2011年9月30日金曜日
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
2011/09/30 (Fri) Slept from 1:00-8:00 (7 hrs). Very strong shocks on my head when falling asleep, one of which twitched my mouth. Game or car blast noise outside. A private lesson at Shibuya branch from 16:30-17:50.
2011年9月29日木曜日
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
2011/09/29 (Thu) On the evening of 28th, a man, 160 -165 cm tall and muscular, approached when I was putting garbage in the bin in front of my building, noticing the day was wrong, and as I push the pin number of the auto-lock of the gate he stopped walking and stood a couple meters behind me. I thought he was one of the people who live in the same apartment building and left the door open when I go in because I thought that was the good manner although I had to fight the urge to shut the door to his face due to harassments I have experienced. Then when I walked a couple steps, he whistled nastily.
The funny feeling in my head and teeth which usually happens only after I concentrate on doing something like doing dishes or working on PC, happened when I was drying my hair after bath. I moved to the front door, where the feeling seems to lessen, dried my hair, feeling normal, came back to my bedroom, and felt that feeling again. The feeling has lasted over half an hour as I sat in front of my PC. A loud male voice talking in the next room was heard for around 20 minutes. Now it is quiet at 0:31. And now the noise which sounds like a computer game or car blast started in the next room.
Now it’s 1:02 and the funny feeling has stopped, which I noticed 10 minutes ago. No game sound, either. (I have been sitting in front of my PC since I made the last note. The game sound returned. (1:04)
When brushing my teeth in the bathroom, a noise and vibration which sounded like a bus or truck engine came from the next room that vibrated the floor of the bathroom several times. I checked the bedroom but there were no such noise or vibration.
1:30: When I was watching a funny YouTube video with a sound, suddenly I felt like having been hit on the head and felt dizzy. It was like my whole brain swayed.
From my experience, I have a feeling that I will be harassed almost all night with violent attacks.
2011/09/29 (Thu) Slept from 1:30-4:00 + 4:30-8:30 (2:5+4 hrs). Incessant strong electric shocks into my brain, each of which sounded shoooh in my brain as if all my nerves were caught by an electric current, when I was falling asleep and sleeping. At least one fit of my finger. At 4:00, woke or woken up and heard someone moving around in the next room. Also a noise to move something. Trying to sleep again in the same incessant electric assaults when I heard someone leaving the next room. I opened my window facing the street and saw a young male, around 175 cm tall with short hair and footballer type shoulders wearing a white T-shirt with 10 on the back and carrying a bag with its strap across his back, walking away. I thought of taking his picture with my mobile but since I am not used to using the function I wasn’t able to take any. The male was different from the one who offended me last night, who was wearing a suit. After this, the assault seemed to have stopped because I had no problem in sleeping again and I do not remember being attacked while I was sleeping.
Did not feel dizzy when I got up although felt tired. Funny feeling while doing dishes and working on PC including right now typing this record at 12:13.
Worked at Funabashi branch from 15:00-16:25 for a private lesson. Slept sitting with arms holding my knees for 10-20 minutes after eating late lunch at home in the evening.
The funny feeling in my head and teeth which usually happens only after I concentrate on doing something like doing dishes or working on PC, happened when I was drying my hair after bath. I moved to the front door, where the feeling seems to lessen, dried my hair, feeling normal, came back to my bedroom, and felt that feeling again. The feeling has lasted over half an hour as I sat in front of my PC. A loud male voice talking in the next room was heard for around 20 minutes. Now it is quiet at 0:31. And now the noise which sounds like a computer game or car blast started in the next room.
Now it’s 1:02 and the funny feeling has stopped, which I noticed 10 minutes ago. No game sound, either. (I have been sitting in front of my PC since I made the last note. The game sound returned. (1:04)
When brushing my teeth in the bathroom, a noise and vibration which sounded like a bus or truck engine came from the next room that vibrated the floor of the bathroom several times. I checked the bedroom but there were no such noise or vibration.
1:30: When I was watching a funny YouTube video with a sound, suddenly I felt like having been hit on the head and felt dizzy. It was like my whole brain swayed.
From my experience, I have a feeling that I will be harassed almost all night with violent attacks.
2011/09/29 (Thu) Slept from 1:30-4:00 + 4:30-8:30 (2:5+4 hrs). Incessant strong electric shocks into my brain, each of which sounded shoooh in my brain as if all my nerves were caught by an electric current, when I was falling asleep and sleeping. At least one fit of my finger. At 4:00, woke or woken up and heard someone moving around in the next room. Also a noise to move something. Trying to sleep again in the same incessant electric assaults when I heard someone leaving the next room. I opened my window facing the street and saw a young male, around 175 cm tall with short hair and footballer type shoulders wearing a white T-shirt with 10 on the back and carrying a bag with its strap across his back, walking away. I thought of taking his picture with my mobile but since I am not used to using the function I wasn’t able to take any. The male was different from the one who offended me last night, who was wearing a suit. After this, the assault seemed to have stopped because I had no problem in sleeping again and I do not remember being attacked while I was sleeping.
Did not feel dizzy when I got up although felt tired. Funny feeling while doing dishes and working on PC including right now typing this record at 12:13.
Worked at Funabashi branch from 15:00-16:25 for a private lesson. Slept sitting with arms holding my knees for 10-20 minutes after eating late lunch at home in the evening.
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
2011/09/29 (Thu) On the evening of 28th, a man, 160 -165 cm tall and muscular, approached when I was putting garbage in the bin in front of my building, noticing the day was wrong, and as I push the pin number of the auto-lock of the gate he stopped walking and stood a couple meters behind me. I thought he was one of the people who live in the same apartment building and left the door open when I go in because I thought that was the good manner although I had to fight the urge to shut the door to his face due to harassments I have experienced. Then when I walked a couple steps, he whistled nastily.
The funny feeling in my head and teeth which usually happens only after I concentrate on doing something like doing dishes or working on PC, happened when I was drying my hair after bath. I moved to the front door, where the feeling seems to lessen, dried my hair, feeling normal, came back to my bedroom, and felt that feeling again. The feeling has lasted over half an hour as I sat in front of my PC. A loud male voice talking in the next room was heard for around 20 minutes. Now it is quiet at 0:31. And now the noise which sounds like a computer game or car blast started in the next room.
Now it’s 1:02 and the funny feeling has stopped, which I noticed 10 minutes ago. No game sound, either. (I have been sitting in front of my PC since I made the last note. The game sound returned. (1:04)
When brushing my teeth in the bathroom, a noise and vibration which sounded like a bus or truck engine came from the next room that vibrated the floor of the bathroom several times. I checked the bedroom but there were no such noise or vibration.
1:30: When I was watching a funny YouTube video with a sound, suddenly I felt like having been hit on the head and felt dizzy. It was like my whole brain swayed.
From my experience, I have a feeling that I will be harassed almost all night with violent attacks.
The funny feeling in my head and teeth which usually happens only after I concentrate on doing something like doing dishes or working on PC, happened when I was drying my hair after bath. I moved to the front door, where the feeling seems to lessen, dried my hair, feeling normal, came back to my bedroom, and felt that feeling again. The feeling has lasted over half an hour as I sat in front of my PC. A loud male voice talking in the next room was heard for around 20 minutes. Now it is quiet at 0:31. And now the noise which sounds like a computer game or car blast started in the next room.
Now it’s 1:02 and the funny feeling has stopped, which I noticed 10 minutes ago. No game sound, either. (I have been sitting in front of my PC since I made the last note. The game sound returned. (1:04)
When brushing my teeth in the bathroom, a noise and vibration which sounded like a bus or truck engine came from the next room that vibrated the floor of the bathroom several times. I checked the bedroom but there were no such noise or vibration.
1:30: When I was watching a funny YouTube video with a sound, suddenly I felt like having been hit on the head and felt dizzy. It was like my whole brain swayed.
From my experience, I have a feeling that I will be harassed almost all night with violent attacks.
2011年9月28日水曜日
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
2011/09/27 (Tue) Slept from 4:00-9:00 (5 hrs). Kept awake till odd hours partly because of attacks and partly because of personal reason. Funny feeling like being attacked by pulses in my head and teeth when doing dishes and working on PC.
2011/09/28 (Wed) Slept from 0:00-4:30 + 5:00-9:30 (4.5 + 4.5 hrs). Strong attacks that felt like my head having hiccups when going to sleep. Woken up by a game or car blast like noise that seemed to come from outside and a violent, loud motorcycle noise that drove towards my neighborhood and stopped about 30 meters from my apartment building at 4:30.
Hicup-like attacks on my head kept coming when I was trying to sleep and while I was in sleep. Felt like my head had had a hiccup when woke up and my body heavy when got up. Pulse like funny feeling when doing dishes, which I stopped in the middle and stayed away from the sink for a while and resumed after the feeling was gone, and the pulse-like funny feeling came back right after I started dishes again.
Funny feelings came while working on PC and at desk, both when I was concentrating. After concentrating for a while, I noticed my teeth and the upper middle part of my brain felt funny. And in both cases, I heard noises like someone moving behind the wall in the next room. When I moved from my desk to PC to add this record, the noise followed to the area closest to my PC.
2011/09/28 (Wed) Slept from 0:00-4:30 + 5:00-9:30 (4.5 + 4.5 hrs). Strong attacks that felt like my head having hiccups when going to sleep. Woken up by a game or car blast like noise that seemed to come from outside and a violent, loud motorcycle noise that drove towards my neighborhood and stopped about 30 meters from my apartment building at 4:30.
Hicup-like attacks on my head kept coming when I was trying to sleep and while I was in sleep. Felt like my head had had a hiccup when woke up and my body heavy when got up. Pulse like funny feeling when doing dishes, which I stopped in the middle and stayed away from the sink for a while and resumed after the feeling was gone, and the pulse-like funny feeling came back right after I started dishes again.
Funny feelings came while working on PC and at desk, both when I was concentrating. After concentrating for a while, I noticed my teeth and the upper middle part of my brain felt funny. And in both cases, I heard noises like someone moving behind the wall in the next room. When I moved from my desk to PC to add this record, the noise followed to the area closest to my PC.
2011年9月27日火曜日
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
2011/09/27 I’m writing this because attacks kept me awake till 4:00 am.
Over the last few days, I switch sides on my bed when going to sleep at least once to escape from electric shocks. While I was typing the following notes, electric shocks seem to have been coming because now I have a funny feeling in my head which I did not when I started making this record.
Once between 19th and 24th, when I was practicing English speaking, I thought felt a weak electric shocks and placed two magnets. They pointed to me. I did not find it strange because I thought the side I was sitting was North. However, the next day and every day after that, magnets point 30 degrees away from the point it was on the first day I tried.
Here are the notes I took over the last 8 days.
2011/09/19 (Mon) Slept from 1:00-6:30 + 7:00-11:30 (5.5 + 4.5 hrs). fits on fingers and legs, a few weak electronic shocks on head. Strong dizziness when woke up.
2011/09/20 (Tue) Slept from 2:00-7:00 + 7:30-10:30 (5+8hrs). Weak shocks on head. Noises in my head loud and unable to walk straight when woke up.
2011/09/21 (Wed) Slept 2:00-5:30 + 6:00-10:30 (3.5 + 4.5 hrs). A little strong shocks on head several times. Noises in my head loud, unable to walk straight, funny feelings in my teeth when woke up. Funny feeling in my teeth and head when washing the dishes after breakfast.
2011/09/22 (Thu) Slept from 1:00-10:00 (9 hrs). A little strong shocks a few times, one of which shut my jaw. Funny feelings and feeling of after concussion when doing the dishes in the morning and after my private lesson at Funabashi branch.
