Alice's Adventures in Wonderland — Page 4
Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think—" (for, you see, Alice had learnt several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though this was not a _very_ good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over) "—yes, that's about the right distance—but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I've got to?"
「ええと、確か四千マイルくらい下のはずだわ」（というのも、アリスは学校の授業でこういったことをいくつか習っていたのです。誰も聞いている人がいないので、知識をひけらかす機会としてはあまりよくありませんでしたが、それでも口に出して言ってみる練習にはなりました）「――そう、だいたいそのくらいの距離ね――でも、今わたしの緯度や経度はどのくらいかしら？」
(Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thought they were nice grand words to say.)
（アリスは緯度がどういうものか、また経度もどういうものかまったく知りませんでしたが、口にするととても立派な言葉だと思っていたのです。）
Presently she began again. "I wonder if I shall fall right _through_ the earth!
やがて彼女はまた話し始めました。「地球をまっすぐ突き抜けて落ちてしまうのかしら！
How funny it'll seem to come out among the people that walk with their heads downward!
頭を下にして歩いている人たちの中に出てきたら、どんなに変な感じがするでしょう！
The Antipathies, I think—" (she was rather glad there _was_ no one listening, this time, as it didn't sound at all the right word) "—but I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is, you know.
たしか、アンティパシーズの人たちだわ――」（今度は誰も聞いていなくてむしろよかったと思いました。まったく正しい言葉には聞こえなかったからです）「――でも、その国の名前が何か聞かなければいけないわね。
Please, Ma'am, is this New Zealand or Australia?"
すみません、奥さま、ここはニュージーランドですか、それともオーストラリアですか？」
(and she tried to curtsey as she spoke—fancy _curtseying_ as you're falling through the air! Do you think you could manage it?)
（そう言いながら彼女はお辞儀をしようとしました――空中を落ちながらお辞儀をするなんて想像してみてください！あなたならうまくできると思いますか？）
"And what an ignorant little girl she'll think me for asking!
「そんなことを聞いたら、なんて無知な女の子だと思われるでしょう！
No, it'll never do to ask: perhaps I shall see it written up somewhere."
いいえ、聞くのはとてもだめだわ。どこかに書いてあるのが見えるかもしれないし。」
Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon began talking again.
下へ、下へ、下へ。ほかにすることが何もなかったので、アリスはすぐにまた話し始めました。
"Dinah'll miss me very much to-night, I should think!
「ダイナは今夜、わたしのことをとても寂しく思うでしょうね！
Vocabulary
- ええと
- eeto — Filler word meaning 'um' or 'let me see'.
- 確か
- tashika — Certainly, surely; if I remember correctly.
- 四千
- yonsen — The number four thousand.
- マイル
- mairu — Mile, a unit of distance measurement.
- くらい
- kurai — Approximately, about; indicates rough estimation.
- 下
- shita — Below, underneath, lower position.
- はず
- hazu — Should be, supposed to be; expresses expectation.
- わ
- wa — Feminine sentence-ending particle expressing assertion.
- という
- to iu — Called, known as; used to define or quote.
- 学校
- gakkō — School, an educational institution.
- 授業
- jugyō — Class, lesson; a period of instruction at school.
- こう
- kō — Like this, in this way; manner of doing.
- こと
- koto — Thing, fact, matter; nominalizer for actions.
- いくつか
- ikutsuka — Some, several; an unspecified small number of things.
- 習っ
- naratte — Learning, studying; conjugated form of 'to learn'.
- 誰
- dare — Who; interrogative pronoun referring to a person.
- いる
- iru — To exist (animate); to be present somewhere.
- 人
- hito — Person, human being, individual.
- 知識
- chishiki — Knowledge, learning; information one has acquired.
- ひけらかす
- hikerakasu — To show off, flaunt one's knowledge or skills.
- 機会
- kikai — Opportunity, chance; a favorable occasion to act.
- あまり
- amari — Not very, not much; used with negatives.
- よく
- yoku — Often, well; frequently or in a good manner.
- それ
- sore — That (near listener); mid-distance demonstrative pronoun.
- でも
- demo — But, however, even so; contrastive conjunction.
- 口
- kuchi — Mouth; the opening used for speaking or eating.
- みる
- miru — To try doing something; to attempt an action.
- 練習
- renshū — Practice, training; repeated exercise to improve skill.
- そう
- sō — That's right, so, that way; agreement expression.
- だいたい
- daitai — Generally, approximately, mostly, for the most part.
- 距離
- kyori — Distance, the amount of space between two points.
- ね
- ne — Seeking agreement; sentence-final particle 'isn't it?'
- 今
- ima — Now, at this moment, currently.
- わたし
- watashi — I, me; first-person singular pronoun (neutral).
- 緯度
- ido — Latitude; the angular distance north or south of equator.
- や
- ya — And (among others); lists items non-exhaustively.
- 経度
- keido — Longitude; the angular distance east or west of meridian.
- どの
- dono — Which; interrogative determiner modifying a noun.
- かしら
- kashira — I wonder; feminine sentence-ending expression of uncertainty.
