flood into ...

「〜に押し寄せる、に殺到する」。

The Ageの記事、'Rush of myki card complaints' by CLAY LUCASから。

mykiは、オーストラリアヴィクトリア州で導入された、スイカカードのようなものですが。。。そこには、技術的に雲泥の差が。

'HUNDREDS of complaints about myki have flooded into the Public Transport Ombudsman, a body set up by Victorian train, tram and bus operators to deal with complaints from Victorian commuters.

The news comes as figures released to the state opposition show ticket revenue on regional buses has fallen since myki was introduced

The $1.35 billion myki card, three years late and $350 million over budget, was introduced on buses in six regional Victorian cities from late 2008. It is also running on Melbourne's trains, but is not yet valid on the city's trams and buses'.

downtrodden

「虐げられた」。

The New Yorkersの記事、'Right-to-Know Law Gives India’s Poor a Lever'から。

'Chanchala Devi always wanted a house. Not a mud-and-stick hut, like her current home in this desolate village in the mineral-rich, corruption-corroded state of Jharkhand, but a proper brick-and-mortar house. When she heard that a government program for the poor would give her about $700 to build that house, she applied immediately.

As an impoverished day laborer from a downtrodden caste, she was an ideal candidate for the grant. Yet she waited four years, watching as wealthier neighbors got grants and built sturdy houses, while she and her three children slept beneath a leaky roof of tree branches and crumbling clay tiles'.

bent on...

「〜しようと考えている、するつもりである」

bent on...の後に、名詞や...ingを続けます。例文では、「公共物破損行為や暴力に訴えようとしている人たちは〜」という意味で使われています。

CNNの記事、'G-20 protests plagued by violence, vandalism'から。

'Police fired tear gas Sunday to tame groups protesting the arrest of G-20 demonstrators in Toronto, Canada, said Nena Snyder, a spokeswoman for the Integrated Security Unit.

An old film studio was converted into a prisoner processing center specifically for handling G-20 protest arrests. Police released tear gas outside that center where other people were protesting the arrests, Snyder said.

"I do not believe that the individuals bent on vandalism and violence in our city have finished with their intent, so we will remain vigilant," Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said Saturday night'.

ちなみに、vigilantは「用心深く、警戒して」という意味の形容詞。

bottlefeed...

「〜を粉ミルクで育てる」。

The Guardianの記事、’Breastfeeding is 'creepy', says parenting magazine　Mother & Baby's deputy editor, Kathryn Blundell, shocks mums and midwives with pro-formula milk confession'から。

'An article describing breastfeeding as "creepy", written by the deputy editor of a leading parenting magazine, has caused widespread outrage on the internet and prompted protests to the Press Complaints Commission.

Under the headline "I formula fed. So what?", Kathryn Blundell says in this month's Mother & Baby that she bottlefed her child from birth because "I wanted my body back. (And some wine)… I also wanted to give my boobs at least a chance to stay on my chest rather than dangling around my stomach."'

hurtle down...

「猛スピードで走り下りる」。

ここで紹介する例文では、hurtle down the track towards...で、「〜の方に進路を猛スピードで走り下りる」というような意味で使われています。

The Age 'Gillard rejects "big Australia"' by JOSH GORDON

'PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has declared she does not believe in a ''big Australia'', signalling a major shift in policy on the nation's burgeoning population growth.

In her first significant policy break from the Rudd-era, Ms Gillard said the nation should not ''hurtle down the track towards a big population''.

''I don't support the idea of a big Australia with arbitrary targets of, say, a 40 million-strong Australia or a 36 million-strong Australia. We need to stop, take a breath and develop policies for a sustainable Australia'.

signal

「示唆する」。

ここでのsignalは動詞として使われています。

BBCの記事、'North Korea to hold rare party meet "to elect leaders"'から。

'North Korea's ruling communist party is to hold a rare meeting of its political bureau, state media have said.

'The session will be held in September to select new leaders for the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the North Korean Central News Agency said.

Analysts say the move may signal a transition of power in the secretive country.

Leader Kim Jong-il is believed to be in ill health and grooming one of his sons, Kim Jong-un, to succeed him'.

