早稲田法2015 I フレーズ訳・解説

原文はこちら

①

The word "eco-city"

first took off

with a book

　〔written in 1987 by Richard Register,

　　a green thinker〔based in California〕〕.

※take off 「離陸する、始まる」

※green 「環境の」

※based in 「～を本拠地とした」

Now, 

what may become the world's first city 

with the word in its name 

is beginning to take shape 

                               in the unlikely setting 

                               of a smog-shrouded expanse of mud 

                               on the northern Chinese coast. 

世界で最初の都市になるかもしれないもの

その言葉が名前に入った

が形になろうとし始めている

                                          ありえなさそうな環境で

                                          スモッグに覆われた泥の広がりという

                                          中国北部の海岸の

※what「～もの、こと」

※with the word in its name「その言葉（= eco-city）が名前に入っている」　

→with O C「OがCの状態で」

※the unlikely setting「ありえなさそうな環境」

→スモッグに覆われた中国北部の海岸なのでeco-cityという名前が「unlikely」だということ。

Around a salt lake

〔that not so long ago was a sewage farm〕,

energy-efficient apartment blocks are going up.

Electric buses operate along the still largely empty streets.

※operate「創業している」

Public garbage cans are equipped with solar lighting

so that residents can find them more easily at night.

※be equipped with「～が装備されている」

China's urban growth is warming up the planet,

and the elaborately named Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City

is being sold as a cool solution.

※elaborately named ...「苦心して名づけられた...」

② 

Few other countries

could dream of building a large city from scratch,

let alone an eco one,

※few other countries ...「...国は他にほとんどない」

※dream of ...「...ことを夢見る」

※let alone ...「ましてや...などない」

but China has the advantage

of a [ 1 ] approach to urban planning

(and to governance in general).

※urban planning「都市計画」

It can decree

that a piece of land will become a green city,

take it over,

and sell it cheaply to developers.

※It can decree, take ..., and sell ... → It = China

※take it, sell it → it = a piece of land

※take over「引き取る、接収する」

That is how the eco-project began in 2007,

when Singapore proposed a co-operative green-city venture.

※when 「そのときに（= in 2007）」

China's leaders agreed,

having recently awoken

to the environmental horrors

〔created by rapid urban expansion〕.

※having recently awoken to ...「最近...を自覚したので」（完了形の分詞構文）

※awake to ...「...に目覚める、気づく、自覚する」

Later that year,

the ruling Communist Party of China formally declared

that its goal was to build an "ecological civilization."

The 30 square kilometers of inhospitable terrain

〔near the northern port city of Tianjin〕

became a testing ground.

③ 

China has tried a couple of eco-city projects before

and failed.

About 60 kilometers farther

along the coast to the east of Tianjin, in Caofeidian,

work began in 2009 on an eco-city

aiming for 500,000 residents by 2020.

※farther「さらに向こうに（farの比較級）」

※aiming for「～を狙って」

Yet

most of the site remains a wilderness,

too remote to attract developers.

In Shanghai,

plans

〔a decade ago

for a similar-sized eco-city

on an island of flood soil〕

became entangled in local corruption

and never got off the ground.

※get off the ground「地面から離れる→始まる」

But the Tianjin project,

with strong backing from central and [ 2 ] governments,

is making progress.

④ 

To give it a flying start,

officials designated it

as China's first industrial park

〔devoted to the animation industry〕.

※flying start「好調なスタート」

※devoted to ...「...に専念した」

The $690 million state-funded zone opened in 2011

and has attracted hundreds of businesses.

To lure in more residents,

the government built a Victorian-style school

in brown brick with lavish facilities,

including a room

〔full of stuffed animals〕

to help children learn about nature.

 ("All real, except the tiger and the panda,"

says a proud teacher.)

A 350-bed hospital

, supposedly one of the best in China,

is due to be completed next year

, at a cost of $110 million.

※be due to do「～することになっている」

At a control center,

a dozen officials watch a giant screen

displaying readings from heating and water systems,

as well as feeds from closed-circuit cameras

at traffic intersections.

※readings「目盛り」

※feed「映像、番組」

"If an emergency happens, we can respond,"

says an official

〔surveying the images of lifeless streets〕.

Officials are not deterred by the "ghost city" label.

※be deterred「思いとどまらせる、やめる」

←deter「やめさせる、抑止する」

The city opened two years ago

and now has 10,000 residents.

By 2030 it aims to have 350,000.

Work is due to begin this year

on subway lines

〔that will make it easier for locals to get to Tianjin itself,

currently about an hour's drive away,

and nearby industrial zones〕.

※make it C for S to do「Sが～することをCにする」

⑤ 

The government has a powerful [3]

to support the project.

Within China,

public resentment of its deteriorating environment

, particularly the poisonous haze over its cities,

is growing,

and abroad

the country is being criticized

for its contribution to global warming.

※the country = China

In 2006

China became the world's biggest emitter

of carbon from energy

, overtaking America;

it is now discharging nearly double America's level.

The spread of Chinese smog across the region

is worrying neighbors

such as South Korea and Japan.

⑥ 

Ho Tong Yen

, the Singaporean CEO

of the eco-city's development company

(and a director of Mr. Register's Californian consultancy, Ecocity Builders),

says

he believes

many of the eco-city's methods

will eventually become "a key part of urbanization in China."

A decade ago

, he recalls,

Chinese officials〔he met at conferences〕

would boast about their cities' economic growth.

※would「～したものだった」

[ 4 ] they brag about

how green their cities are.

This sounds like a bit of a stretch.

China's urban landscapes

appear to be the antithesis of green:

smog, foul-smelling streams and canals,

roads〔jammed with cars〔belching out exhaust fumes〕〕,

shoddy buildings〔erected with little regard for building codes〕.

