The Zoo That Bit Back

http://storynory.com/2008/06/02/the-zoo-that-bit-back/

Life in the zoo was not as exciting as on the outside, but it had its attractions.
attraction:something interesting or enjoyable to see or do

The daily menus catered for everyone’s tastes.
cater:to provide and serve food and drinks at a party, meeting etc, usually as a business

Some liked berries, others liked bananas.

Some hungered for steak, others for fresh termites.
steak:good quality beef, or a large thick piece of any good quality red meat
termite:an insect that eats and destroys wood from trees and buildings

The food just turned up every day, and nobody had to hunt or gather.

The animals didn’t even have to tidy up their own cages or make their beds with fresh straw.
straw:the dried stems of wheat or similar plants that animals sleep on, and that are used for making things such as baskets, hats etc [↪ hay]
stem:the long thin part of a plant, from which leaves, flowers, or fruit grow [= stalk]

The keepers did all that for them.

The keeper of the monkeys cage was called Mr. Hartley.

He was a sweet man, and if the truth be told, a bit of a softy.
sweet:kind, gentle, and friendly

Anything the monkeys screeched for, he provided - almost always.
screech:to shout loudly in an unpleasant high voice because you are angry, afraid, or excited [= shriek, scream]

The chief monkey, whose name was Bozo,

wanted a television so that he could watch Animal Planet.

At first Mr. Harley could not understand what he was squawking on about,
squawk:if a bird squawks, it makes a loud sharp angry sound

but he saw that Bozo was pointing to the video screen

that displayed important information for the visitors.

He tried turning it off, but that agitated Bozo even more.
agitated:so nervous or upset that you are unable to keep still or think calmly

Then he twigged what was in monkeys’ mind,
twig:to suddenly realize something about a situation

and he went out and bought the latest flat panel TV and put it in the window of his office

where Bozo and his followers could watch it.

But such a life of luxury could not go on for ever, and it didn’t.
luxury:something expensive that you do not need, but you buy for pleasure and enjoyment [≠ necessity]

After Theo’s famous escape and his chocolate-crazed escapade,
craze:a fashion, game, type of music etc that becomes very popular for a short time [= fad]
escapade:an adventure or series of events that are exciting or contain some risk

the zoo was noticed in high places.

The local newspaper ran a headline that read:

“Slack Security at the Zoo.”
slack:not taking enough care or making enough effort to do things correctly - used to show
disapproval

And a local politician ran for election under the slogan;

“Time to get tough on the animals.


The word of shout in English have many way.
but there is difference of nuance.
I enjoy that today.

The Sheriff Who Came to Dinner with Robin Hood

http://storynory.com/2008/07/06/the-sheriff-who-came-to-dinner/

Robin Hood’s most trusted outlaw was Little John.
outlaw:someone who has done something illegal, and who is hiding in order to avoid punishment - used especially about criminals in the past
punish:to make someone suffer because they have done something wrong or broken the law

In fact, there was nothing little about him at all. He was huge.

And if there was one thing that he really loved it was his food.

In particular, he liked to eat venison – which is the meat of deer.
deer:a large wild animal that can run very fast, eats grass, and has horns

There were plenty of deer in Sherwood Forrest,
plenty:a large quantity that is enough or more than enough

but it was forbidden to shoot them by punishment of death.
forbid:to tell someone that they are not allowed to do something, or that something is not allowed [≠ permit]

The law didn’t stop Little John, because he feared nothing or nobody.

Sometimes he would arrive at Robin Hood’s layer with a bag full of hares,
bag:the amount that a bag will hold
hares:an animal like a rabbit but larger, which can run very quickly

partridges, and pheasants and he would say to Robin:
partridge:a fat brown bird with a short tail which is shot for sport and food
pheasant:a large bird with a long tail, often shot for food, or the meat of this bird

“Come on my friend, let’s get a good fire going.

I’ll soon have these ready for roasting and what a fine dinner we shall have.”

But quite often Robin would make Little John wait for his dinner until a rich

and respectable guest had come to join them.

And at those times, when Little John was hungry,

he would become very tetchy and bad tempered indeed.

tetchy:likely to get angry or upset easily
bad tempered:someone who is bad-tempered becomes easily annoyed and talks in an angry way to people [= irritable]

All the other robbers who lived with Robin Hood would stay out of his way,

because nobody wanted to get into a fight with a man as big and strong as Little John.

One day, Robin asked Little John to go into the city of Nottingham to see

if he could pick up any news or gossip.

