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Unit 4 The sports people play in
America and Japan tend to be quite similar.
However, the way these sports are played in each
society shows differences that reflect both cultures. Though professional
baseball teams in America and Japan play by the same rules, many aspects of
the game are approached differently. A difference can be seen just by looking at
the players and the game. Japanese
players usually have a neat hairstyle without a beard or m(o)ustache, while American players wear their hair in various
ways. Japanese players tend to
practice much more than American players.
December is the only month when Japanese players don’t practice, while American players have three or four months of
holidays during the off-season. Moreover, on game days, Japanese players spend most
of the day practicing, while American players usually
arrive one or two hours before the start of the game. These approaches to baseball
show important cultural differences.
In
Japanese baseball, the practice time is seen as a way to persevere and
show effort. It not
only improves performance, but builds group
harmony. However, American
players don’t care about harmony or perseverance. Instead, the most important thing is
winning. Players have only light
practice on game days because they think it is better to save their energy,
which will give them a better chance to win. As long as the team wins, harmony and
perseverance don’t matter. Another difference in
baseball involves the relationship between the manager and the players. In Japan, the manager has complete
control over the players and tells them what to do in many situations. In America, the players are freer to
play the game as they like, and even when they are told what to do by their
manager, they sometimes disagree and do something different. If the player’s decision is correct and it
helps the team win, the player is usually forgiven. 読解のポイント １ トピックは最初のパラ(導入)に含まれるので、このパラは丁寧に読む。 ２ 最後のパラ(結論)では、導入で述べていることと一致しているか、あるいは反論となっているかを考えながら読む。 ３ その他のパラは、導入で述べていることを支持したり、反論を述べている。 また、それぞれの主張をサポートする具体例を紹介している。 ４ 対比型のパッセージでは、最初に紹介されたり主張より、後で紹介されている主張を結論とする場合が多い。 ５ 逆接や対比を表す接続詞、副詞は重要な働きをしている。 例：however, but, though, while, on the other hand, on the contrary, at first, in the past⇔now など Introduction: |