
She lived happily for some months in her apartment and was very popular in Parisian society and visited by many distinguished people, who all greatly admired her Eastern decorations, especially the skull, before which they would stand expressing their delight with fervent exclamations.(A Traveller in Little Things by W. H. Hudson)注:the skull =オランウータンの頭蓋骨
英文を前から読んでいくために、語句のかたまりを作ります。こんな具合に課題文をスラッシュ(斜め線)で区切ります(スラッシュリーディング)。語句のかたまりを意識すると、リスニングで英語の意味をつかむのが楽になります。
She lived happily for some months in her apartment/(接続詞の前)and was very popular in Parisian society/(接続詞の前)and visited by many distinguished people,/(関係代名詞の前)who all greatly admired her Eastern decorations,/(コンマの後)especially the skull,/(前置詞の前)before which they would stand expressing their delight with fervent exclamations.
語句のかたまりを前から訳していきます。
She lived happily for some months in her apartment
彼女は自分のアパートメントで数カ月間、幸せに暮らした
and was very popular in Parisian society
そして、パリの社交界で大変な人気を得た
and visited by many distinguished people,
そして、多くの著名人に訪問された
who all greatly admired her Eastern decorations,
彼らはみな、彼女の部屋の東洋風の装飾を大いに称賛した
especially the skull,
とくに頭蓋骨を
before which they would stand expressing their delight with fervent exclamations.
彼らはその前に立ち、熱烈な感嘆の声をもらして喜びを表現したものだった
She lived happily for some months in her apartment and was very popular in Parisian society and visited by many distinguished people, who all greatly admired her Eastern decorations, especially the skull, before which they would stand expressing their delight with fervent exclamations.
visited by many distinguished people→ visited は少し前にある was とつながっているので受動態になっています。→ she was visited by many distinguished people
they would stand expressing〜 → stand 〜ing =「〜しながら立っている」「立ったまま、〜する」/would は「繰り返された行動」を意味します。
She lived happily for some months in her apartment and was very popular in Parisian society and visited by many distinguished people, who all greatly admired her Eastern decorations, especially the skull, before which they would stand expressing their delight with fervent exclamations.
彼女は自分のアパートメントで数カ月間、幸せに暮らし、パリの社交界で大変な人気者になった。多くの著名人が彼女の部屋を訪れ、みな、東洋風の装飾を大いに称賛した。とくに頭蓋骨が注目の的で、彼らはその前に立ち、熱烈な感嘆の声をもらして喜びを表現したものだった。
before which they would stand expressing their delight〜
この部分では、先頭に前置詞+関係代名詞がきていますが、こうした場合の訳し方を紹介します。
1) まず、先行詞を探します。→ この場合は直前にある the skull です。
2) 前置詞+関係代名詞を普通の語順の場所に移します。→ they would stand before which expressing their delight〜
3) 関係代名詞に先行詞を代入します。→ they would stand before the skull expressing their delight〜
4) 訳します。→「彼らは頭蓋骨の前に立ち、喜びを表現したものだった」(関係代名詞の前にコンマがある非制限用法なので、訳の語順もこのままで大丈夫です)
動画の後半部分でリスニング用音声が流れます。
