KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI, a Japanese printmaker who died in 1849 aged nearly 90, is one of those artists whose long, impressive career has come to be known for a single iconic work. During his lifetime his images of Mt Fuji and his floral prints were widely imitated in the West. But “Under the Wave off Kanagawa (The Great Wave”—pictured)” is so famous, and has been reproduced in such a wide variety of contexts and formats, that it has swamped his other achievements. It is a testament to the complexity of Hokusai’s oeuvre and to the depth of the collection at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston that in wandering through its new exhibition dedicated to the great Japanese printmaker, one could easily overlook this familiar image among the many riches on display. Surrounded by a host of equally inventive and beautifully crafted prints, paintings and drawings, “The Great Wave” appears as an exemplary, but not exceptional, representative of a versatile master’s work.
One irony highlighted by this show is that whereas Hokusai’s prints were prized in Europe for their “exotic” Japonisme, he himself was unusually receptive to Western influences. He often adopts a version of vanishing-point perspective, learned from studying the few European artworks that found their way into Japan’s closed society through the port of Nagasaki.
『大英博物館展―100のモノが語る世界の歴史』の展示会では北斎漫画の方が展示されていましたが、BBCの番組ではGreat Waveの方が取り上げられていました。The British Museum has three impressions of 'The Great Wave'.とあるので、大英博物館が3つも所蔵しているにもかかわらずなぜ北斎漫画の方を展示したのでしょうね。
'The Great Wave', like the other images in the series, was printed in about five thousand - maybe as many as eight thousand - impressions, and we know that in 1842 the price of a single sheet was fixed officially at 16 mon, the equivalent of a double helping of noodles. This was cheap and popular art, but when printed in such quantities to exquisite technical standards like this, it could be highly profitable. The British Museum has three impressions of 'The Great Wave'. This is an early one, taken when the woodblock was still crisp, which means it has sharp lines and clear, well-integrated colours. An impression like this one lets you see very clearly that Hokusai took far more than just Prussian Blue from Europe - he has also borrowed the conventions of European perspective to push Mount Fuji far into the distance. He must have studied European prints, which the Dutch had imported in modest quantities but which circulated among a small number of collectors, scholars and artists inside Japan. It is no wonder that this image has been so loved in Europe. It can be seen, not as a complete stranger, but as an exotic relative.
An impression like this one lets you see very clearly that Hokusai took far more than just Prussian Blue from Europe - he has also borrowed the conventions of European perspective to push Mount Fuji far into the distance. He must have studied European prints, which the Dutch had imported in modest quantities but which circulated among a small number of collectors, scholars and artists inside Japan. It is no wonder that this image has been so loved in Europe. It can be seen, not as a complete stranger, but as an exotic relative.
(1分あたりから) In particular, for this kind of a relatively refined tool, surely a hand ax, it was both important for you to very accurately strike the stone and understand where the stone breaks but also to formulate a plan of how you are going to achieve the shape, particularly how you are going to make the tool mason in thin and cross-sectioned. And that was associated with activity in parts of the brain. People associate it with something called Mental Time travel that is projecting yourself into the future in order to make plans. 特に、この種の比較的洗練された道具、ここでは、手斧ですが、重要になるのが2点あり、非常に正確に石を打ち、どこで石が割れるか理解することと、どのような形を生み出すか計画を立てること、どのように道具を薄く、断面を作り上げるのかが重要です。これは脳の部位での活動と関連があります。「メンタルタイムトラベル」と呼ばれるものと結びつけるのです。自分自身を未来に投影して計画を立てるのです。
Recently, scientists have looked at what happens inside the brain when a stone tool is being made. They've used modern hospital scanners to see which bits of the brain are used when a knapper is working with stone - and surprisingly the areas of the modern brain activated when you're making a handaxe overlap considerably with those you use when you speak. It now seems very likely that if you can shape a stone you can shape a sentence. 最近、科学者たちは石器作りの最中での脳内の活動を調べてみました。病院の最新スキャナーを使って石器作りをしている人の作業中に脳のどの部位が使われているか確認したのです。驚くことに、手斧を作っている時に現代人の脳が活性化している部位は話している時に使う部位とかなり重複していました。石器を作れるならば、文章も作れる可能性が高いようです。
6分15秒あたりから But as well as great manual dexterity, what's important for our story is the conceptual leap required - to be able to imagine in the rough lump of stone the shape that you want to make, in the way a sculptor today can see the statue inside the block of marble.
