English Essay by Brian Southwick

43 A Nice Story READING (slow) (fast)

 On Friday mornings I usually work at the General Education Center in Nishikawa, Nishikan Ward. My work at the center includes writing essays, such as this one. On Friday afternoons I visit ALTs around Niigata City to talk about English teaching at junior high schools.
 Friday, November 21 was a cloudy, chilly day. Rain began to fall as I walked that morning from Echigo Sone Station to the Nishikawa Education Center. In the afternoon I had to go to Maki for a 2:00 meeting with some other English teachers. After having lunch at the education center, I walked back to Sone Station. The train left for Maki at about 1:15. It was 1:20 when I got to the station. I was late! The next train didn’t come until after 2:00, and there was no bus for me to take. So, I decided to walk to Maki.
 It is about 5 km from Nishikawa to Maki, and I thought I could get to my meeting by 2:00 if I walked quickly. After a few minutes a heavy rain began to fall, and a strong wind started to blow. Soon my trousers and shoes were wet, but I continued walking as fast as I could go. From time to time I looked at my watch: 1:30, 1:40, 1:45. Maki was still far away. I didn’t think I could get there by 2:00.
                   READING (slow) (fast)

 Just then a car passed me and stopped. The driver, an old woman, gestured for me to get in. I opened the door and got in the back seat. The woman asked me in Japanese where I was going. When I told her she was very surprised. She said she was going to a dental clinic across the street from my meeting place. “I’ll take you to your meeting,” she said.
 In the car, on the way to Maki, the woman told me about her daughter. After finishing high school her daughter went to a university in the United States for four years. Her daughter is married to a man from England and lives in Tokyo now. “When she was an exchange student in America, many people were friendly to my daughter and often helped her. So, when I saw a foreigner walking in the rain, I wanted to help him.”
 After a few minutes we got to Maki, and soon the car stopped in front of a dental clinic. The Nishikan Ward Office, the place of my meeting, was across the street. I got out of the car and thanked the woman many times for her kindness. Then I looked at my watch. It was 2:00.

<注>
the General Education Center(総合教育センター),Nishikan Ward(西蒲区), include(〜を含む),essay(エッセイ、随筆),such as(〜のような), chilly(冷え冷えする),heavy(激しい),trousers(ズボン),wet(ぬれた), as fast as I could go(できるだけ速く),from time to time(時々),watch(腕時計), gesture(身ぶりをする),dental clinic(歯医者),daughter(娘),university(大学), married(結婚した),England(イングランド),friendly(やさしい), foreigner(外国人),the Nishikan Ward Office(西蒲区役所),kindness(優しさ)





Question and Answers: Please answer the following questions
in English in a complete sentence, with a subject and a verb.

Q1: Where does Brian usually go on Friday mornings?
A1:

Q2: What does he do at the education center?
A2:

Q3: Did Brian have a meeting in Maki on November 21?
A3:

Q4: What happened to Brian while he was walking in the rain?
A4:

Q5: Why did the woman help Brian?
A5:




<解答例>

A1. He goes to the General Education Center in Nishikawa.

A2. He writes essays.

A3. Yes, he did.

A4. An old woman in a car stopped and took him to Maki. The driver of a car stopped and said, “I’ll take you to your meeting.” 等

A5. Because many people were friendly to her daughter and often helped her when she was an exchange student in America.