ちなみに、in ill healthは、「不健康で」。groomingは、名詞で「〔人の〕訓練、教育」。

oust...

「〜を追い払う、立ち退かせる、失脚させる」。

The Ageの記事、'Qld turns on "toxic" Rudd'から。

'Kevin Rudd has stood aside for Julia Gillard, according to unconfirmed reports, avoiding a nasty leadership vote in the ALP caucus this morning.

If confimed, Julia Gillard is Australia's first woman PM.

Earlier, Key Labor figures in Kevin Rudd's home state of Queensland say Julia Gillard will oust Prime Minister Kevin Rudd when Labor's caucus meets later this morning.

Powerful AWU boss Bill Ludwig told the ABC Mr Rudd was ''toxic''.

''We have a better chance of holding government with Julia Gillard that we would have with Rudd,'' Mr Ludwig said'.

be angered by ...

「〜のために憤慨する」。

BBCの記事、'Barack Obama 'angry' over McChrystal claims'から。

'US President Barack Obama was angered by a magazine profile in which the top military commander in Afghanistan criticised senior administration officials, the White House says.

President Obama said General Stanley McChrystal had shown "poor judgement".

The general has been summoned to Washington over the Rolling Stone article, for which he has apologised.

Administration officials have so far declined to say that his job is safe'.

lose ground

「〔株式市場が〕軟化する」。

BBCの記事、'Chinese yuan flexibility comments buoy markets'から。

'Stock markets and Asian currencies have risen after weekend comments by China's central bank about its yuan policy.

US stocks climbed sharply in the morning but lost ground in late trading, while major European markets closed up about 1%.

Earlier, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed up 3.1%, while the Japanese Nikkei rose 2.4%.

Currencies were also up, with the Korean won and Malaysian ringgit both rising over 2% against the US dollar.

Chinese authorities announced plans on Saturday to make the exchange rate more flexible, while ruling out a large, one-off move in the yuan's value'.

outpatient

「外来［通院］患者」。

The Ageの記事、'Outpatients wait four years: data by DAVID ROOD'から。

'VICTORIANS are being forced to wait up to four years just to get an appointment to be treated as a hospital outpatient, health figures reveal'.

safeguard...

「～を守る、保護する」。

前回の続き、CNNの記事、'Obama praises China's move to allow its currency to float'から。

'In a statement issued Saturday, Obama praised China's decision to increase the flexibility of its exchange rate, which officials hope will help balance China's trade deficit with the United States and Europe.

"China's decision to increase the flexibility ... is a constructive step that can help safeguard the recovery and contribute to a more balanced global economy," the president said in the statement'.

float

「〔通貨を〕変動相場制にする」。

CNNの記事、'Obama praises China's move to allow its currency to float'から。

'President Barack Obama welcomed Saturday's news that China's central bank will allow its national currency to float ahead of the G-20 summit in Toronto, Canada, next week'.

in-the-know

「内情に通じている」。

The New York Timesの記事、'An Italian Beauty Without Foreign Suitors'By INGRID K. WILLIAMS から。

'Not so known outside Italy, that is. Lerici (pronounced LEH-ree-chee) is a jumble of pastel buildings that jockey for attention with its beaches, crescent-shaped coves and rocky cliffs that melt into the sparkling sea. And in July and August, the town is bustling, the beaches filled with local residents, vacationing families from northern Italy and a loyal crowd of in-the-know Milanese'.

ちなみに、jockeyは、この場合動詞として使われていて、 jockey forで、「〜を得るために競争で有利な立場に立とうとする」。bustlingは形容詞で、「にぎやかな」。都市の喧噪などを表現するときにもよく使います。

do/es not yet ...

「まだ〜していない」。

〜には動詞の原型がつづきます。

CNNの記事、'Game will let you sing, dance like Michael Jackson' By Larry Frumから。

'Michael Jackson's brilliance as a performer will live on in a video game that gives fans the chance to sing and dance like the King of Pop.

Game-maker Ubisoft said the forthcoming game, which does not yet have a title, will let players "step into the shoes of Michael Jackson himself and relive his most iconic performances through their own singing and dancing."

