Understanding
Our New Challenges
新しい世界の読み方

Dave Rear
Hisashi Sugito

Cover photographs by©iStockphoto.com
Photographs by©iStockphoto.com

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https://www.seibido.co.jp

Understanding Our New Challenges
Copyright © 2018 by Dave Rear, Hisashi Sugito
All rights reserved for Japan.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without permission from Seibido Co., Ltd.

Preface
The world today is changing so rapidly it can feel almost impossible to keep
up. In technology, the growing power of robots and computers is forcing us tothink of new ways to live and work. In our societies, social media is changing theway we communicate and interact. In our economies, conventional wisdom aboutbusiness and capitalism is being overturned in the search for new solutions to old
problems. In Understanding Our New Challenges, we will help you to make senseof this dynamic world, shining a critical light on the issues and challenges facing
us all today.
To structure our understanding of the changing world, the book is divided
into five sections: culture, society, technology, the environment and the economy.
Each section has four essays covering some of the most important issues in eacharea. We look at culture shock and the challenges of living abroad. We meet superlanguage learners who have learned to speak 10 or 20 foreign languages. We
examine new medical technologies that may one day allow human beings to live
forever. And we discuss crucial issues such as free speech, free trade and social
inequality, topics which are being hotly debated all over the world. We hope thatin reading these essays, you will not only expand your knowledge and interests
but also feel inspired to discover the world yourself through newspapers, books
and travel.
Along with the essays themselves, every unit in the book contains a prereading exercise with a list of important vocabulary appearing in the text. There arealso comprehension questions to check your understanding and a summary exercisethat confirms your awareness of the key issues. After that, there are discussion
questions to encourage you to think critically and creatively about what you haveread. The units finish with a short Did You Know? passage which gives more
information about an interesting person or idea related to the essay.
It has been a great deal of fun researching and writing the essays in thisbook. We sincerely hope that you enjoy them too.
									Dave Rear

はしがき
現在、世界は人々が追いつけないほどの速さで変化している。テクノロジーの分野では、ロボットやコンピューターのさらなる発達により、人々はこれまでとは違う新しい仕事の方法やライフスタイルを強いられるようになった。社会生活では、ソーシャルメ
ディアが私たちのコミュニケーションや交流の方法に変化をもたらしている。経済面では、過去の問題に対する新しい解決策が見いだされ、これまでのビジネスや資本主義における既成概念は覆されつつある。『新しい世界の読み方』は、現在私たちが直面している問題や課題に、さまざまな角度から批判的な光を当て、このような移りゆく世界を理解する手助けとなるだろう。
変動する世界情勢を構造的に理解するため、本書は「文化」「社会」「テクノロジー」「環境」「経済」の5つセクションに分かれている。各セクションでは、その分野における最も重要な問題を網羅する記事4つを取り上げている。海外生活で直面するカルチャーショックや問題、20カ国語を話す多言語話者、人間が永遠に生きることを可能にする
新しい医療技術などを考察し、言論の自由や自由貿易、社会的不公平などの世界中で熱く議論が交わされているトピックにも目を向けている。このような記事を読むことにより、世界に関する知識や関心を広げるだけでなく、新聞や書籍、旅行などを通じて、学
生自身の世界への探求心が深まることを願っている。
本書の各ユニットにはKey Vocabularyセクションがあり、記事を読む前に、文章中に出てくる 重 要 な 単 語 を 学 習 す る こ と が で き る 。 ま た 、読 者 の 理 解 力 を 問 う
comprehension questionsと、文章の重要なポイントの理解を確認するsummary
exerciseがある。その後、読み終わった記事について批判的で独自の考えを持つよう促すdiscussion questions へと進む。各ユニットの最後にはDid you know? セクションの一節で、記事に関連した興味深い人物や考えに触れ、さらなる情報を得ることができる。
本書における記事の執筆やリサーチはとても興味深く楽しいものであった。学生のみ
なさんにも同様の楽しさを味わっていただきたい。
Dave Rear
杉藤 久志

