メンバーは、課題１と２を、２月３日金曜までに読んできて下さいね。
できる人はノートに写してください。
課題１
真っ白い：pure-white
〜に抱っこされて：cradled in the arms of ...
性別：gender
ギリギリで間に合う：just in time
（Photo: Asahi Digital）
Birth of pure-white monkey closes 2016
A pure-white monkey born on the last day of 2016 -- the year of the Monkey in the Chinese zodiac -- is drawing the attention of the public.
The baby Abyssinian black-and-white colobus monkey was born on Dec. 31 at the Chiba Zoological Park in Chiba Prefecture. Adult members of the species have black and white fur, but young monkeys are pure white until they are about 3 months old. The baby monkey has grabbed the hearts of visitors with its cuteness since its first appearance to the public on Jan. 2. The monkey spends the whole day cradled in the arms of its mother, occasionally pecking its face away from her chest for the crowds to see. It still does note have a name because the baby's gender is not yet known. The zookeeper responsible for the monkeys said: "The birth of the monkey was just in time, before the end of the Year of the Monkey. Please come to see the baby while it's still completely white."
課題２
（写真:BBC)
身勝手な主張：self-centered assertion
国際政治：international politics
大統領令：exective order
一致点：common ground
入国審査：enforcement of immigration
Trump should know international order cannot be kept with threats
Does U.S. President Donald Trump think that he can bring his “America first” idea to diplomacy and get his self-centered assertions through? He must realize that international politics does not work under threats and exclusions.
Trump issued an executive order ordering the construction of a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico. The president continued pushing his pet idea saying, “I will make Mexico pay for that wall.” Relations between the United States and Mexico have rapidly deteriorated, and a planned meeting between the leaders of those countries was canceled.
Subsequently, Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto spoke on the telephone to mend relations. However, Pena Nieto has made it clear that he refuses to bear the cost of the construction. It looks like it will not be easy to find common ground.
On the diplomatic front, Trump is pressuring his negotiating opponents by making comments on Twitter in a bid to gain the upper hand. The Mexican government has stated it is desirable to refrain from publicly discussing payment for the border wall — this comment could be viewed as an objection to such tactics by Trump.
Trump also signed an executive order whose pillars are to strengthen enforcement of immigration and ban the entry of refugees for 120 days. He temporarily barred Syrian refugees. The order included a policy to restrict entry visa issuance to people from countries that are at risk of terrorism.
(Yomiuri news)
課題３（おまけ）
作品を残す：leave a work
有力者：influential figure
毛筆で：with an ink brush
大きな意味：great significance
Museum to display rare Ogai Mori letter
Novelist Ogai Mori(1862-1922) left a number of notable works such as "Maihime"(The Dancing Girl) and "Sansho Dayu"(Sansho the Baililiff). The Mori Ogai Memorial Museum in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, obtained a letter written by Mori when he was young that is said to be one of the few that remains from the period.
Mori was from Shimane Prefecture, He became a medical officer of the Imperial Japanese Army and went to Germany to study. Returning to Japan in 1888, he got involved in serious literary activities. Mori penned the letter in 1891 when he was 29. It was to writer Koson Aeba, an influential figure in the world of literature at the time. The rolled paper carries a beautiful text written with an ink brush. There are few letters written by Mori from that time. "The letter is of great significance," an expert said. It will be on display at the museum starting in February.
(by The yomiuri shinbun)
