※Simon先生のシリーズ前回の記事「Simon先生の英語ブログで学ぶ使える英語表現ーTake a Plunge 「ひと泳ぎする」」を見逃した方はこちらからどうぞ！

さて、今回のブログは、Stir Crazy 「長い刑務所暮らしで気が変になった」です。

まず、Simon先生の英語ブログを読んでみよう！

Hello, this is Simon.

The weather has been oppressive these last few weeks, which has limited our movement. My daughter loves going to the park, but it’s been too hot for that, so we stayed at home and played in the pool during the holidays. That served us well for a while, but it still meant we were at home the whole time. Little by little my daughter started going stir crazy.

Every day she was asking “Where are we going today?” My son was down with a fever, so a family outing was out of the question. I managed to stall her for a while, but eventually I had to promise to take her somewhere. So I decided to give the science museum I try.

We could have a fun little adventure, just the two of us, with a bus trip, a hamburger at the station, followed by a train and subway ride to the museum. She was clearly excited when we set off, as she talked incessantly the whole way, a real little chatterbox. We got to the burger shop, which she was quite excited about. After the burgers arrived, she took one bite of hers and then told me she was full. From that point on, I had to negotiate one bite at a time. It was hard going but I managed to get her to eat about two thirds of it. She was still talking the whole time. She had gotten a free yo-yo with her hamburger and so was eager to use it. I told her to wait till we got outside.

After that, it was off to the train. It’s about a two minute walk, or ten if you add in yo-yo stops. We took that to the subway, and then changed to the subway. Once we got on that, the first thing she said was “I’m hungry.” I told her, “You’ve got to be kidding!” She just looked at me and laughed. I could see it was going to be quite a long adventure…

There were various other minor incidents and negotiations that took place throughout the day, but we did have a fun time. The science museum had a lot of very interesting displays and activities. All in all was was a very good outing for her, so I thought I’d be free of her nagging me to go somewhere for a while.

The following day we had no plans and since my daughter sleeps in, I had good morning pottering around the house. After a few hours of that, I heard her footsteps coming down the stairs. She was awake. When she got to the bottom, I said “Good morning!“ and she replied with a sleepy “Papa, where are we going today?“…

ーそれでは、本文の中からピックアップした英語表現を見てみましょう！

“The weather has been oppressive”

The adjective “oppressive” when related to weather means very hot and intense

(e.g. The oppressive heat made it difficult to do anything.)

“served us well”

The expression to “serve one well” means to be effective or beneficial to someone

(e.g. His trusty fishing rod served him well for many years.)

“stir crazy”

To go “stir crazy” means to become frustrated or agitated because you have been confined or unable to go somewhere.

It is often used to describe prisoners, but can also be used for people who are stuck at home.

“incessantly”

The adjective “incessantly” means constantly, without stopping, often to the point of becoming annoying

(e.g. It was a long train ride, and to make matters worse, the people beside were chatting incessantly for the whole trip.)

“chatterbox”

A “chatterbox” is a person who talks a lot.

It is usually used to describe a child and is often used affectionately.

“off to the train”

To be “off” somewhere means to depart for that place

(e.g. We’re off to USJ tomorrow.)

“You’ve got to be kidding”

To “kid” means to joke. So “You’ve got to be kidding!” means “You must be joking!” It is an expression of disbelief that something has happened.

“pottering around the house”

To “potter around” means to spend time in a pleasant and relaxed way, doing small jobs around the house.

The incredibly hot days are continuing, and the summer break has come to an end, and we are back into the grind. I hope everything is going smoothly.

Take care and see you next month!

フルーツフルイングリッシュで英語表現の楽しさ感じてください 。初めての方には英作文添削チケット2回分をプレゼント。
「無料英語テスト800問（解説付）」メルマガも大人気。今すぐチェック！

Simon

Hello! My name is Simon.

I am from New Zealand, and have been living and teaching English in Japan since 1999.

My hobbies include movies, playing the guitar, gardening and hiking.