英字新聞を読むには各単語の形式を知ることが大事！
英語を勉強し始めたばかりの段階だと、教材と違って英字新聞を読むのはかなり難しいと思います。それぞれの新聞が独自の書き方をもっていたりもするので。なので、僕が補足をつけながら、英字新聞を読むのお手伝いしようと思います。教材の文法には慣れたけど英字新聞はまだ苦手という、初級ー中級あたりの人用の解説です。
何回も言いますが、新聞を読むためには各々の単語が名詞（noun）なのか、形容詞（adjective）なのか、副詞（adverb）なのかがめちゃくちゃ大事になってきます！文法はほんっっっっっっとうに大事です！！！一緒に一つずつやっていきましょう！僕の勉強がわりにもなっているので、僕が知っていることは飛ばしていたりします。なので、何かわからないことがあれば気軽にコメントください。できるだけ答えます！よろしくお願いします 😉
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まずはざっと読んでみてください。
難易度は★★☆☆☆です！
読み終わったら、下の単語の解説と照らし合わせながら読んでいってみてください！よろしくです 😉
それでは英字新聞 読解スタートです！
We perform BETTER when we have an audience despite being more nervous, say scientists
・Fear of social humiliation was found to spur people on to do better
・When watched by an audience of two all but two of the 20 participants did better
ここのbut は 〜以外です。
・They were up to 20 per cent better than if they were playing alone
humiliation (noun)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると” the unhappy and ashamed feeling that you get when something embarrassing happens “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
I doubt he would risk further public humiliation.
the humiliation of being asked to leave
Imagine the humiliation of having to apologize.
To spur/ spur on(verb)
Cambridge Dictionaryによると” to encourage someone to do something “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
The thought of failing my exams spurred me into action.
His comments spurred me on to success.
The huge new factory spurred economic growth in the entire region.
Asked to give a speech in front of an audience, many people experience sweaty palms, a dry mouth and rising sense of panic.
Whether it is singing, playing an instrument or taking part in an amateur dramatics production, there is a very real fear in front of an audience of ‘choking’ or forgetting the words on stage.
But, believe it or not, we actually perform better when people are watching than alone because having an audience boosts our motor skills, researchers have revealed.
motor skillとは運動技能のことです。
To choke (verb)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると” if your voice chokes, you cannot speak clearly, usually because of a strong emotion or because you are laughing “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
Her voice choked with emotion when she spoke of the sister she had lost.
‘I don’t want to be your secretary!’ she choked.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University asked participants to play a tricky computer game involving moving a cursor to reach a cross hair target at the optimum speed.
cursor は(コンピューターなどの)カーソル です。
When watched by an audience of two, all but two of the participants did better – up to 20 per cent better than if they were playing alone.
2人をのぞいて全員が良くなった です。
Brain scans showed that when they knew they were being observed, the parts of the brain linked to social awareness and reward triggered those controlling motor skills to improve performance.
The study’s lead author, Dr Vikram Chib, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins, said: ‘You might think having people watch you isn’t going to help, but it might actually make you perform better.
‘An audience can serve as an extra bit of incentive.’
serve as ～は … として役に立つ という意味です。
crosshairs (noun)
Cambridge Dictionary によると” two thin wires crossing each other in a gun or other device, which you use to help you aim at something: “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
A sniper had them in his crosshairs.
The poster showed his face in the crosshairs of a rifle.
optimum (noun)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると” best or most suitable within a range of possibilities “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
The warm water provides the optimum conditions for breeding.
incentive (noun)
Cambridge Dictionaryによると” something that encourages a person to do something: “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
These kids have no incentive to learn.
Bonus payments provide an incentive to work harder.
They want to stimulate growth in the region by offering incentives to foreign investors.
Previous research has shown people do better under public pressure because of worries about how they are presenting themselves.
The new study states that performing well is seen as ‘increasing social approval by others’ while a poor performance can have an ‘adverse impact on one’s social standing’.
To test this, the authors recruited 20 people aged 19 to 32 to tackle the video game and paid them a small amount of money based on how well they did.
They played the game either alone or in front of an audience of two and were rated for smoothness of their hand movements and accuracy.
approval (noun)
Cambridge Dictionary によると” the feeling of having a positive opinion of someone or something: “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
He showed his approval by smiling broadly.
Alan is someone who always needs the approval of other people.
Sam always tried hard to win his father’s approval.
She craves the approval of her classmates.
You’ll need your parents’ approval to take this field trip.
adverse (adjective)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると” having a negative or harmful effect on something: “というふうに記載されています。
例文：
The match has been cancelled because of adverse weather conditions.
They received a lot of adverse publicity/criticism about the changes.
So far the drug is thought not to have any adverse effects.
He attracted a lot of adverse publicity with his speech about unmarried mothers.
The drug has so far had no adverse effect on patients.
social standing (noun)
Collins Dictionaryによると” a person’s status or social class in society “というふうに記載されています。
例文：
They were people of a slightly higher social standing.
She had the wealth and social standing to command respect.
accuracy (noun)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると” the ability to do something in an accurate way “というふうに記載されています。
例文：
the need to combine speed and accuracy
The accuracy of the reports cannot be verified (=checked).
The latest missiles can be fired with incredible accuracy.
Her paintings are almost photographic in their detail and accuracy.
The computer will calculate your position with pinpoint accuracy.
She says she can type 85 words per minute with 90% accuracy.
When people were watching, participants were an average of five per cent better at the game, with some participants up to 20 per cent better.
Only two out of the 20 failed to see an improvement in front of an audience.
Scanning their brains using an MRI machine, researchers found those performing to an audience had increased activity in a part of the prefrontal cortex thought to weight up the thoughts and intentions of others.
prefrontal cortex は、前頭前皮質です。
The parts of their cortex associated with reward also lit up.
Together these signals triggered activity in the ventral striatum, an area of the brain that motivates action and motor skills.
ventral striatum 腹側線条体という脳の場所です。
The findings, published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, suggest a small audience boosts the incentive to do well. But if the audience was a lot bigger, and the stakes higher, the results could have gone the other way.
‘Here, people with social anxiety tended to perform better,’ Dr Chib said.
‘But at some point, the size of the audience could increase the size of one’s anxiety. We still need to figure that out.’
weigh up (phrasal verb)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” to consider the good and bad aspects of something in order to reach a decision about it “ というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
Before buying weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of each type.
I’m weighing up my options before I decide to apply for the job.
stake (noun)
Cambridge Dictionaryによると” the amount of money that you risk on the result of something such as a game or competition: “ と記載されていますね。
例文：
He liked gambling, but only for small stakes.
high-stakes (adjective)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると” a high-stakes activity or situation involves a lot of risk or serious consequences “ と記載されていますね。
例文：
She spent two weeks in Las Vegas playing high-stakes blackjack at the casinos.
最後に、内容が理解でき、新しい単語も知ることができたら、必ずCambridge Dictionaryか、Macmillan Dictionaryで例文を読むようにしてください。そして一番シンプルで、自分が日常使いしときやすそうなもをノートやスマホに書き溜めておいてください。そしてこれを移動中の時などに声に出して覚えることが本当に大事です！（電車では難しいので、僕はよく歩きますw）
これをしないと全然伸びていきません！
それではまた明日も更新していきます！
一緒に英語頑張りましょう！
また、英字新聞を読むメリットを僕なりにまとめましたので、時間がある方はこちらもみてみてくださいね！↓