- どう
- dō — How, in what way; interrogative about manner.
- いう
- iu — To say, to call something; verb of speaking.
- もの
- mono — Thing, object; nominalizer for abstract concepts.
- また
- mata — Again, also, moreover; additionally or once more.
- まったく
- mattaku — Completely, utterly, absolutely; total degree intensifier.
- する
- suru — To do; general-purpose action verb in Japanese.
- とても
- totemo — Very, extremely; intensifying adverb of degree.
- 立派
- rippa — Splendid, fine, impressive; admirable quality or appearance.
- 言葉
- kotoba — Word, language, expression; spoken or written term.
- やがて
- yagate — Before long, soon, eventually, in due time.
- 彼女
- kanojo — She, her; third-person feminine pronoun.
- 話し
- hanashi — Talking, speaking; stem form of 'to talk'.
- 始め
- hajime — Beginning; conjunctive form of 'to begin/start'.
- 地球
- chikyū — The Earth, the globe, our planet.
- まっすぐ
- massugu — Straight, directly; going in a straight line.
- 突き抜け
- tsukinuke — Passing through, piercing through completely to other side.
- 落ち
- ochi — Falling, dropping; stem form of 'to fall'.
- しまう
- shimau — To end up doing; regrettable or unintended completion.
- 頭
- atama — Head; the uppermost part of the human body.
- 歩い
- aruite — Walking; conjunctive form of 'to walk'.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.
- 中
- naka — Inside, middle, among; interior of something.
- たら
- tara — Conditional 'if/when'; expresses a conditional situation.
- どんな
- donna — What kind of, what sort of; interrogative adjective.
- 変
- hen — Strange, weird, odd; something unusual or abnormal.
- 感じ
- kanji — Feeling, sensation, impression; how something feels.
- でしょう
- deshō — Probably, I wonder; polite conjecture or speculation.
- たしか
- tashika — If I recall correctly; expressing uncertain recollection.
- 今度
- kondo — This time, next time; the current or upcoming occasion.
- むしろ
- mushiro — Rather, instead; preferring one thing over another.
- よかっ
- yokatta — It was good; past form of 'good' (yoi).
- 思い
- omoi — Thought, feeling; noun form or stem of 'to think'.
- 正しい
- tadashii — Correct, right, accurate, proper.
- 聞こえ
- kikoete — Sounding, being audible; conjunctive of 'to be heard'.
- から
- kara — Because, since; causal conjunction or 'from' particle.
- その
- sono — That (near listener); demonstrative adjective modifying noun.
- 国
- kuni — Country, nation, land.
- 名前
- namae — Name; what a person or thing is called.
- 何
- nani — What; basic interrogative pronoun.
- ば
- ba — Conditional particle meaning 'if' in Japanese.
- すみません
- sumimasen — Excuse me, I'm sorry; polite apology or attention-getter.
- 奥さま
- okusama — Madam, wife; very polite term for another's wife.
- ここ
- koko — Here, this place; proximal location pronoun.
- それとも
- soretomo — Or, or else; presents an alternative choice.
- ながら
- nagara — While doing; simultaneous action conjunction.
- お辞儀
- ojigi — A bow; Japanese gesture of respect or greeting.
- しよう
- shiyō — Let's do; volitional form of 'to do'.
- 空中
- kūchū — Midair, in the air; the space above the ground.
- なんて
- nante — Such a thing as; expresses surprise or belittlement.
- 想像
- sōzō — Imagination, supposition; picturing something in one's mind.
- ください
- kudasai — Please give me; polite request form in Japanese.
- あなた
- anata — You; second-person singular pronoun (polite/neutral).
- なら
- nara — If it's the case; conditional topic marker.
- うまく
- umaku — Skillfully, well, successfully; adverb from 'umai'.
- そんな
- sonna — Such, that kind of; demonstrative adjective of manner.
- 無知
- muchi — Ignorance, lack of knowledge; being uninformed.
- 女の子
- onna no ko — Girl; a young female child or person.
- 思われる
- omowareru — To be thought, to seem; passive form of 'to think'.
- いいえ
- iie — No; polite negative response or denial.
- 聞く
- kiku — To listen, to hear, to ask someone something.
- だめ
- dame — No good, useless, not allowed, forbidden.
- どこか
- dokoka — Somewhere, some place; indefinite location pronoun.
- 書い
- kaite — Writing; conjunctive form of 'to write'.
- ある
- aru — To exist (inanimate), to be, to have.
- 見える
- mieru — To be visible, to appear, to be seen.
- かも
- kamo — Maybe, perhaps; expresses possibility or uncertainty.
- へ
- e — Directional particle indicating movement toward a destination.
- ほか
- hoka — Other, another, elsewhere; something different or additional.
- すぐ
- sugu — Soon, immediately, right away, without delay.
- 今夜
- konya — Tonight, this evening; the current night.
- 寂しく
- sabishiku — Lonelily, feeling lonely; adverb form of 'lonely'.
- 思う
- omou — To think, to feel, to believe, to consider.
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