What’s Going On in the World?
未来へ続く道David Peaty
Kahori Kobayashi

はじめに学生の皆さんへ
本書は、国内外の社会問題について考える力を養えるように工夫された総合教材です。各エッセイは、450 語以内で構成されています。重要な単語を繰り返し使い、具体的な事例を多く示すことで分かり易くしました。社会問題の読み物としても興味深く書かれています。
エッセイを読み進んで行くうちに、社会問題を身近に感じ、問題点や解決方法について考えることができる仕組みになっています。語彙、読解、聴解、討論の系統だった練習問題で、総合的な基礎力を身に付けることができます。繰り返し使われる重要単語に注意を払うことで必要な語彙を習得でき、それらを使って議論を進めることができます。
国際人とは、語学力のみならず、世の中の情勢を理解し、意見を持って行動できる人です。将来を担う学生の皆さんが、本書を通して得た知識と能力で、世界中の人々と共に諸問題について考え、語り合える日が来ることを心から願っています。
先生方へ
本書を十分に活用することで、学生の主体性を高められます。ただ単に授業を受けるだけではなく、各テーマの内容をさらに調べて自分の考えを発表するような、学習者中心の授業にも対応できます。社会問題への理解を深め、自分で考える習慣を身に付けることに役立つでしょう。本書が、学生の自主的な学習態度を促す一助となれば幸いです。
最後になりましたが、本書の刊行にあたり、辛抱強く温かいアドバイスを下さった㈱成美堂の菅野英一氏に深く感謝申し上げます。なお、単語の解説の作成にあたり、ジーニアス英和大辞典（大修館書店）、プログレッシブ英和中辞典（小学館）、ロングマン英和辞典（桐原書店）を参照させていただきました。この場を借りてお礼申し上げます。
2016 年夏

著者i

Contents

Society
Unit 1

Smart Phones Deser ve Smart Users……………………………………1＜賢い電話と依存症の利用者＞

Unit 2The Animals in Our Lives……………………………………………………7＜動物のいる生活＞

Unit 3

Reforming Japan’s Education System………………………………… 13＜日本の教育はどこへ行く？＞

Unit 4

A Hungr y Future……………………………………………………………… 19＜未来が飢えている＞

Unit 5

No More Unwelcome Advertisements………………………………… 25＜押し売りお断り！＞

Work and Leisure
Unit 6

A Living Wage…………………………………………………………………… 31＜賃金の効果的な払い方＞

Unit 7

Keeping Mothers on the Payroll………………………………………… 37＜働くママを応援！＞

Unit 8Slow Life………………………………………………………………………… 43＜心豊かな生活＞

Unit 9Volunteering…………………………………………………………………… 49＜広まるボランティア活動と深まる疑念＞

Unit 10Longevity: a Mixed Blessing……………………………………………… 55＜ご長寿万歳！＞Environment
Unit 11The Importance of Biodiversity………………………………………… 61＜生物の多様性が人類を救う＞

Unit 12A Home for Endangered Storks………………………………………… 67＜コウノトリに優しいまちづくり＞

Unit 13

Japan’s Future Energy Supply…………………………………………… 73＜再生可能エネルギーの時代＞

Unit 14

Green Transportation……………………………………………………… 79＜持続可能な社会の乗り物＞

Unit 15

How Much Is Nature Worth?…………………………………………… 85＜あなたは自然にいくら払いますか＞Business & the Economy
Unit 16

Business Can Be Green…………………………………………………… 91＜環境に優しいビジネス＞

Unit 17

Storing Energy………………………………………………………………… 97＜エネルギーはためられない？＞

Unit 18

A Dollar a Day……………………………………………………………… 103＜貧困を撲滅せよ＞

Unit 19

Beyond Fair Trade………………………………………………………… 109＜フェアトレードと生産者の自立支援＞

Unit 20

Shrink the Economy, Not the Earth………………………………… 115＜経済発展は地球を滅ぼす＞

UNIT

1

Smart Phones
Deserve Smart Users

Introduction
スマートフォンはもはや単なる電話ではなく、携帯端末までに進化した。今や世界人口の 4 分の 1、日本人の 2 人に 1 人が利用している。ユーザーの生活はどのように変わったのだろうか。スマホ依存に陥っていないだろうか。日常生活を振り返ってみよう。

Words in Context
Try to guess the meanings of the words and phrases shown in bold.
Write your answer in Japanese. Then check it in your dictionary.

1. I can’t live without my smartphone: it is essential for me.
meaning:
2. My smartphone is my most important possession.
meaning:
3. It’s hard to stop smoking if you are addicted to tobacco.
meaning:
4. According to a recent sur vey, 12 percent of all students do not eat breakfast.
meaning:5. A little exercise is good for us, but excessive exercise can be harmful.
meaning:
6. Do you work continuously, or do you sometimes take a break?
meaning:1

