Voicy初の公式英語ニュースチャンネル「Voicy News Brief with articles from New York Times」。チャンネルでは、バイリンガルパーソナリティがThe New York Timesの記事を英語で読み、記事の中に出てくる単語を日本語で解説しています。
Voicy Journalでは、毎週金曜日にその週に読んだ記事を、まとめて紹介します！１週間の終わりに、その週の放送をもう１度聞いて復習するのも良いかもしれません。VoicyのPCページやアプリでは、再生速度も変えられるので、自分の理解度に応じて、調整してみましょう。
4/3(土)の放送
George Floyd’s Girlfriend Recounts Shared Struggle With Addiction
著者：Tim Arango, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Julie Bosman
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
MINNEAPOLIS — On the fourth day of testimony in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former officer charged in Floyd’s death, the prosecution presented a fuller picture of George Floyd the person. In testimony, Courteney Ross, who had been dating Floyd for almost three years, described how he was a caring partner, a devoted father and passionate about exercise.
And like so many Americans, the couple had a shared struggle: opioid addiction.
“Our story, it’s a classic story of how many people get addicted to opioids,” she said. “We both struggled from chronic pain. Mine was in my neck and his was in his back.”
After three days of emotional testimony from bystanders who witnessed Floyd’s death in police custody last May, prosecutors on Thursday nudged the trial forward to one of the central aspects of the case: Floyd’s drug use.
In calling Ross to the stand, prosecutors both sought to humanize Floyd and seize the narrative around his struggle with drugs. By showing he had a high tolerance for opioids, prosecutors hope to cushion the blow of what is expected to be Chauvin’s primary defense — that Floyd died from a drug overdose, not from Chauvin’s knee pressing into his neck for more than nine minutes.
Eric J. Nelson, Chauvin’s lawyer, approached his cross-examination of Ross delicately. Ross told Nelson that they relapsed together last spring, and that Floyd was hospitalized for several days in March after she found him doubled over in pain from an overdose. Later that month, she thought they had both managed to quit again, but in the weeks before he died in May, a change in Floyd’s behavior made her think he had again begun using.
Jurors also heard on Thursday from two paramedics who said that Floyd was in a dire state by the time they arrived on the scene on May 25. Derek Smith, one of the paramedics, said he could not find a pulse when he felt Floyd’s neck as police officers remained on top of him.
“In lay terms, I thought he was dead,” Smith testified.
recount (～について) 詳しく話す、(～を) 物語る
prosecution 検察当局
chronic pain 慢性痛、慢性の痛み
bystander 傍観者、見物人
nudge someone forward ～を前に押しやる、～を推進する
a high tolerance for に強い (よく耐える) ****a low tolerance for ****に弱い
cross-examination 反対尋問
relapse （通例悪い状態に) 逆戻りする ****
double over (痛みなどが人の) 体を(折り)曲げる、前かがみにさせる
paramedic (米国の) 救急医療隊員
dire 悲惨な
in lay terms 平たく言うと、分かりやすく言うと
4/4(日)の放送
Frontier Airlines IPO Signals a Travel Industry Recovery
著者：Niraj Chokshi
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
The pandemic is far from over, but some airlines believe the travel business is already on an upswing.
Frontier Airlines, a budget carrier that is based in Denver and known for putting images of wild animals on its planes, is expected on Thursday to become the second airline this year to list its shares on a stock exchange. Frontier plans to raise $266 million by selling 15 million shares at $19 each on Nasdaq under the symbol ULCC, a nod to its strategy as an “ultra-low-cost carrier.” Another 15 million shares will be sold by Frontier’s existing stockholders.
The industry may be struggling through one of the worst crises in its history, but travel is starting to recover and carriers like Frontier and Sun Country Airlines, which finished an initial public offering in mid-March, say they are well positioned for the rebound. Unlike the largest airlines, budget carriers do not rely on corporate or international travel, which are not expected to bounce back any time soon. Frontier and Sun Country offer domestic flights to passengers visiting family or friends or going on leisure trips, the kind who have been leading the recovery.
“The time is now,” Barry Biffle, the airline’s president and CEO, said in an interview. “If you look, the vaccine is unlocking the demand, and you’re seeing it everywhere. You’re seeing it in restaurants, you’re seeing it in hotels.”
