あなたの兄弟／姉妹について教えて下さい。

*太字の単語やフレーズは、今週のボキャブラリーです。この記事の最後に詳しい説明を載せています。


It was interesting to hear about different people’s “phobias” last week. It seems that MOST EVERYONE has a cockroach phobia! I thought I was the only one, but there were many people who said they shared my intense fear. There were also many other phobias, worries and fears that people shared with me. I wish we all didn’t have so much to fear but c'est la vie.

This week, let’s turn our attention to talking about your family, specifically your siblings. What kinds of things do you have in common with your siblings or how are you different? Or, if you don’t have any brothers or sisters, what is it like to not have any—would you like to have a brother or sister or are you happy without?Let’s also talk about what it was like to grow up in your family. I know there is a lot to talk about so let’s keep it simple. Let’s practice speaking about the basics!

For me, I will give you a little bit of information about my brothers and sisters and then, if you want, you can ask me any questions you might have when we speak this week. This is great English practice so think of some questions to ask me!

About me and my family—in brief:

I am the youngest of 8 children. I have four sisters and three brothers and they all live in my home state of Minnesota (America). We are in some ways COMPLETELY different but on the other hand, in some ways, we are EXTREMELY similar. Everyone in my family is married, which means I have four brothers-in-law, three sisters-in-law and so many nieces and nephews that I sometimes lose count. Because there were always so many people around my house, I never really remember having any space or time for myself. I sometimes remember thinking that I would like to have my own space but honestly, couldn’t imagine what life would have been like without my brothers or sisters. I have a feeling it would have been very lonely but I don’t know. There is SO much more to share, but I will stop here and let you ask any questions you might have when we speak next.

I will look forward to hearing about your family situation when we speak this week.

Be well and healthy,

Keith//

This week’s vocabulary:

intense
極度の, 猛烈な, 強烈な, 激しい
intense pain｜激痛

c'est la vie
それが人生.

turn one's attention to ...
…に注意を向ける

sibling
｟形式的｠（男女の別なく）きょうだい.

in common
共同（使用）の；共通の［に］
have much ［nothing］ in common｜共通点が多い［ない］.

in brief
手短に, 要約して；要するに.

extremely
極端［極度］に；非常に, 大いに(exceedingly)；｟略式｠とても(very, very much).

similar
（…と）似ている, 類似した；（…と）同種の, 同類の｟to ...｠. ⇒LIKE1[類語]
two similar paintings｜類似した2枚の絵

brother-in-law
義理の兄弟.

sister-in-law
義理の姉［妹］.

niece
姪（めい）（⇔nephew）
Mary, niece to Mr. James｜ジェームズ氏の姪に当たるメアリー.

nephew
甥（おい）（⇔niece）
John, nephew to Mr. James｜ジェームズ氏の甥に当たるジョン.

lose count (of ...)
（…が）数えきれなくなる, （数えているうちに）数がわからなくなる

lonely
〈人が〉ひとり（ぼっち）の；寂しい, 心細い
feel lonely｜心細く思う.