2011/09/23 (Fri) Slept from 2:00-5:00 + 6:00-10:00 (3+4 hrs). Strong shocks on my head several times. Put my head on the other side of my bed and electric shocks caused fits on my legs and shutting of my mouth with sudden breath and voice. Funny feelings of my teeth when washing the dishes. When went out to a supermarket, feeling of concussion lasted all the time.
2011/09/24 (Sat) Slept from 1:00-6:00 + 7:50-9:30 (5+1.5 hrs). Strong shocks on head when going to sleep. A game noise woke me up at 6:00. Noises in my head loud. Old male coughing loud in front of my apartment building when going to sleep again.
2011/09/25 (Sun) Slept from 1:00-5:00 + 6:00-10:00 (4+4 hrs). Strong shocks on my head. Fits on my hand. Noises in my head loud when woke up.
2011/09/26 (Mon) Slept from 1:00-5:00 + 6:00-9:30 (‘4+3.5 hrs). A little strong and weak shock on head. Noises in my head loud when woke up. Headache when woke up which I usually have when I breath in tobacco smoke and after I opened the window, the headache stopped in 20 minutes. I took medicine but it usually works in more than 30 minutes.
Over the last few days, I switch sides on my bed when going to sleep at least once to escape from electric shocks. While I was typing the following notes, electric shocks seem to have been coming because now I have a funny feeling in my head which I did not when I started making this record.
Once between 19th and 24th, when I was practicing English speaking, I thought felt a weak electric shocks and placed two magnets. They pointed to me. I did not find it strange because I thought the side I was sitting was North. However, the next day and every day after that, magnets point 30 degrees away from the point it was on the first day I tried.
Here are the notes I took over the last 8 days.
2011/09/19 (Mon) Slept from 1:00-6:30 + 7:00-11:30 (5.5 + 4.5 hrs). fits on fingers and legs, a few weak electronic shocks on head. Strong dizziness when woke up.
2011/09/20 (Tue) Slept from 2:00-7:00 + 7:30-10:30 (5+8hrs). Weak shocks on head. Noises in my head loud and unable to walk straight when woke up.
2011/09/21 (Wed) Slept 2:00-5:30 + 6:00-10:30 (3.5 + 4.5 hrs). A little strong shocks on head several times. Noises in my head loud, unable to walk straight, funny feelings in my teeth when woke up. Funny feeling in my teeth and head when washing the dishes after breakfast.
2011/09/22 (Thu) Slept from 1:00-10:00 (9 hrs). A little strong shocks a few times, one of which shut my jaw. Funny feelings and feeling of after concussion when doing the dishes in the morning and after my private lesson at Funabashi branch.
2011/09/23 (Fri) Slept from 2:00-5:00 + 6:00-10:00 (3+4 hrs). Strong shocks on my head several times. Put my head on the other side of my bed and electric shocks caused fits on my legs and shutting of my mouth with sudden breath and voice. Funny feelings of my teeth when washing the dishes. When went out to a supermarket, feeling of concussion lasted all the time.
2011/09/24 (Sat) Slept from 1:00-6:00 + 7:50-9:30 (5+1.5 hrs). Strong shocks on head when going to sleep. A game noise woke me up at 6:00. Noises in my head loud. Old male coughing loud in front of my apartment building when going to sleep again.
2011/09/25 (Sun) Slept from 1:00-5:00 + 6:00-10:00 (4+4 hrs). Strong shocks on my head. Fits on my hand. Noises in my head loud when woke up.
2011/09/26 (Mon) Slept from 1:00-5:00 + 6:00-9:30 (‘4+3.5 hrs). A little strong and weak shock on head. Noises in my head loud when woke up. Headache when woke up which I usually have when I breath in tobacco smoke and after I opened the window, the headache stopped in 20 minutes. I took medicine but it usually works in more than 30 minutes.
2011年9月23日金曜日
Class Supplement, TOEFL Essay, Will paper books be unnecessary? -partly rewritten-
Writing Topic
Consider the following statement. Computers can provide all the information that once could be found only in books, and therefore, it will not be long before electronic technology makes books unnecessary. Do you agree or disagree with this idea? Support your response by including specific reasons and examples.
Hints for Points
Agree: information search … more efficient / thousands of books in an electronic reader / many functions that allow quicker and better learning
Disagree: no need for electricity / some information that cannot be digitized (copy right, when the book itself provides information) / more reliable information
Paragraph Development
Paragraph development is a key to making your essay convincing. If a paragraph has only one sentence or two, it lacks some essential sentences such as supporting details (background information), or the main idea. A sample of a paragraph development is as follows:
【Main Idea】 To represent the paragraph briefly
【Explanation】 To show exactly what you mean by the main idea
【Detail / Example】 To provide a specific example
【Follow up】 To make up for some information lacking in the example
【Conclusion】 To wrap up the paragraph
Sample paragraph development:
【Main Idea】 E-books will make learning more efficient.
【Explanation】 Their functions will help faster and more active learning.
【Detail / Example】 For example, by pointing a word you do not know, the dictionary installed in the electronic reader will tell you the definition of the word. You can also refer to the related information of a particular person or event, often accompanied by sound, picture, and video. With the help of these functions, you can learn more quickly, actively and instinctively.
【Follow up】 It is true that to have a deeper understanding of a subject, you might need to read some books, but digitized books help form a general idea of a topic efficiently.
【Conclusion】 It will not be long before school provides students with tablets instead of textbooks.
☆Your test paragraph development:
【Main Idea】
【Explanation】
【Detail / Example】
【Follow up】
【Conclusion】
Essay for Ideas and Expressions
I do not have the impression that books will soon become antiques that you seldom see in your daily lives, at least in lives of people who read.
Technically, computers and electronic readers can replace books in the near future. In terms of information search, it is usually much more efficient to use computers than it is to go to the library or subscribe to a paper newspaper or two; books that purely provide information such as dictionaries and encyclopedias have almost gone extinct. Tablets and electronic readers have displays pretty close to the surface of book pages and allow flipping. It might not be long before functions for flipping through, underlining, or writing in are added. Ultimately, the difference will be literally either paper or electric. And I think here is the answer to this question. Paper books will not become totally unnecessary because they exist in the non-virtual world.
First, libraries will keep paper books even though they have been digitizing as many books as possible over decades. Paper books are important resources because of their feature as tangible objects that are ready to be read any time if you just pick them up and open them. Computers need electricity. For fear of blackouts, cyber-terrorism, or accidents that will disable access to or cause damage on digital archive, hard copies will always be kept in libraries and archives. Paper books to human knowledge will be what bankbooks are to our accounts. No one would say that bankbooks are unnecessary.
In private libraries, books might gradually disappear but will never be “unnecessary.” Digital books occupy no space and this is attractive for most of us, who do not live in a mansion. Therefore, natural selection, in fact the owner’s selection, of books in our bookshelves which is always at work will be accelerated as many more cheaper digitalized versions will be available. But I think some books will remain, those books to which you have some personal attachment. They are in your shelf as proof of your life itself. It is hard to imagine readers throwing away their favorite books and downloading e-books of the same titles. I do not think they will no matter how small apartments they live in. And some of their books will establish the same kind of relationship with the next owners after their death, and this will be repeated until they are worn out and naturally perish. It would take long for all paper books to disappear this way, and they will just disappear, treasured by someone till the last moment. Therefore, paper books will never become unnecessary.
The substantial presence of books will be necessary in a digitized society. Paper books will be preserved forever as the originals. Good books will always be loved and needed by their owners until someday they are not available in print, and probably some special books such as the Bible, the Koran, or Bruce Springsteen’s biography, whose existence is indispensable for many people, will always be in demand.
Consider the following statement. Computers can provide all the information that once could be found only in books, and therefore, it will not be long before electronic technology makes books unnecessary. Do you agree or disagree with this idea? Support your response by including specific reasons and examples.
Hints for Points
Agree: information search … more efficient / thousands of books in an electronic reader / many functions that allow quicker and better learning
Disagree: no need for electricity / some information that cannot be digitized (copy right, when the book itself provides information) / more reliable information
Paragraph Development
Paragraph development is a key to making your essay convincing. If a paragraph has only one sentence or two, it lacks some essential sentences such as supporting details (background information), or the main idea. A sample of a paragraph development is as follows:
【Main Idea】 To represent the paragraph briefly
【Explanation】 To show exactly what you mean by the main idea
【Detail / Example】 To provide a specific example
【Follow up】 To make up for some information lacking in the example
【Conclusion】 To wrap up the paragraph
Sample paragraph development:
【Main Idea】 E-books will make learning more efficient.
【Explanation】 Their functions will help faster and more active learning.
【Detail / Example】 For example, by pointing a word you do not know, the dictionary installed in the electronic reader will tell you the definition of the word. You can also refer to the related information of a particular person or event, often accompanied by sound, picture, and video. With the help of these functions, you can learn more quickly, actively and instinctively.
【Follow up】 It is true that to have a deeper understanding of a subject, you might need to read some books, but digitized books help form a general idea of a topic efficiently.
【Conclusion】 It will not be long before school provides students with tablets instead of textbooks.
☆Your test paragraph development:
【Main Idea】
【Explanation】
【Detail / Example】
【Follow up】
【Conclusion】
Essay for Ideas and Expressions
I do not have the impression that books will soon become antiques that you seldom see in your daily lives, at least in lives of people who read.
Technically, computers and electronic readers can replace books in the near future. In terms of information search, it is usually much more efficient to use computers than it is to go to the library or subscribe to a paper newspaper or two; books that purely provide information such as dictionaries and encyclopedias have almost gone extinct. Tablets and electronic readers have displays pretty close to the surface of book pages and allow flipping. It might not be long before functions for flipping through, underlining, or writing in are added. Ultimately, the difference will be literally either paper or electric. And I think here is the answer to this question. Paper books will not become totally unnecessary because they exist in the non-virtual world.
First, libraries will keep paper books even though they have been digitizing as many books as possible over decades. Paper books are important resources because of their feature as tangible objects that are ready to be read any time if you just pick them up and open them. Computers need electricity. For fear of blackouts, cyber-terrorism, or accidents that will disable access to or cause damage on digital archive, hard copies will always be kept in libraries and archives. Paper books to human knowledge will be what bankbooks are to our accounts. No one would say that bankbooks are unnecessary.
In private libraries, books might gradually disappear but will never be “unnecessary.” Digital books occupy no space and this is attractive for most of us, who do not live in a mansion. Therefore, natural selection, in fact the owner’s selection, of books in our bookshelves which is always at work will be accelerated as many more cheaper digitalized versions will be available. But I think some books will remain, those books to which you have some personal attachment. They are in your shelf as proof of your life itself. It is hard to imagine readers throwing away their favorite books and downloading e-books of the same titles. I do not think they will no matter how small apartments they live in. And some of their books will establish the same kind of relationship with the next owners after their death, and this will be repeated until they are worn out and naturally perish. It would take long for all paper books to disappear this way, and they will just disappear, treasured by someone till the last moment. Therefore, paper books will never become unnecessary.
The substantial presence of books will be necessary in a digitized society. Paper books will be preserved forever as the originals. Good books will always be loved and needed by their owners until someday they are not available in print, and probably some special books such as the Bible, the Koran, or Bruce Springsteen’s biography, whose existence is indispensable for many people, will always be in demand.
2011年9月18日日曜日
Class Supplement, TOEFL Essay, A new factory in your community, Essay for Ideas and Expressions)
Imagine that a company has announced plans to build a large factory in your community. Would you support this addition to your community?
☆Essay for Ideas and Expressions
I would welcome the factory if it is run by a new type of company but strongly reject it if it is owned by the conventional corporation. Although it would seemingly benefit my town mainly because of job creation, a factory owned by the corporation would eventually bring unhappiness to the community and humankind.
In the long run, a corporate-owned factory would harm my community and its environment. By law, a corporation is only responsible to its shareholders, not to the community, and much less to the environment. If calculation shows that it can still make profits even if it has to pay compensation for the damage caused by the production, the corporation just makes the product. As we have seen, factories have polluted the air, water, and soil, and many people have suffered due to defective products.
