence around the peach to save it from the crowd; and at the same time, these two crafty women stationed themselves at the front gate with a large bunch of tickets and started charging everyone for coming in.
"Roll up!" Aunt Spiker yelled. "Only one shilling to see the giant peach!"
子供向けの本と言っても知らない単語や表現が必ず出てきます。"Roll up!" がその一つです。辞書を見ます。
・Cambridge English Dictionary:(UK old-fashioned) said, especially in the past, by someone who wanted people to come and pay to look at something unusual or interesting: "Roll up! Roll up! Come and see the amazing bearded lady!" shouted the circus man.
UK old-fashionedとあるように、この意味を載せている辞書は中々ありませんでした。
Reader's Digest 10月号の記事 'That's Outrageous!' からの引用です。
After he got home from a trip to the car wash, a six-year-old in Massachusetts called 911 to report a crime. The perpetrator was his father. The criminal act? Dad ran a red light. Even though he was ratted out by his own kid, the father talked his way out of a ticket.
実に正直で正義感に溢れる子供ですね。それに対し父親は "talked his way out" とあります。この表現は初めて見ますが、何とか言葉を濁して逃れたことが連想できます。辞書で確認します。
・McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs: to get out of something by verbal persuasion. You are in a mess and you can't talk your way out of it. If I get into some sort of problem, I will try to talk my way out of it.
・Farlex Dictionary of Idioms: To use charming or persuasive speech in order to avoid something. I still can't believe you were able to talk your way out of that drunk-driving ticket. Don't think you can talk your way out of doing the dishes tonight!
政治家がこの種の才能に長けていますね。そういう方はトップに座ります。
Reader's Digest 10月号の記事 '13 Things Garbage Collectors Want You to Know' からの抜粋です。
We're being timed. Every route is budgeted a certain number of hours for completion; if we come in over that, our bosses question us to make sure we're not just angling for overtime. There are also cameras and GPS in some of the trucks so we can be monitored at all times.
"angle" はKazuo Ishiguroの短編、NOCTURNEを読んだ時にも出てきて、このブログで取り上げた（3/8/2012）覚えがあります。復習します。
・Collins Dictionary: to scheme or use tricks to get something: he angled for her attention
Kazuo Ishiguroさん、ノーベル賞受賞おめでとうございます。
On the weekends when I stayed out, I would construct a lean-to and make a fire. Ike would curl up on the edge of my blanket.
"lean-to" は辞書を見たら前にも調べたことを思い出しました。ブログに取り上げた気がするのですが、記録にないので今日取り上げます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: A temporary shelter, either supported or freestanding.: Year round camping includes tent sites, lean-tos, and some cabins with varying facilities.
・Collins Dictionary: a shed with a one-slope roof, the upper end of the rafters resting against an external support, such as trees or the wall of a building: He trotted back to their improvised camp just as Garin hauled himself out from under the lean-to.
Reader's Digest 10月号の記事 'Anatomy of a Perfect Hand Transplant' からの抜粋です。
At 3:32 p.m., the first cut was made to prepare Jonathan's arm. Dr. Azari arrived within the hour and joined his team. The first curveball came right away. The doctors had planned to sever the radius and ulna bones at about 11 centimeters above the wrist. But after opening up Jonathan's arm, preserving more bone seemed possible.
"curveball" はもちろん野球用語から来たのでしょう。物事は素直に真っすぐに進むことの方がむしろ少ないとも感じています。辞書での説明を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Something which is unexpected, surprising, or disruptive.: there's always a curveball on every mission
・Wiktionary: An unexpected turn of events initiated by an opponent or chance. Life has thrown him a few curveballs.
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