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 😉
全文はこちらをクリック！
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！
Why nearly half of Japanese under-40s are virgins: Stressed workers blame long hours, porn and money worries that put them off relationships, documentary reveals
・Around 44 per cent of unmarried women and 42 per cent of men are virgins
・Some 60 per cent of women and 70 per cent of men aged 18-34 are single
・Long working hours and money worries among reasons, documentary reveals
・Other reasons include easy access to alternatives with thriving sex industry
put off (phrasal verb)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” to make someone not want to do something, or to make someone not like someone or something “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
Lack of parking space was putting potential customers off.
I put him off the idea of going shopping with me.
All this rain really puts you off going out after work.
alternative (noun/adjective)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” something that you can choose instead of something else “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
Can you suggest an alternative?
I’m afraid I have no alternative but to ask you to leave (= that is what I have to do).
thriving (adjective)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” very successful “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
Littleton used to be a thriving market town.
The dog is thriving in its new home.
The school was really thriving under her leadership.
Almost half of young Japanese people are virgins because they don’t have time to date and prefer alternatives such as pornography and sex robots, a documentary has found.
Some 44 per cent of unmarried women and 42 per cent of unmarried men in Japan admitted they were virgins in The 2015 National Fertility Survey.
The study also found 60 per cent of women and 70 per cent of men aged 18-34 said they were single.
Now, as the government battles to increase the birthrate, a TV documentary by The Feed titled Sex in Japan: Dying for Company has attempted to answer why young people are having less sex.
feed (noun)
Cambridge Dictionaryによると ” a web page, screen, etc. that updates (= changes) often to show the latest information: “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
Your Twitter feed refreshes automatically to show new tweets.
One main reason was that people said they are working increasingly long hours with low job security, meaning they are struggling to find time to date.
City worker Taiyo Hashimoto, 26, told the show: ‘I’m supposed to finish work at 7pm but I work overtime basically every day.’
He said he regularly stays at work until the last train home at midnight and when he rarely does socialise, he attends drinks with his boss.
job security (noun)
Cambridge Dictionaryによると ” If you have job security, your job is likely to be permanent. “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
No job can offer guaranteed job security these days.
be supposed to do/be something (phrase)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” to be expected to behave in a particular way, especially according to a rule, an agreement, or someone in authority “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
You’re supposed to make a copy of the contract before you mail it.
Am I supposed to be at the meeting on Tuesday?
The children are supposed to be at school by 8.45 a.m.
What are you doing out of bed – you’re supposed to be asleep.
You’re not supposed (= allowed) to park here.
To socialise (verb)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” to spend time with other people socially, for example at a party “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
I spent most of my first year at college socializing.
He never socializes with people from work.
I tend not to socialize with my colleagues.
Although he works a lot, Manny still finds time to socialize with friends.
drinks (noun)
Cambridge Dictionaryによると ” a party at which you have drinks, especially alcoholic drinks: “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
Come for drinks on Saturday.
‘I have to keep up with him, which is hard on me. He has a drink. So do I. He asks for another, so do I. That’s what you’re expected to do,’ he said.
With full-time work declining for those aged 18-34, it is thought many Japanese people are worried about getting married and having children without long-term job security and sound finances.
Hashimoto also explained that the abundance of alternatives to sex means there is less urgency to find a girlfriend.
hard (adjective)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” unpleasant and full of problems “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
It’s very hard on parents when their children are being bullied at school.
abundance (noun)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” a very large quantity of something “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
The lake attracts an abundance of wildlife.
The evidence is there in abundance.
There was an abundance of food at the wedding.
We had wine in abundance.
Japan has multibillion-dollar sex industry made up of hostess bars, fetish clubs, masturbation clubs, love hotels, sex shops, maid cafes and a rapid rise in the popularity of increasingly realistic sex dolls and robots.
‘Men go to brothels or massage parlours, fuelled by after-work drinks with their colleagues. That sort of thing is common,’ Hashimoto explained.
brothel は売春宿です。
Relationship therapist Ai Aoyama added: ‘There are lots of places for men to have fun. Men don’t have to bother having a girlfriend.’
It has long been known that people’s reluctance to enter relationships is affecting the county’s birthrate.
In May, statistics revealed the number of children in Japan has fallen for the 37th consecutive year despite the country’s efforts to offset its ageing population.
statistics は、 統計です。
billion-dollar (adjective)
Adjective Dictionaryによると ” used to describe something that is worth at least one thousand million dollars: “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
The drug giant is seeking approval for a new drug that could be its next billion-dollar product.
To bother (verb)
Cambridge Dictionaryによると ” to make the effort to do something: “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
You could have phoned us but you just didn’t bother.
He won’t come, so why bother inviting him?
He hasn’t even bothered to write.
Don’t bother doing the laundry.
He didn’t even bother to say goodbye.
reluctance (noun)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” a feeling of being unwilling to do something or of wishing that you did not have to do it “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
Julia’s reluctance to join the party was a mystery.
Her reluctance to talk to the press was quite understandable.
I don’t understand her reluctance to come.
He tried to explain his reluctance to get involved.
consecutive (adjective)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” following one after another in order and with nothing else in between “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
We’ve had five consecutive days of rain.
He’s been late now on three consecutive days.
This is the fifth consecutive weekend that I’ve spent working.
her fifth consecutive defeat
He did 300 consecutive press-ups.
To offset (verb)
Cambridge Dictionaryによると ” to balance one influence against an opposing influence, so that there is no great difference as a result: “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
The extra cost of commuting to work from the suburbs is offset by cheaper rents.
Falling sales in Thailand were offset by strong performances in other markets.
Donations to charities can be offset against tax.
There were 15.53 million children under the age of 14 in Japan as of April 1, 2018.
This is a decrease of 170,000 from the previous year and continues the downward spiral which started in 1981, according to the data by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry.
The decline in numbers also isn’t likely to end soon as older children made up the largest section of the category, with 3.26 million 12 to 14-year-olds.
Only Tokyo showed an increase in the amount of children compared to the previous year, despite efforts by the Shinzo Abe government to encourage adults to have more youngsters.
Children made up just 12.3 per cent of Japan’s total population of 126 million – in contract to the US’s 18.9 per cent and China’s 16.8 per cent, report CNN.
Japan wishes to increase its fertility rate – the average number of children a woman in the country has in her lifetime – by 0.35 to 1.8 by the end of 2025, according to the Japan Times.
The government is aiming to reach this goal through one time cash payments.
Unlike many other industrialised countries who have been struggling with low birth rates, Japan has failed to increase its population through immigrants.
Foreigners made up 1.3 per cent of Japan’s population in 2013 compared to seven per cent for the US, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
A projection by the Japanese Health Ministry suspects that Japan’s population will plunge to 86.74 million by 2060 – leaving the country’s economy with a problem.
The steady decline in numbers will mean less workers paying taxes to support an ever ageing population in need of pensions and healthcare.
downward (adjective)
Macmillan Dictionaryによると ” going towards a lower place or level “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
The region has been in a downward economic spiral since then.
a downward slope/movement
This year’s downward spiral of house prices has depressed the market.
projection (noun)
Cambridge Dictionaryによると ” a calculation or guess about the future based on information that you have: “というふうに記載されていますね。
例文：
The company has failed to achieve last year’s sales projections by 30 percent.
Sales projections made last year were too optimistic.
population/profit projections
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！↓