Outsourcing is another practice to worry about. If the factory is successful, the company wants to expand and it will close the factory to build some in overseas countries where cheap labor forces are available. If this happens, not to speak of the plight of the people who are exploited there in the third world, my town will be full of the unemployed. This has happened in America over the last 20 years. The result is a bunch of ghost towns and the crushed middle class. Tight economy and harsh global market competition, plus very expensive personnel costs of my country Japan, can transform even a paternalistic Japanese company into a ruthless, money-hungry machine. It is sensible to suspect the possibility of future offshoring of the factory.
Moreover, the corporation could close even a most productive factory for profits. For example, if the product the factory turns out is abundant in the market, the company could stop manufacturing it to prevent its price from falling down, just as extra crops such as oranges are discarded to manipulate the market prices, when many people are starving, as depicted in The Grapes of Wrath half a century ago and is being done right at this moment somewhere on this planet.
A new type of company that I would be pleased to invite to my town is one of employee ownership. I myself have no desire to own a company, but, in theory, I think this system will make our lives better. Employee ownership allows all employees literally participate in policy making. This would drive the factory to the right direction even though the majority is not always right. For instance, considering most ordinary citizens are concerned about environmental issues while many large companies are still denying the global warming theory for fear of loss caused by policy change, a company where decisions are made by workers’ majority vote is sure to emit minimum amount of CO2 and easy on the environment in general. Needless to say, the pay gap between the officials and the rank-and-file would be smaller because everyone is the owner of the company. This kind of company is established by people who have values far from money-and-power orientation and therefore, my town would be livelier with people respecting and supporting each other.
A company as a tool for extra-income of a few super-rich people is not welcome, while a company of the ordinary people, by the ordinary people, for the ordinary people is a great welcome. Increase of factories operated by this type of companies would drastically change society.
☆Essay for Ideas and Expressions
I would welcome the factory if it is run by a new type of company but strongly reject it if it is owned by the conventional corporation. Although it would seemingly benefit my town mainly because of job creation, a factory owned by the corporation would eventually bring unhappiness to the community and humankind.
In the long run, a corporate-owned factory would harm my community and its environment. By law, a corporation is only responsible to its shareholders, not to the community, and much less to the environment. If calculation shows that it can still make profits even if it has to pay compensation for the damage caused by the production, the corporation just makes the product. As we have seen, factories have polluted the air, water, and soil, and many people have suffered due to defective products.
Outsourcing is another practice to worry about. If the factory is successful, the company wants to expand and it will close the factory to build some in overseas countries where cheap labor forces are available. If this happens, not to speak of the plight of the people who are exploited there in the third world, my town will be full of the unemployed. This has happened in America over the last 20 years. The result is a bunch of ghost towns and the crushed middle class. Tight economy and harsh global market competition, plus very expensive personnel costs of my country Japan, can transform even a paternalistic Japanese company into a ruthless, money-hungry machine. It is sensible to suspect the possibility of future offshoring of the factory.
Moreover, the corporation could close even a most productive factory for profits. For example, if the product the factory turns out is abundant in the market, the company could stop manufacturing it to prevent its price from falling down, just as extra crops such as oranges are discarded to manipulate the market prices, when many people are starving, as depicted in The Grapes of Wrath half a century ago and is being done right at this moment somewhere on this planet.
A new type of company that I would be pleased to invite to my town is one of employee ownership. I myself have no desire to own a company, but, in theory, I think this system will make our lives better. Employee ownership allows all employees literally participate in policy making. This would drive the factory to the right direction even though the majority is not always right. For instance, considering most ordinary citizens are concerned about environmental issues while many large companies are still denying the global warming theory for fear of loss caused by policy change, a company where decisions are made by workers’ majority vote is sure to emit minimum amount of CO2 and easy on the environment in general. Needless to say, the pay gap between the officials and the rank-and-file would be smaller because everyone is the owner of the company. This kind of company is established by people who have values far from money-and-power orientation and therefore, my town would be livelier with people respecting and supporting each other.
A company as a tool for extra-income of a few super-rich people is not welcome, while a company of the ordinary people, by the ordinary people, for the ordinary people is a great welcome. Increase of factories operated by this type of companies would drastically change society.
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
2011/09/10 (Sat) Slept from 12:30-6:30 (6 hrs). Flashes in my sight. Non-stop strong electric shocks to my head every 2 seconds for 20-30 mins when going to sleep. Switched my body position upside down, then the shocks weakened and I went to sleep. Woken up by the sound exactly the same as that of my alarm, which I had set for the time three hours later (9:30). At 7:50 started a very big noise opposite my building. Found a temporary toiled was being moved away. Later, various noises kept coming from the site.
2011/09/11 (Sun) Slept from 2:00-7:00 (5 hrs). Don’t remember any shocks when falling asleep but felt dizzy when woke up and wasn’t able to walk straight in the first few steps. Took TOEIC. Extremely sleepy and my sight blurred in the last 60 minutes. It took long till I noticed that I had marked staggering numbers (6 or 7) and wasn’t able to deal with it neatly.
2011/09/12 (Mon) Slept from 1:00-5:00 + 6:30-9:30 (4 + 3 hrs). Woken up by a car blast or computer game like noise and noised in my head which were unusually loud at 5:00 and several electric shocks, some of which caused fits of legs and fingers, at 9:30. When trying to sleep again, several piercing shock in the head and loud noise in my head which subsided for a second when I moved my head to a different spot and came back soon.
2011/09/13 (Tue) Slept from 2:00-5:30 + 6:30-11:00 (3.5 + 4.5 hrs). A shock seemed to have come from outside, the side of the new building opposite my building, when I woke up between sleep early in the morning and trying to sleep.
2011/09/14 (Wed) Slept from 2:00-6:30 + 7:00-10:00 (4.5 + 3 hrs). Strong shocks that seemed to come outside to my head when going to sleep. A loud noise sounding like a car or a video game around 6:30 and 10:00. Funny feelings in legs and head that are like rapid pulse (every half second). Lethargic. Took a 1-hour nap in the evening from which I woke up with my sudden long breathing in/out, eye flashy.
2011/09/15 (Thu) Slept from 2:30-5:30 (3 hrs) and drowsed from 6:00-9:00 (3 hrs). Many strong shocks to my head. Fits in my hand and legs. Fell asleep before I got ready to sleep because of tiredness around midnight (Sept 16th).
2011/09/16 (Fri) Slept from 0:00-7:30 (7 .5 hrs). Flashy eye and funny feelings in my tooth when woke up.
2011/09/17 (Sat) Slept from 1:30-5:00 + 5:30-9:30 (3.5+ 4 hrs). Shocks to my head. Loud noises and feeling of pressure in my head, which subsided in 5 – 10 minutes after I shifted my body a coupe meters away. Stumbling and flashes in sight when woke up.
2011/09/18 (Sun) Slept from 2:30-5:30 + 6:30-10:30 (3 +4 hrs). Probably some weak shocks which I couldn’t tell was from outside or inside of my body and some of which caused small fits in my finger.
2011/09/11 (Sun) Slept from 2:00-7:00 (5 hrs). Don’t remember any shocks when falling asleep but felt dizzy when woke up and wasn’t able to walk straight in the first few steps. Took TOEIC. Extremely sleepy and my sight blurred in the last 60 minutes. It took long till I noticed that I had marked staggering numbers (6 or 7) and wasn’t able to deal with it neatly.
2011/09/12 (Mon) Slept from 1:00-5:00 + 6:30-9:30 (4 + 3 hrs). Woken up by a car blast or computer game like noise and noised in my head which were unusually loud at 5:00 and several electric shocks, some of which caused fits of legs and fingers, at 9:30. When trying to sleep again, several piercing shock in the head and loud noise in my head which subsided for a second when I moved my head to a different spot and came back soon.
2011/09/13 (Tue) Slept from 2:00-5:30 + 6:30-11:00 (3.5 + 4.5 hrs). A shock seemed to have come from outside, the side of the new building opposite my building, when I woke up between sleep early in the morning and trying to sleep.
2011/09/14 (Wed) Slept from 2:00-6:30 + 7:00-10:00 (4.5 + 3 hrs). Strong shocks that seemed to come outside to my head when going to sleep. A loud noise sounding like a car or a video game around 6:30 and 10:00. Funny feelings in legs and head that are like rapid pulse (every half second). Lethargic. Took a 1-hour nap in the evening from which I woke up with my sudden long breathing in/out, eye flashy.
2011/09/15 (Thu) Slept from 2:30-5:30 (3 hrs) and drowsed from 6:00-9:00 (3 hrs). Many strong shocks to my head. Fits in my hand and legs. Fell asleep before I got ready to sleep because of tiredness around midnight (Sept 16th).
2011/09/16 (Fri) Slept from 0:00-7:30 (7 .5 hrs). Flashy eye and funny feelings in my tooth when woke up.
2011/09/17 (Sat) Slept from 1:30-5:00 + 5:30-9:30 (3.5+ 4 hrs). Shocks to my head. Loud noises and feeling of pressure in my head, which subsided in 5 – 10 minutes after I shifted my body a coupe meters away. Stumbling and flashes in sight when woke up.
2011/09/18 (Sun) Slept from 2:30-5:30 + 6:30-10:30 (3 +4 hrs). Probably some weak shocks which I couldn’t tell was from outside or inside of my body and some of which caused small fits in my finger.
2011年9月16日金曜日
Class Supplement (早稲田国際AO入試 Economic Growth and Education)
解答のポイント
主題 教育年数ではなく試験の成績が経済成長率に影響する
参考 Economic growth is measured as a percentage change in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Gross National Product (GNP). These two measures, which are calculated slightly differently, total the amounts paid for the goods and services that a country produced. As an example of measuring economic growth, a country which creates $9,000,000,000 in goods and services in 2010 and then creates $9,090,000,000 in 2011, has an economic growth rate of 1% for 2011. (Wikipedia)
グラフaとbの見方
縦軸はグラフaとb共に経済成長率で、上に行くほど成長率が高く、中央より下はマイナス成長。横軸はグラフaは試験の成績、グラフbは教育年数を表している。つまり、グラフa では右に行くほどその国は「勉強ができる」ことになり、グラフbでは右に行くほどその国は「学校に行く年数が多い」ことになる。そして、グラフaの傾きがプラスの一次関数の線分は「試験の成績と経済成長率は比例する」ことを示している。
グラフbからわかること 学校に行く年数と経済成長率は関係ない。
グラフaから分かること 試験の成績がよいほど経済成長率が高い。
問１ 以下のグラフは1960年から2000年の50カ国の調整済みの経済成長率と教育指標の関係を示している。これらのグラフが示す事をひと段落で説明してください。
グラフaでは試験の成績がよい国ほど経済成長率が高くなっているが、グラフbでは点が全体にばらついており特に規則性がみられない。従って、学校に行く期間と経済成長率は関係ない。このことから、教育年数ではなく試験の成績が経済成長率に影響するということが分かる。
問２ グラフに示された局面以外で、経済成長率に影響を与えそうな局面を述べてください。
考え方 経済成長率の高い国と低い国、または、経済成長率が大きく変化した国の過去と現在を比較し、試験の成績以外の異なる要素を探す。
Market: Developed countries, which have little market left in their own countries, have small growth rates, while emerging economies such as China, India, and Brazil, have a vast market to be cultivated.
Technology: The edge in technology often decides the market share. Korea, whose electronics technology has grown over the past decade, now lead many areas of the market.
Infrastructure: Emerging economies invest in infrastructure, which in itself activate economy by creating jobs, and the latest infrastructure in place will increase productivity by numbers and speed, while developing countries with insufficient infrastructure or developed countries with neglected infrastructure lose in competition.
