シャドーイング練習: The Egg - A Short Story - 動画で英語スピーキングを学ぶ

レッスンを作成中...
1
You were on your way home when you died.
2
It was a car accident.
3
Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless.
4
It was a painless death.
5
The medics tried their best to save you, but to no avail.
6
Your body was so utterly shattered, you were better off, trust me.
7
And that's when you met me.
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What happened?
9
Where am I?
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You died, I said, matter-of-factly.
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No point in mincing words.
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There was.. there was a truck, and it was skidding.
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Yes.
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I...
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I died.
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Yes.
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But don't feel bad about it.
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Everyone dies.
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You looked around.
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There was nothingness.
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Just you and me what is this place is this the afterlife more or less are you god yes i'm god
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my kids my wife what about them will they be all right that's what i like to see i said
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You just died and your main concern is for your family.
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That's good stuff right there.
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You looked at me with fascination.
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To you, I didn't look like God.
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I just looked like some man or possibly a woman.
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Some vague authority figure maybe.
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Don't worry, I said.
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They'll be fine.
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Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way.
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They didn't have time to grow contemptuous of you.
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Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved.
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To be fair, your marriage was falling apart.
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If it's any consolation, she'll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.
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Oh, so what happens now?
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Do I go to heaven or hell or something?
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Neither.
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You'll be reincarnated.
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Ah!
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So the Hindus were right.
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All religions are right in their own way.
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Walk with me.
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You followed along as we strode through the void. Where are we going?
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Nowhere in particular.
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It's just nice to walk while we talk.
47
So, what's the point then?
48
When I get reborn, I'll just be a blank slate, right?
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A baby.
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So, all my experiences and everything, everything I did in this life, won't matter.
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Not so.
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You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives.
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You just don't remember them right now.
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I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders.
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Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful and gigantic than you can possibly imagine.
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A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are.
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It's like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it's hot or cold.
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You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you've gained all the experiences it had.
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You've been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven't stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness.
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If we hung out here for long enough, you'd start remembering everything.
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But there's no point to doing that between each life.
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How many times have I been reincarnated then?
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Oh, lots.
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Lots and lots.
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And into lots of different lives.
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This time around you'll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.
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Wait, what?
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You're sending me back in time?
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Well, I guess technically.
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Time as you know it only exists in your universe.
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Things are different where I come from.
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Where.. where you come from?
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Oh sure, I come from somewhere, somewhere else, and there are others like me.
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I know you'll want to know what it's like there, but honestly, you wouldn't understand.
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Oh, you said, a little let down.
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But wait, if I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.
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Sure, happens all the time.
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And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan, you don't even know it's happening.
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So, what's the point of it all?
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I looked you in the eye.
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The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.
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You mean mankind?
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You want us to mature?
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No, just you.
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I made this whole universe for you.
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With each new life, you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.
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Just me?
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What about everyone else?
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There is no one else.
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In this universe, there's just you and me.
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You stared blankly at me.
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But all the people on Earth?
93
All you, different incarnations of you of you.
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Wait, I'm everyone.
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Now you're getting it.
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I'm every human being who ever lived.
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Or who will ever live, yes.
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I'm Abraham Lincoln.
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And you're John Wilkes Booth too.
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I'm Hitler, you said, appalled.
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And you're the millions he killed.
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I'm Jesus.
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And you're everyone who followed him.
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You fell silent.
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Every time you victimized someone, you were victimizing yourself.
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Every act of kindness you've done, you've done to yourself.
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Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was or will be experienced by you.
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You thought for a long time.
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Why?
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Why do all this?
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Because someday you will become like me.
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Because that's what you are.
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You're one of my kind.
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You're my child.
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Wow, you said incredulous.
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You mean, I'm a god?
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No, not yet.
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You're a fetus.
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You're still growing.
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Once you've lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.
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So the whole universe, it's just...
122
an egg, I answered.
123
Now it's time for you to move on to your next life.
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And I sent you on your way.
125
Thank you.
126
Thank you.

このレッスンについて

このレッスンでは、短編小説「The Egg」の一部を使用して、英語スピーキング練習を行います。物語は死後の世界についての哲学的なテーマを扱っており、登場人物が神と対話しながら新たな人生へと再生される様子が描かれています。学習者は、物語の内容を通じて感情的な表現や会話の流れを学び、実際の会話で使える表現を身に付けることができます。これは、英語の発音を良くするための効果的な方法です。

キーワードとフレーズ

  • where am I?（私はどこにいるの？）
  • you died（あなたは死んだ）
  • They'll be fine（彼らは大丈夫だ）
  • you followed along（あなたは一緒に歩いた）
  • reincarnated（再生される）
  • everything I did（私がしたすべて）
  • that's good stuff right there（それは良いことですね）

練習のヒント

このビデオのスピードやトーンに合わせてシャドウイングする際には、以下のポイントを意識しましょう：

  • まず、オリジナルの音声をゆっくりと聞き、内容を理解します。その後、あらかじめ紹介されたキーワードやフレーズに注目しながらリピートします。
  • 感情を込めて練習することが大切です。物語の感情的な瞬間を意識しながら、キャラクターの気持ちを反映させましょう。これにより、英語スピーキング練習がより効果的になります。
  • 同じフレーズを何度も繰り返すことで、発音の向上を図ります。特に「reincarnated」や「where am I?」のような言葉を練習することで、特定の音に慣れていきます。
  • 自分の声を録音し、後で聞き返すことで、発音やイントネーションを確認できます。この方法は、IELTS スピーキング対策にも非常に効果的です。

この方式での練習は、shadowing siteやshadow speechなど、さまざまなスピーキング練習と組み合わせることで、より一層の上達を目指しましょう。

シャドーイングとは？英語上達に効果的な理由

シャドーイング（Shadowing）は、もともとプロの通訳者養成プログラムで開発された言語学習法で、多言語習得者として知られるDr. Alexander Arguelles によって広く普及されました。方法はシンプルですが非常に効果的：ネイティブスピーカーの英語を聞きながら、1〜2秒の遅延で声に出してすぐに繰り返す——まるで「影（shadow）」のように話者を追いかけます。文法ドリルや受動的なリスニングと異なり、シャドーイングは脳と口の筋肉が同時にリアルタイムで英語を処理・再現することを強制します。研究により、発音精度、抑揚、リズム、連音、リスニング力、そして会話の流暢さが大幅に向上することが確認されています。IELTSスピーキング対策や自然な英語コミュニケーションを目指す方に特におすすめです。