もし人生にこんなシナリオを与えられたら、あなたはどれを選びますか？

*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。

This week’s question requires us to think about our own well-being versus the well-being of others. 

Image you have been given the following 3 scenarios and you must choose ONLY ONE of them to come true. 

Your choices are: 

To end world famine; 
To win ¥100,000,000; 
To add 10 years to your life. 

Which would you choose and why?

My answer:

Of course, if I won ¥100,000,000, my life would probably be a little more relaxed than it is now. I am sure I would play a little more golf, I would buy an old house in the countryside and spend my time fixing it up and I would certainly do a lot more gardening. Besides that, I could help any friends or family that needed any assistance.

None of us know just how long we will live. However, my assumption is that I have at least another 30 or 40 years left of my life here on earth. And quite honestly, that is plenty for me. For that reason, living until I am 70 or 80 seems like enough time to do what I want to do. However, if I knew that I would die anytime soon, then adding another 10 years might be a good idea since dying young would only hurt the people around me. However, I don’t want to add another 10 years onto my life so that I live until 90 or perhaps even longer.

However, if I am honest with myself and if I really had to choose between the three scenarios, there is no internal debate. As much as I would like some extra money or extra time in my life, those things don’t compare to helping others.

How about you? Which would you choose and why?

I will look forward to hearing your answers this week when we speak.

Be well,

Keith//

This week's vocabulary:

well-being 名詞
幸福, 安寧, 福利
the well-being of the nation｜国家の安寧
material well-being｜物質的幸福.

versus 前置詞｟形式的｠
（比較や二者択一において）…に対して, 対比して, 対照して

scenario 名詞
（複 〜s）
1 （映画の）シナリオ, 脚本
a scenario writer｜シナリオライター.
2 （劇などの）台本, 筋書
under this scenario｜このような筋書で.

famine 名詞
1 飢きん；Ｕ飢え, 空腹, 飢餓(starvation)
a region ravaged by famine｜飢きんに見舞われている地方
famine prices｜飢きん相場.
2 大変な不足, 大欠乏.
［中フランス語←俗ラテン語famīna（famēs飢え＋īna -INE2＝飢えの状態）］

fix (something) up
自動詞｟米略式｠修理する、改善する

assumption 名詞
1 仮定, 想定, 前提, （…と）仮定すること｟that節｠；了解事項；〘論理学〙（三段論法の）小前提
on the assumption that ...｜…という仮定のもとに
It's a mere assumption.｜単なる仮定の話だ.

plenty 名詞
1｟ふつう肯定文｠十分, たくさん, 多数, 多量（の…）｟of ...｠
There was plenty of money.｜たくさん金があった
There were plenty of apples on the tree.｜木にはリンゴがたくさんなっていた

internal debate
（心の）内なる討論

新年の抱負は何ですか？

Happy New Year everyone.

During this time of year, many people, including myself, make some new year resolutions. Resolutions are decisions we make to DO something or STOP doing something in our lives. Most people in the US have similar resolutions each year. In fact, the US government recently posted this year’s top ten new year resolutions—which are pretty much the same EVERY year.

The 10 most common American new year resolutions are:

To drink less alcohol
To get a better job
To get a better education or go back to school for more training
To lose weight and become physically healthier
To manage finances or manage debt more
To quit smoking
To reduce stress at work and at home
To save money
To take a trip
To volunteer to help others

Are any of these similar to your new year’s resolutions? Do you know anyone who made these resolutions for their new year? Are most people’s resolutions similar in Japan?

So the question this week is, what is your new year resolution?

I have made a few resolutions this week. One resolution is to become better at Japanese. Each day, my Japanese ability gets worse and worse and that is not right. So, I am going to make a change! Another decision is to travel more in Japan. I have wanted to visit western Japan for a long time but have never taken the time to go there. So, this year, I am going to visit as many places as I can and I will also visit Hiroshima and fill a life-long desire.

I will look forward to hearing about your resolutions or your plans for the new year when we speak next.