Availability of cheap labor: Lower personnel costs will keep the product price low.
Middle class (consumers): The middle class in America has shrunk due to outsourcing to other countries, which, in turn, reduced the power of consumption, the market on its soil.
Health problems and disasters: Factors that affect a large number of lives will directly reduce workforce, production, and purchasing power. They could also cause lower budget for R&D.
War: Money spent on wars could be used for economic growth. Japan, under the military umbrella of the US, was able to save money and focus on economic recovery after World War II. On the other hand, America went bankrupt－its national debt reached 100% of its GDP in 2011－after a decade of Afghanistan-Iraq Wars.
主題 教育年数ではなく試験の成績が経済成長率に影響する
参考 Economic growth is measured as a percentage change in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Gross National Product (GNP). These two measures, which are calculated slightly differently, total the amounts paid for the goods and services that a country produced. As an example of measuring economic growth, a country which creates $9,000,000,000 in goods and services in 2010 and then creates $9,090,000,000 in 2011, has an economic growth rate of 1% for 2011. (Wikipedia)
グラフaとbの見方
縦軸はグラフaとb共に経済成長率で、上に行くほど成長率が高く、中央より下はマイナス成長。横軸はグラフaは試験の成績、グラフbは教育年数を表している。つまり、グラフa では右に行くほどその国は「勉強ができる」ことになり、グラフbでは右に行くほどその国は「学校に行く年数が多い」ことになる。そして、グラフaの傾きがプラスの一次関数の線分は「試験の成績と経済成長率は比例する」ことを示している。
グラフbからわかること 学校に行く年数と経済成長率は関係ない。
グラフaから分かること 試験の成績がよいほど経済成長率が高い。
問１ 以下のグラフは1960年から2000年の50カ国の調整済みの経済成長率と教育指標の関係を示している。これらのグラフが示す事をひと段落で説明してください。
グラフaでは試験の成績がよい国ほど経済成長率が高くなっているが、グラフbでは点が全体にばらついており特に規則性がみられない。従って、学校に行く期間と経済成長率は関係ない。このことから、教育年数ではなく試験の成績が経済成長率に影響するということが分かる。
問２ グラフに示された局面以外で、経済成長率に影響を与えそうな局面を述べてください。
考え方 経済成長率の高い国と低い国、または、経済成長率が大きく変化した国の過去と現在を比較し、試験の成績以外の異なる要素を探す。
Market: Developed countries, which have little market left in their own countries, have small growth rates, while emerging economies such as China, India, and Brazil, have a vast market to be cultivated.
Technology: The edge in technology often decides the market share. Korea, whose electronics technology has grown over the past decade, now lead many areas of the market.
Infrastructure: Emerging economies invest in infrastructure, which in itself activate economy by creating jobs, and the latest infrastructure in place will increase productivity by numbers and speed, while developing countries with insufficient infrastructure or developed countries with neglected infrastructure lose in competition.
Availability of cheap labor: Lower personnel costs will keep the product price low.
Middle class (consumers): The middle class in America has shrunk due to outsourcing to other countries, which, in turn, reduced the power of consumption, the market on its soil.
Health problems and disasters: Factors that affect a large number of lives will directly reduce workforce, production, and purchasing power. They could also cause lower budget for R&D.
War: Money spent on wars could be used for economic growth. Japan, under the military umbrella of the US, was able to save money and focus on economic recovery after World War II. On the other hand, America went bankrupt－its national debt reached 100% of its GDP in 2011－after a decade of Afghanistan-Iraq Wars.
Class Supplement (早稲田国際AO入試 Economic Liberalism -partly rewritten-)
解答のポイント
主題： 経済の自由化は先進国だけでなく途上国も発展させる。 本文該当箇所 第１段落 it has been an extraordinary success which holds great promise for the future. 並外れた成功であり将来を大いに保障する。第３段落 countries in Asia have actually been narrowing the gap substantially.アジア諸国は実は貧富の差が相当狭まっている。 第４段落 What they have had in common, though has been a policy of opening their economies to trade and to foreign capital.しかしこれらの国に共通するのは貿易と海外資本に対する自国経済開放政策である。
参考 Protectionism and Free Trade
1) Free trade
Definition: a system of international trade in which there are no restrictions or taxes on imports and exports. (Oxford Eng-Eng) Under a free trade policy, prices are a reflection of true supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. Free trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by artificial prices that may or may not reflect the true nature of supply and demand. (Wikipedia)
2) Protectionism
Definition: the principle or practice of protecting a country’s own industry by taxing foreign goods. (Oxford Eng-Eng) In recent years, it has become closely aligned with anti-globalization. The term is mostly used in the context of economics, where protectionism refers to policies or doctrines which protect businesses and workers within a country by restricting or regulating trade with foreign nations. (Wikipedia)
Note: In short, you like free trade when you want to export your products and sell a lot of them or when you want to import materials or products cheap, while you like protectionism when you are a producer whose products are not selling well within your country due to cheap imports.
問１ グローバル化は貧富の差を拡大させると主張している人が多数います。この文章の筆者がこの見解に反対する理由は何でしょうか？
考え方 第3・4段落の要旨（アジア経済は自由化後発展）をまとめる。注 丸写しせず自分の言葉に変換。表現の一部を使うのはOK
解答のポイント例 Asian countries adopted free trade → got richer on the whole and they make up more than half the world population → Free trade (globalization) has narrowed the gap between the rich and the poor （自由貿易の採用により、世界人口の半分以上を占めるアジア諸国全体が豊かになり貧富の差は狭まった。従ってグローバル化により貧富の差はむしろ狭まっていると言える。）
問２ 本文に述べられていないグローバル化の悪い点は何ですか？
考え方 経済の自由化と、（グローバル化を批判する人の言う）貧富の差拡大との関係を考えて答える。 注 経済のグローバル化関連であること。（何も書かないよりは何か書いた方が良いが、文化などについて書くよりは本文の主題に直接関連する問題を取り上げる方が理解力及び知識と問題意識をアピールできる。）
解答のポイント例
☆unfair trade ― Material exporters stay relatively poor or become poorer because raw materials are cheaper than the products, which are produced in factories in other countries and sold in rich countries, and also because many corporations try to cut costs to make the products competitive in the market.（不公平貿易 ― 原料輸出国は製品化しないので利益が低い＋コスト削減の影響）
☆sweatshops ― Foreign companies take advantage of cheap work force in poor countries, and in some cases, people, including children, are employed under bad conditions for pitifully low wages, which violates human rights.（搾取する工場 ― 外国企業は貧しい国の安価な労働力を利用するが、中には子供も含めて劣悪な条件下哀れなほど低い賃金で雇う場合があり、これは人権侵害である。）
☆weakening small local businesses and farmers ― Cheaper imports destroy local industry.（地元中小企業や農業従事者の弱体化 ― 安価な輸入品が地元産業を破壊する）
☆outsourcing ― Outsourcing jobs to other countries causes higher unemployment rates in rich countries because of close-down of factories and low hiring rates（外部委託 ― 外国への仕事の委託が工場閉鎖・雇用率低下による先進国の失業率上昇をまねく）
問３ グローバル化はあなた自身の生活にどのような影響を及ぼしましたか？
考え方 グローバル化と自分自身の国・生活との関連を考えて見る。注グローバル化と日常生活との関連が明示されていること。
解答のポイント例
☆Japan is an export-driven economy. Thanks to the globalization, it has become one of the richest countries in the world by exporting its products, and we enjoyed the riches, but Japan was also the hardest hit in the world financial crisis in 2008 despite the relatively unaffected financial sector because people all over the world stopped buying our luxurious products such as cars and electronics. Subsequently, the unemployment rate shot up, and our lives are precarious now. （輸出中心経済による生活の浮き沈み）
☆Most of the foods we eat are imported or made using imported products such as flour and cattle feed. We can enjoy varieties of cheap imports but at the same time feel uneasy of the low self-sufficiency rate (40%). （豊かな消費生活の楽しみと低い自給率の不安）
☆Influence of other cultures, especially American culture, has made our lives more colorful and changed our values in good ways. Our society is much freer than before and it is good in general. On the other hand, we are losing our indigenous cultures such as traditional craftsmanship, customs, and values (e.g. traditional textile making techniques, lifetime employment system, egalitarianism, etc.). （社会の自由化と伝統の喪失）
☆Answer Keys for Extra Questions:
1) To meet the needs of the extremely poor, we need only less than ( one ) % of income of the rich world. 極貧の人々を救うのに必要なのは、豊かな国々の収入のたった（1 ）％未満。
2) Why should we prioritize helping women rather than men in poor countries?
a. Most of the poor, the illiterate, and HIV/AIDS patients are women. Therefore, helping poor women will directly reduce the number of the poor.
b. Women use their extra money for the benefit of their family such as houses to shelter themselves from elements and education of their children, so that money spent to improve the lives of poor women will also improve the lives of the next generation.
3) Is fair trade a silver bullet in helping poor countries?
Rich countries use both protectionism and free trade, taxing imports to protect their own industries and selling their products to other countries, almost tax-free. If poor countries could do the same, there would be no need for fair trade. Therefore, fair trade is not a silver bullet but a Band-Aid by which a portion of producers are given fair wages and better working conditions. Supporting them to raise their productivity and to be competitive in the world market would be a silver bullet.
主題： 経済の自由化は先進国だけでなく途上国も発展させる。 本文該当箇所 第１段落 it has been an extraordinary success which holds great promise for the future. 並外れた成功であり将来を大いに保障する。第３段落 countries in Asia have actually been narrowing the gap substantially.アジア諸国は実は貧富の差が相当狭まっている。 第４段落 What they have had in common, though has been a policy of opening their economies to trade and to foreign capital.しかしこれらの国に共通するのは貿易と海外資本に対する自国経済開放政策である。
参考 Protectionism and Free Trade
1) Free trade
Definition: a system of international trade in which there are no restrictions or taxes on imports and exports. (Oxford Eng-Eng) Under a free trade policy, prices are a reflection of true supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. Free trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by artificial prices that may or may not reflect the true nature of supply and demand. (Wikipedia)
2) Protectionism
Definition: the principle or practice of protecting a country’s own industry by taxing foreign goods. (Oxford Eng-Eng) In recent years, it has become closely aligned with anti-globalization. The term is mostly used in the context of economics, where protectionism refers to policies or doctrines which protect businesses and workers within a country by restricting or regulating trade with foreign nations. (Wikipedia)
Note: In short, you like free trade when you want to export your products and sell a lot of them or when you want to import materials or products cheap, while you like protectionism when you are a producer whose products are not selling well within your country due to cheap imports.
