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。
2/27(土)の放送
House Passes Sweeping Gay and Transgender Equality Legislation
著者：Catie Edmondson
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
WASHINGTON — A divided House on Thursday narrowly passed a bill that would extend civil rights protections to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, but the measure faced an uphill battle to enactment, with Republicans almost uniformly opposed.
The legislation, passed 224-206 almost entirely along party lines, stands little chance of drawing enough Republican support in the Senate to advance, at least in its current form. It was the second time the Democratic-led House had passed the measure, known as the Equality Act, which seeks to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add explicit bans on discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in both public and private spaces.
The passage of the legislation came as a broader fight over transgender rights played out on Capitol Hill, with Republicans attacking transgender people and Democrats insisting they warranted the same civil rights protections afforded to anyone else.
In the House, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the first-term Republican from Georgia who is known for spreading false and bigoted conspiracy theories, referred to the transgender daughter of Rep. Marie Newman, D-Ill., as “your biological son.”
Across the Capitol, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., attacked Dr. Rachel Levine, a pick for a top health post who would be the first transgender woman to be confirmed by the Senate, at a hearing to consider her nomination.
The confirmation hearing for Levine, a former Pennsylvania health secretary who President Joe Biden has chosen to be assistant secretary of health, turned briefly combative after Paul opened his questioning with a tirade about “genital mutilation,” and demanded to know whether she supported sex reassignment surgery and hormone therapy for minors.
As the Senate hearing unfolded, Democrats in the House were engaged in a fiery debate of their own. Several Republicans assailed the Equality Act as dangerous, leading one top Democrat, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, to accuse them of believing that gay and transgender people “are morally inferior, and that firing us should be permitted.”
“Why hide behind the ridiculous, embarrassing, easily debunked arguments, falsehoods, fearmongering about locker rooms and women’s sports?” said Maloney, the openly gay chair of House Democrats’ campaign arm. “Why not just say what they really mean?”
enactment (法律の) 制定
uniformly 一様に
bigoted 凝り固まった意見を持つ、偏屈な
combative 闘争的な
tirade 攻撃 [非難] 演説
genital mutilation 性器切除
sex reassignment surgery (SRS) 性別適合手術
hormone therapy ホルモン療法
assail (～を) 言葉 [議論] で攻め立てる、激しく非難する
falsehood うそ
fearmongering 恐怖を利用する
2/28(日)の放送
India’s Economy Exits Deep Recession as Fledgling Recovery Strengthens
著者：Shalini Venugopal Bhagat and Hari Kumar
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
NEW DELHI — After plunging into one of the worst recessions of any major economy, India is showing signs of a modest comeback. But the country is still struggling to find ways to sustain growth.
India’s economic output grew 0.4% in the third quarter, which ended in December, compared to the same period a year earlier, according to economic data released by the Indian government Friday. The figures show India has emerged from a recession, which is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of economic shrinkage.
The turnaround is good news for the government of Narendra Modi, the prime minister, and for Indian households that have struggled with the effect of the pandemic on the country. But the rate is still slow compared to previous years, when the economy had grown at a pace of at least 6%. Economists said the fledgling recovery was driven by services, agriculture, construction and some manufacturing sectors.
In the spring and summer, India imposed one of the world’s strictest and longest lockdowns, allowing only essential services to function. India’s economy was one of the worst performing among major countries last year, contracting 24% in the first quarter, despite expansive government spending. In the second quarter, it contracted again, by more than 7%.
For the moment, though, the pandemic appears to be largely under control, and India has emerged from its lockdown. New virus cases have dropped to around 15,000 per day, compared with nearly 100,000 in the fall. Virus deaths have dropped to around 100 per day, compared with more than 1,000 during the worst period last year.
India produces millions of doses of vaccines each day, and the world’s largest immunization drive is fully underway, though it is restricted to front-line workers. More than 13 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The government has announced that starting March 1, private hospitals will also be allowed to administer the vaccine to anyone over 60 years old or those over 45 with certain medical conditions. Experts hope that as the vaccination rollout picks up pace, it will blunt the effects of a possible second wave and put the economy back on track.
