小説を読みながら、語彙を増やしましょう。
夏目漱石の小説『坊っちゃん』の原文と毛利八十太郎が英訳した “Botchan (Master Darling)” を併せて見ていきます。
【あらすじ】
天ぷらそばの次にはだんご、その次は温泉で使う赤い西洋手拭(タオル)と、主人公の日常は町中の評判になり、生徒たちにからかわれます。
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"Keep your mouth shut, and study hard," I snapped, and started the class. In the next class again there was written: "When one eats tempura noodles it makes him drawl nonsense." There seemed no end to it. I was thoroughly aroused with anger, and declaring that I would not teach such sassies, went home straight. The boys were glad of having an unexpected holiday, so I heard. When things had come to this pass, the antique curious seemed far more preferable to the school.
My return home and sleep over night greatly rounded off my rugged temper over the tempura affair. I went to the school, and they were there also. I could not tell what was what. The three days thereafter were pacific, and on the night of the fourth day, I went to a suburb called Sumida and ate "dango" (small balls made of glutinous rice, dressed with sugar-paste). Sumida is a town where there are restaurants, hot-springs bath houses and a park, and in addition, the "tenderloin." The dango shop where I went was near the entrance to the tenderloin, and as the dango served there was widely known for its nice taste, I dropped in on my way back from my bath. As I did not meet any students this time, I thought nobody knew of it, but when I entered the first hour class next day, I found written on the black board; "Two dishes of dango--7 sen." It is true that I ate two dishes and paid seven sen. Troublesome kids! I declare. I expected with certainty that there would be something at the second hour, and there it was; "The dango in the tenderloin taste fine." Stupid wretches!
No sooner I thought, the dango incident closed than the red towel became the topic for widespread gossip. Inquiry as to the story revealed it to be something unusually absurd. Since, my arrival here, I had made it a part of my routine to take in the hot springs bath every day. While there was nothing in this town which compared favorably with Tokyo, the hot springs were worthy of praise. So long as I was in the town, I decided that I would have a dip every day, and went there walking, partly for physical exercise, before my supper. And whenever I went there I used to carry a large-size European towel dangling from my hand. Added to somewhat reddish color the towel had acquired by its having been soaked in the hot-springs, the red color on its border, which was not fast enough, streaked about so that the towel now looked as if it were dyed red. This towel hung down from my hand on both ways whether afoot or riding in the train. For this reason, the students nicknamed me Red Towel. Honest, it is exasperating to live in a little town.
snap 鋭く(ぶしつけに)言う
drawl ゆっくり話す、間延びした口調で言う
sassy 生意気な(もの)
pass ありさま、事態
pacific 平和な
hot spring 温泉
tenderloin 盛り場(原文では遊郭)
wretch やつ、人
dangle ぶら下げる
fast 色落ちしない、あせない
afoot 徒歩で
exasperating 腹立たしい、頭にくる
夏目漱石による原文は
こちら。
*** 慣用句を覚えよう ***
Nose(鼻)‐3
make a long nose (at someone)
軽蔑する、嘲弄する
make someone's nose swell
人をうらやましがらせる
pay through the nose
法外の金を払う、ぼられる
powder one's nose
(女性が)お手洗いに立つ
put [poke, push, shove, stick, thrust] one's nose in [into] (someone's business)
(人のこと)に干渉する、せんさくする
put someone's nose out of joint
人に取って代わる、人を出し抜く
(right) under someone's (very) nose
人のすぐ目の前で(に)、人の鼻先で(公然と、気付かれもせず)
thumb one's nose (at someone)
鼻先に親指をあて他の指を扇形に広げて振って人をばかにする
turn up one's nose at
…を軽蔑する、鼻先であしらう
with one's nose in the air
高慢ちきな姿勢で, ツンとして
【参考】
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青空文庫