問１ グローバル化は貧富の差を拡大させると主張している人が多数います。この文章の筆者がこの見解に反対する理由は何でしょうか？
考え方 第3・4段落の要旨（アジア経済は自由化後発展）をまとめる。注 丸写しせず自分の言葉に変換。表現の一部を使うのはOK
解答のポイント例 Asian countries adopted free trade → got richer on the whole and they make up more than half the world population → Free trade (globalization) has narrowed the gap between the rich and the poor （自由貿易の採用により、世界人口の半分以上を占めるアジア諸国全体が豊かになり貧富の差は狭まった。従ってグローバル化により貧富の差はむしろ狭まっていると言える。）
問２ 本文に述べられていないグローバル化の悪い点は何ですか？
考え方 経済の自由化と、（グローバル化を批判する人の言う）貧富の差拡大との関係を考えて答える。 注 経済のグローバル化関連であること。（何も書かないよりは何か書いた方が良いが、文化などについて書くよりは本文の主題に直接関連する問題を取り上げる方が理解力及び知識と問題意識をアピールできる。）
解答のポイント例
☆unfair trade ― Material exporters stay relatively poor or become poorer because raw materials are cheaper than the products, which are produced in factories in other countries and sold in rich countries, and also because many corporations try to cut costs to make the products competitive in the market.（不公平貿易 ― 原料輸出国は製品化しないので利益が低い＋コスト削減の影響）
☆sweatshops ― Foreign companies take advantage of cheap work force in poor countries, and in some cases, people, including children, are employed under bad conditions for pitifully low wages, which violates human rights.（搾取する工場 ― 外国企業は貧しい国の安価な労働力を利用するが、中には子供も含めて劣悪な条件下哀れなほど低い賃金で雇う場合があり、これは人権侵害である。）
☆weakening small local businesses and farmers ― Cheaper imports destroy local industry.（地元中小企業や農業従事者の弱体化 ― 安価な輸入品が地元産業を破壊する）
☆outsourcing ― Outsourcing jobs to other countries causes higher unemployment rates in rich countries because of close-down of factories and low hiring rates（外部委託 ― 外国への仕事の委託が工場閉鎖・雇用率低下による先進国の失業率上昇をまねく）
問３ グローバル化はあなた自身の生活にどのような影響を及ぼしましたか？
考え方 グローバル化と自分自身の国・生活との関連を考えて見る。注グローバル化と日常生活との関連が明示されていること。
解答のポイント例
☆Japan is an export-driven economy. Thanks to the globalization, it has become one of the richest countries in the world by exporting its products, and we enjoyed the riches, but Japan was also the hardest hit in the world financial crisis in 2008 despite the relatively unaffected financial sector because people all over the world stopped buying our luxurious products such as cars and electronics. Subsequently, the unemployment rate shot up, and our lives are precarious now. （輸出中心経済による生活の浮き沈み）
☆Most of the foods we eat are imported or made using imported products such as flour and cattle feed. We can enjoy varieties of cheap imports but at the same time feel uneasy of the low self-sufficiency rate (40%). （豊かな消費生活の楽しみと低い自給率の不安）
☆Influence of other cultures, especially American culture, has made our lives more colorful and changed our values in good ways. Our society is much freer than before and it is good in general. On the other hand, we are losing our indigenous cultures such as traditional craftsmanship, customs, and values (e.g. traditional textile making techniques, lifetime employment system, egalitarianism, etc.). （社会の自由化と伝統の喪失）
☆Answer Keys for Extra Questions:
1) To meet the needs of the extremely poor, we need only less than ( one ) % of income of the rich world. 極貧の人々を救うのに必要なのは、豊かな国々の収入のたった（1 ）％未満。
2) Why should we prioritize helping women rather than men in poor countries?
a. Most of the poor, the illiterate, and HIV/AIDS patients are women. Therefore, helping poor women will directly reduce the number of the poor.
b. Women use their extra money for the benefit of their family such as houses to shelter themselves from elements and education of their children, so that money spent to improve the lives of poor women will also improve the lives of the next generation.
3) Is fair trade a silver bullet in helping poor countries?
Rich countries use both protectionism and free trade, taxing imports to protect their own industries and selling their products to other countries, almost tax-free. If poor countries could do the same, there would be no need for fair trade. Therefore, fair trade is not a silver bullet but a Band-Aid by which a portion of producers are given fair wages and better working conditions. Supporting them to raise their productivity and to be competitive in the world market would be a silver bullet.
2011年9月15日木曜日
Class Supplement, TOEFL Essay, A new factory in your community -rewritten-)
Imagine that a company has announced plans to build a large factory in your community. Would you support this addition to your community?
☆Notes:
“a large factory”… It has advantages and disadvantages.
“in your community” … You can consider distinct conditions in your community.
So you can start with discussing merits and demerits of building a factory in general, and then add some conditions of your community to conclude.
☆Hints for Points
♦merits and demerits of building a factory in general
advantages: It will stimulate the local economy. / The employment will improve. / The municipal government will benefit from the tax revenue increase.
disadvantages: air/water/noise pollution / Transportation will be crowded. / There might be conflicts between old and new residents
♦conditions of your community
old residential area → The health of senior citizens might be adversely affected.
already full of factories → more demerits than merits
☆Counter-argument: When you think of a counter-argument, take it up, and deal with it by, for example, proving the counter argument does not make a case.
e.g.
♦The employment will improve.
⇔ Corporations employ dispatched workers, who are already trained to do the same kind of tasks and do not cost much.
⇔ The community leaders can organize themselves to make sure that the factory will give priority to hiring residents in the area before the construction starts.
♦effect on the environment (pollution, CO2 emissions, habitat loss, etc.)
⇔ New technology will reduce the impact on the environment.
⇔ A corporation owes responsibility not to the environment or the community but to the shareholders. It won’t seriously take measures to protect the environment.
☆Notes:
“a large factory”… It has advantages and disadvantages.
“in your community” … You can consider distinct conditions in your community.
So you can start with discussing merits and demerits of building a factory in general, and then add some conditions of your community to conclude.
☆Hints for Points
♦merits and demerits of building a factory in general
advantages: It will stimulate the local economy. / The employment will improve. / The municipal government will benefit from the tax revenue increase.
disadvantages: air/water/noise pollution / Transportation will be crowded. / There might be conflicts between old and new residents
♦conditions of your community
old residential area → The health of senior citizens might be adversely affected.
already full of factories → more demerits than merits
☆Counter-argument: When you think of a counter-argument, take it up, and deal with it by, for example, proving the counter argument does not make a case.
e.g.
♦The employment will improve.
⇔ Corporations employ dispatched workers, who are already trained to do the same kind of tasks and do not cost much.
⇔ The community leaders can organize themselves to make sure that the factory will give priority to hiring residents in the area before the construction starts.
♦effect on the environment (pollution, CO2 emissions, habitat loss, etc.)
⇔ New technology will reduce the impact on the environment.
⇔ A corporation owes responsibility not to the environment or the community but to the shareholders. It won’t seriously take measures to protect the environment.
2011年9月9日金曜日
Class Supplement (早稲田国際AO入試 The Climax of Humanity-partly rewritten)
解答のポイント
主題： 21世紀は人口・経済・環境のバランスが課題であるが、環境コストの換算・導入を地道に行うことで環境に負担をかけずに経済発展し貧困問題を解決することができる。
本文該当箇所 第3段落 These three concurrent, intertwined transitions―demographic, economic, environmental―are what historians of the future will remember when they look back on our age. これら3つの同時で絡み合った推移（人口・経済・環境）が将来の歴史家が私たちの時代を振り返った時思い出すことだろう。第8段落 In recent years, economists and environmental scientists have come together to hang a price tag on nature’s benefits. 近年、経済学者と環境科学者が集合して環境の利得を換算してきた。 第9段落When the environment is properly accounted for, what is good for nature is often what is good for the economy and even for individual business sectors. 環境の適切な明細説明がなされれば、自然に良いことは経済や個人経営部門にとってさえしばしば良いことなのだ。第10段落 If decisions makers can get the framework right, the future of humanity will be secured by thousands of mundane decisions: how many babies people have, where they graze their cattle, how they insulate their houses. 政治家が枠組みをきちんとできれば人類の将来は、生む子供の数や牛に草を食ませる場所や家の断熱方法など何千ものありふれた決定によって救われるだろう。
問１ 段落要約問題 別プリント参照
問２ 文章と表１によれば以下の文は正しいでしょうか間違っているでしょうか？解答欄にTrueかFalseと書いて答を示してください。
a. 商品や業務に支払われる値段は一般に関連環境コストを含む。False
本文該当箇所 第7段落More broadly, the prices we pay for goods and services seldom include the associated environmental costs. より一般的には私たちが品物や業務に払う値段はめったに関連環境コストを含んでいない。(価格は環境コストをめったに含まない。)
b. 極貧の減少は世界の全ての地域で均一だ。False
本文該当箇所 表１ （減少度には地域差があり激増している地域もある。）
c. 増加率は減ったが世界人口は依然として増加している。True
本文該当箇所 第2段落After several centuries of faster-than-exponential growth, the world’s population is stabilizing. Judging from current trends, it will plateau at around nine billion people toward the middle of this century. 数世紀間の指数関数的以上の成長後、世界人口は安定しつつある。現在の傾向から判断すると、今世紀半ばにかけて約90億人で横ばいになるだろう。
(「 安定しつつある」＋「2050年ごろ停滞」= 安定傾向にあるがまだ増加中)
問３ この文章は「ビジネスは必ずしも自然の敵ではない」のであり、私たちは経済と環境の福利を査定する新しい方法が必要だと提案しています。
a. この文章で述べられた最近の方法は何ですか？
考え方 第8段落該当箇所を自分の言葉で言い換える。「価格に環境コストを含める」がどういう仕掛けなのかを説明する。注 b. の答え（この方法の有用性）と混ざらないようにする。
本文該当箇所 第7段落 More broadly, the prices we pay for goods and services seldom include the associated environmental costs. 更に広い意味では、品物やサービスに支払う値段には、関連する環境コストはめったに含まれていない。 第8段落 In recent years, economists and environmental scientists have come together to hang a price tag on nature’s benefits. 近年、経済学者と環境科学者が集合して環境の利得を換算してきた。
解答のポイント例 The approach assesses and include environmental costs in prices. / It includes damage that nature will have through economic activities―resource depletion, environmental destruction, etc.―in prices as environmental costs, and has producers and consumers pay for the damage. 環境コストを算出して価格に含めるアプローチ。経済活動によって自然が受ける損害（資源減少、環境破壊等）を環境コストとして価格に加え、生産者と消費者に損害の支払いをさせる。
b. なぜこの方法を使う価値があるのですか？
考え方 環境コストを考慮しないことによる悪影響が改善されることを示す。知っている「経済活動による環境破壊・地元経済の崩壊」を例として使う。
本文該当箇所 第7段落 The distorted market gives consumers and producers little incentive to clean up. ゆがんだ市場のせいで消費者と生産者は後始末の動機付けがほとんどない。 第9段落When the environment is properly accounted for, what is good for nature is often what is good for the economy and even for individual business sectors. 環境の適切な明細説明がなされれば、自然に良いことはしばしば経済や個人経営部門にとってさえ良いことなのだ。
解答のポイント例 decrease of extreme poverty caused by environmental destruction (global warming, destruction of ecosystem, pollution, etc.) … If prices include costs to pay for or to prevent collateral loss of environmental assets such as contaminated waters caused by oil well development, famine caused by global warming, or increase of the number of cancer patients caused by the use of fertilizers and insecticides or radioactive waste disposal, businesses can use the money to make up for the environmental damage and will make efforts to lower environmental costs, which will protect nature and people’s lives.→good for the future of humankind and economy in the end 環境破壊（温暖化・生態系破壊等）と環境破壊による極貧が減る。… 油田開発による水系汚染、温暖化による飢饉、農薬使用や放射性物質廃棄による癌患者増加などの付随する環境資産損失への支払いまたは予防対策費を環境コストとして価格に含めるので企業はそのお金を環境の損害を補うために使い、環境コストを下げる努力をするので、自然と人々の生活が守られ最終的には人類の将来・経済に良い。
c. アマゾンの熱帯雨林や別のあなたが選んだ関連例にこの方法を適用するときにどのような困難があると思いますか？
考え方 環境コストを計算する場合の問題点を想像する。環境コストの計算対象は｢アマゾン熱帯雨林｣のような自然自体なので流動的で未知数の要素を含んだものを数値化することの困難が考えられる。