Be well,

Keith//

This week's vocabularies:

resolution：（名詞） 決意、決心
a New Year resolution｜新年の抱負
similar: 似ている
post: (動詞）公表する
lose weight: 減量する
debt: （名詞）借金、負債
volunteer:　奉仕する（ボランティアをする）
life-long desire: 生涯の願望

今年を振り返って、あなたは何に感謝しますか？

We are nearing the end of the year and that is, for most people, a time to reflect on life and especially the last year. I am no exception and have been spending the last few weeks thinking about where I am, what I have, what I want, what I need, what is important to me and most importantly, what I am thankful for in my life.

So I will share some of my answers with you and then I would like you to start this week’s lesson by answering some of the same questions about your own life.

If you have any questions about vocabulary, please look below. So, this week’s question is:

At the end of 2009, what are you thankful for? （今年を振り返って、あなたは何に感謝しますか？）

My answer:

First and foremost, I am thankful for my health and the health of my wife, Hiroe. We have an occasional cold or headache, but for the most part, we are healthy. And there is nothing more important than you health in my opinion.

I am thankful for my mom, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and
all my in laws.

I am also thankful for my dog—it’s true that dogs are man’s best friend.

I am thankful for my friends. I have added some new ones this year and that is always a wonderful thing.

This December, I am thankful for my electric blanket since my bedroom and house are so cold.

And finally, I am thankful for all of my students. They are kind, motivated (usually!), funny and generous. I hope that we can continue our fun into the next year.

Happy new year everyone. I will look forward to speaking to you soon.

Stay safe and warm,

Keith//

This week's vocabularies:

reflect: 自動詞
1 〈光が〉反射する；〈鏡などが〉光［熱］を反射［反照］する, 〈音が〉反響する.
2［I （副　詞）］（…を）熟考する, 再考する, 思案する｟on, upon, over ...｠
reflect on the problem｜その問題を熟考［再考］する

exception/iksépʃən/ 名 詞•Ｕ•Ｃ
1 例外, 除外(exclusion)
with the exception of ...｜…を除いて
without exception｜例外なく.

thankful/θǽŋkfəl/
形容詞｟通例叙述｠〈人が〉（人に；…を）感謝している｟to ...；for ...｠；（…ということを）ありがたく思っている｟to do, that節｠；〈言動が〉感謝を表している. ⇒GRATEFUL[類語]
I am extremely thankful to him for his help.｜彼の援助に深く感謝している
I was thankful to breathe the fresh air.｜新鮮な空気を吸えてうれしかった
I am thankful that he came.｜彼が来てくれたことをありがたく思っている.

first and foremost
まっ先に, 何よりもまず.

occasional/əkéiʒənəl/
形容詞｟通例限定｠
1 時折の, 時々の, 折々の
an occasional mistake｜たまたま犯した誤り
an occasional thunderstorm｜時々来る雷雨
We ran into occasional difficulties.｜時々困難な問題にぶつかった.

man’s best friend: 人間のベストフレンド

an electric blanket｜電気毛布

thankful/θǽŋkfəl/
形容詞｟通例叙述｠〈人が〉（人に；…を）感謝している｟to ...；for ...｠；（…ということを）ありがたく思っている｟to do, that節｠；〈言動が〉感謝を表している. ⇒GRATEFUL[類語]
I am extremely thankful to him for his help.｜彼の援助に深く感謝している
I was thankful to breathe the fresh air.｜新鮮な空気を吸えてうれしかった
I am thankful that he came.｜彼が来てくれたことをありがたく思っている.

あなたの仕事のベストな部分とワーストな部分は何ですか？

Hello again everyone. I hope you had a good week. It’s getting colder so please stay warm and healthy as the winter season bears down on us.

And thanks to everyone who answered last weeks question about their 死ぬまでにしたいこと list. It seems many people want to travel around the world, see the Aurora, and live in the countryside—the top three answers. Very interesting answers.

