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豪州最大の競馬レースを観戦
日ごろ、「忙しい」と口にしないようにしている武藤さんですが、期末試験を控え、
3日間に4つの試験を受けるというスケジュールを抱えた今、
「冗談抜きで忙しい」状況です。講師は「テキストを読んでおけば大丈夫」と言いますが、
会計学のテキストだけども700ページを超え、何度も悪夢にうなされる始末。
そんな中、気を紛らわせようと英語学校の先生に会いに行くと、突然競馬の話が出て、それから…。
Racing
I don't want to say I'm busy, because people who say they're busy are often the people who aren't all that busy — at least, they're less busy than the people who really are. Having said that though, I am seriously, seriously busy.
My finals are coming up and I have to prepare — that's four exams over three consecutive days. My lecturers have said, "Just read the textbook carefully and you'll be fine. You'll pass." But the textbooks are all so enormous. The accounting textbook alone is more than 700 pages.
Let me get one thing straight here: These exams are tough — not just for the foreign students but also for the Australian students. Everyone is studying desperately. My housemate, Ling, she was studying until about three or four in the morning, and then she went to university around eight.
So these days, my life is one of frantic study and nerve-racking stress. Even my dreams have started to be about accounting. "Not debit! Should be credit!" I shout in my sleep. What's more, the more I study, the less time I have to meet other people. My textbook is fast becoming my best (and only) friend.
There's this lecturer at university whose name is David. He's a teacher at the language school and he's very friendly, so I went to visit him, just to take my mind off work.
David welcomed me with a smile. He asked me what I'd been doing, and I told him how busy I was. Immediately he responded by asking: "Do you know about the Melbourne Cup?" I shook my head. "It's the biggest horserace in Australia. Why don't we watch it together? It'll only take 20 or 30 minutes."
"Hang on," I thought. "Didn't I just tell him I was extremely busy? And now he's inviting me to watch horseracing. Am I missing something?"
But I couldn't say no, and so I followed him to another room, and when he opened the door, I couldn't believe my eyes. There was a party going on there. Everyone in the room was bubbling with excitement and chatting about which horse they thought would win.
David introduced me to the others. They were all staff at the language school, which was on holiday. "This is Kazu," David said. "He's from Japan." One of the women said, "Japan? You know there's a Japanese horse running today. I'm betting on it." Some of the guys quizzed me about training horses in Japan, but I couldn't answer them.
Then the race started, and everyone was suddenly yelling. They just went wild! I felt their energy and tried yelling too, although I wasn't nearly as good as they were. Then an amazing thing happened. Two Japanese horses came first and second! I couldn't believe it. There were shrieks of joy from the people who'd betted on the horse that came first. The woman I'd spoken to earlier came and hugged me.
Suddenly it occurred to me: "Hey, I'm communicating in English." These days I've almost forgotten the feeling because I've been too wrapped up in my textbooks. This is strange, especially because communicating with others is the reason why I'm here, it's the reason why I enjoy studying English. I feel a little like I've become sidetracked by my workload. Thanks, David, for making me realize this.
- aren't all that 〜
- そんなに〜でない
- at least
- 少なくとも
- seriously
- 冗談抜きに
- finals
- 期末試験
- are coming up
- 迫っている
- prepare
- 準備をする
- over three consecutive days
- 連続3日間で
- lecturers
- 講師
- carefully
- 注意深く
- pass
- (試験に)通る
- enormous
- ものすごい分量の
- accounting textbook
- 会計の本
- alone
- それだけで
- Let me get one thing straight here
- ここで一つはっきり言わせてください
- tough
- 厳しい
- not just for 〜 but also for 〜
- 〜にとってだけでなく〜にとっても同様に
- desperately
- 必死に
- housemate
- 同居者
- frantic
- 死に物狂いの
- nerve-racking stress
- 気が狂いそうになるほどのストレス
- debit
- 借り方
- credit
- 貸し方
- shout in my sleep
- 夢で叫ぶ
- What's more
- さらに
- the more 〜 the less 〜
- 〜すればするほど〜ない
- fast
- 急速に
- friendly
- 優しい
- take my mind off work
- 勉強から気を紛らわせる
- welcomed me with a smile
- 笑顔で出迎えてくれた
- Immediately
- すぐに
- responded by 〜
- 〜して答えた
- shook my head
- かぶりをふった
- horserace
- 競馬のレース
- Hang on
- ちょっと待って
- extremely
- とても
- (is)inviting 〜 to 〜
- 〜を〜しようと誘っている
- Am I missing something
- 訳が分からない
- followed 〜 to 〜
- 〜へと〜のあとを付いていった
- There was 〜 going on
- 〜をやっていた
- was bubbling with 〜
- 〜で沸き立っていた
- (was)chatting about 〜
- 〜についておしゃべりしていた
- was on holiday
- 休みだった
- (am)betting on 〜
- 〜にかけている
- quizzed 〜 about 〜
- 〜に〜のことを尋ねた
- training 〜
- 〜を調教すること
- was suddenly yelling
- 突然叫び始めた
- went wild
- 大騒ぎになった
- amazing
- びっくりするような
- came first and second
- 1着と2着になった
- shrieks of joy
- うれしい悲鳴
- hugged 〜
- 〜に抱きついた
- it occurred to me: 〜
- 〜ということが心に浮かんだ
- (have)been too wrapped up in 〜
- 〜の中にうもれていた
- especially
- 特に
- (have)become sidetracked by 〜
- 〜のせいでわき道に外れていた
- workload
- 勉強量