英文速読　初級-15

　The Japanese often say to me “Do you have anything that bothers you here in Japan?’’ To be honest, ‘’I have.’’ It is the Japanese unconscious habit of classifying everything into ranks. Which is better, they ask, America or Japan, California orange or mikan, and so on. People everywhere do this to some extent, but the Japanese more than others. What is the matter with those question?
　Needless to say, there are times when one product is superior to another. It is possible, then, to compare two things of the same kind and price in order to judge their quality. But there is no saying whether peaches are better than apples or whether blue is better than green. A person may prefer peaches to apples, but he can’t *categorically say that the one is better than the other.
　Many a thing in life can’t be categorized so simply. Take Japanese and American culture for example. It is foolish to say that American culture is inferior to Japanese culture. They have different histories, languages, *manners and customs. It is impossible to say that one is better than the other. When one is not aware of these differences and makes a value judgment, it given rise to dangerous misunderstandings.

　スラッシュを前置詞・接続詞の前に入れながら文の頭から文末に向かって読み下します。

　The Japanese often say /to me “Do you have anything that bothers you /here in Japan?’’ To be honest, ‘’I have.’’ It is the Japanese unconscious habit /of classifying everything into ranks. Which is better, they ask, America or Japan, California orange or mikan, and so on. People everywhere do this /to some extent, but the Japanese more than others. What is the matter /with those question?

　日本人はしばしば言う、私に、「あなたを困らせる何かをもっていますか、ここ日本で。」と。正直に言って、「持っています。」それは日本人の無意識の習慣だ、すべてを等級に分類するという。どちらが良いか、彼らは尋ねる、アメリカと日本、カリフォルニアオレンジとミカン、などと。どこの人でもこのような質問をする、ある程度、しかし日本人は他の国の人より多い。何が問題なのか、この質問の。

　　Needless to say, there are times /when one product is superior to another. It is possible, then, to compare two things of the same kind and price /in order to judge their quality. But there is no saying /whether peaches are better than apples or whether blue is better than green. A person may prefer peaches /to apples, but he can’t *categorically say /that the one is better than the other.

　言うまでもなく、時はある、ある製品が他の製品より優れている時が。それは可能だ、その時、比べることは、同じ種類で同じ価格の二つの物を、判断するために、その品質を。しかし、言う事は出来ない、モモがリンゴより良いかどうかとか青は緑より良いかどうかを。人はモモが好きかもしれない、リンゴより、しかし、断定的に言う事はできない、前者が後者よりも良いということを。

　Many a thing in life can’t be categorized so simply. Take Japanese and American culture for example. It is foolish /to say that American culture is inferior to Japanese culture. They have different histories, languages, manners and customs. It is impossible /to say that one is better than the other. When one is not aware of these differences and makes a value judgment, it given rise /to dangerous misunderstandings.

　many a 〜=幾つもの〜
　give rise to〜=〜を引き起こす

　人生の多くの事は分類されことはできない、そう簡単には。日本とアメリカの文化を例にとってみよう。それはばかげている、言う事は、アメリカ文化が日本文化より劣っているという事を。彼らは異なった歴史、言語、風俗習慣を持っている。それは不可能だ、言う事は、一つの物が他の物より良いという事を。人がこれらの違いに気が付かずに、価値判断をするとき、それは引き起こす、危険な誤解を。