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6月28日号 1面

Golfing God
タイガー・ウッズ選手がトリプル・グランドスラム達成

"He's a demigod!" said Japanese golf legend and commentator Aoki Isao, in awe after Tiger Woods forced an unlikely playoff in the U.S. Open on June 16.

Making for a fairy‐tale ending, Woods went on to defeat courageous Rocco Mediate the following day ― though it did take him 19 holes ― for his 14th major tournament victory. The world's No. 1 golfer became the only player besides Jack Nicklaus to win the career Grand Slam three times, following wins in the Masters, British Open and U.S. PGA.

"I think this is probably the best ever," Woods said of his triumph.

Out of competition for two months because of knee surgery, Woods won the toughest test in golf, though it came at a price ― he will miss the remainder of the season, and major tournaments for the first time, to have more knee surgery.

He struggled early in the first round, double bogeying his first hole of the competition, but roared back into contention with a back nine 30 in the second round, making five‐straight birdies to move only one shot off the lead.

For an encore in the third round, Woods holed two huge eagle putts to take the lead.

From there, no one expected Woods to lose, even though at times he seemed to be trying to give the trophy away.

Although Mediate couldn't quite meet the ultimate golf challenge, he had no regrets.

"I never quit. I got what I wanted," Mediate said. "I got a chance to beat the best man in the world, and I came up just a touch short."

The comical Mediate wasn't about to cry over his loss, adding, "When I talk about golf, Woods doesn't count. He's not normal."

(By Greg Mettam, Mainichi Daily News)

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【WORDS　単語をチェック】
* demigod 半神半人　legend 伝説的人物　in awe 畏敬の念を抱いて　force a playoff プレーオフ（優勝決定戦）に 持ち込む　unlikely 予期せぬ　fairy‐tale 夢のような　courageous 勇敢な　besides ～ ～のほかに　career 通算の　triumph 勝利　out of competition 競技から離れて　knee ひざ　surgery 手術　tough test 厳しい試練　come at a price 犠牲を強いられる　miss 欠場する　remainder of the season 今季の残り（試合）　struggle 苦戦する　double bogey ダブルボギ－をたたく　roar back into ～ ～に復活する　contention 競争　with a back nine 30 後半９ホールを３０で　～ ‐ straight ～連続の　move only ... lead 首位から一打差に詰め寄る　encore 再プレー　hole a putt パットを沈める　take the lead 首位に立つ　give the trophy away 優勝を逃す　not quite ～ すっかり～ではない　meet the ultimate challenge 最大の困難を乗り切る　regret 後悔　quit あきらめる　come up just a touch short ほんの少し及ばない　cry over 嘆く　count 考慮する　【写真説明】sink 沈める

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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Much Ado About The Basement     デパ地下騒動
Owen overdoes it on his rounds at the department store. (At the department store)

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Owen: Mom, I'm staaaarving.

Nicole: (Looking at her watch) Oh, it's late! We should be heading home.

Samantha: Why don't we go to the basement food section and pick something up for dinner?

O: Ooh, yes! My favorite place in Japan! (Bounds down the escalator)

(In the food section)

N: OK, so what do you feel like having?

O: Anything. I'm gonna go look around.

N: Owen, you'll get lost.

S: It's OK, I'll go with him. We'll meet you back here in a little bit.

(Back at home)

N: I got a green salad and some lasagna. Eat up!

O: I'm not so hungry anymore.

N: What happened? You said you were hungry when we were shopping!

S: He basically "tasted" everything twice, Mom.

O: I couldn't help it. The chocolate ladies kept pushing chocolate in my face.

S: Right, and those pieces of bread and gyoza dumplings just jumped into your mouth, right? Twice each?

O: Yeah.

N: Oh, Owen. Every time.

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シェリル・チャウのジャパン・ウォッチ

US military presence provokes activism  米軍駐留に最も寛容な日本

戦後６３年が経過しても、日本での米軍駐留はより存在感を増す。日本は米同盟諸国の中でも最も寛大に米軍駐留に協力してきたが、基地問題、空母配備問題に対する抗議がとぎれることはない。

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Cheryl Chow is a freelance writer with a rich multi-cultural background and a deep interest in cross-cultural issues. She grew up trilingual and tri-cultural. Her primary cultural roots are American, Chinese and Japanese. She is fluent in English, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese. Over the years, she has written poetry, essays, articles, and books on various topics, including social trends and health issues. She is currently living in Taipei, Taiwan.