This particular piece of supreme hi-tech stone is between 1.2 and 1.4 million years old. Like the chopping tool we were looking at in the last programme, it was found in East Africa, at Olduvai Gorge, that great split in the savannah in Tanzania. But this comes from a higher geological layer than the chopping tool, and there's a huge leap between those earliest first stone tools and this handaxe, because I think it's in this tool that we find the real beginnings of modern humans. The person that made this is, I think, a person we would have recognised as someone like us.
All this carefully focussed and planned creativity implies an enormous advance in how our ancestors saw the world and how their brains worked. But this handaxe may contain the evidence of something even more remarkable. Does this chipped stone tool hold the secret of speech? Was it in making things like this that we learned how to talk to one another?
Recently, scientists have looked at what happens inside the brain when a stone tool is being made. They've used modern hospital scanners to see which bits of the brain are used when a knapper is working with stone - and surprisingly the areas of the modern brain activated when you're making a handaxe overlap considerably with those you use when you speak. It now seems very likely that if you can shape a stone you can shape a sentence.
Of course we've no idea what the maker of our handaxe might have said, but it seems probable that he would have had roughly the language abilities of a seven-year-old child. But whatever the level, this early speech would clearly have been the beginnings of a quite new capacity for communication - and that would have meant that people could sit down to exchange ideas, plan their work together or even just to gossip. If you can make a decent handaxe like this one, it's a good bet that you're well on the way to something we would all recognise as society.
“Women should not exercise judgment in political affairs.” Such a blatantly sexist statement is considered blasphemy to any rational person today which may be why the first full-length trailer for Suffragette opens with it: The idea that anyone would say such a thing just 100 years ago is a sign of how far society has come in treating women as equal to men. As feel-good messages go, this one casts a wide net.
この“If we allow women to vote it will mean the loss of social structure.”については、発言者はチャーチル英首相の言葉のようで、Yahoo Answerでスレッドが立っています。チャーチル英首相が偉大な人物であるのは間違いないですが、批判的に捉える視点も必要みたいです。
"The women's suffrage movement is only the small edge of the wedge, if we allow women to vote it will mean the loss of social structure and the rise of every liberal cause under the sun. Women are well represented by their fathers, brothers, and husbands." WINSTON CHURCHILL
まず確認しておきたいのは、TOEICでは、会話や問い合わせのメールなど当事者同士のやりとりが多いので、自然と使われる主語はIやweなどの一人称が多くなります。以下がheやsheと比べた場合のものです。もちろん、Masako called in sick this morning.のような人名が主語になることも多く、heやsheはパート1での描写表現に登場することが多いのでこれは本当にざっくりした傾向にすぎないのですが、ただ違いは明白ですよね。
感想や意見を伝える I think we should reconsider the original plan. I need to make ten copies of this report. I understand we need a new assistant. I look forward to hearing from you. I’m sure you will have great vacation. I’m glad to hear that. I’m sorry you can’t attend the ceremony. I’m afraid she’s out of the office.
感謝や謝罪を伝える I appreciate your feedback. I apologize for the mistake.
目的を伝える I'm calling to let you know that we need to reschedule tomorrow's meeting. I am writing in response to your e-mail of December 15. I am pleased to welcome Camille Raynes, last year’s award winner. I am happy to inform you that your order was shipped today.
What did you think of yesterdays’ workshop? How many do you need? 感想や意見は、自分のこと、相手のことを聞くことはあっても、「彼や彼女はどう思っているか」と語るケースは少ないからかもしれません。というか第三者の考えを代弁することはなかなかできませんからねえ。ですから、彼や彼女が主語になるケースは動作表現が多いいのではないでしょうか。まだ調べていないのではっきりしたことは言えませんが。。。
(ロングマン英和) input 1. 投入資金[資力]、(提供される)意見、考え、アドバイス input into something <…>への意見[アドバイス] input from somebody <人>からの意見[アドバイス] We’ll need input from qualified nurses. 有資格の看護師の助力が必要になるだろう。
The Product Development Committee in Tokyo wants input from an Asia-Pacific marketing viewpoint. So, shall we start our brainstorming with customization? 東京の商品開発委員会は、アジア太平洋地域におけるマーケティングの視点から意見を求めています。では、カスタマイズについてのブレーンストーミングから始めましょうか。
As you are a client of one of these companies, your input would be very helpful as I write the article. 貴社はこうした企業のクライアントの1つですので、記事を書くにあたり、貴社の情報は大変助けになります。
(ウィズダム) input «…への/…からの» (情報時間などの)提供, 貢献, 協力 «into, to/from» ▸ have no input from the government 政府の援助がない ▸ provide input into the development 開発への協力を行う.
