今日の英和対訳天声人語（おじさん的英語習得法、若い君ならもっと簡単かも。）

April days foretold the end of World War II

　僕は英辞郎を使って英語を読みまくり、インターネットラジオのNHKのラジオジャパン英語ニュースで時事英語を聞きまくってます。（＾＾；
参考「こんな感じで英辞郎を使ってます」

April days foretold the end of World War II

04/30/2005

Sixty years ago, World War II was drawing to a close. Major events in April would help set the world on its postwar course. In one such event, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, and was succeeded by Harry Truman.

On the following day, novelist Jiro Osaragi wrote in his diary at his home in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture: ``As if the Americans were waging an avenging battle in Roosevelt's name, they bombarded us heavily around midnight.'' This entry is included in ``Osaragi Jiro Haisen Nikki'' (Jiro Osaragi's diary on defeat in the war) published by Soshisha.

2005年04月29日（金曜日）付
【天声人語】

　第二次大戦が終わりに近づく６０年前の４月は、その後の世界のありようを左右するような節目となった。米国のルーズベルト大統領が１２日に急死してトルーマンが後を継いだ。湘南の鎌倉に住む作家・大佛次郎は１３日、「ルーズベルトのともらい合戦のつもりにや夜半大襲す」と記した（『大佛次郎敗戦日記』草思社）。

In Germany, advancing U.S. and Soviet troops linked up on April 25 at Torgau on the Elbe River and took the Oath of Elbe.

Osaragi's diary entry for that day says: ``Reports say Berlin has been divided into two ... My interest now is what will become of (Adolf) Hitler.''

　ドイツを追いつめる米軍とソ連軍がエルベ川で出会う「エルベの誓い」は２５日だった。その日の日記にはこうある。「伯林（ベルリン）は両断されたと報道せられる……残った興味はヒットラーがどうなるかである」

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was executed on April 28. According to Noboru Kojima, author of ``Dainiji Sekai Taisen'' (World War II) published by Shogakukan, Hitler sent a telegram to his fellow Axis leader a few days before the execution. The message basically said: ``This life-or-death war has reached a climax. ... No matter how fierce the battle may rage, our allies, who share the resolve of the German people to never fear death, will continue to press forward and overcome this hardship.''

　２８日、イタリアのムソリーニが処刑される。その数日前、ヒトラーはこの盟友あてに打電したという。「生存か滅亡かの戦いは、頂点に達した……いかに戦いが苛酷であろうとも、あえて死を恐れぬドイツ国民と同様の決意を持つ同盟国民は、事態の打開のために邁進するであろう」（児島襄『第二次世界大戦』小学館）。

In Japan, U.S. forces had landed April 1 on the Okinawa mainland, and the bloody ground warfare was in progress.

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso resigned and was succeeded by that of Kantaro Suzuki.

　もう一つの同盟国日本では、１日に米軍が沖縄本島に上陸し地上戦が続いていた。小磯国昭内閣が総辞職して、鈴木貫太郎内閣となる。

``I hear Mussolini was killed and his corpse was publicly displayed in a square in Milan,'' Osaragi wrote in his diary on May 1, the day after Hitler's suicide. ``The newspapers are too coy to report this, but Mussolini's body was apparently hung upside down for the mob to desecrate. Berlin has fallen almost completely, and it appears Hitler is dead, too.''

　「ムッソリニが殺害せられミラノの広場にさらされし由。新聞には遠慮して出してないが逆吊りにしてモッブの陵辱にまかせたそうである。伯林も殆ど陥落。ヒトラーも死んだらしい」。日記の日付は５月１日、ヒトラーの自殺の翌日だった。

A ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the Oath of Elbe was held Monday at Arlington National Cemetery in the United States. Representatives of nine nations are said to have laid wreaths at a memorial honoring the veterans of the Elbe linkup.