Many investors seem to agree. Sun Country’s stock price jumped more than 40% when it hit the market a couple weeks ago. Shares of established airlines have also rallied in recent months.
Frontier, the last of the nation’s 10 largest airlines to go public, said it planned to use the money it raised to buy equipment, invest in sales and marketing, repay debt and shore up its cash reserves. The offering is expected to close Tuesday.
In a securities filing, Frontier said it believed that it could lure millions of passengers over the coming decade. It believes it could profitably add as many as 518 routes between airports that it already uses but that are not currently served by an ultra-low-cost carrier.
The airline earned $251 million in 2019 before losing nearly as much last year. It has about $1 billion in cash or cash equivalents and employs about 5,000 people.
Upswing 上昇気流
Budget 廉価な
List リストに載せる
Stockholders 株主
Unlocking 解錠
Established 落ち着いた
Rallied 立て直す、持ち直す
Shore up テコ入れする
Lure 誘い込む
Equivalents 同等
4/5(月)の放送
Forgotten Copy of Super Mario Bros. Sets Record at Auction
著者：Marie Fazio
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
An unopened copy of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. that had been bought in 1986 as a Christmas gift but sat forgotten in a desk drawer until recently was sold Friday for $660,000, according to an auction house in Dallas.
The price was a record for a video game, Heritage Auctions said in a statement. That distinction was previously held by another copy of the same game, which sold for $114,000 in July.
The game that sold Friday was purchased 35 years ago but had been placed in the drawer, where it remained undisturbed, the statement said.
“It stayed in the bottom of my office desk this whole time since the day I bought it,” the seller, who asked not to be identified, told Heritage Auctions. “I never thought anything about it.”
Valarie McLeckie, who oversees video game sales at Heritage Auctions, said the game was produced in late 1986 during a brief period when the games were sealed with plastic shrink-wrap, rather than sticker seal, and before another packaging variation was introduced the following year.
“Since the production window for this copy and others like it was so short, finding another copy from this same production run in similar condition would be akin to looking for a single drop of water in an ocean,” McLeckie said in the statement. “Never say never, but there’s a good chance it can’t be done.”
Details about the winning bidder were not immediately available Saturday. The auction website allows bidders to make offers to the new owner, starting at $990,000 or more.
Heritage Auctions called it the “finest known copy” of the game, with even the perforated cardboard hangtab intact. The opening bid at the auction was $310,000.
Over the past year, interest in factory-sealed video games has greatly expanded, and games for the Nintendo Entertainment System are often the hottest investments. Collectors have been able to quickly flip titles for thousands of dollars in profits.
Super Mario Bros., an iconic, fan-favorite video game that has since spawned multiple variations, was first produced in 1986.
distinction 栄誉、立派な成績
undisturbed 乱されない、邪魔の入らない
oversee 監督する
shrink-wrap 収縮包装
akin to …に似て
a (single) drop (of water) in an ocean 大海の一滴
Never say never 絶対にないとは言い切れない
perforated ミシン目の入った
intact そのままで、損なわれていなくて
spawn 大量に生み出す、生じる
4/6(火)の放送
‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Roars at the Box Office With $48.5 Million
著者：Brooks Barnes
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
Moviegoers sent a message to Hollywood over the weekend: We’re ready to return to theaters — and we’ll buy tickets even if the same film is instantly available in our living rooms — but we want to leave our grim world for a silly fantasy one.
“Godzilla vs. Kong,” a throwback monster movie in which a lizard with atomic breath battles a computer-generated ape on top of an aircraft carrier (before everyone decamps to the hollow center of Earth), took in an estimated $48.5 million at 3,064 North American cinemas between Wednesday and Sunday. It was the largest turnout (by far) for a movie since the pandemic began.
The PG-13 movie was not even an exclusive offering to theaters. “Godzilla vs. Kong,” produced by Legendary Entertainment, was also available on HBO Max, a streaming service that sells monthly subscriptions for $15, less than the cost of one adult ticket at cinemas in major cities.
“People seem ready for emotional release, to experience that human connectivity — laughing together, getting scared together — and complete transportation that only movie theaters can provide,” Mary Parent, Legendary’s vice chairman and head of worldwide production, said in a phone interview.