(ケンブリッジ) input [U] help, ideas, or knowledge that someone gives to a project, organization, etc.: input from sb/sth We had a very productive meeting with a lot of good input from the technical department. input on sth We want input on product development from employees and potential customers.
(オックスフォード) input [countable, uncountable] time, knowledge, ideas, etc. that you put into work, a project, etc. in order to make it succeed; the act of putting something in input (into/to something) Her specialist input to the discussions has been very useful. Barley is one of the main inputs to the process of distillation. I'd appreciate your input on this.
ただ、ビジネスミーティングでCan I have your input on this?のようにあれば「意見」や「アドバイス」とみて間違いないでしょう。TOEICでの登場回数は非常に少ないですが、ビジネス関連ではよく使われる表現なので、今後登場回数は増えていくかもしれません。
That’s impossible. You mean like in Snow White: “Mirror mirror on the wall, how should I wear my makeup today?” And the mirror will tell you the best option?
改めてディズニー映画の該当部分をみてみると、Speak! Let me see thy face.と古めかしい話方をしていたことに気付きました。テキストにも出てきた有名な「鏡よ鏡」のフレーズはMagic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all? - Famed is thy beauty, Majesty.となっています。
Queen: Slave in the magic mirror, come from the farthest space, through wind and darkness I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy face. Magic Mirror: What wouldst thou know, my Queen? Queen: Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all? Magic Mirror: Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold, a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas, she is more fair than thee. Queen: Alas for her! Reveal her name. Magic Mirror: Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow. Queen: Snow White!
(オックスフォード) Snow White a traditional children's story. Snow White is a beautiful princess. Her stepmother (= the woman who married her father after her mother died) is jealous of her beauty and orders a man to kill her. He takes pity on her and leaves her alive in a forest, where she lives happily with seven dwarfs (= very small people). The stepmother discovers that Snow White is alive, and gives her an apple full of poison. Snow White falls asleep after eating it and does not wake up until a prince kisses her, and all ends happily. The story was made into a successful Walt Disney film in 1937, and is a popular subject for pantomimes in Britain. In the film the seven dwarfs are called Dopey, Doc, Sneezy, Bashful, Sleepy, Grumpy and Happy.
(ロングマン) Snow White the main character in a fairy tale called Snow White, who is a beautiful princess who has a jealous stepmother. The stepmother sends Snow White into the forest to be killed. Snow White does not die, but goes to live with seven dwarfs (=imaginary creatures like very small men). Her stepmother then tries to kill her with a poisoned apple, but instead of dying she goes to sleep until a prince kisses her and wakes her. There is a famous Walt Disney cartoon film based on the story, made in the 1930s.
現代の英語だとMirror mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?とかMirror mirror, on the wall, who's fairest of them all?となっていますね。
スクリプト Once upon a time, in an enchanted kingdom, there was a beautiful princess. # I believe, I believe, I believe in love! With skin as white as snow, and hair as black as night. (Queen) Blah, blah, blah. Her hair is not black, it's raven, and she's 18 and her skin has never seen the sun, so of course it's good. Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all? (mirror) Snow White.
Snow White and the Huntsman trailer Evil Queen: “Do you hear that? It’s the sound of battles fought and lives lost. It once pained me to know that I am the cause of such despair. But now, their cries give me strength. Beauty is my power. Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is fairest of them all?” Mirror: “ You are the fairest but there is another destined to surpass you. Consume her heart and you shall live forever. ” Evil Queen: “ Find me someone who does not fear the dark forest to hunt her down. ” The Huntsman: “ Why she has such value?” Evil Queen: " That is not of your concern" The Huntsman: " If I refuse?“ Evil Queen: ” Lips red as blood, hair black as night, bring me your heart, my dear dear Snow White. “
意識はしないけど何気に普通に知っている知識、”Mirror mirror on the wall”というセリフもそのひとつなのでしょうね。
1分28秒あたりから This is a Japanese pot made by Jomon people. Jomon people is the first people in the world to work how to make pottery, which sounds maybe a little bit humdrum but is enormously important because it means that they can live on sea food and natural resources. They are, they are available. They don’t actually do farming for a long time because they can make soups and stews. The whole diet changed by their ability to cook food in pots.
Jomon pots are the oldest pots in the world. Pottery was invented by people living in Japan, China and Korea during the last Ice Age about 14,000 years ago. Pots allowed people to boil foods such as nuts and shellfish to make them edible. This complete pot was found thousands of years after it was made and put to a new use. During the 1800s the inside was lined with gold foil and lacquered for use in Japanese tea ceremonies.