Reading①02~06

A revolution in communications technology began in 1973, when Motorola
introduced the world’s first truly portable mobile phone. Since then, the cellphone02

has spread to almost every corner of the globe, with over six billion users. The
modern smartphone isn’t just a telephone, it is also a computer, a camera, a5

television, and an essential business tool. Increased sophistication is not theonly improvement. The original Motorola weighed about 1,100 grams, and went
on sale a few years later for almost $4,000. The iPhone 6 weighed 129 grams, andcost about $200.
The designers of smartphones are very clever people. The users, however,10

are not always so clever. For example, they often check their mail while doing

03

something else, such as driving, cycling, or crossing busy roads. That is very
dangerous, and can cause serious accidents. People also lose their phones after
leaving them in trains, coffee shops and other places. When that happens, theylose not only a valuable possession, but also many names, addresses, contact
15

details, photos, and details of bank accounts.
Smartphones are a useful tool. However, people can easily become addicted
to them. One self-help website has a simple online test consisting of 15 questions,04

such as: Do you find yourself checking your phone many times a day just out ofhabit even when you know there is likely nothing new or important to see? On20

crowded trains in Japan, I am often surrounded by people who appear to be doing
exactly that.
Various sur veys report that the average Japanese female high school student
spends more than six hours a day using her smartphone. Much of this time isspent on social networking, which can easily become addictive. It is also bad for25

health in other ways. Excessive smartphone use causes physical problems suchas repetitive strain injury resulting from continuously tapping tiny keys andpoor vision from staring at small screens and letters. A doctor who has treatedmany patients suffering from such problems advises them to limit their continuous
205

smartphone use to 40 minutes. This is good advice: according to a recent reportby the World Health Organization, cellphones may also cause brain cancer.

30

A smart user will take good care of his or her smartphone and not leave it inStarbucks or drop it in the river. In exchange, a good smartphone may soon beable to look after its owner, by turning itself off after 40 minutes and refusing toturn back on until its owner has had a long rest.

Notes
sophistication「（高度の）知識」

clever「利口な，頭が良い」
repetitive strain injury
poor vision「視力低下」
stare at「〜をじっと見詰める」
World Health Organization「世界保健機関」国連の専門機関の一つで、本部はスイスのジュネーブ
brain cancer「脳腫瘍」

繰り返される筋肉の緊張により引き起こされる傷害

Comprehension 1
Decide whether these statements are true (T) or false (F) according to thereading passage.

1. The first completely portable mobile phone was made by Motorola.

T/F

2. People who use smartphones are often careless.

T/F

3. The aim of the online test mentioned above is to find out whatsmartphones are used for.

T/F

4. Most Japanese female high school students use their smartphones
only for communicating with friends.

T/F

5. Using smartphones a lot can lead to bad eyesight.

T/F

306

Comprehension 2Choose the best answer for each question, according to the reading passage.

1. In what way was the 1973 phone made by Motorola revolutionary?
a) It enabled people in different places to communicate.
b) It could be used all over the world.
c) People could carry it around with them.
d) It was cheaper than an ordinary phone.
2. What does the writer say about smartphones?
a) They are very expensive.
b) They are very dangerous.
c) They often get broken.
d) They often contain important information.
3. What does the writer often see on the train?
a) People who appear to be addicted to smartphones.
b) People using smartphones to prepare for tests.
c) People who use their smartphones to get important messages.
d) People who don’t understand how to use their smartphones.
4. Why should parents worry about their daughters’ smartphone use?
a) They don’t communicate enough with other people.
b) The keys are too small for them to see.
c) It’s bad for their mental and physical health.
d) After a while, they become very impatient.
5. What does the writer think may soon happen?
a) Smartphone users will become more careful.
b) It will be easier to locate lost smartphones.
c) New software will protect smartphone users.
d) People will exchange their old smartphones for new ones.

4Vocabulary PracticeComplete the sentence with a word or phrase from the reading.
You may need to change the form. e.g. danger > dangerous

1. My first score was 52 percent and my second was 78 percent, so I made a big.
2. This diamond is very
3. She has savings. It’s worth over $1 million.
with several different banks.

4. My doctor is very kind to me and to all his other
5. My friend drives me to work, and in.

I pay for the gasoline.
①07

Listening 1

Try to predict the missing words. Then listen and write the words you hear.

People often lose their mobile phones, and sometimes in very strange(1). A builder lost his one day after building an extra room attached tosomeone’s home. He couldn’t figure out where he’d lost it, so he ended up buying. He then got a call from his last customer, who(2)was puzzled by the sound of (3)inside her new wall.
.

He had to break open the wall, take out his phone, and then repair the (4)But he was luckier than the person who carelessly dropped her phone into themouth of a (5)while trying to photograph it at a zoo.
①08

Listening 2
Listen again. Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to thelistening passage, or is no information given (N)?

1. The builder had left his phone inside the new wall.

T/F/N

2. The person who lost her phone at the zoo did not get it back.

T/F/N5

Your Opinion
Write your answer to each of the following questions and try to explain youropinions.

1. Do you have a smartphone? If so, what do you use it for?

2. If you lost your smartphone, what would you do to find it?
Column
若者のスマホ “老眼” にご用心！
スマートフォンの画面は小さいので、顔を近づけて操作しがちだ。また、集中してしまうとまばたきの回数が減る。そのため目に大きな負担がかかり、夕方になるとピント調整機能が衰えて目がかすむ（いわゆる老眼）などの症状が現れる。スマホを長時間使用しがちな若者に急増しているそうだ。スマホ依存に要注意！

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