金蘭千里中学校・高等学校です。
全国英語教育研究団体連合会（全英連）が毎年、高校生対象に英作文コンテスト(文部科学省・日本英語検定協会 後援; 旺文社・ジャパンタイムズ 協賛)を開いています。
１年生の部と２・３年生の部があり、１年生の部で、本年度の第５２回コンテストで本校の狭間美緒さんが見事、最優秀賞に輝きました。
このコンテストには、本校の高校１年生は、英語教育の一環として毎年応募しています。しかし、最優秀賞をとったのは初めてです。
本年度の課題は、 "An Forgettable Experience" というタイトルで、251～500語の英作文を書く、というものでした。
狭間さんは既に東京での授賞を終え、先日の学校朝礼で校内での受賞の披露も行われました。
12月中旬には「週刊 Student Times」に入賞者名が発表されるとのことです。
なお、同時に、本校も「学校賞」を本年度いただきました。
これまでにたくさんいい作品を書いてきてくれた先輩や上級生の努力が評価されたのだと思います。
では、狭間さんの英作文をお読み下さい。
An Unforgettable Experience
“One dollar!” - Have you ever had this shouted at you during a trip? I heard these words many times when I traveled in Egypt this spring. The great heritages of ancient Egypt were more than wonderful and I liked the country. However, these two simple words are still in my ears.
It was my first trip to a foreign country. On a tour, my parents and I saw around the world-famous heritages such as the Valley of the Kings. Getting off the bus, we headed to the royal tombs by a cart. I was excited to see the mummy of Tutankhamen, wondering what was under the well-known, gorgeous golden mask. When the cart began to move, a boy, who seemed to be about five years old, hung onto the fence of the cart and shouted, “One dollar!” to us. He had some picture postcards in his hand. A Japanese woman in our group tried to buy one of them. Then he requested she buy some more and what was worse, he tried to cheat her out of her change. It was not only him. Wherever I visited, I saw boys chasing tour buses and shouting the same words. I wondered what would happen if the boys could not earn that one dollar. I felt sad and asked the question to my father. He answered, “If they can’t get food, they will go to a mosque and become terrorists.”
A month later after the trip, two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon killing three people. The suspects were identified as Muslim brothers. Related to this news, I watched a TV program showing Muslim boys training to be terrorists. This reminded me of the shocking experience I had in Egypt. I thought if I had bought the postcards from them, it might have prevented them from becoming terrorists. Although I didn’t buy any, a little money from my wallet could have saved a boy! I was in a dilemma and could not eat any food for a while.
This summer, I had the opportunity to go to England. When I saw the Rosetta Stone and other excellent Egyptian exhibitions in the British Museum, I remembered the unforgettable experience again. I visited many places during my stay, but I found no boy saying “One dollar!” in England. Through traveling to the two countries this year, I feel there is a huge gap between rich countries and poor countries. Thanks to the airplane, the world has become much smaller. People can come and go easily, but why does such a gap still exist?
One thing I have decided through this experience is that in the future I will study international relations at university and work for people in trouble. I want to remove poverty and dispute from all over the world. I am sure it will make a society in which no boy is shouting “One dollar!” for their food.
(487 words)