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
The top news stories of 2016 – National
２０１６重大ニュース
Read about the Top News 2016
1. Obama visits Hiroshima
オバマ米大統領、現職の米大統領として初めて広島訪問
Barack Obama became on May 27 the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima, the city that his country had devastated with an atomic bomb 71 years earlier.
Appearing beside Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Obama told a crowd that the Hiroshima bombing \”demonstrated that mankind possessed the means to destroy itself.\”
Obama did not apologise for the bombing, as some peace activists had wanted. Instead, his speech focused on the topic of mankind\’s ability to act inhumanly to its fellows.
2. Kumamoto earthquake kills dozens
熊本地震で大きな被害
Beginning April 14, a series of earthquakes struck areas in Kumamoto Prefecture, killing at least 50 people directly and injuring thousands.
The largest quake was magnitude 7.3; it was preceded by a magnitude 6.5 foreshock.
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated, and more than 4,300 temporary homes have been built.
3. Emperor Akihito hints at abdication
天皇陛下退位の意向を示唆
In a video message to the nation Aug. 8, Emperor Akihito said that in the future he may not be able to perform his Imperial duties.
The message led to a lively public debate about abdication.
The government has created a panel to study how to ease the Emperor\’s burden and discuss a range of views on abdication.
4. Yuriko Koike elected Tokyo governor
小池氏、新都知事に就任
Yuriko Koike became the first woman to be elected governor of Tokyo on July 31, after Yoichi Masuzoe resigned from the post in June over a money scandal.
She faces big challenges, including preparing Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics and overseeing the move of the famed Tsukiji fish market.
5. Knife attack in Sagamihara care home kills 19
相模原の障害者施設で殺事件
A 26-year-old man allegedly broke into a care home for the disabled in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, and killed 19 of its residents with knives, July 26.
Satoshi Uematsu was a former worker at the facility.
Earlier in the year, he had told a doctor that \”Hitler\’s ideology came to me.\”
sitting – 現職の・has devastated – 破壊した・mankind – 人類・means – 手段・inhumanity – 非人道性・was preceded by – 〜の後に来た・foreshock – 前震・were evacuated – 避難させられた・abdication – 退位・ease – 〜を和らげる・burden – 負担・resigned – 辞任した・overseeing – 〜を監督する・ allegedly – 〜したとされる・the disabled – 障害者・residents – 入所者・
Top news 2016
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!