解答のポイント例 The ecosystem is so complicated that it is difficult to estimate its economic value. If you wanted to make a precise calculation, you would have to count the number of all the species in it and investigate the relationships of these species such as food chain and symbiosis, and then simulate and quantify the character and degree of damage it would incur in case of its destruction. However, it would be almost impossible to do this with an ecosystem such as the Amazon tropical rainforest, which is vast, is full of unknown factors, and keeps changing. Therefore, patience and very careful research and assessment would be required in practicing such an approach. 生態系は非常に複雑なのでその経済価値を見積もるのは難しい。正確な計算をしたければ生息する種全てを数えて食物連鎖や共生のような種の関係を調べ、それから破壊された場合に生態系が被る損害の性格と程度をシミュレートし数値化しなければならないだろう。しかし広大で未知の要素が多く変化し続けるアマゾン熱帯雨林のような生態系を対象にこれをすることはほとんど不可能であり、このような方法の実践には根気と非常に注意深い調査と査定が要求されるだろう。
主題： 21世紀は人口・経済・環境のバランスが課題であるが、環境コストの換算・導入を地道に行うことで環境に負担をかけずに経済発展し貧困問題を解決することができる。
本文該当箇所 第3段落 These three concurrent, intertwined transitions―demographic, economic, environmental―are what historians of the future will remember when they look back on our age. これら3つの同時で絡み合った推移（人口・経済・環境）が将来の歴史家が私たちの時代を振り返った時思い出すことだろう。第8段落 In recent years, economists and environmental scientists have come together to hang a price tag on nature’s benefits. 近年、経済学者と環境科学者が集合して環境の利得を換算してきた。 第9段落When the environment is properly accounted for, what is good for nature is often what is good for the economy and even for individual business sectors. 環境の適切な明細説明がなされれば、自然に良いことは経済や個人経営部門にとってさえしばしば良いことなのだ。第10段落 If decisions makers can get the framework right, the future of humanity will be secured by thousands of mundane decisions: how many babies people have, where they graze their cattle, how they insulate their houses. 政治家が枠組みをきちんとできれば人類の将来は、生む子供の数や牛に草を食ませる場所や家の断熱方法など何千ものありふれた決定によって救われるだろう。
問１ 段落要約問題 別プリント参照
問２ 文章と表１によれば以下の文は正しいでしょうか間違っているでしょうか？解答欄にTrueかFalseと書いて答を示してください。
a. 商品や業務に支払われる値段は一般に関連環境コストを含む。False
本文該当箇所 第7段落More broadly, the prices we pay for goods and services seldom include the associated environmental costs. より一般的には私たちが品物や業務に払う値段はめったに関連環境コストを含んでいない。(価格は環境コストをめったに含まない。)
b. 極貧の減少は世界の全ての地域で均一だ。False
本文該当箇所 表１ （減少度には地域差があり激増している地域もある。）
c. 増加率は減ったが世界人口は依然として増加している。True
本文該当箇所 第2段落After several centuries of faster-than-exponential growth, the world’s population is stabilizing. Judging from current trends, it will plateau at around nine billion people toward the middle of this century. 数世紀間の指数関数的以上の成長後、世界人口は安定しつつある。現在の傾向から判断すると、今世紀半ばにかけて約90億人で横ばいになるだろう。
(「 安定しつつある」＋「2050年ごろ停滞」= 安定傾向にあるがまだ増加中)
問３ この文章は「ビジネスは必ずしも自然の敵ではない」のであり、私たちは経済と環境の福利を査定する新しい方法が必要だと提案しています。
a. この文章で述べられた最近の方法は何ですか？
考え方 第8段落該当箇所を自分の言葉で言い換える。「価格に環境コストを含める」がどういう仕掛けなのかを説明する。注 b. の答え（この方法の有用性）と混ざらないようにする。
本文該当箇所 第7段落 More broadly, the prices we pay for goods and services seldom include the associated environmental costs. 更に広い意味では、品物やサービスに支払う値段には、関連する環境コストはめったに含まれていない。 第8段落 In recent years, economists and environmental scientists have come together to hang a price tag on nature’s benefits. 近年、経済学者と環境科学者が集合して環境の利得を換算してきた。
解答のポイント例 The approach assesses and include environmental costs in prices. / It includes damage that nature will have through economic activities―resource depletion, environmental destruction, etc.―in prices as environmental costs, and has producers and consumers pay for the damage. 環境コストを算出して価格に含めるアプローチ。経済活動によって自然が受ける損害（資源減少、環境破壊等）を環境コストとして価格に加え、生産者と消費者に損害の支払いをさせる。
b. なぜこの方法を使う価値があるのですか？
考え方 環境コストを考慮しないことによる悪影響が改善されることを示す。知っている「経済活動による環境破壊・地元経済の崩壊」を例として使う。
本文該当箇所 第7段落 The distorted market gives consumers and producers little incentive to clean up. ゆがんだ市場のせいで消費者と生産者は後始末の動機付けがほとんどない。 第9段落When the environment is properly accounted for, what is good for nature is often what is good for the economy and even for individual business sectors. 環境の適切な明細説明がなされれば、自然に良いことはしばしば経済や個人経営部門にとってさえ良いことなのだ。
解答のポイント例 decrease of extreme poverty caused by environmental destruction (global warming, destruction of ecosystem, pollution, etc.) … If prices include costs to pay for or to prevent collateral loss of environmental assets such as contaminated waters caused by oil well development, famine caused by global warming, or increase of the number of cancer patients caused by the use of fertilizers and insecticides or radioactive waste disposal, businesses can use the money to make up for the environmental damage and will make efforts to lower environmental costs, which will protect nature and people’s lives.→good for the future of humankind and economy in the end 環境破壊（温暖化・生態系破壊等）と環境破壊による極貧が減る。… 油田開発による水系汚染、温暖化による飢饉、農薬使用や放射性物質廃棄による癌患者増加などの付随する環境資産損失への支払いまたは予防対策費を環境コストとして価格に含めるので企業はそのお金を環境の損害を補うために使い、環境コストを下げる努力をするので、自然と人々の生活が守られ最終的には人類の将来・経済に良い。
c. アマゾンの熱帯雨林や別のあなたが選んだ関連例にこの方法を適用するときにどのような困難があると思いますか？
考え方 環境コストを計算する場合の問題点を想像する。環境コストの計算対象は｢アマゾン熱帯雨林｣のような自然自体なので流動的で未知数の要素を含んだものを数値化することの困難が考えられる。
解答のポイント例 The ecosystem is so complicated that it is difficult to estimate its economic value. If you wanted to make a precise calculation, you would have to count the number of all the species in it and investigate the relationships of these species such as food chain and symbiosis, and then simulate and quantify the character and degree of damage it would incur in case of its destruction. However, it would be almost impossible to do this with an ecosystem such as the Amazon tropical rainforest, which is vast, is full of unknown factors, and keeps changing. Therefore, patience and very careful research and assessment would be required in practicing such an approach. 生態系は非常に複雑なのでその経済価値を見積もるのは難しい。正確な計算をしたければ生息する種全てを数えて食物連鎖や共生のような種の関係を調べ、それから破壊された場合に生態系が被る損害の性格と程度をシミュレートし数値化しなければならないだろう。しかし広大で未知の要素が多く変化し続けるアマゾン熱帯雨林のような生態系を対象にこれをすることはほとんど不可能であり、このような方法の実践には根気と非常に注意深い調査と査定が要求されるだろう。
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
2011/09/07 (Wed) Slept 4 + 4 hrs. Several electric shocks as far as I remember.
2011/09/08 (Thu) Probably slept from 3:00-8:00 (5 hrs). Very strong shocks to head and one that caused fit that folded my legs at knee joints. Felt sense of concussion all day. In the evening, the noise like a computer game.
2011/09/09 (Fri). Slept from 1:00-3:40 (2.5 hrs) till woken up by a noise that sounded like a car-blast or a game. Read for an hour or so and tried to sleep but strong electric shocks every few minutes made my sleep fragmented. Shocks came mainly to head, many of them made me huff, once to my right thigh and twice to my upper left arm, which contracted the muscle like a rubber band stretched on it with a one-two rhythm. Beam or air-gun-like shocks, very strong, came between my ears. I was wearing earmuffs, which I took off to escape from the strong attacks in the middle of my sleep.
2011/09/08 (Thu) Probably slept from 3:00-8:00 (5 hrs). Very strong shocks to head and one that caused fit that folded my legs at knee joints. Felt sense of concussion all day. In the evening, the noise like a computer game.
2011/09/09 (Fri). Slept from 1:00-3:40 (2.5 hrs) till woken up by a noise that sounded like a car-blast or a game. Read for an hour or so and tried to sleep but strong electric shocks every few minutes made my sleep fragmented. Shocks came mainly to head, many of them made me huff, once to my right thigh and twice to my upper left arm, which contracted the muscle like a rubber band stretched on it with a one-two rhythm. Beam or air-gun-like shocks, very strong, came between my ears. I was wearing earmuffs, which I took off to escape from the strong attacks in the middle of my sleep.
2011年9月6日火曜日
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
2011/09/05 Slept from 1:30-5:00 + 7:10-10:40 (4.5+3.5 hrs) Very strong, beam or air gun like shocks between ears almost every second when I went to bed with earmuffs. After taking them off, weaker but the same kind of shocks in the head.
Woken up by a shock and a fit in one of the legs and loud coughs of my next door neighbor at around 5:00. When I tried to sleep the second time, shocks in the head that were weaker but strong enough to prevent me from sleeping continued incessantly for a while.
2011/09/06 Slept from 2:00-8:00 (6 hrs). Do not remember if I had shocks or fits, but had a strong feeling of concussion in the center of my brain and could not walk straight in the first few steps. Marked essays and prepared for classes all day at home. Although I hear the computer-game-like noise that hurts my ear drums now at 20:39, I had a rather quiet, peaceful day.
Woken up by a shock and a fit in one of the legs and loud coughs of my next door neighbor at around 5:00. When I tried to sleep the second time, shocks in the head that were weaker but strong enough to prevent me from sleeping continued incessantly for a while.
2011/09/06 Slept from 2:00-8:00 (6 hrs). Do not remember if I had shocks or fits, but had a strong feeling of concussion in the center of my brain and could not walk straight in the first few steps. Marked essays and prepared for classes all day at home. Although I hear the computer-game-like noise that hurts my ear drums now at 20:39, I had a rather quiet, peaceful day.
2011年9月4日日曜日
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
2011/09/04 Slept from 2:30-6:30 + 7:00-10:00 (3+3 hrs). Woken up by a compute-game-like noise which seemed to come from the nest room around 6:30 and prevented from falling asleep again for a while by rather strong electric shocks on the head and one of the ankles, which I think had a small fit due to the shock. I fell asleep probably because of the stomach medicine I took or I was just too sleepy to be kept awake.
When I was almost done with dishes after breakfast, I realized the funny feeling in my front teeth had started during the task. I also had the same feeling in the brain. Since I had the same experience before and remembered the sensation stopped when I moved away from the position in front of the sink, I stepped sideways and started the laundry. In a couple of minutes, the funny sensations were gone. The same seemed to happen when I was later sitting in my room and concentrating on English practice, but not sure.
When I was almost done with dishes after breakfast, I realized the funny feeling in my front teeth had started during the task. I also had the same feeling in the brain. Since I had the same experience before and remembered the sensation stopped when I moved away from the position in front of the sink, I stepped sideways and started the laundry. In a couple of minutes, the funny sensations were gone. The same seemed to happen when I was later sitting in my room and concentrating on English practice, but not sure.
2011年9月3日土曜日
Class Supplement (早稲田国際AO入試 Extra Material, The Corporation)
Class Supplement (早稲田国際AO入試 Extra Material 3)
Read the following passage and answer the question. Write the answer at the bottom of the answer sheet.
Excerpt from The Corporation, pp. 153-154, Joel Bakan
The corporation was originally conceived as a public institution whose purpose was to serve national interests and advance the public good. In seventeenth-century England, corporations such as the Hudson’s Bay Company and the East India Company were chartered by the crown to run state monopolies in the colonies of England’s empire. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries too, in both England and the United States, corporations were formed primarily for public purposes, such as building canals and transporting water. The modern for-profit corporation, programmed solely to advance the private interest of its owners, differs profoundly from these earlier versions of the institution. Yet in one crucial respect it remains the same: it is, as it has always been, a product of public policy, a creation of the state.
