英語検定ライティング準１級（第227回）

地雷撤去「日本人を馬鹿なままにしておく話」

30年前にウィンドウズ95が解禁され家庭にパソコンが存在することとなった。徳島の友人が日記を更新していたのでそれを真似てHPBを利用しながらストレスの発散に役立てていた。
Around three decades ago, Windows 95 was released by Microsoft, which enabled ordinary citizens to have a personal computer at home in 1995, he remembers.
In those days, a friend of his in Tokushima had kept a diary every night, so he imitated his habit, and he also made it a rule to keep a diary with HP builder,which enabled him to relieve his tremendous stresses, he says.

OSには戦略ゲームも組み込まれていて地雷を撤去するゲームにはまった時期もあった。自分で気づいたわけではないがそれらのゲームはアメリカのOSには搭載されてなかったらしい。
Windows 95 contained a strategy game called “mine sweeper,” where we had to eliminate a tremendous number of landlines within a certain amount of time.
He was completely into such an enjoyable game.
He didn’t notice this for himself, however, someone around him told him that Windows 98 of American version didn’t contain such a trivial game, he remembers.

あれだけ夢中になれるゲームが日本のソフトにだけ組み込まれているのは意図がある。つまりMS社は日本人が仕事をかまけて勤務中にゲームに没頭するよう仕向けていたということだ。
Numerous users in front of the screen tend to be absorbed in such an addictive strategy game, but it hasn’t been involved in Windows 98 of American version, which people in Japan should have noticed even earlier.
In other words, Microsoft’s malicious purpose was that numerous workers in Japan could become into such a silly game during the working hours instead of concentrating on what they must do, to our sorrow.

悪人のやることは巧妙だ。馬鹿に悪いことはできない。やってもすぐバレる。悔しいが悪意を隠しながら日本社会を混乱させるとは頭がいい。それを認めた上で反撃の機会を探らねばな。
Someone vicious carries out something malicious in the extremely clever way, in other words, someone clumsy fails to fulfill something important in such a way, in short, he or she cannot complete what must be done even when they tried to do so, which only someone with smart and tactful brain could conduct, an online article says.
American operative system could bring Japanese laborers into a meaningless situation successfully.
We should admit this fact, and we must invent an opportunity to have our revenge on someone hostile.