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6月21日号 1面

The Circus Comes to Town
太陽のサーカス「シルク・ドゥ・ソレイユ」、日本初の常設シアターオープンへ

Cirque du Soleil, the hugely popular circus‐style entertainment empire, held a performance in Japan on June 3 to publicize its plan to hold a permanent show at Tokyo Disney Resort.

Titled ZED, the show was scripted and performed by Francois Girard, director of the movie Silk, which starred Yakusyo Koji and Ashina Sei. The Renaissance‐style stage was constructed to resemble the inside of a brass and copper globe. The main character, Zed, is seen traversing the two completely different worlds of heaven and earth.

The various characters of Tarot cards appear, as the two disparate worlds become tied together.

Known for its elaborate performances on huge stages, Cirque du Soleil has earned worldwide fame, especially in Las Vegas, where it has quickly become a must‐see attraction.

Oriental Land Co., which operates Tokyo Disney Resort, signed an agreement with Cirque du Soleil in 2005 to stage regular performances from Oct. 3. The action will take place inside Theater Tokyo, whose construction has cost 14 billion yen and taken about two years. The facility is huge, measuring 35 meters wide, 20 meters long and 21 meters high. Covering it will be a semi‐circular roof with an area of 1,700 square meters.

The facility will also feature one of the world's biggest theater pits, roughly 6 meters deep.

The preview performance was a remarkable showcase of the performers' skills. They twirled batons rapidly and with great dexterity, and about a dozen performers were propelled into the air.

(By Igari Junichi)

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【WORDS　単語をチェック】
cirque （仏）サーカス　soleil （仏）太陽　hugely popular 圧倒的人気の　circus‐style entertainment empire サーカス式のアクロバットを見せる一団　publicize 公表する　permanent show 常設の公演（後出 regular performance も同意）　Tokyo Disney Resort 東京ディズニーリゾート　title ～ ～と題する　script 立案する　perform 演出する　director 監督　Silk 『シルク』（２００７）　star 主役にする　Renaissance‐style stage ルネッサンス期をイメージしたステージ　construct 建設する（後出 construction は建設）resemble まねる　brass 真ちゅう　copper 銅　globe 地球儀　main character 主人公（後出 character は登場人物）　traverse 行き来する　heaven 天　earth 地　disparate 異なる　become tied 結ばれる　elaborate 手の込んだ　earn worldwide fame 世界的な名声を得る　must‐see 必見の　sign an agreement 契約を交わす　facility 施設　 measuring ～ 大きさは～で　wide 幅　long 奥行き　high 高さ　semi‐circular 半球形の　feature 特色とする　theater pit 奈落（舞台の床下の地下室）　remarkable showcase 目を見張るような披露の舞台　skill 技術　twirl くるくる回す　with dexterity 器用に　propel ～ into the air ～を宙に投げ上げる

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English Soup by Chikako Kobayashi

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And the Award Goes To ...  今年の受賞者は…

Craig and Justin discuss the pains of Father's Day.

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(Watching television)

Justin: What are those awards?

Craig: Oh, it's the "Best Father Purple Ribbon" award. It's given out to several famous fathers every year, and each one gets a trophy. Though I have to admit, sometimes it looks like the recipients are chosen only because they're high profile and have kids.

J: Do you know what your kids have up their sleeve for tomorrow?

C: Well, until last year, the kids used to make breakfast in bed for Mother's Day and Father's Day. Except ...

J: Except what?

C: Last year, we got food poisoning from their breakfast. Turns out the eggs were old. So this Mother's Day, Denise made sure all the food in the house was fresh.

J: And the Mother's Day breakfast went well?

C: The kids were too scared after what happened last year, so they took Denise out to lunch instead.

J: That's a shame.

C: Well, the food poisoning we got was pretty bad.

J: So you'd prefer a lunch out ...

C: Or even a trophy!

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