簡単な英語リーディング：故郷の思い出Easy English Reading: Memories from Back Home

前回の私の学習ブログでは、コールドプレイの素敵な曲を紹介し、「used to」という英語表現について、特に過去の話をする際のその使い方について解説しました。

今日は、この表現が実際にどのように使われているかを知ってもらえるよう、リーディング練習をご用意しました。そこで、エクスリンガルのスタッフ全員に、思い出をシェアしてもらいました！

このブログの文法レベルは英検3級レベルに設定されています。ただし、自然な会話文であるため、皆さんの現在のレベルを超える単語や表現が含まれているかもしれません。それでも、ぜひ挑戦して最後まで読んでみてくださいね。語彙の解説もご用意しています。

Summers on the West side of Lake Biwa, in Shiga, Japan

Haruna: I used to live in Shiga. When I was an elementary school student, I would go to my grandparents' house, which was on the West side of Lake Biwa, every summer vacation. It was just a stone’s throw to Lake Biwa, so my grandparents would often take my cousin, my sister and brother and me to the lake, and we would swim and fish there. It was very refreshing and fun for me.

Vocabulary

• A stone’s throw - very close
• 目と鼻の先、すぐ近く

Summers in British Columbia, Canada

Carina: I used to live in British Columbia, Canada. Every summer, my husband and I would rent a houseboat for a long weekend. We would invite my in-laws and split the cost, so it was very affordable. We would rent from a company called Twin Anchors. My father-in-law used to work for them when he was in high school.

Vocabulary

• Long weekend - a weekend that is attached to a national holiday
• 通常の土日に祝日などが絡んで3連休以上になる週末

• To split the cost - to share one bill between everyone
• 費用を分担する、割り勘にする

Niagara Falls in the Winter

Jason: I used to live in Ontario, Canada, very close to Niagara Falls. In the winter, my friends and I would get in a car together and travel to the falls to see the ice. When water goes over the falls, there is a lot of mist. This mist then freezes to all of the metal and concrete around the river. People who park their cars too close to the falls would have trouble getting back into their cars because there would be a thick layer of ice over their doors.

Vocabulary

• To freeze to - when something gets stuck to something else because of the cold
• 寒さのために何かが別の何かに凍りつくこと

Winter Holidays in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Gareth: I lived in my home country, Zimbabwe until I finished high school and left to live in South Africa for university. Almost every winter holiday, my family used to go and stay for 2 or 3 weeks in the biggest national park in the country, called Hwange National Park. We used to stay in the lodges there and go for daily safari drives into the national park. We would enjoy ourselves observing the wonderful wildlife of Africa, such as elephants, buffalo, lions and many others. It was wild and wonderful!

Vocabulary

• To go for a drive - to drive your car for fun
• ドライブに出掛ける

Fishing and Hunting with Family

Brian: I’ve always loved the outdoors, and I think a lot of that comes from my dad‘s influence. When I was a kid, he used to take my brother and me fishing and hunting most weekends.

In spring and summer, we would wake up before dawn and head to the local lake to fish for largemouth bass, catfish, or walleye. In the fall and winter, we would often stay at my dad’s friend’s cabin in the forest and hunt for squirrel, rabbit, or deer. Of course I loved eating what we caught but more than that, I enjoyed the peaceful time in nature with my dad and brother.

Vocabulary

• The outdoors - nature
• 屋外、野外、自然の中

• Dawn - sunrise
• 夜明け

• To head to - to go to a place
• ～に向かう

最後まで読み切れた方、おめでとうございます！このリーディング練習はいかがでしたか？同じ英語構文でも、人によって使い方が少しずつ違い、興味深いですよね。

エクスリンガルでは、可能な限りすべての講師とレッスンを受けることを生徒の皆さんにおすすめしています。当校の講師はさまざまな英語圏の国々から集まっているため、レッスンを受けるたびに、まるで世界が目の前に広がるような体験ができますよ。

それでは、レッスンでお会いできることを楽しみにしています！