It so happened, that on that same day there was shooting competition in the market place.
competition:a situation in which people or organizations try to be more successful than other people or organizations [↪ compete, competitor]

Little John could not resist a chance to show of his skill with his bow and arrow,
resist: to try to prevent a change from happening, or prevent yourself from being forced to do something

and he paid the fee of one penny to join the contest.

Each archer had to shoot an arrow into a post.

Those who missed dropped out,

and those that hit went on to the next round when the posts were moved further back.
further:a greater distance, or beyond a particular place

Little John split six posts down the middle with his arrows. Nobody else could match him.

thank you answer my question.
I think Little John resembles Jyaian of Doraemon.
I don't like Jyaian.

about my experience this semester

私は今学期この授業を受けて２種類の方法でブログを進めました。１つはStorynoryをそのまま英辞郎やRikaiを使って日本語訳にする方法、もう１つはStorynoryや洋楽の歌詞をわからない単語や言い回しをLongman Web Dictionaryを使って英英で定義して意味を理解しながら読んでいく方法をとりました。それぞれためになる勉強方法であると思いますが、英語の中では日本語に訳せない英語もあると思いますし、英語を自分の力にするのなら日本語を介して理解するよりもやさしい英語で定義して理解するほうが近道だと思い途中でLongman Web Dictionaryを中心に授業を進めました。

Storynoryや洋楽の歌詞を題材に勉強したことで中学、高校で習う英語とはまた違う英語、たとえば、good-for-nothingやfoot：a set of stairs between one floor and the nextという意味もあっていろんな使い方があったということやYour majestyなど絵本とかでないと覚える機会はなかったと思います。そういう点で私は勉強になる時間だったと思いました。

逆に英語ならではの表現方法や意味しているところがわからなくなったり難しいこともありましたが先生に質問することで解決できました。私はブログを更新するためにおよそ２時間ほどかかりましたがもっと効率よくできるようになりたいです。秋学期ではもっとみんながしている難しい方法で学んでいけるように工夫して勉強をしたいです。

The Emperor’s New Clothes

http://storynory.com/2008/06/23/the-emperors-new-clothes/

Many years ago, there was an Emperor, who was so excessively fond of new clothes,

excessively:much more than is reasonable or necessary

that he spent all his money on the finest suits.

He did not trouble himself in the least about his soldiers;

nor did he care to go to the theatre or out hunting,

except when there was a chance to show off his new clothes.

He had a different suit for each hour of the day.

Just as you might say of any other king or emperor,

“He is sitting in his council” - people used to say of him, “He is sitting in his wardrobe.”
council:a group of people that are chosen to make rules, laws, or decisions, or to give advice
wardrobe:a piece of furniture like a large cupboard that you hang clothes in [↪ closet]

Time passed merrily in the large town which was his capital;
merrily:in a happy way, or in a way that makes you feel happy

strangers arrived every day at the court.

One day, two rogues, calling themselves weavers came to the court.
rogues:a man or boy who behaves badly, but who you like in spite of this - often used humorously

They said that they knew how to weave clothes of the most beautiful colors and elaborate patterns.
elaborate:having a lot of small parts or details put together in a complicated way

The clothes made from their cloths were like no others:

They were invisible to everyone who was either unfit for their job,

or extremely simple in the head.

“These must, indeed, be splendid clothes!” thought the Emperor.
splendid:very good [= excellent]

“Had I such a suit, I might at once find out what men in my empire are unfit for their jobs,

and also be able to tell the wise from the foolish!

This stuff must be woven for me immediately.”
weave:he way in which a material is woven, and the pattern formed by this
immediately:as soon as

And he ordered large sums of money to be given to both the weavers so that they might begin their work.
sums:an amount of money

So the two false weavers set up two looms, and pretended to work very busily,

though in reality they did nothing at all.

They asked for the most delicate silk and the purest gold thread;
purest:a pure substance or material is not mixed with anything
threat:a statement in which you tell someone that you will cause them harm or trouble if they do not do what you want

put both into their own knapsacks;

and then continued their pretend work at the empty looms until late at night.

“I should like to know how the weavers are getting on with my cloth,”

said the Emperor to himself, after some little time had gone by;

he was, however, rather embarrassed, when he remembered that a simpleton,
embarrass:feeling nervous and uncomfortable and worrying about what people think of you, for example because you have to talk or sing in public, or because you have made a silly mistake
simpleton:someone who has a very low level of intelligence

or someone unfit for his office, would be unable to see the results of their work.

To be sure, he himself not have any trouble seeing the clothes, but yet,

thought it would be better to send somebody else to report on the weavers and their work.

He has been enviable life.
But if I am emperor, I want to be plain life.

I konw that "tell" has various mean.thank you.