※with little regard for「～をほとんど考慮せずに」

※code「規約」

But growing public discontent

with the urban environment

is beginning to change

what the officials say at least,

and in some cities

what they do as well.

しかし増えつつある民衆の不満

　都市環境に関する

は変えつつある

少なくとも役人が言うことを、

そしていくつかの年では

役人がすることを

In recent years

about a third of China's 600-plus municipalities

have announced plans to turn themselves into eco-cities.

※turn O into 「Oを～に変える」

The central government has imposed

stricter controls

on emissions of carbon and smog-forming pollutants.

In March

the prime minister, Li Keqiang,

"declared war" on pollution.

Smog, he said,

was nature's "red-light warning

against the model of inefficient and blind development."

It was a remarkable admission

of urbanization gone wrong.

※admission of 「～を認めること」

※gone wrong「失敗した、うまくいかなかった」

⑦ 

Since there is no agreed definition of an eco-city,

local governments interpret the term

to suit themselves.

※since「～なので」

They often use it

as an excuse

for prettification,

or worse,

for seizing yet more land from farmers

and using it to build luxury housing,

with golf courses next to them

(because grass is "green").

彼らはよくそれを使う

言い訳として

　Prettificationの

さらに悪い場合には

　農民からさらに多くの土地を奪い

　それを贅沢な住宅を建てるのに使う（ための言い訳）

　ゴルフコースがとなりについている

（芝生はgreenだから）

※excuse for ...「...の言い訳」

※prettification→知らなくてもよい

Even the eco-city in Tianjin, a drought-prone area,

has a golf course,

supposedly irrigated with recycled water.

※supposedly「～ということになっている」

Register himself

is not altogether convinced by the project.

※not altogether「完全に～わけではない」（部分否定）

In 2012

he wrote that

its layout

, [ 5 ] the wide streets

and long blocks

〔typical of modern Chinese cities〕,

looked

"every bit

as if created to encourage driving."

※every bit「すべてが」

※look as if「あたかも～のように見える」

Its plan

〔for 20% of its energy

to come from renewable sources〕

does not sound much bolder

than the nationwide target of 15% by 2020,

compared to 9% now.

⑧ 

And for all its claims to greenery,

the eco-city lacks a vital ingredient:

※for all「～にもかかわらず」

a thriving civil society

〔that is free

not only to protest about the environment

but to put pressure on the government

to live up to its promises〕.

※be free to do「自由に～することができる」

※not only ... but「...だけでなく～も」

※live up to ...「（主義などに）従って行動する」

The Communist Party talks green

and sometimes even acts green,

※green「環境にやさしく」

but all the while

it has been plotting

to prevent the growth of an environmental movement.

※all the while「その一方で」

It does not want residents

to set their own agenda

for the way their cities are run.

※want O to do「Oに～してほしい」

※run「経営する、運営する」

(1)

A  

argues that

the autocratic character of the Chinese government

makes it difficult

for local communities

to put forward their own opinions and policies

regarding environmental problems.

※make it C for S to do「Sが～することをCにする」

※regarding「～に関して」

B  

contrasts the Japanese idea of the "smart city"

with the concept of the "eco-city"〔being developed in China〕.

C  

describes

how damage to the environment from pollution

has become much worse in China

during recent years,

leading to the raising of critical voices

both inside and outside the country.

※lead to「～につながる」

D  

details

how the different levels of Chinese government

are now beginning

not only to talk about the problems of urban pollution,

but to act on them as well.

※not only ... but「...だけでなく～も」

※as well「同様に」

E  

emphasizes the importance

of designing new urban environments

〔that are artistically pleasing

as well as ecologically friendly〕.

F  

explains the circumstances

〔that make it easier

for China

to initiate

an experiment

in ecologically friendly urban planning〕.

※make it C for S to do「Sが～することをCにする」

G  

focuses on the term "eco-city,"

touching on its origin

and describing its incorporation

into the name of a recent urban planning project.

H  

lists the public initiatives and facilities

〔that have been set up

to help to ensure

that Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City

does not become another failed project〕.

I  

notes

the growing tensions

between the Chinese and Singaporean governments

concerning the management

of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City project.

J  

outlines a couple of earlier Chinese attempts

to create an eco-city

in mainland China

〔that were not successful〕.

K  

points out concerns

about a number of aspects of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City project,

including those from the originator of the concept of the eco-city.

※a number of「たくさんの」

※those = concerns

(2)

A  

A new hospital

has already been completed

in Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City,

while a new school is currently under construction.

B  

Around two hundred Chinese urban areas

have recently put forward plans

to transform themselves into eco-cities.

C  

China outstripped the United States

as the world's largest emitter of carbon from energy

in 2006

and now accounts for close to double the American figure.

※account for「～を占める」

※close to「～に近い」

※figure「数値」

D  

Ho Tong Yen

is the head of the development company

responsible for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City project,

and is focusing on economic growth.

E  

In the spring of 2014,

the Chinese prime minister

announced a policy of fighting

against the type of uncoordinated urban development

〔that leads to environmental pollution〕.

F  

Richard Register is the director of a California consulting firm

who wrote a book

popularizing the idea of the eco-city

back in the 1980s.

G  

Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City

is not the only eco-city development project

to be attempted on the northern Chinese coast.

※the only「唯一の」

H  

Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City

was opened to residents

only seven years ago

and already has over a quarter of a million people

living within its boundaries.

I  

Some Chinese local governments

have used the concept of the eco-city

as an excuse to take over farm land

and build luxury housing and sports facilities.

J  

The new eco-city in Tianjin

is being built

around a salt lake

on around thirty square kilometers of muddy land.

K  

The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City project

calls for the city

to supply over half of its energy needs

from renewable sources

by 2020.

※call for S to do「Sが～することを要求する」