How did hunter gatherers make pots? It was once thought that the first pots were invented by farmers. The nomadic lifestyle of hunter-gatherers meant that they were unable to carry pots. The Jomon were hunter-gatherers however, and were able to develop pottery because of Japan's unique environment. They lived in a particularly food rich area - their diet contained over 65 different mammal species. This allowed the Jomon to settle in one place for several years and encouraged the development of pottery for cooking food.
日本人にとっては歴史の授業で習うのでふーんという感じなんですが、昨日のJapan Timesの日曜版でたまたまモースのJapanese Homes and Their Surroundings(日本のすまい内と外)の本が紹介されていたのですが、ここでさらりとモースが「縄文」の名付け親と説明がありました。
Morse was one of the great 19th-century polymaths. He came to Japan to study brachiopods, but by the time he left was also a world authority on Japanese pottery and had invented the word Jomon (albeit via English: “cord-marked”). This far-ranging curiosity means his book covers virtually every material aspect of domestic life, from fences to furnishings, illustrated with sketches that more than hold their own against the avalanche of photography available to the contemporary reader.
このあたりは有名な話なんですね。
(Wikipedia) 1879年7月、大森貝塚発掘の詳報、"Shell Mounds of Omori"を、Memoirs of the Science Department, University of Tokio(東京大学理学部英文紀要)の第1巻第1部として出版した。ときの東大綜理加藤弘之に、「学術報告書を刊行し、海外と文献類を交換するよう」勧めたのである。(この中で使われた"cord marked pottery"が、日本語の『縄文式土器』となった。)
The basket - like markings on this and other Japanese pots of the same time, are in a cord pattern and that's in fact what their name is in Japanese. They are Jomon - or 'cord-pattern' pots. And the word Jomon has come to be used not just for the objects, but for the people that made them, and even the whole historic period in which they were lived. It was the Jomon people living in what is now northern Japan, who created the world's first pots. Simon Kaner, of the University of East Anglia, is a specialist in ancient Japanese culture:
モースの大森貝塚についての論文"Shell Mounds of Omori"をネットで読めました。確かにcord markedを使っています。本当にネットは便利です。
POTTERY A great many earthen vessels, more or less perfect, and thousands of fragments, were collected in the Omori deposits. The material of which the vessels is composed is coarse, and the vessels are in may cases, unevenly baked.
(中略)
The designs are infinitely varied; generally areas partially or wholly enclosed by curved lines, the area within or without the lines being cord marked, the other area being smooth. Deep pits or grooves often join the areas, and these may be repeated in regular succession round the vessel.
(中略)
Of the thirty-seven, also, twenty have the cord marked impressions, eights have the surface smooth, and the remainder have rough surfaces.
気になったのはa great many earthen vesselsと土器の説明にvesselが使われていることです。乗り物に使われるようになって廃れてしまった用法なんでしょうか。
(オックスフォード) vessel (old use or specialist) a container used for holding liquids, such as a bowl, cup, etc. a Bronze Age drinking vessel
1分45秒あたりから The exhibition is “A History of the World in 100 Objects.” We say “A” history of the world rather than “THE” history of the world. Because no exhibition can comprehensively fulfill the history of the world. (この展覧会は“A History of the World in 100 Objects(100のモノによる、ひとつの世界の歴史)”です。The HistoryではなくA Historyとしたのは、展覧会では網羅的に世界の歴史を取り上げることができないからです)
1分30分弱を194語なので、130語/分なのでTOEICよりも遅いです。ゆっくり目に丁寧に話してくれています。とはいってもYutaもちょっと自信のないところがあります(すみませんがwhat people will seeはちょっと無理やりあてました)。英検1級を考えている人にはちょうどいい題材ですね。
The exhibition is “A History of the World in 100 Objects.” We say “A” history of the world rather than “THE” history of the world. Because no exhibition can comprehensively fulfill the history of the world. So what we have done is chosen 100 objects which reflect key moments in the development of human societies reflected through individual objects and human creativity. Well the exhibition, what people will see when they come to the exhibition is a whole range of different types of objects. The scope of the exhibition runs from two million years ago right up till today. And it encompasses societies and human cultures around the globe so we have an extraordinary range of objects displayed here, each of which comments on a particular culture and period of the time which it was created. So it was very varied. The key message as far as for this exhibition is that objects tell stories. Sometimes stories are extraordinary and diverse. And each of the objects which are displayed in this exhibition can teach something new about humans, human cultures, processes through which we have come to be the society that we are today.