The game will feature such Jackson hits as "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" and will go on sale before the holiday shopping season'.

on pace to ...

「このままのペースで行くと、〜することになる」。

The Australianの記事、'Asian economy will be bigger than G7 by 2030, says IMF' by Tom Barkleyから。

'ASIA'S economy is on pace to grow by half within the next five years and overtake the size of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations by 2030, the International Monetary Fund said today.

"The possibility that Asia could become the world's largest economic region by 2030 is not idle speculation," writes Anoop Singh, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, in the fund's Finance & Development magazine'.

deposite ... into 〜

「...を〜に預金する」。

The Guardianの記事、'Gulf oil spill: BP faces $34bn in fines as Senate smashes estimates'から。

'BP is facing a bill of up to $34bn from the Gulf of Mexico disaster after US senators demanded the oil company deposited $20bn into a ring-fenced account to meet escalating compensation costs.

The sum dwarfs many analysts' previous estimates, shared by BP, that put the cost of the clean-up effort and payment of damages to affected communities, such as fishermen, closer to a total of $5bn'.

ちなみに、dwarfは、「〜を小さくする、矮小化する」という意味の動詞として使われています。

at risk of

「～のリスク、危険があって」。

BBCの記事、'Japan PM Naoto Kan warns of 'collapse' under debt pile'から。

’Japan is at "risk of collapse" under its huge debt mountain, the country's new prime minister has said.

Naoto Kan, in his first major speech since taking over, said Japan needed a financial restructuring to avert a Greece-style crisis.

"Our country's outstanding public debt is huge... our public finances have become the worst of any developed country," he said.

After years of borrowing, Japan's debt is twice its gross domestic product’.

ferret out

「〔事実などを〕探し出す」。

ferretは、「白イタチ」。ウサギやネズミを追い出すのに使われていた（る？）そうです。

The New York Timesの記事、'A Decade Later, Human Gene Map Yields Few New Cures' By NICHOLAS WADEから。

'Ten years after President Bill Clinton announced that the first draft of the human genome was complete, medicine has yet to see any large part of the promised benefits.

For biologists, the genome has yielded one insightful surprise after another. But the primary goal of the $3 billion Human Genome Project — to ferret out the genetic roots of common diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s and then generate treatments — remains largely elusive. Indeed, after 10 years of effort, geneticists are almost back to square one in knowing where to look for the roots of common disease'.

New Blog

新しいブログ、『わたしとあなた、あなたたち』開設しました。

こちらからどうぞ。

rush to ...

「〜に駆け込む、殺到する」。

The Guardianの記事、'Gazans pin hopes on Egypt border' by Harriet Sherwoodから。

'Thousands of Gazans have rushed to the southern border in past week since Egypt said it would open the Rafah crossing daily following international pressure to relax the blockade of the tiny Palestinian territory'.

... come as something of a surprise

「〜はちょっとした驚きである」。

〜に入る主語が長くなるような場合には、It comes as something of a surprise that ...として、that以下にその驚きの内容を続けることもあります。

CNNの記事、'Photographs reveal secret life of urban Africa' By Mark Tuttonから。

'David Adjaye -- a London-based architect, born in Tanzania -- has produced a collection of more than 3,000 photographs from 52 of Africa's 53 capitals. For those who haven't seen those cities first hand, his "Urban Africa" exhibition may come as something of a surprise'.

comply with...

「〔希望・要求・条件・方針などに〕従う、応じる、適合する」。

BBCの記事、'UN imposes new sanctions on Iran'から。

'The UN today imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran in an attempt to force it to comply with international demands over its nuclear programme – even though a defiant Tehran insisted punitive measures will change nothing'.

ちなみに、defiantという形容詞は、「反抗的な、挑戦的な、大胆な、傲慢な、開き直った、素直でない」、punitiveという形容詞は、「懲罰的な、過酷な、刑罰の」という意味。

our lack of attention is showing.