　「エルベの誓い」から６０年を記念する式が、２５日に米アーリントン国立墓地であった。あのソ連は今はなく、九つの国の代表が献花したという。

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 29(IHT/Asahi: April 30,2005)

Danger always comes with adventure

　僕は英辞郎を使って英語を読みまくり、インターネットラジオのNHKのラジオジャパン英語ニュースで時事英語を聞きまくってます。（＾＾；
参考「こんな感じで英辞郎を使ってます」

Danger always comes with adventure

04/13/2005

Mourning the death of four junior high school boys in a cave in Kagoshima city, the principal of their school told a student gathering: "Because of a tragic incident, adults have learned of the existence of the cave for the first time. My regret is that if we had noticed it earlier, the incident could have been averted."

2005年04月12日（火曜日）付
【天声人語】

　「悲しい出来事で洞窟（どうくつ）の存在を大人たちは初めて知った。もっと早く知っていれば防げたと悔やまれる」。鹿児島市の洞窟で死亡した生徒４人が通っていた中学校の校長先生が、朝会で述べたという。

If the cave in which the four boys were found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning Saturday was in fact a World War II air raid shelter, then roughly 60 years have passed since then. I really wish the existence of the cave had come to the attention of adults at some point over the course of those years. Steps could have been taken to keep it from becoming the site of a tragic incident.

　この洞窟が、第二次大戦での壕（ごう）だったとすれば、約６０年もの年月が流れている。そのどこかで、大人の目が届き、惨事の現場にならないような手だてがとれなかったものか。

The four boys were all 13-year-olds, going through a period of rapid physical and spiritual growth. At this age, it is the common wish of youngsters to venture into a world different from their everyday life. Many adults know this from their own childhood experience.

To the boys, the lure of a cave, dangers apparently lurking in the recesses, is irresistible. This is in part because it arouses the primitive memory of ancestral dwellings from time immemorial.

　４人とも１３歳だった。心身ともに急成長する時期だ。日常から、一歩別の世界へ踏み出したくなる思いは、多くの人に覚えがあるだろう。洞窟は、奥には危険が潜んでいることを感じさせつつ、誘いかけてくる。太古の時代の祖先が、そんな場所ですごしていたというような、尾てい骨の記憶を呼び覚ます。

In his address, the junior high school principal also said: "Let me say I am proud of the challenging youthful spirit of the four students. But you have to have the perception that dangers always accompany any adventurous undertaking."

　校長は、こうも述べた。「チャレンジする気持ちは若者らしく、頼もしく感じる。冒険には危険がつきまとうことを認識した上で臨むことが必要です」

The word "challenge" reminded me of "Stand By Me," an American movie released more than a dozen years ago. It is a story of four 12-year-old boys setting out on an adventurous trip.

The way they grow up while battling the darkness of night and their own sense of fear strongly appealed to viewers together with Ben E. King's title song " Stand by Me."

The lyrics go: "When the night has come/ And the land is dark/ And the moon is the only light we'll see/ No I won't be afraid/ Oh I won't be afraid/ Just as long as you stand, stand by me ... ."

　チャレンジという言葉からは、十数年前のアメリカ映画「スタンド・バイ・ミー」を思い起こした。１２歳の少年たち４人が、小さな冒険の旅へ出る。夜の闇や恐怖と戦いながら成長してゆく姿が、映画の題名になったベン・Ｅ・キングの歌とともに、見る者に強く訴えかけてきた。「夜の闇が　あたりを包み／月明りしか　見えなくても／ぼくは　怖くない……君がそばに　いてくれるなら……」（『スタンド・バイ・ミー　メモリアル』）。

Imagine how you would react if four boys who were close to you as classmates in high spirits were no longer to be seen. A silent prayer was offered for them at the morning gathering. Some students reportedly were so shocked by the loss they could not stand up.