Recession 不景気
Fledgling 未熟な
Consecutive 連続した
Shrinkage 縮小
Contract 引き締める、緊縮する
Dose 一回分の分量
Immunization 免疫をつける
Front-line 第一線
Administer 投与
Rollout 展開
Blunt 鈍らせる
3/1(月)の放送
Captain Tom, Who Raised Millions for U.K. Health Workers, Gets Hero’s Goodbye
著者：Anushka Patil
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
Tom Moore, the 100-year-old British national hero who raised millions of pounds for the National Health Service during the pandemic, was sent off with military honors at his funeral Saturday.
Soldiers in Bedford, England, carried Moore’s coffin and performed a gun salute for the decorated World War II veteran, who came to be known and loved as “Captain Tom.” The ceremony was also marked by the flyover of a World War II-era Royal Air Force plane.
Moore became a national sensation last year when he took up his walker for charity and started doing laps around his brick garden patio in Marston Moretaine, a village an hour north of London.
His daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, publicized his walks and helped turn them into an online fundraising campaign with the original goal of raising 1,000 pounds for the National Health Service, which was stretched to the breaking point by the pandemic.
Moore ultimately did 100 laps, raising 32.8 million pounds, or $45 million, and skyrocketing to beloved celebrity status. He died in February after being treated for pneumonia, and then testing positive for COVID-19.
“We had been so close as a family before this, but we were thrust even closer together as the world became enthralled by your spirit of hope, positivity and resilience,” Ingram-Moore said Saturday during a service limited to family members but broadcast online. “They too saw your belief in kindness and the fundamental goodness of the human spirit.”
With his spry charm, mischievous smile and dapper attire, Moore became a star of international media. He recorded a chart-topping song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” with singer Michael Ball. And he caught the attention of Queen Elizabeth II, who made a rare public appearance during the pandemic to knight him at Windsor Castle.
When he died, tributes poured in from pop stars and everyday citizens alike.
He spent the last few months of his life writing a book that included directions for his funeral, the BBC reported. In a section released by the family, Moore requested that the service include the song “My Way,” by Frank Sinatra. It did.
“I always did things my way,” he wrote, “and especially like the line about having too few regrets to mention.”
salute (名) 敬礼、礼砲
veteran 退役軍人
walker 歩行器
do laps 往復する
stretch to the breaking point 限界まで伸びる
pneumonia 肺炎
thrust 力強くぐいぐい押す
enthrall 心を奪う、魅了する
resilience 回復力、立ち上がる力
spry （高齢の方が）かくしゃくとした、元気な
dapper attire 粋でこぎれいな恰好
3/2(火)の放送
Broadway is Dark. London is Quiet. But in Australia, It’s Showtime.
著者：Damien Cave and Michael Paulson
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
SYDNEY — Australia, normally a secondary market for big-brand shows developed in New York and London, has become an unexpected pandemic pioneer: a model and a test case for the global theater industry. Now producers on Broadway and the West End are watching the Australian rebound with envy, hope and a desire to learn what works as a kneecapped art form tries to get back on its feet.
Much has changed. Actors are greeted at some theaters by robots that take their temperatures. Patrons must scan QR codes as they register for contact tracing upon arrival, and they are admitted at staggered times so they can be seated by row. After the final ovations, actors skip the familiar stage door selfie sessions with fans.
Australia has been far more successful at containing the virus than either the United States or Britain, mostly because it adopted strict safety protocols and people have followed public health advice. Over the past week, Australia has averaged fewer than one daily case per 100,000 people, according to a New York Times database, while Britain has averaged 15 and the United States 21. The raw numbers are even starker: Australia averaged a total of only six new coronavirus cases a day over the past week, while the United States averaged 69,483.
Now British and American producers are stuck waiting for vaccines to be rolled out in their countries. In the West End, some shows are hoping to reopen in the spring, and on Broadway, fall seems more likely — while in Australia, shows were able to open long before anyone was vaccinated.
