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では、昨日の続きから始めたいと思います。





↓　以下の長文は分かりやすくするため、つながっている部分は１文ごとに改行、段落は２個分改行を行います。

問

Native American and Canadian Indian tribes have passed down stories going back thousands of years about giant ape-men, or Bigfoot, living in the forest of the western United States and Canada.
They called these creature Sasquatch, Yerin, or Mountain Devils.
Regardless of the name, the descriptions of these animals are usually the same.
The Bigfoot is usually described as being very tall, well over two meters.
It is covered in thick, dark hair and usually gives off a bad odor.
The Bigfoot's body is usually very muscular and ape-like, yet it walks upright and has a face more similar to that of humans than of apes.
For the most part, these creatures appear not to be violent or aggressive.
Big foot sightings are usually of lone, or single, creatures, but there have been reports of people seeing groups, or families, of Bigfoot.

People in other countries also tell stories of similar ape-men.
In the Himalayas, a mountain range in Nepal, people call these creatures Yeti, or Abominable Snowmen.
The Africans call them Ngoloko, and the Chinese tell stories of Gin-sung, or Bearman.

Though sightings have been reported for centuries, is there any scientific evidence for the existence of these creatures?
Some say yes, and others say no.
Dr. Grover Krantz, a physical anthropologist at the University of Oregon, believes that Bigfoot may be a type of creature known as a Gigantopithecus.
A Gigantopithecus is an animal that lived in Asia over 300,000 years ago and looked like a mix between an ape and a very large man.
Dr. Krantz believes that these animals, which lived long before humans, may have migrated from Asia and decided to settle in the heavily wooded area of the Pacific Northwest, where food was plentiful.

Is it possible that creatures like these could have survived for so many years unknown to humans?
Cryptozoologists compare the case of Bigfoot to that of the coelacanth.
The coelacanth is a type of fish that was believed to have gone extinct over 70 million years ago, but this fish has been discovered to be still living off the coast of South Africa.
Cryptozoologists believe that the animals that we now call Bigfoot have been able to survive by living in an area that people, until recently, have seldom gone.

There are, however, some questions that science has been unable to answer.
For example, why have no dead Bigfoot bodies ever been discovered?
And where is the physical proof of their existence?
Bigfoot researchers point out that it is unusual to find the dead remains of any animal in the forest.
Most of the time, they say, other animals eat the remains soon after death; this may be the case for Bigfoot, too.
Many skeptics, people who do not believe in Bigfoot, say that the videos and photographs of Bigfoot are really pictures of people wearing ape costumes.
They also believe that the Bigfoot footprints are really the footprints of bears, or footprints made by tricksters trying to fool scientists.

It is possible that we may never know the truth about these animals.
If they have avoided being seen for the last several thousand years, then maybe they will stay hidden for another several thousand.
Or it may be that as we humans go deeper and deeper into the forest of Northwest America and Canada, we may finally come face to face with the elusive Bigfoot.





今回はこの文章を解説、数回に分けて解説し、以降に設問を解いていこうと思います。

第２段落

〇People（＝S） ［in other countries］ ［also］ tell（＝Ｖ） stories（＝Ｏ） ［of similar ape-men］

典型的な第３文型ですね。「違う地域の人たちは猿人に近い話を話している」といった具合ですね。

〇［In the Himalayas, a mountain range in Nepal］, people（＝Ｓ） call（＝Ｖ） these creatures（＝Ｏ） Yeti, or Abominable Snowmen（＝C）

これもまた典型的な第５文型ですね。「人々はこれらの生物を「YetiもしくはAbominable Snowmen」と呼びます」といった感じですね。

〇The Africans（＝Ｓ） call（＝Ｖ） them（＝Ｏ） Ngoloko（＝Ｃ）, ≪and≫ the Chinese（＝Ｓ） tell（＝Ｖ） stories（＝Ｏ） ［of Gin-sung, or Bearman］

この文章は２つの文章をつなげる≪and≫ぐらいですね、文法的に見るとしたら。
他は、今ままでの文章で見た構文ですね。





第３段落

〇［Though sightings have been reported for centuries］, is（＝Ｖ） there any scientific evidence（＝S） ［for the existence］ ［of these creatures］?

※「though」〜にも関わらず
主文の「there」は「any scientific evidence」です。そうなるとこの文章は第１文型となります。
そのため「「any scientific evidence」は存在するのか？」みたいな意味になります。


〇Some（＝Ｓ） say（＝Ｖ） yes（＝O）, ≪and≫ others（＝Ｓ） say（＝Ｖ） no（＝Ｏ）

〇Dr. Grover Krantz, ［a physical anthropologist at the University of Oregon］（＝Dr. Grover Krantzを修飾する節）, believes（＝V） ［that Bigfoot may be a type of creature known as a Gigantopithecus］（＝O）

まずは主文は「Dr. Grover Krantzは［　］を信じている」となります。
では、［］内。
Bigfoot（＝Ｓ） may be（＝Ｖ） a type（＝Ｃ） ［of creature known］ ［as a Gigantopithecus］
「Bigfootは多分、「Gigantopithecus」として知られている「creature」の「type」である」となります。
日本語訳的には、まったく何を言っているのか分からないと思いますが、何となくのニュアンスは伝わるのではないでしょうか？





〇A Gigantopithecus（＝S） is（＝V） an animal（＝C） ［that lived in Asia over 300,000 years ago and looked like a mix between an ape and a very large man］（＝animalを修飾している節）

では、主文から⇒「A Gigantopithecusは動物です」……w
そのanimalを修飾しているthat節について
that（＝S） lived（V） ［in Asia over 300,000 years ago］ ≪and≫ looked（＝V） ［like］ a mix（＝C） ［between an ape ≪and≫ a very large man］
この場合の「that」は「animal」になります。なので、最初の「and」で２つの文が並列されています。
訳は「この動物は、アジアで３０万年以上生きていて、サルと長身の人の間のミックスのように見える」という感じですかね

〇Dr. Krantz（＝Ｓ） believes（＝Ｖ） ［that these animals, which lived long before humans, may have migrated from Asia and decided to settle in the heavily wooded area of the Pacific Northwest, where food was plentiful］（＝Ｏ）

これまた、「Dr. Krantzは［　　］を信じている」……w
では、［　］内
these animals（＝Ｓ）, ［which lived long before humans］, may have migrated（＝Ｖ） ［from Asia］ ≪and≫ decided（＝Ｖ） ［to settle in the heavily wooded area］ ［of the Pacific Northwest］（＝areaの修飾）, ［where food was plentiful］

第二・三段落はアメリカやカナダ以外の地域での話と、「Dr. Krantz」の話ですね

次回は、第四・五段落について解説していこうと思います。

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2023年受験用 全国大学入試問題正解 英語（私立大編） [ 旺文社 ] 価格:7260円 (2024/5/6 14:43時点) 感想(0件)