Overseas, “Godzilla vs. Kong” collected $236.9 million, including a strong $136 million in China, a market that has lately preferred local movies over imported ones. The movie has not yet opened in other major markets, such as Japan and Brazil.
Some box office analysts were reluctant to declare a recovery for Hollywood, noting that coronavirus cases have been rising again in the United States and that parts of Europe have returned to lockdown. David Gross, who runs Franchise Entertainment Research, a film consultancy, said the turnout between Friday and Sunday — while a “clear and positive indication that moviegoing has inherent strengths that aren’t going away” — was nonetheless “half of what it would have been under normal circumstances.”
About 93% of theaters in the United States have been cleared to open, but government guidelines limit capacity to 50% and, in some big cities, 25%. The majority of theaters in Canada remain closed.
Moviegoers 映画を好んで観に行く人たち
☝️movie + go + -er
send a message 行動によって意思を示す
grim 暗澹たる
silly くだらない(現実ではあり得ない)
throwback 再来
☝️#TBT: Throwback Thursday
decamp 逃亡する
☝️軍隊が野営を引き払う
exclusive 限定された
human connectivity 人と人との繋がり
☝️connectivity(インタ――ネットへの接続具合)でよく使う
I have poor connectivity. (ネットの接続が不安定です。)
reluctant to ~ 〜するのに気が進まない様子
inherent 生来の、本来の
4/7(水)の放送
Vancouver Canucks Brought to a Standstill by the Pandemic
著者：Gerald Narciso
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The NHL’s COVID-19 protocols have sidelined more than half of the Vancouver Canucks, as well as one member of the coaching staff, an extraordinary impact of the coronavirus on a sports team.
The Canucks have not played a game in nearly two weeks. At least 16 players are on the league’s protocol list after testing positive, including forward Marc Michaelis and defenseman Jalen Chatfield, who were added on Sunday. An NHL roster is typically 23 players. The protocol list is based on testing and contact tracing.
The players have reported symptoms including fever, fatigue and mild headaches, as reported by The Vancouver Province. Members of the players’ immediate families and team staff have also been affected, according to reports, which is believed to be the Brazilian P1 variant of COVID-19, a first in the NHL.
“Finally made it to the couch after two days,” one Canucks player told a local journalist.
Four games have already been postponed with more expected. The Canucks, who last played on March 24 in a home loss against the Winnipeg Jets, are prohibited from practicing until April 6 at the earliest and are restricted from playing games until April 8, when they are scheduled to play the Calgary Flames on the road. At press time, that game has not been canceled.
On Sunday, Jim Benning, the Canucks general manager, released a statement expressing gratitude for the well wishes from fans as well as acknowledging the organizations that have provided medical support to the club. “We hope for a return to full health as soon as possible,” the statement read. “Our focus continues to be the health of everyone involved.”
The first case of the team outbreak occurred on March 30, after forward Adam Gaudette was sent home from practice after testing positive.
Each player will be required to quarantine for a minimum of 10 days.
In British Columbia, as in other parts of Canada, COVID-19 cases have been surging in recent weeks. On Saturday, the province announced 1,072 new cases, a single-day record. There were also 871 variant cases of the virus recorded in British Columbia over the past week.
Canada as a whole has been slower to vaccinate its population in comparison to the United States because of a shortage of doses.
Canuck カナダ人
standstill 停止、休止
sidelined 欠場させる、戦線離脱
extraordinary 異常な、途方も無い
immediate 関係が直近の
prohibit 禁止する、差止める
on the road 遠征中
gratitude 感謝の気持ち
as soon as possible できる限り早く
as a whole 全体として
4/8(木)の放送
Iran and U.S. Agree on Path Back to Nuclear Deal
著者：Steven Erlanger
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
BRUSSELS — The United States and Iran agreed through intermediaries on Tuesday to establish two working groups to try to get both countries back into compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
In a meeting of the current members of the deal in Vienna, all parties agreed to establish one working group to focus on how to get the United States back to the deal by lifting harsh economic sanctions imposed or reimposed after President Donald Trump pulled out of the accord in May 2018.
The other working group will focus on how to get Iran back into compliance with the accord’s limitations on nuclear enrichment and stockpiles of enriched uranium.
