マイケルズイングリッシュスクール英会話　大阪天王寺　毎週の単語レッスン

Year of the Rooster 2017

２０１７年の干支は「酉」。酉とは鶏のことだ。英語では鶏の雄と雌を表すのにそれぞれ全く別の単語が使われる。また、単語が変われば結び付けられるイメージも大きく変化する。新春恒例「干支の話」では、そうした鶏に関連するたんごをつかった表現や、酉年生まれるの特徴など、「鶏にまつわるあれこれ」を紹介する。

• 酉年生まれの特徴は？

  Be prepared to wake up early, bright and alert this New Year\’s Day at sunrise to hear the crow cock-a-doodle-doo. For 2017 is the Year of the Rooster. The Rooster is the 10th sign of the Chinese zodiac, following the Monkey and preceding the Dog.

People born in the Year of the Rooster are confident and hard-working, liking to devote themselves to their careers. They are also honest, talented and try hard to make themselves attractive to others. However, they need to be careful not to appear vain or boastful. Roosters are compatible with those born in the year of the Ox and Snake but are not compatible with Rats, Rabbits, Horses or Boars. Famous roosters include Matthew McConaughey, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Aniston, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Ariana Grande, Cate Blanchett, Caroline Kennedy and Aung San Suu Kyi.

• 鶏や卵を使った英語表現

  The words chicken, hen, rooster, cock and egg are used in many English idioms and expressions. Among the more common idioms are the following:

A cock of the walk is a chief or leader in a group. Such a person must take care not to appear too cocky or cocksure, meaning to be conceited and act arrogantly.

If you count your chickens before they hatch, then you\’re counting on something before it really happens.

(You\’re a) chicken! is a taunt that means you are afraid to do something or are a coward.

To chicken out means to not follow through on a promise because one is afraid of the consequences. Such a person can also be called chicken-livered.

A nest egg is an amount of money saved for a period of time for the future, as in a retirement nest egg.

A good egg is a term for a likeable and well-liked person – and a bad egg is, of course, the opposite.

A chick is a term for a pretty young girl/woman. A henpecked husband is a man controlled by his wife. These days, these idioms are considered to be sexist.

When your chickens have come home to roost, then you have received deserved punishment because of past actions or words.

What\’s in store for you in the Year of the Rooster? You should take care not to become too cocksure of yourself, and not count your chickens before they hatch.

The Year of the Rooster will be great for all of you who aren\’t too chicken to go out and do your best.

「干支の話：酉」の単語

If you\’re interested in learning vocabulary through news and current affairs, check back every Saturday for another article!

The aim of the articles is to be short enough to easily digest, whilst still providing some important new words. Furthermore, we deliberately choose topics that you\’ve probably heard in the news already. This makes them relatable and easier to understand. Could you tell your teacher about this news story, in English? Try to practice recounting the story, or even rewriting it in your own words. Afterwards, you can show it to your teacher for correction. Additionally, you could also try a translation of the article. This is an intellectually stimulating exercise which is both fun and great practice for understanding the different ways of thinking between English and Japanese. Finally, please remember to have fun learning English! The most rewarding thing for us at Michael\’s English School is seeing your results. See you next time!