　つい先日まで、そばに元気で居た４人が、今は居ない。朝会での黙祷（もくとう）では、立ち上がれない生徒もいたという。

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 12(IHT/Asahi: April 13,2005)

Cheery blossoms on way to quake survivors

　僕は英辞郎を使って英語を読みまくり、インターネットラジオのNHKのラジオジャパン英語ニュースで時事英語を聞きまくってます。（＾＾；
参考「こんな感じで英辞郎を使ってます」

Cheery blossoms on way to quake survivors

04/09/2005

For two days, the weather in Tokyo has felt like summer. In some parts of the city, cherry blossoms that had just opened were already beginning to fall.

2005年04月08日（金曜日）付
【天声人語】

　東京では、２日続けて初夏を思わせる陽気となった。咲いたばかりと思っていた桜が、場所によっては散り始めた。

In a park in central Tokyo, petals whirled and danced high in the air in occasional gusts, and alighted on the ground among fallen leaves from surrounding trees. It was a pretty sight, but I could not help wishing the winds would just refrain from blowing for another two days or so.

　昨日都心の公園では、時折強く吹き抜ける春風に乗って花びらが高く舞っていた。周囲の常緑樹の枝を離れた春落ち葉と絡み合う。それも興趣だが、風よ、せめて２日ほど吹かずにおれないかという思いもした。

``The Tale of Genji,'' the famous 11th-century novel, features a scene of princesses and court ladies composing poems as they look longingly at petals being scattered by the winds.

``Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei'' (New compendium of classic Japanese literature) paraphrases one poem:

``Because cherries are in bloom/ I feel restless whenever the wind gusts/ even though I know it's not worth feeling this way for these flowers.''

　『源氏物語』に、風に散る花を惜しみつつ姫君や女房が歌を詠むくだりがある。「桜ゆゑ風に心のさわぐかな思ひぐまなき花と見る見る」。桜ゆえに風が吹くたびごとに心も落ち着かない、思うかいのない桜とは知りながら（『新日本古典文学大系』）。

Cherry blossoms remind people of others who have gone before them. According to ``Ryokan no Hito to Uta'' (The personality and poetry of Ryokan) by Shuji Miya, the priest Ryokan (1758-1831) composed the following poem at the grave of Saigyo Hoshi, a 12th-century monk and poet:

``The flower I have picked and brought/ May not be outstanding in its color or fragrance/ But in your mercy please accept my heart.''

Miya notes Ryokan's poem was meant as a response to Saigyo's poem:

``Please make an offering of a flower to the Buddha/ If you will mourn for me after I am gone.''

　桜の花は、過ぎ去った人々の姿や思いを、後世の人々がしのぶよすがでもある。「手折り来し花の色香はうすくともあはれみたまへ心ばかりは」。この良寛の歌は、西行法師の墓前で詠まれた。西行の作「仏には桜の花をたてまつれわが後の世を人とぶらはば」に応じたという（宮柊二「良寛の人と歌」）。

Poet Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) wrote: ``Cherry blossoms make me recall many things.''

Cherry blossoms are like time capsules. They prompt people to think back on their lives and they jog memories of the year that has gone, as well as beyond.

They make people ponder about individuals they knew and things they once had that are now gone. They also open one's eyes to people and things they did not know in the past but do now.

　〈さまざまのこと思ひ出す桜かな　芭蕉〉。桜のタイムカプセルのような作用は、人が自らの生を振り返るのを促す。１年前や、そのまた１年前のことを桜が思い起こさせる。以前にはあって、今は無くなったものや人を思う。あるいは、前には無くて今あるものや人を見やる。

The ``cherry blossom front'' is expected to move to the Niigata area next week-a region tha was devastated by a earthquake. The cherry blossoms this year may bring back painful memories. But I pray this is the sort of year when these flowers that bloom so dutifully will comfort and provide cheer to the quake survivors.

　桜前線は、来週には新潟辺りに達するという。地震では多くのものや人が失われた。今年の桜は、つらい思いを誘うかもしれない。しかし、そういう年こそ、律義に花開く桜の姿が、人々の力を呼び起こすようにと念じたい。

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 8(IHT/Asahi: April 9,2005)