Ticket sales are strong, suggesting that theater lovers are eager to return, and willing to spend money.
The momentum has been building since Australia’s theater industry began lobbying for a return back in June. Some productions got government incentives to reopen, and the industry created its own nationwide coronavirus safety plan with public health researchers to persuade officials that theaters, as a whole, would not make the pandemic worse.
The first productions to open here last fall felt awkward, as government guidelines required 4 square meters per person, leaving many seats empty. Now some theaters in Sydney and Melbourne can fill up to 85% of their seats.
kneecap v. (仕返し・罰として)ひざ頭を狙い撃ちする
👆kneecap(n. ひざ頭)
patrons 後援者、ひいき客 👆日本語の「パトロン」より少し広義
👆patron saint (守護神), patron god (氏神様)
contact tracing 接触者追跡
staggered 食い違い状にした
👆stagger(よろめく)→ジグザグ状に歩く→食い違い状、時差
ovations 大喝采
👆standing ovation, round of applause(拍手喝采)
stage door 楽屋口
adopt (方針などを)取り入れる [語源: adoptare(ラテン語: 自分のために選ぶ)]
roll out 公衆に向けて(新しい商品などを)広く販売するべく紹介する
lobbying 企業や利益団体から政府に対して働きかける
👆由来はイギリスで議会前後にロビーで議員と話したこと
government incentives 政府による補助金 [語源: incentive(音の調子を整えること→その気にさせるもの)]
awkward 気まずい [語源: awk(逆手の)+ward(方向)]
3/3(水)の放送
6 Dr. Seuss Books Will No Longer Be Published Over Offensive Images
著者：Jenny Gross
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
Six Dr. Seuss books will no longer be published because of their use of offensive imagery, according to the business that oversees the estate of the children’s author and illustrator.
In a statement Tuesday, Dr. Seuss Enterprises said that it had decided last year to end publication and licensing of the books by Theodor Seuss Geisel. The titles include his first book writing under the pen name Dr. Seuss, “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” (1937), and “If I Ran the Zoo” (1950).
“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises said in the statement, which coincided with the birthday of Geisel, who died in 1991. The business said the decision came after working with a panel of experts, including educators, and reviewing its catalog of titles.
The other books that will no longer be published are “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!” “Scrambled Eggs Super!” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.’”
Geisel’s whimsical stories have entertained millions of children and adults worldwide, but in recent years, critics have said some of his work was racist and presented harmful depictions of certain groups.
Before he became a giant of children’s literature, Geisel drew political cartoons for a New York-based newspaper, PM, from 1941 to 1943, including some that used harmful stereotypes to caricature Japanese and Japanese Americans. Decades later, he said he was embarrassed by the cartoons, which he said were “full of snap judgments that every political cartoonist has to make.”
Random House Children’s Books did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
no longer もう〜でない
oversee 監視する・監督する
estate 財産
portray 表現する、描く
coincide 同時に起こる
expert 専門家
whimsical 気まぐれな、風変わりな
depictions 描写、表現
literature 文学
caricature 風刺的に描写する
embarrassed 恥ずかしい、ばつの悪い
3/4(木)の放送
Volvo Plans to Sell Only Electric Cars by 2030
著者：Jack Ewing
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
Volvo Cars one-upped larger rivals like General Motors Co. and added momentum to the movement toward electric vehicles Tuesday by saying it would convert its entire lineup to battery power by 2030, no longer selling cars with internal combustion engines.
The declaration by the Swedish carmaker is the latest attempt by a traditional auto company to break with its fossil fuels past. It is also one of the most ambitious proposals and ratchets up the pressure on others to follow suit.
The auto industry has been moving toward electrification for years, but the shift has taken on new urgency in recent months. President Joe Biden’s election, along with his commitment to fight climate change, has raised expectations that the United States will offer the kind of incentives that helped make electric cars the fastest-growing segment of the European market last year.
GM said in January that it would go all-electric by 2035. Ford said last month it would sell only battery-powered cars in Europe starting in 2030, and the maker of Jaguar luxury cars made a similar promise.