The state is the only institution in the world that can bring a corporation to life. It alone grants corporations their essential rights, such as legal personhood and limited liability, and it compels them always to put profits first. It raises police forces and armies and builds courthouses and prisons (all compulsorily paid for by citizens) to enforce corporations’ property rights―rights themselves created by the state. And only the state, in conjunction with other states, can enter into international trade deals and create global institutions, such as the World Trade Organization, that, in turn, limit its ability to regulate the corporations and property rights it has created.
Without the state, the corporation is nothing. Literally nothing.
It is therefore a mistake to believe that because corporations are now strong, the state has become weak. Economic globalization and deregulations have diminished the state’s capacity to protect the public interest (through, for example, labor laws, environmental laws, and consumer protection laws) and have strengthened its power to promote corporations’ interest and facilitate their profit-seeking missions (through, for example, corporate laws, property and contract laws, copyright laws, and international trade laws). Overall, however, the state’s power has not been reduced. It has been redistributed, more tightly connected to the needs and interest of corporations and less so to the public interest.
Question: How can public protect the public interest from big businesses?
Read the following passage and answer the question. Write the answer at the bottom of the answer sheet.
Excerpt from The Corporation, pp. 153-154, Joel Bakan
The corporation was originally conceived as a public institution whose purpose was to serve national interests and advance the public good. In seventeenth-century England, corporations such as the Hudson’s Bay Company and the East India Company were chartered by the crown to run state monopolies in the colonies of England’s empire. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries too, in both England and the United States, corporations were formed primarily for public purposes, such as building canals and transporting water. The modern for-profit corporation, programmed solely to advance the private interest of its owners, differs profoundly from these earlier versions of the institution. Yet in one crucial respect it remains the same: it is, as it has always been, a product of public policy, a creation of the state.
The state is the only institution in the world that can bring a corporation to life. It alone grants corporations their essential rights, such as legal personhood and limited liability, and it compels them always to put profits first. It raises police forces and armies and builds courthouses and prisons (all compulsorily paid for by citizens) to enforce corporations’ property rights―rights themselves created by the state. And only the state, in conjunction with other states, can enter into international trade deals and create global institutions, such as the World Trade Organization, that, in turn, limit its ability to regulate the corporations and property rights it has created.
Without the state, the corporation is nothing. Literally nothing.
It is therefore a mistake to believe that because corporations are now strong, the state has become weak. Economic globalization and deregulations have diminished the state’s capacity to protect the public interest (through, for example, labor laws, environmental laws, and consumer protection laws) and have strengthened its power to promote corporations’ interest and facilitate their profit-seeking missions (through, for example, corporate laws, property and contract laws, copyright laws, and international trade laws). Overall, however, the state’s power has not been reduced. It has been redistributed, more tightly connected to the needs and interest of corporations and less so to the public interest.
Question: How can public protect the public interest from big businesses?
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
I have been having a kind of off-week since Tuesday. After the last two months’ unusually grinding summer course work schedule―thank god I declined the Sunday six-hour TOEIC course from August to September at Yotsuya branch which was offered at the end of July and accidentally failed to accept a 5-time private lesson at Shibuya branch which was also offered at around the same time―and continued electric attacks almost all through the term, I have not physically come back to myself, such as dropping an egg or stubbing my thumb with knife too easily when cooking and so on. Mentally, I do not know myself, although I try to stay rational. I have been busy preparing for the next term and resting. Maybe I have missed something and hurt somebody. If so, I am very sorry. I think I was confused.
2011/09/02 (Fri) Slept from 2:00-7:50+8:00-11:00 (9 hrs). Do not remember any attacks. Probably when woke/woken up around 7:50 but not sure.
2011/09/03 (Sat) Slept from 2:30-6:30 + 7:00-10:00 (7 hrs). A few electric attacks on the head that were rather strong but not strong enough to cause fits when falling asleep first. When woke up the second time, flash-light-like phenomenon occurred in the eye for a couple of seconds and the noises in my head were loud and wavy, both of which subsided soon.
2011/09/02 (Fri) Slept from 2:00-7:50+8:00-11:00 (9 hrs). Do not remember any attacks. Probably when woke/woken up around 7:50 but not sure.
2011/09/03 (Sat) Slept from 2:30-6:30 + 7:00-10:00 (7 hrs). A few electric attacks on the head that were rather strong but not strong enough to cause fits when falling asleep first. When woke up the second time, flash-light-like phenomenon occurred in the eye for a couple of seconds and the noises in my head were loud and wavy, both of which subsided soon.
2011年9月2日金曜日
Class Supplement, TOEFL Essay, one important change in the government -partly rewritten-
Writing Topic: Suppose you had the power to make one important change in the government of your country. What change would you like to make, and why?
☆”One important change” → not two, not a marginal change
☆”in the government” → should be related to government reform
☆Hints for Points
money politics (“seiji to kane” no mondai):
Corrupted politicians receive money from interest groups (big business) in return for doing favor for them, which in turn support them in elections. They have weakened Japanese economy mainly by allocating large part of budget for building unnecessary airports, bridges, roads, facilities, and so on for decades. Anti-corruption laws have been enacted but there have always been loopholes and this problem never ends. Part of the problem is that those who make these laws are the very people who are regulated by them, politicians. Also, whistle-blowing will cost one’s job.
→ to establish a committee which is totally independent from the public sector and which makes original budget plans and has authority to intervene government spending
absence of accountability:
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, it has become clearer that no one in the cabinet can take a real initiative and responsibility, while everyone trying hard to hide information from the public. Group-orientation and custom of dodging responsibilities is the foundation of the Japanese system and therefore it is not likely to change easily.
→ to make a person who was coach of a big sport team or president of a huge company prime minister
golden parachute (amakudari):
Retired bureaucrats are given new jobs at government-related companies and receive a large sum of rewards for nominal positions. Budget screenings (shiwake) have weeded out many of these cases, but in some cases placement decisions had been made right before the screening.
→ to give bureaucrats opportunities to lean that there are many aspects of life that bring satisfaction other than money and power
decentralization (chihoubunken):
Japan is a highly centralized state where government bureaucrats take care of almost everything all over Japan. While this practice might be generally suitable for this small country, the drawback is less freedom in local governments and political apathy.
→ to partly shift authority in some areas such as education, welfare, and development
☆”One important change” → not two, not a marginal change
☆”in the government” → should be related to government reform
☆Hints for Points
money politics (“seiji to kane” no mondai):
Corrupted politicians receive money from interest groups (big business) in return for doing favor for them, which in turn support them in elections. They have weakened Japanese economy mainly by allocating large part of budget for building unnecessary airports, bridges, roads, facilities, and so on for decades. Anti-corruption laws have been enacted but there have always been loopholes and this problem never ends. Part of the problem is that those who make these laws are the very people who are regulated by them, politicians. Also, whistle-blowing will cost one’s job.
→ to establish a committee which is totally independent from the public sector and which makes original budget plans and has authority to intervene government spending
absence of accountability:
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, it has become clearer that no one in the cabinet can take a real initiative and responsibility, while everyone trying hard to hide information from the public. Group-orientation and custom of dodging responsibilities is the foundation of the Japanese system and therefore it is not likely to change easily.
→ to make a person who was coach of a big sport team or president of a huge company prime minister
golden parachute (amakudari):
Retired bureaucrats are given new jobs at government-related companies and receive a large sum of rewards for nominal positions. Budget screenings (shiwake) have weeded out many of these cases, but in some cases placement decisions had been made right before the screening.
→ to give bureaucrats opportunities to lean that there are many aspects of life that bring satisfaction other than money and power
decentralization (chihoubunken):
Japan is a highly centralized state where government bureaucrats take care of almost everything all over Japan. While this practice might be generally suitable for this small country, the drawback is less freedom in local governments and political apathy.
→ to partly shift authority in some areas such as education, welfare, and development
Supersonic/Electronic Weapon 不特定多数による長期にわたる原因不明の嫌がらせ（６）
Haven’t been able to sleep till late for a personal reason, and not been able to sleep again after waking/woken up early in the morning due to electric attack-like sensations in the brain.
2011/08/31 (Wed) Slept around 5 hours. Beam-like sensations between ears when trying to sleep with earmuffs. Frequent beam-like sensations between ears when falling asleep and trying to sleep again in the morning.
2011/09/01 (Thu) Slept from 2:00-6:30 (4.5 hrs). Prevented from sleeping again in the morning. Several rather weak shocks. I could not tell whether their sources were outside or inside of me.
2011/08/31 (Wed) Slept around 5 hours. Beam-like sensations between ears when trying to sleep with earmuffs. Frequent beam-like sensations between ears when falling asleep and trying to sleep again in the morning.
2011/09/01 (Thu) Slept from 2:00-6:30 (4.5 hrs). Prevented from sleeping again in the morning. Several rather weak shocks. I could not tell whether their sources were outside or inside of me.
2011年9月1日木曜日
Class Supplement (早稲田国際AO入試 Soft Power and Terrorism)
主題：テロとの戦いにはソフトパワーが必要である。
本文該当箇所 第１段落 Unfortunately, that neglect may have dangerous consequences for the successful prosecution of the war on terrorism. 不幸なことに、その（ソフトパワーの）軽視は、テロとの戦いの遂行を成功させるのには危険な結果をもたらすかもしれない。
問１ 以下の文の空欄ＡとＢに最もふさわしい2語を下のリストから選び所定の場所に書いてください。
（Ａ）と（Ｂ）がソフトパワーの最も重要な要素である。
信頼性 依存 正当性 軍事力 利害
ソフトパワーの例を２～３述べてください。
考え方 第1段落がソフトパワーの定義で始まっているので、この段落を見て答えを出す。（正解 A credibility B legitimacy） ソフトパワーの例は第1段落の定義に合うものを挙げる。「何をしているか」だけでなく「それがどのように（信頼性・正当性を満たして）好感を得る役に立っているか」を説明する。
本文該当箇所 第１段落 “Credibility and legitimacy” are what soft power is all about. 信頼性と正当性がソフトパワーにとって最も大切なことなのだ。Soft power is the ability to secure those outcomes through attraction rather than coercion. It is the ability to shape what others want. ソフトパワーは強制よりむしろ魅力を通してそれらの結果（強制力や誘導がなかったらしようと思わないようなこと）を確保する能力である。他人が欲しいものを形作る能力なのだ。Soft power can rest on the attractiveness of one’s culture, political ideals, and policies, or on one’s ability to manipulate other countries agendas. ソフトパワーは、文化の魅力や政治的理想、政策、あるいは他国の議題を操る能力にかかっている可能性がある。
解答のポイント例 ☆Humanitarian aids (donation, volunteering, NGO, etc.) do what people in other countries want your country to do and benefit them without condition. ☆Cultural interactions (exchange student programs, hosting, spread of pop cultures, etc.) are good for mutual understanding and nurturing affinity. ☆Religious tolerance, respect for the teaching and practices of other religions will help your country acquire decency; you will become a quiet but lovable neighbor. ☆Article Nine defines the most civil diplomatic stance and protects our country with its soft power because you will be blamed if you hit an unarmed man.
問２ アメリカの文化は世界に影響を与えすぎていると思いますか。あなたの意見を説明してください。
考え方 “too much”「～過ぎる」【過剰・非難】を押さえた答えにする。
解答のポイント例 ☆agree: Its influence on not only the superficial level but also the deeper level (e.g. dry business practices, competitive social system, sensationalistic movies and dramas) eliminates good aspects of traditional customs. ☆disagree: Culture is so deeply rooted in one’s life that it won’t be lost so easily unless it is removed by force such as war or unfair treaties. Rather, foreign culture is always a welcome as a stimulus to one’s own culture. American culture is seen to have assimilated in many cultures. e.g. McDonalds, Valentine’s Day, etc.
