〜ヒント〜
１０月１１日出題分
あまりなじみの無い単語・熟語をちょっと解説。
Seven Years in Tibet :
Escape-11Before noon the next day, we reached our first Tibetan village, Kasapuling, which consisted of six houses. The place appeared to be completely deserted, and when we knocked at the doors, nothing stirred. We then discovered that all villagers were busy sowing barley in the surrounding fields. Sitting on their haunches, they put each individual grain of seed into the ground with the regularity and speed of machines. We looked at them with feelings that might compare with those of Columbus when he met his first Indians. Would they receive us as friends or foes? For the moment they took no notice of us. The cries of an old woman, looking like a witch, were the only sound we heard. They were not aimed at us, but at the swarms of wild pigeons that swooped down to get at the newly planted grain. Until evening the villagers hardly deigned to bestow a glance on us, so we four established our camp near one of the houses, and when at nightfall the people came in from the fields, we tried to trade with them. We offered them money for one of their sheep or goats, but they showed themselves disinclined to trade. As Tibet has no frontier posts, the whole population is brought up to be hostile to foreigners, and there are severe penalties for any Tibetan who sells anything to a foreigner. We were starving and had no choice but to intimidate them. We threatened to take one of their animals by force if they would not freely sell us one, and as none of the four of us looked a weakling, this method of argument eventually succeeded. It was pitch dark before they handed to us for a shamelessly high price the oldest billy goat they could put their hands on. We knew we were being blackmailed, but we put up with it, as we wished to win the hospitality of this country.
We slaughtered the goat in a stable, and it was not till midnight that we fell to on the half-cooked meat.
Kasapuling：地名
deserted：人が住まない、さびれた
stir：動く、活動している
sow：種を蒔く
barley：大麦
Sitting on their haunches：うずくまって
their・they・them：villagersを指します
grain：粒
those：feelingsを指します
Columbus：（人名）コロンブス
they：villagersを指します
receive：迎える
foe：敵
For the moment：当座、さしあたり
They：The criesを指します
aimed at 〜：〜に向けた
swarms of wild pigeons：野生の鳩の群れ
swooped down：襲いかかった
deigned to bestow a glance on 〜：〜に一顧だに与えなかった
at nightfall：夕暮れに
came in：帰宅した
disinclined：気が向かなかった
frontier post：国境守備隊
is brought up：しつけられる
hostile：敵意のある
intimidate：脅迫する
threatened to 〜：〜するぞ、と言って脅した
freely：自由に、気ままに、自発的に
weakling：虚弱者
argument：議論、争い
eventually：ついに
pitch dark：真っ暗闇の
shamelessly：恥知らずな、ずうずうしい
billy goat：雄ヤギ
put their hands on 〜：〜のありかを見つける
blackmail：ゆする、ぼる
put up with：我慢する
it：being blackmailedを指します
hospitality：厚遇
slaughter：屠殺する
stable：家畜小屋
fell to 〜：〜始める