OK, let’s move to this week’s vocabulary and question:

First, Vocabulary:

bear down on: …によりかかる, のしかかる, を圧迫する；〈人を〉しかる
bear down on a cane｜つえにすがる.

click:｟略式｠（物事が）わかってくる.

polished:〈文章物腰人などが〉洗練された, 教養のある, 優雅な
a polished sentence｜洗練された文章.

witness: …を目撃する, （まのあたりに）見る, 目にする
witness a car accident｜交通事故を目撃する.

cryptic: 隠れた, 秘密の；不可解な；わけのわからない；あいまいな
a cryptic remark｜なぞめいた言葉.

puzzled: 動　詞•他動詞
1｟しばしば受身｠〈人を〉途方に暮れさせる, 当惑［困惑］させる, 困らせる
That crime puzzled the police.｜その犯罪は警察をてこずらせた.
2［III名　詞（副　詞）］〈人頭心を〉（…で）煩わす, 悩ます｟over, about, as to ...｠
puzzle oneself ［one's brains］ over a problem｜ある問題で頭を悩ます
I was puzzled as to where to go.｜どこへ行こうか悩んだ.

nútshèll
名　詞堅果の果皮［殻］.
in a nutshell
きわめて簡単に（言えば）, ほんの一言で.

And this week’s question:

What are the best and worst parts of your job?（あなたの仕事のベストな部分とワーストな部分は何ですか？）

The best part of my job is watching a student study hard for months (or more) and then witness when their English finally starts to click. I love when they really start to put their thoughts and ideas into English and really become better and more polished English speakers. It is fun for me because I get to see their hard work pay off.

I also love to meet people and talk to them about what’s important in their lives.

The worst part of my job is when I can’t explain something in English because there is no Japanese translation. Or, sometimes, American slang is so cryptic that even when you DO understand the English words, the meaning is still unclear.

Or, people ask me how to translate “おつかれ‐さま“ or “おさきに” or “おねがいします” into English and when I tell them that there really is no English translation, they look at me with a puzzled face and really don’t believe me!

So, that, in a nutshell is what I like and dislike about my job. Now, it’s your turn to think about what you like and dislike about your job.

I will look forward to hearing your thoughts and answers when we speak to each other this week. Have a great start to your week and be well.

Keith//

死ぬまでにしたいことリスト

Hello again everyone. Thanks you for the responses last week. It was interesting to hear about your travel stories.

OK, on to this week's topic. But first, here is this week’s vocabulary:

・instead: それよりむしろ, その代わりに, そうしないで, それどころか（▼(1)ふつう文頭か文末にくるが, 文中にくることもある. 　(2)結びつける2文は対比または二者択一の内容を表し, butでつなぐことが多い）
Last night I went out, but tonight I'm staying home instead.｜昨夜は外出したが, 今夜は反対に家にいるつもりだ
If you cannot go, let him go instead.｜君が行けないなら代わりに彼を行かせなさい.

・unrealístic: 非現実的な.

・realistic: 現実主義の, 現実的な｟about ...｠；実際的な

・target: 目標、達成

・screenplay：映画［又はテレビ］のシナリオ［台本, 脚本］

・direct: 監督する

・stage: （発達成長などの）段階, 一歩；局面, 時期, 位置
at this stage｜目下のところ


Sometimes, people make a list of things they want to do at some time in their lives. In American English, we often say that these are “things I want to do before I die” lists. These aren’t just unrealistic dreams like, “I want to have a billion yen” but more realistic—things you REALLY want to target to do in your lifetime. So this week's question is:

（今週の質問は、「死ぬまでにしたいことリストを挙げて下さい。」です。）

My answer:

At this stage in my life, these are on my “things I want to do before I die” list.

I want to swim with a whale. Don't ask me how, I just want to do it.
I want to feed (maybe peanuts) and then play with and elephant.
I want to travel to the following places:
Ireland
Portugal
Greece
Turkey
Sweden
South Africa
I want to build a house for Hiroe and me.
I want to grow MOST of my own vegetables and catch most of my own fish. And have my own cow, donkey, sheep and chickens (maybe I want to be a farmer).
I want to write a screenplay and then direct the movie.
I want to speak Japanese better!

I am sure there will be more things on my list in the coming days, months and years, but that's it for now.

So, what are some things that you want to do before you die?

I will look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Have a great week and be well.

Keith//