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群衆の中の一人
大阪に住む筆者の友人が東京にやってきた時、あまりの人の多さに叫び声を上げたくなったという。しかし、叫びたくなるのは人の数が問題なのではなく、そこにいるのがどんな人たちなのかによると筆者は言う。
One of the crowd
An Osaka friend of mine recently made a trip to Tokyo. When I asked her about her visit, she said that the sheer number of people made her want to scream. I love people-watching, but when things get crowded and crowds get silly, I too feel like exploding. I have noticed however, that sometimes it's not so much the size of the crowd, but the people in it that make all the difference.
Tokyo's crowds are certainly intimidating, but the chaos is usually organized. I have been caught in fast-moving streams of commuters, but as long as no one suddenly stopped in their path without warning, it was fairly low-stress. Conversely, in very sparsely populated Wellington, I've been stuck in a throng of 14-year-old girls all clamoring for a glimpse of Orlando Bloom during a movie premiere. Girls that age take no prisoners and I left that event battered and bruised.
More recently, I experienced the nicer side to Wellington's citizens. I had popped into a tiny cafe and found myself crammed into a long line. Despite the din, this cafe's crowd was pleasant and as I waited, my attention was soon drawn to one of the staff. He had picked up a pair of tongs and attempted to grab an impossibly large scone perched on a mountain of baked goods. Then, in an almost slow-motion scene, the scone slipped from his grip and fell in front of the queue. I wasn't the only one watching the scone's descent, as the entire queue of about 16 people collectively gasped and then lamented with an "Aww," as the scone plummeted towards the ground. While the rest of us looked on, the woman closest to the scone carefully picked it up with two gloved hands and handed its crumbled remnants back to the staff member. It was touching to be part of a crowd of strangers sharing a heartbreaking moment.
Sharing a moment with a crowd happened again later that day at the cinema. Movie theaters can be places where crowds test your patience. It could be someone kicking your seat or a child loudly asking mum or dad to explain part of the movie. But on that day, it was a small child who brought everyone together. The moment a gripping trailer for a superhero movie finished, a little boy expressed what the rest of us were probably thinking, with an unreserved "YEAH!" as everyone laughed in agreement.
Being stuck in a crowd doesn't always have to be a bad thing. But it does depend a lot on who's in it with you. Crowd etiquette is sadly something that not everyone picks up, but in today's rapidly expanding society, it's a skill worth learning. And when you're trapped on public transport, in a movie theater or a slow-moving horde, you only really need to remember three key points to ensure no one goes on a screaming rampage: Be considerate, be aware and definitely don't break wind.
- made a trip to 〜
- 〜を訪れた
- sheer number of 〜
- あまりに多くの〜
- people-watching
- 人間観察
- silly
- 思慮のない
- exploding
- 激昂する
- (are) intimidating
- 威圧感がある
- commuters
- 通勤者
- Conversely
- その反対に
- sparsely populated
- 人口の少ない
- Wellington
- ウェリントン(=>ニュージーランドの首都)
- throng
- 人だかり
- clamoring for 〜
- 〜したくてやかましく叫んでいる
- glimpse
- ひと目見ること
- Orland Bloom
- オーランド・ブルーム(英俳優)
- movie premiere
- 映画のプレミア試写会
- take no prisoners
- 情け容赦がない
- battered
- 痛めつけられて
- bruised
- あざをつけられて
- had popped into 〜
- 〜にひょいと入った
- crammed into 〜
- 〜に押し込まれて
- din
- 喧騒
- (was) drawn to 〜
- 〜に引き付けられた
- a pair of tongs
- トング
- scone
- スコーン
- perched on 〜
- 〜の上に乗っかった
- queue
- 列
- descent
- 落下
- collectively
- 一斉に
- gasped
- 息を飲んだ
- lamented
- 嘆いた
- plummeted
- 落下した
- looked on
- 傍観していた
- crumbled
- ぼろっと割れた
- remnants
- 残骸
- heartbreaking
- 痛ましい
- patience
- 辛抱強さ
- gripping trailer
- 心を奪われるような予告編
- unreserved
- 遠慮のない
- in agreement
- 同感して
- picks up
- 身に付ける
- (are) trapped
- 身動きが取れなくなる
- horde
- 群衆
- goes on a screaming rampage
- 叫んで暴れだす
- break wind
- おならをする