【設問】
次の文章(1)，(2)を英訳しなさい。
(1) 子供のころには列車での旅行というのは心躍るものであった。年に一度，夏休みに祖父母の家に行くときには，何時間も列車に乗ると考えただけでもわくわくした。今では長距離列車を見ても，子供のころのように気分が高まることはないが，大きな駅のホームに日本各地に向かうさまざまな列車が並んでいる光景は鮮明に覚えているし，発射の瞬間の独特の高揚感を思い出すこともある。
(2) 私たちは漠然と犬やイルカを賢いと思っているが，動物の賢さを測る客観的な基準に基づいてそう判断しているわけではない。そういった動物の場合，人間の命令によく従うほど，頭が良いように見えるだけではないだろうか。人間の場合には種々のいわゆる客観テストなるものがあるが，それも結局，出題者の指示によく従う高得点に結びついているのかもしれない。
【解答例】
(1) When I was a child, traveling by train was exciting. Once a year, when I went to visit my grandparents during my summer vacations, I got excited at the mere thought of spending many hours on a train. Now the sight of a long-distance train no longer excites me as it used to in my childhood. However, I vividly remember various trains alongside the platforms of a large station, waiting to leave for other parts of Japan. Sometimes, I am reminded of the unique uplifting moment of departure.
/ In my childhood, train travel would get me excited. I used to go to my grandparents’ house during my summer holidays once a year, and at that time, I used to get excited at the mere thought of traveling by train for many hours. Though I don’t get excited any more as I used to as a child even if I see a long-distance train, I still clearly remember the sights of many different trains bound for various regions of Japan at the platforms of a big station. Sometimes, that special feeling of excitement at the moment of departure also comes to my mind.
(2) We vaguely think that dogs and dolphins are smart, but we don’t judge so based on some objective standard for measuring animals’ cleverness. In the case of these animals, they may seem smart only because they follow human orders well. We humans have various kinds of what are called objective tests, but after all, obeying the orders by the people who have made the test may just lead to good scores.
/ We have a vague idea that dogs and dolphins are intelligent, but we don’t make such judgments on the basis of objective criteria for measuring animal intelligence. I think such animals seem to be intelligent only because they are more obedient to us. For us, there are various kinds of so-called objective tests. Even in such tests, however, following the directions of the person who set the tests may enable us to get higher scores.
/ We believe, for no clear reason, that dogs and dolphins are clever. But the belief does not stem from an objective standard for measuring animals’ intellectual abilities. I think that animals that obey the orders given by humans more readily just appear to be clever. For people, there are a large variety of so-called objective tests, but here also, those who obey the person who prepared the tests could get high scores eventually.
【語句・表現】
・「漠然と」vaguely / obscurely
・「基準」a standard / a criterion
・「高得点」high marks / good scores
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