今、中２が取り組んでいるのはこの文。
某県の実際の入試長文だ。
One day during summer vacation, Rika was reading a book in the library. The book was about Japanese people working overseas. At the end of the book, one of them said to its readers, "English is a tool. What do you want to do with English?" Rika thought, "I love English, but what do I want to do with it?"
When Rika came home, Masao was waiting for her. He looked worried. He said to her, "Tomorrow I will have a visitor from Australia, Jim. He wants to become a washi craftsperson and has plans to visit many washi studios in Japan. He's going to stay in this town for one week and learn about papermaking in my studio, but I don't think I can teach him in English...." Rika thought that this was a good chance to use English. She felt excited and said to Masao, "I will help you!"
The next day, Jim came to the studio, and his papermaking lessons started. Masao showed his way of making washi to Jim and asked Rika to explain it to Jim in English. It was not easy for her to do that. However, she did her best, and Jim listened to her carefully. "Rika, I could learn about washi easily. Thank you," Jim said. "Many types of washi are made in Japan, but Masao's paper is my favorite. The *texture of it is wonderful!" Rika said, "Well, I think so, too...." She realized that she didn't know much about Masao's paper. She felt she should learn more.
That evening, Rika asked Masao to tell her about his paper. He said that she could ask him any question about it. "What is important for your papermaking?" she asked. "Good soil is. Washi is made from trees, and the trees grow in the soil," he answered. He also told her that protecting the forest in the town was necessary for his work. Rika was surprised that he did many things for the forest. She was beginning to understand his papermaking. Her questions continued. She wanted to know more and share it with Jim.
One week later, all of Jim's lessons in the studio were over. "I wish he could stay at the studio longer...," Rika thought. When he was leaving the studio, he said, "Thank you for helping me, Rika. It was so good to meet a person like you." She thought that Jim was talking about her English. She smiled and said, "Oh, really? I will keep studying to be a better English speaker." He said, "Of course, that's important. But there is something more important. You have learned about the many wonderful things in your culture, and you can tell people about them in English. I think that is great."
A few days later, Rika was in the studio to learn more from Masao. Jim was in another town by then, so she didn't have to stay at the studio. However, she wanted to. When she was learning there, she remembered that question: "What do you want to do with English?" She thought, "I'm starting to find my answer."
文法単元的にはかなり易しいレベル。
だが、なかなかの長さだ。
これを４分台で訳せるように。
もちろん、スラ訳でだ。