問３ 友人がテロを恐れてアメリカ旅行をやめたらその決定をどう思いますか。
考え方 9.11以降アメリカ本土で大規模なテロは起きていないという事実やアメリカでは銃乱射事件の頻度の方がずっと高いという点がある一方で、イラク戦争以降反米意識が高まっているが外交政策に大きな変化はなく国内のムスリム差別も多い点、イラク以降のテロリスト数増加の事実などを考えてみる。
解答のポイント例 ☆agree: Since the Iraq War, anti-American sentiment has been strong and the number of terrorists has increased accordingly. Nevertheless, America as a country has not changed its attitude and harassments against Muslims inside America has become stronger since 9.11. Therefore, the same tragedy could repeat itself. ☆disagree: In America, chances are higher that you get killed in a shooting spree rather than in a suicide bombing, so it is foolish to give up a great opportunity to see the country with a lot of charm. Being driven by fear could cost you a good time. Becoming a victim of terrorism is a price to pay for freedom. Just as America allows you to enter its soil, so it does to those few who happen to have horrible ideas in mind. If you call for restriction on their freedom, you will limit your own. We enjoy this life full of freedom and excitement in exchange for some risks, which could be avoided with wisdom.
本文該当箇所 第１段落 Unfortunately, that neglect may have dangerous consequences for the successful prosecution of the war on terrorism. 不幸なことに、その（ソフトパワーの）軽視は、テロとの戦いの遂行を成功させるのには危険な結果をもたらすかもしれない。
問１ 以下の文の空欄ＡとＢに最もふさわしい2語を下のリストから選び所定の場所に書いてください。
（Ａ）と（Ｂ）がソフトパワーの最も重要な要素である。
信頼性 依存 正当性 軍事力 利害
ソフトパワーの例を２～３述べてください。
考え方 第1段落がソフトパワーの定義で始まっているので、この段落を見て答えを出す。（正解 A credibility B legitimacy） ソフトパワーの例は第1段落の定義に合うものを挙げる。「何をしているか」だけでなく「それがどのように（信頼性・正当性を満たして）好感を得る役に立っているか」を説明する。
本文該当箇所 第１段落 “Credibility and legitimacy” are what soft power is all about. 信頼性と正当性がソフトパワーにとって最も大切なことなのだ。Soft power is the ability to secure those outcomes through attraction rather than coercion. It is the ability to shape what others want. ソフトパワーは強制よりむしろ魅力を通してそれらの結果（強制力や誘導がなかったらしようと思わないようなこと）を確保する能力である。他人が欲しいものを形作る能力なのだ。Soft power can rest on the attractiveness of one’s culture, political ideals, and policies, or on one’s ability to manipulate other countries agendas. ソフトパワーは、文化の魅力や政治的理想、政策、あるいは他国の議題を操る能力にかかっている可能性がある。
解答のポイント例 ☆Humanitarian aids (donation, volunteering, NGO, etc.) do what people in other countries want your country to do and benefit them without condition. ☆Cultural interactions (exchange student programs, hosting, spread of pop cultures, etc.) are good for mutual understanding and nurturing affinity. ☆Religious tolerance, respect for the teaching and practices of other religions will help your country acquire decency; you will become a quiet but lovable neighbor. ☆Article Nine defines the most civil diplomatic stance and protects our country with its soft power because you will be blamed if you hit an unarmed man.
問２ アメリカの文化は世界に影響を与えすぎていると思いますか。あなたの意見を説明してください。
考え方 “too much”「～過ぎる」【過剰・非難】を押さえた答えにする。
解答のポイント例 ☆agree: Its influence on not only the superficial level but also the deeper level (e.g. dry business practices, competitive social system, sensationalistic movies and dramas) eliminates good aspects of traditional customs. ☆disagree: Culture is so deeply rooted in one’s life that it won’t be lost so easily unless it is removed by force such as war or unfair treaties. Rather, foreign culture is always a welcome as a stimulus to one’s own culture. American culture is seen to have assimilated in many cultures. e.g. McDonalds, Valentine’s Day, etc.
問３ 友人がテロを恐れてアメリカ旅行をやめたらその決定をどう思いますか。
考え方 9.11以降アメリカ本土で大規模なテロは起きていないという事実やアメリカでは銃乱射事件の頻度の方がずっと高いという点がある一方で、イラク戦争以降反米意識が高まっているが外交政策に大きな変化はなく国内のムスリム差別も多い点、イラク以降のテロリスト数増加の事実などを考えてみる。
解答のポイント例 ☆agree: Since the Iraq War, anti-American sentiment has been strong and the number of terrorists has increased accordingly. Nevertheless, America as a country has not changed its attitude and harassments against Muslims inside America has become stronger since 9.11. Therefore, the same tragedy could repeat itself. ☆disagree: In America, chances are higher that you get killed in a shooting spree rather than in a suicide bombing, so it is foolish to give up a great opportunity to see the country with a lot of charm. Being driven by fear could cost you a good time. Becoming a victim of terrorism is a price to pay for freedom. Just as America allows you to enter its soil, so it does to those few who happen to have horrible ideas in mind. If you call for restriction on their freedom, you will limit your own. We enjoy this life full of freedom and excitement in exchange for some risks, which could be avoided with wisdom.
Class Supplement (早稲田国際AO入試 Extra Material, America's Real Security Needs)
Read the following material and answer the following question.
Question: What do you think America should have done to avoid losing its soft power over the past decade? Write the answer at the bottom of the answer sheet.
AMERICA’S REAL SECURITY NEEDS
Excerpt from Common Wealth Economics for a Crowded Planet, pp. 281-283, Jeffrey D. Sachs
The United States is not threatened by an armed invasion of a foreign standing army. The age of industrial war has passed, at least for now. Our threats are more complex and less amenable to military solutions. First, we face a continuing dire threat of nuclear proliferation, both by governments and by rogue groups seeking such weapons from wayward states. Second, we face dire threats to the global environment that put the United States and the rest of the world at risk. Third, we face the risks of failed states―Somalia, Afghanistan, and many more―which can foment cross-border war and the spread of disease and refugees, and which can provide a harbor for terror.
None of these issues can be solved unilaterally. All require a highly sophisticated network of cooperation on a daily basis over years and decades. Security is a daily challenge to be achieved through cooperative efforts, not a prize to be won by a decisive military battle or change of regime. Yet cooperation requires trust, and trust requires that parties to an effort understand one another’s needs and support them. The United States rejected this approach in recent years, abandoning UN treaties (such as the Kyoto Protocol), launching the Iraq War over the objections of the UN Security Council, forsaking basic principles such as the Geneva Conventions against torture, and rejecting the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
The results are plain to see, and startling. Rather than achieve cooperation on crucial issues of common concern, America has squandered its reputation. In many parts of the world, the United States is seen as the greatest threat to the planet, not its hope. Few parts of the world see the United States as a reliable partner. A recent BBC-PIPA GlobeScan survey tells the grim story, summarized in Figure 12.5.
Figure 12.5
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/international_security_bt/306.php?nid=&id=&pnt=306
More than half of the eighteen thousand respondents in eighteen countries held a “mainly negative” view of the United States, up from 46 percent in 2005. Even more dramatically, the proportion with a “mainly positive” view plummeted from 40 percent in 2005 to just 29 percent in 2007. An overwhelming but not surprising 73 percent opposed the U.S. war in Iraq. The collapse of support is found among traditional allies of the Unite States. In Germany, for example, only 16 percent said that they held a mostly positive view of the United States, down from 21 percent the year before! In Britain, 57 percent see the U.S. role as mostly negative. In Poland, a traditional mainstay of support for the United States, approval plummeted for 62 percent in 2006 to 38 percent in 2007. In Egypt, positive views declined from 21 percent to 11 percent. Under these circumstances, there is little chance for creating long-term strategies of mutual cooperation. Governments abroad come under tremendous domestic political pressure when they overtly support U.S. foreign policy initiatives, such as an expansion of U.S. military base of flyover rights, or, especially, when they participate in a military effort led by the United States.
The most basic norm of cooperation is reciprocity: I will assist you if you will assist me. But the U.S. attitude has been different: “You are either with us or against us,” as President Bush declared, with no recognition of the interest of the other country. The United States has demanded allegiance in the war on terror, without reciprocal support for the war in poverty, disease or climate change. The UN has been attacked relentlessly by the American right wing as a threat to American sovereignty, as if American objectives could be accomplished unilaterally. This whole approach has by now imploded.
Question: What do you think America should have done to avoid losing its soft power over the past decade? Write the answer at the bottom of the answer sheet.
AMERICA’S REAL SECURITY NEEDS
Excerpt from Common Wealth Economics for a Crowded Planet, pp. 281-283, Jeffrey D. Sachs
The United States is not threatened by an armed invasion of a foreign standing army. The age of industrial war has passed, at least for now. Our threats are more complex and less amenable to military solutions. First, we face a continuing dire threat of nuclear proliferation, both by governments and by rogue groups seeking such weapons from wayward states. Second, we face dire threats to the global environment that put the United States and the rest of the world at risk. Third, we face the risks of failed states―Somalia, Afghanistan, and many more―which can foment cross-border war and the spread of disease and refugees, and which can provide a harbor for terror.
None of these issues can be solved unilaterally. All require a highly sophisticated network of cooperation on a daily basis over years and decades. Security is a daily challenge to be achieved through cooperative efforts, not a prize to be won by a decisive military battle or change of regime. Yet cooperation requires trust, and trust requires that parties to an effort understand one another’s needs and support them. The United States rejected this approach in recent years, abandoning UN treaties (such as the Kyoto Protocol), launching the Iraq War over the objections of the UN Security Council, forsaking basic principles such as the Geneva Conventions against torture, and rejecting the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
The results are plain to see, and startling. Rather than achieve cooperation on crucial issues of common concern, America has squandered its reputation. In many parts of the world, the United States is seen as the greatest threat to the planet, not its hope. Few parts of the world see the United States as a reliable partner. A recent BBC-PIPA GlobeScan survey tells the grim story, summarized in Figure 12.5.
Figure 12.5
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/international_security_bt/306.php?nid=&id=&pnt=306
More than half of the eighteen thousand respondents in eighteen countries held a “mainly negative” view of the United States, up from 46 percent in 2005. Even more dramatically, the proportion with a “mainly positive” view plummeted from 40 percent in 2005 to just 29 percent in 2007. An overwhelming but not surprising 73 percent opposed the U.S. war in Iraq. The collapse of support is found among traditional allies of the Unite States. In Germany, for example, only 16 percent said that they held a mostly positive view of the United States, down from 21 percent the year before! In Britain, 57 percent see the U.S. role as mostly negative. In Poland, a traditional mainstay of support for the United States, approval plummeted for 62 percent in 2006 to 38 percent in 2007. In Egypt, positive views declined from 21 percent to 11 percent. Under these circumstances, there is little chance for creating long-term strategies of mutual cooperation. Governments abroad come under tremendous domestic political pressure when they overtly support U.S. foreign policy initiatives, such as an expansion of U.S. military base of flyover rights, or, especially, when they participate in a military effort led by the United States.
The most basic norm of cooperation is reciprocity: I will assist you if you will assist me. But the U.S. attitude has been different: “You are either with us or against us,” as President Bush declared, with no recognition of the interest of the other country. The United States has demanded allegiance in the war on terror, without reciprocal support for the war in poverty, disease or climate change. The UN has been attacked relentlessly by the American right wing as a threat to American sovereignty, as if American objectives could be accomplished unilaterally. This whole approach has by now imploded.
登録:
投稿 (Atom)