The two groups have already begun their efforts, according to Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian representative who is ambassador to international organizations in Vienna.
Ulyanov called Tuesday’s meeting of the joint commission on the Iran deal an initial success.
But in a Twitter message, he cautioned that restoration of the deal “will not happen immediately. It will take some time. How long? Nobody knows. The most important thing after today’s meeting of the Joint Commission is that practical work toward achieving this goal has started.”
President Joe Biden has vowed to bring the United States back into the deal, which would mean removing the 1,600 or so sanctions imposed on Iran after Trump pulled out of an accord he attacked as too weak and tried to bring Iran to renegotiate through economic pressure.
In Vienna, Iran met with the other current members of the deal — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, under the chairmanship of the European Union — in a grand hotel ballroom, while the American team, led by special envoy Robert Malley, worked separately in a nearby hotel. Iran has refused to meet directly with the United States, so the Europeans have been undertaking a kind of shuttle diplomacy.
The United States also wants to convince Iran to negotiate longer time limits for the accord and to begin further talks on limiting Iran’s missiles and support for allies and Shia militias through the region, including in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Iran has said that it has no interest in considering further negotiations until the United States restores the status quo ante and rejoins the deal.
intermediary 仲介者、 仲裁人
compliance 順守、コンプライアンス
back to the deal 取引に戻る
economic sanctions 経済制裁
pulled out of the accord 協定から離脱する
representative 代表者，代理人
restoration of the deal 合意復帰、交渉復帰
envoy 特命使節、代理人
shuttle diplomacy 往復外交、シャトル外交
the status quo ante 以前の状態、原状
4/9(金)の放送
Election Rout Signals a Shift in South Korea’s Political Scene
著者：Choe Sang-Hun
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
SEOUL, South Korea — In his last year in office, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea has seen his approval ratings in a tailspin. His trademark North Korea diplomacy remains in tatters. Citizens are fuming over his repeatedly botched attempts to arrest soaring housing prices.
And on Wednesday, voters in South Korea’s two biggest cities dealt another crushing blow to the beleaguered leader.
Moon’s Democratic Party lost the mayoral elections in Seoul and Busan to the conservative opposition, the People Power Party. Critics are calling the results of the two by-elections a referendum on Moon and his government.
“The people vented their anger at the Moon government through these elections,” said Kim Chong-in, head of the People Power Party, referring to large margins by which its candidates won.
South Korea’s Constitution limits Moon to a single five-year term. But he had hoped that a candidate backed by his party would succeed him in the presidential election next March and continue his progressive legacy, including a policy of engagement toward North Korea.
Wednesday’s mayoral elections showed that the Democratic Party faces steep challenges as voters once loyal to Moon — especially those in their 20s and 30s — abandon it in droves.
The former mayors were both members of Moon’s Democratic Party and the president’s close allies. Their downfall weakened the moral standing of Moon’s progressive camp, which has cast itself as a clean, transparent and equality-minded alternative to its conservative opponents. Moon’s two immediate predecessors — Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak — were both conservatives and are now in prison following convictions on corruption charges.
Moon was elected in 2017, filling the power vacuum created by Park’s impeachment. As a former human rights lawyer, he enthralled the nation by promising a “fair and just” society. He vehemently criticized an entrenched culture of privilege and corruption that he said had taken root while conservatives were in power, and vowed to create a level playing field for young voters who have grown weary of dwindling job opportunities and an ever-expanding income gap.
In recent months, South Koreans have grown frustrated with prolonged social-distancing restrictions, a distressed economy and the government’s failure to provide vaccines fast enough. On Wednesday, the government reported 668 new coronavirus infections, the highest one-day increase in three months.
rout 完敗／大敗北
（in a）tailspin 急落／急降下
in tatters 打ち砕かれて／ズダズダになって
fuming 非常に怒っている／立腹している
botched 不出来な／損なわれた
beleaguered 包囲された／難渋している
by-election 補欠選挙
☝️bye-electionという綴り方もある
referendum 一般投票／国民投票
in droves ぞろぞろと／大勢で
power vacuum 権力の真空／政権の空白状態
enthrall 魅了する／魅入る
vehemently 熱心に／激しく