“If you want to be in the game you have to transform fast,” said Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo. “Otherwise you get stuck in a shrinking segment.”
Volvo, owned by Geely Holding of China, has been ahead of larger rivals in converting to electric power. All the models it sells in Europe are either hybrids or run solely on batteries. But some of the Volvos are so-called mild hybrids, which have an electric motor that assists the gasoline engine but are not capable of running solely on battery power.
The electrification strategy reflects Volvo’s ties to China. Geely Holding is the largest shareholder in Geely Auto, which said last week it would cooperate more closely with Volvo on electric vehicle technology. That will help spread the costs of the technology and help Geely Auto catch up with Chinese rivals like Nio.
In another break from the practice of traditional carmakers, Volvo’s electric models will be sold exclusively online.
Volvo has only one battery-powered car on the market now, a version of its XC40 SUV. On Tuesday, Volvo unveiled a second model, the C40 crossover.
The C40 will be able to travel 210 miles on a charge, Volvo said, a somewhat shorter range than the Tesla Model 3.
Samuelsson said the company had more electric models in development.
electric vehicle 電気自動車
convert 転換する、変える
internal combustion engines 内燃機関
ratchet up 徐々に上げる、増やす
electrification （設備などの）電化
battery-powered car 電池式自動車
In another break from （本文では）他社と違って
【環境問題キーワード】
carbon emission 炭素放出
CO2 emission 二酸化炭素排出
greenhouse gas 温室効果ガス
carbon footprint 二酸化炭素排出量
carbon-neutral 二酸化炭素を排出しない
zero emission 排出ゼロ
3/5(金)の放送
Biden Denounces States for Lifting Orders on Masks; Experts Plead for Vigilance
著者：Maria Jimenez Moya, Campbell Robertson, Erin Coulehan and James Dobbins
(c) 2021 The New York Times Company
HOUSTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday criticized the decisions by the governors of Texas and Mississippi to lift statewide mask mandates, calling the plans “a big mistake,” as his administration tries to manage the pandemic while state leaders set their own plans.
The president called for public officials to follow the guidance of doctors and public health leaders as the coronavirus vaccination campaign gains momentum.
“The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine, take off your mask and forget it,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “It’s critical, critical, critical, critical that they follow the science.”
“Wear a mask and stay socially distanced,” he added. “And I know you all know that. I wish the heck some of our elected officials knew it.”
The sudden announcement Tuesday by Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, that he would lift a statewide mask requirement and allow all businesses to operate at full capacity frustrated public health experts and a range of city officials.
Still, the move was welcomed by some Texans, particularly those whose livelihoods and businesses have suffered. “I’m proud to be Texan and this is the first step to bring Texas back,” said Amber Rodriguez, who owns an air-conditioning company in Houston.
But for many other Texans, the announcement was anything but reassuring. Dr. Victor Treviño, the health authority of Laredo, said he feared that the decision would “eliminate all the gains that we have achieved.”
At the time of Abbott’s announcement, 12 other states had no statewide mask mandate — a number that grew to 13 when the mandate ended in Mississippi on Wednesday night.
But the decision comes as public health officials plead with people to not let impatience outrun prudence. With vaccinations steadily rolling out nationwide, the guidance from health experts has been consistent: Keep your guard up a little while longer.
“Now is not the time to release all restrictions,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday.
It remains to be seen whether Abbott’s decision will trigger a wave of similar decisions by other governors. On the same afternoon as Abbott’s speech, the governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, also a Republican, announced he was lifting a statewide mask mandate.
Under the new orders in Texas and Mississippi, private businesses can maintain mask requirements.
“denounce 糾弾する／非難する
vigilance 警戒／用心
mandate 命令／任務
pandemic 疫病／パンデミック
momentum 勢い／はずみ
Neanderthal ネアンデルタール人
☝️cavemanとも言います
follow the science 科学（的なデータ）に従いましょう
heck 一体／とんでもない
☝️”hell”のより丁寧な言い回し
anything but 〜どころではない／〜だけはない
prudence 賢明さ／慎重さ”
