英文で所々分からない箇所があります
お世話になっております。
男性で木の上に住んでる人とか、元軍人のエッセーを読んで来ているせいか、彼女の英文は私にとって”大袈裟”で”飾りっ気”が多く理解しにくいです。
質問1. というのは私の浅学のせいで、このくらいの英文は大袈裟でも何でもなく"普通"なんでしょうか？このくらいの比喩表現を理解出来ないのは、まだまだ私が浅学ということでしょうか？
質問2.下記の英文で
feeling my spirit crushed because I will never know what it's like to wake up and start my day in a tiara.
彼女のspirit が打ち砕かれるとのことですが、because 以下との関連がよく分かりません。具体的に説明するとどうなりますか？
質問3.は字数制限で出来ませんので新たな投稿でします。
よろしくお願いいたします。
Essay
Another day, another new shopping mall
By Jennifer Matsui
今日もショッピングモールがオープン
東京周辺では毎日のように新たなショッピングモールが誕生しているが、 3月下旬、六本木の防衛庁跡地に「東京ミッドタウン」がオープンした。 もうけ主義の開発業者が作り出したこの施設の中で、唯一の救いと言えるのが、 サントリー美術館で展示されている江戸時代の宝物の数々ではないだろうか。
Seldom does a day go by that doesn't herald the opening of yet another retail temple devoted to the gods of shopping, where the faithful go to worship the almighty designer label and overpriced tea salon. It seems like only yesterday that I followed the crowds into Omotesando Hills, window-shopping along with tens of thousands of other drones, looking at everything on display and feeling my spirit crushed because I will never know what it's like to wake up and start my day in a tiara.
And just when I thought I had found inner peace without the aid of retail religion, along comes yet another newly opened shopping center with all of the familiar enticements of luxury and convenience. Naturally, this one is no different from Tokyo's other shopping centers, all uniquely designed to frustrate the visitor with their maze-like layouts, where going from A to B requires the skills and stamina of a Sherpa guide.
Surrounded by all this, I suddenly fear earthquakes less than the fashion disaster of my own making. I realize that if there was an earthquake and all this concrete and glass were to come crashing down on me, my dying breath would be a prayer that no one notices how cheap my shoes are.
Tokyo's new Midtown shopping center, located on the former site of the Defense Agency, is yet another addition to Tokyo's retail jungle. But as far as shopping centers go, it's certainly not the worst of its kind.
The curved footbridge, where cars instead of carp can be viewed below, and other distinctly Japanese touches are improvements over the usual bland, pre-fab American-style shopping centers that appeared during the bubble era. Its architects have clearly made an effort to create a sense of harmony with the existing neighborhood.
And herein lies the problem. Midtown's seamless inclusion into the Tokyo landscape gives rise to a mind-set that defines "community" and "neighborhood" by the flagship stores bearing the name of a multinational corporation. All this conformity is just another step along the way to creating a society regulated by greedy developers.
At some point, I was probably standing on the exact spot where George's bar used to be — a tiny watering hole on the outskirts of Roppongi famous for its Motown-themed decor, and its ageless Mama-san. It's hard to exactly pinpoint the precise location of George's since the wonders of development and "progress" have destroyed every vestige of the past, burying it under a million tons of reinforced steel and concrete.
Ironically, the only life within the Midtown mausoleum can be found among the centuries-old treasures on display at the Suntory Museum. Here, visitors can enjoy a welcome break from the rigors of mindless spending. The current exhibition of Edo period treasures, ranging from exquisitely painted folding screens to lacquer incense holders, is a beautiful yet sad reminder of a bygone age before the connoisseur gave way to the consumer.
In contrast to the dead relics of the present, these artifacts remind us that real beauty possesses the beholder, rather than the other way around.
Shukan ST: May 11, 2007
お礼
PIBさん、ありがとうございます。ちなみにＲＭＡとは なんの単語の省略でしょうか。ＣＰＵだとだいたい何日いないが 相場なのでしょうか。