「私たちが注意を払っていないことが（如実に）表れている」。

CNNの記事、'Our lack of attention is killing the oceans' By Chevy Chase and Jayni Chaseから。

'The ocean is a massive, unexplored area of our planet, and in the U.S., we spend less on getting to know it than we spend on getting to know outer space.

And our lack of attention is showing. Ocean fish are shrinking in size from year to year; coral reefs are being scraped away, and glorious ocean habitats are dying. But because it happens in the blank blue part of the globe, we don't hear about it or if we do, we don't pay attention'.

be held responsible

「責任を問われる」

forを伴って、be held responsible for...として、「〜の責任を問われる、〜に対して責任がある」という意味で使うこともできます。

The Ageの記事、'Kick-ass Obama talks tough as oil spill crisis worsens'から。

'The President said the three trips he has taken to the Gulf Coast to speak with people affected by the spill have helped him understand who needs to be held responsible, "so I know whose ass to kick," he told Today host Matt Lauer, according to excerpts released by NBC'.

have a glimpse of

「〜を垣間見る、〜を拝む」。

The Ageの記事、'Apple to unveil new iPhone'から。

'Apple's secrecy about product launches is legendary but when chief executive Steve Jobs takes the stage this week the world may have already had a glimpse of what is expected to be the next iPhone'.

an election pledge

「選挙公約」。

BBCの記事、'Barack Obama greets new Japanese leader Naoto Kan'から。

'US President Barack Obama has telephoned Japan's new leader Naoto Kan to congratulate him and to pledge co-operation, amid tensions over a US military base on the island of Okinawa.

Tokyo officials said Mr Kan had promised to make "strenuous efforts" to resolve the issue.

Japan's previous government resigned after failing to implement an election pledge to move the US base off Okinawa'.

take out ...

「（厄介なこと）をやっつける」。

take outには、いろいろな意味がありますが、bear、ここでは、文字通り「熊」という意味と、俗語の「厄介なこと」という意味かけているので、全体として前途したような意味になります。 同じような意味で、take out a big thing「大事をやり遂げる」というイディオムもあります。

休日の一日一英語は、The Guardianのやわらかい記事、'Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's savoury muffin recipes'から。

'I feel a bit sorry for the muffin. Not the yeasty, bready, English ones – the centrepiece of many a jammy afternoon tea – but their cakey American counterparts. Too often, we associate them with the sweet, cellophane-wrapped offerings on many a coffee-chain counter, cloying with too much sugar and sticky with cheap oil, or worthily stuffed with bran and heavy enough to take out a bear at 20 paces, if you have a half-decent throwing arm'.

be close to ...

「～が間近のようである、間もなく～のようである」

...のは、名詞、あるいは、動詞の...ingが続きます。

BBCの本日の記事、'Google is "close" to handing over German wi-fi data'から。

'Search giant Google has said it is "close" to resolving issues that have prevented it from passing a hard disk of data to German authorities. The disk contains wi-fi data Google Street View cars gathered by mistake'.

pare ... (down) to

「〜まで減らす、留める」。

今日は、料理の話題。The New York Timesの本日の記事、'Their Future, Made by Hand'から。

'After experimenting with cookies (too much competition), she has pared her offerings down to two: gorgeously browned empanadas and irresistibly twee “cake pops,” golf-ball-size rounds of cake perched on lollipop sticks. At the moment, they are her main source of income'.

be left with ...

「〜だけと取り残される」。

通常、〜の後には、名詞、動詞の...ingが続きます。

前回の続き、The Ageの記事、'iPad opens a profitable new chapter' By Lia Timsonから。

'Without his daily ritual, he was left with listening to technology podcasts and looking for ways to fill his insatiable appetite for writing'.

ちなみに、insatiableは、「飽くことのない、貪欲な、とどまるところを知らない」という意味の形容詞。発音注意です。

try one's hands at ...

「〜に手を出す、〜の腕試しをする」。

The Ageの記事、'iPad opens a profitable new chapter' By Lia Timsonから。

'Graham Nunn has tried his hands at a few things. A writer, former advertising guru and agency owner, real estate dabbler and life-long surfer, Nunn can now add one more thing to his list: accidental e-book publisher. Or will that be children's author, or app developer?'