多聴:2月9日配信、ワニのテーマパーク
2月9日の配信はワニのテーマパークの話。ワニをテーマパークの目玉にするセンス、素晴らしい。Gators Make Great Tourist Attractions -- From Afar今回はちょっとなじみのないテーマで、かつ生物的な専門用語が多くて、未知単語が多くなりました。単語は不明なものが多かったものの、文法的にはさほど凝った用法もなかったので、ストーリー的には追いやすかったかな。未知単語が多かったので、難易度は3とします。多聴リスニング特効薬 5/22↑ワニ、といえば、5月22日配信の「フロリダの住民を恐怖に陥れている人食いワニ」というニュースもありました。今回のニュースでも人を食べるというくだりがあります。Last May in central Florida, gators killed three people from afar:from a long distance awayGators Make Great Tourist Attractions -- From Afarhide:an animal's skin, especially when it has been removed to be used for leatherhideの名詞にこんな意味があったなんてかなり意外でした。leathery:hard and stiff like leather, rather than soft or smoothdisposition:[countable usually singular]a particular type of character which makes someone likely to behave or react in a certain way [= temperament]you'd best keep an eye out for a creature with a leathery hide, a nasty disposition, teeth like a shark, and a brain the size of a lima bean. ライ豆~Wikipediaよりライ豆といわれても、それがどれほどの大きさかわからず、思わずネットで探しました。豆くらいの大きさ、というのは結局のところ、小さいというたとえかな。homely:not very attractive [= plain British English] ←これは意外な意味。reptile:a type of animal, such as a snake or lizard, whose body temperature changes according to the temperature around it, and that usually lays eggs to have babies英語だけ最初に聞いていたとき、耳に残った単語がreptileでした。reptileのところで、amphibianと比較と掲載されていたので、ついでにチェック。amphibian:animals such as frogs that can live both on land and in waterthrive:よく育つto become very successful or very strong and healthyall too:used to mean 'very' when talking about a bad situationglade:[countable] literarya small open space in a wood or forestIt's the alligator, a homely reptile that thrives in theme parks, gator farms and, all too frequently to suit local residents, in streams, glades, and canals. all too ~ to・・・ あまりに~すぎて・・・出来ない。 今回は「地域住民に適応できない」bayou:[countable]a large area of water in the southeast US that moves very slowly and has many water plantsIn fact, that log drifting down the bayou may have very sharp eyes and sharper teeth.amble:to walk slowly in a relaxed way [= saunter]a person -- ambling along the riverbank, stubby:short and thick or fatprimordial:existing at the beginning of time or the beginning of the Earthlunge:to make a sudden strong movement towards someone or something, especially to attack themit can use stubby legs that were fins in its primordial days to lunge out of the water and grab the terrified prey in its fearsome jaws. finはファインディングニモのおかげで覚えた単語。munch:to eat something noisilyIt drags the thrashing victim underwater, drowns it, and munches away at its leisure. wrestle:to fight someone by holding them and pulling or pushing themyoung men with bodybuilders' physiques wrestle these creaturesgenitals:[plural] formal or technicalthe outer sex organsaphrodisiac:[countable]a food, drink, or drug that makes you want to have sexA place called "Gatorland" even exports alligator genitals to the Far East, where they are treasured as aphrodisiacs.そんな効果があったとは・・・snout:the long nose of some kinds of animals, such as pigsAlligators -- not to be confused with crocodiles, which have a narrower snout and triangular heads アリゲーターとクロコダイルの違い↑違うとわかっていてもなかなかこの違いを覚えきれない私。でも、その顔の特徴というべきsnout、豚の鼻に似ているのが、クロコダイルってことで、なんとか覚えたい。spawn:[transitive] 引き起こすto make a series of things happen or start to existLast May in central Florida, gators killed three people in separate incidents, spawning a near-panic.先日、最強の英語ボキャブラリー1700語で覚えたのは「魚が卵を産む」という意味。ここでは別の意味。perpetual:continuing all the time without changing or stopping [= continuous]grouchy:in a bad temper, especially because you are tired [= bad-tempered]there are now thought to be more than two million American alligators -- alive and perpetually grouchy.今回のピックアップ単語はhomely。米語らしいのですが、ちょっと意外な意味だったので注目してみました。Ethel is homely looking. エセルは見掛けがやぼったい。