English Essay by Brian Southwick

16 Summer Reading 2 　　ALTによるＲＥＡＤＩＮＧ

　　In my last essay I told you about Lafcadio Hearn, the writer who liked Japan and wrote the interesting book Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan.  In this essay I will tell you about one chapter of his book, “From the Diary of an English Teacher.”
    Hearn began teaching English at the Jinjo Chugakko, or Ordinary Middle School, in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, on September 2, 1890.  The school was a large building made of wood, in a European style.  There were about three hundred students at the school.  All of them were boys, from 12 to 17 years old.  The boys were very nice to their teachers, and when Hearn entered the classroom, one of the boys said, “Stand up.”  Then Hearn and the boys bowed to each other.
    The desks and chairs used by the students were very different from ours.  The desks were small and in the shape of a triangle.  The boys could put their notebook and textbook on the desk, but not their elbows.  So, the students couldn’t sleep in class.  The chairs did not have a back, only legs and a seat.  So, the students had to sit very straight in their chairs.
    The students had many subjects to study.  They studied Japanese and English, just as we do today.  They also studied agriculture, astronomy, chemistry, physics, history, math, morals, art, and P.E.  The students were very　busy, but they had only five classes each day. One of them was P.E.

・Lafcadio Hearn's photo by Wikimedia 　　　・About Lafcadio Hearn by Wikipedia



（注）
Lafcadio Hearn（ラフカディオ・ハーン），Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan（「日本の面影」），
chapter（章），diary（日記），Matsue, Shimane Prefecture（島根県松江市），wood（木材），
European style（ヨーロッパ様式），enter（〜に入る），bow（お辞儀をする），each other（お互いに），
were different from〜（〜とは異なっていた），shape（形），triangle（三角形），elbow（肘），
in class（授業中），back（背面），leg（脚），seat（座席），straight（まっすぐに），
just as〜（〜とちょうど同じように），agriculture（農業），astronomy（天文学），chemistry（化学），
physics（物理学），morals（修身，倫理学）





Questions and Answers: Please answer in English in a complete sentence, with a subject and a verb.

Q1. When did Lafcadio Hearn begin teaching at the Ordinary　Middle School?

A1.

Q2. How many students were at the school?

A2.

Q3. What did Mr. Hearn and the boys do when they stood up?

A3.

Q4. Why did the students have to sit straight in their seats?

A4.

Q5. What class did the students have every day?

A5. 

＜解答例＞

A1. He began teaching at the Ordinary Middle School on September 2, 1890.
                              = there

A2. There were about three hundred students (there).

A3. They bowed to each other.

A4. Because the chairs did not have a back(, only legs and a seat).

A5. They had P.E.(every day).


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