Table of Contents
Section I: Issues in Culture
Unit 1		 Super Language Learners: How do people learn many languages?
語学の天才の謎

Unit 2		 Flat Organizations: Do we need a boss?
上司のいない組織

Unit 3		 Culture Shock: How do we adjust to living abroad?
カルチャーショックを克服する

Unit 4		 Social Media: How is it changing the world?
世界を変えるソーシャルメディア

1

6

11

16

Section II: Issues in Society
Unit 5		 A Better World: Is the world getting more or less violent?
世界の治安は悪化しているのか

Unit 6		 Sleep Myths: Early to bed and early to rise?
早寝早起きの神話

21

26

Unit 7 Happiness Ratings: Should governments prioritize happiness 					 over growth?
幸福度から見えるもの  

31

Unit 8		 Free Speech: Should there be any limits?
表現に制限はあるべきか

36

Section III: Issues in Technology
Unit 9		 Science Fiction: Can it predict the future?
SFの未来予想

41

Unit 10		 Medical Technology: Should we try to live forever?
医療技術と長寿46

Unit 11		 Nanotechnology: Will tiny machines save us or destroy us?
ナノテクノロジーがもたらすもの

51

Unit 12		 Robot Revolution: Which jobs are most at risk?
ロボット革命の影響

56

Section IV: Issues in the Environment
Unit 13		 Genetically Modified Food: Should we try to alter nature?
遺伝子組み換え食品の倫理性

61

Unit 14		 Climate Change: Can we stop global warming?
温暖化を止めるには

66

Unit 15		 Green Cities: Where are the world’s cleanest cities?
都市の緑化

71

Unit 16		 The Power of Fame: How can celebrities help the world?
有名人の慈善活動

76

Section V: Issues in the Economy
Unit 17		 Free Trade: Good for all or good for some?
自由貿易で得をするのは81

Unit 18		 Social Inequality: Why is there a gap between rich and poor?
格差社会の原因86

Unit 19 Guns, Germs and Steel: Why is Africa poor?
アフリカが抱える問題

Unit 20 Aid and Development: Do developing countries need our help?
開発援助の必要性

91

96

UNIT

Super Language Learners
How do people learn many languages?

1

みなさんはどのような動機で英語を学んでいるでしょうか。多くの人が外国語を習得するのに苦労しますが、驚くことに世の中には 20 カ国語以上を話すことができる
人たちがいます。このユニットでは、hyperpolyglot と呼ばれる語学の天才たちの謎に迫り、彼らに共通する特質や習得法を探っていきます。そこには、みなさんが英語を学ぶ上で参考になるヒントが隠されているかもしれません。また、外国語を習得することの意味や、その効能についても考えていきます。

Key Vocabulary
Match the word to its meaning.
1. ____ acquire (verb)		

a. plan you use to achieve something

2. ____ define (verb)		

b. make something possible

3. ____ strategy (noun)
4. ____ cognitive (adjective)c. say exactly what something meansd. something that makes a person different
from others

5. ____ enable (verb)		

e. get or gain something

6. ____ characteristic (noun)f.

related to how people think

1

Reading

If you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance you’re sitting in aclassroom taking part in an English lesson. You might be in that classroom
because you love English and are motivated to learn how to use it; or you might
be there just to get a credit for class. Whatever your reason, it’s likely that
English is not your first language. Most probably it’s your second or perhaps
your third. But imagine if English was not the second or third but the tenthor twentieth language you could speak fluently. Impossible? Believe it or not,there are people around the world who have acquired the ability to use as manyas 30 different languages. There is a name for such super language learners:
hyperpolyglots.
CD 1 - 3
A hyperpolyglot is usually defined as someone who can speak at least
10 languages, but there are a number of exceptional people who have learned
considerably more than this. Some of them, such as Tim Keeley, did so whileliving in different countries. Keeley grew up in Florida, where he was exposed
to native Spanish speakers at school, but it was only as an adult when hemoved to Colombia, Switzerland, Eastern Europe and finally Japan that heacquired his current knowledge of over 20 languages. Other hyperpolyglots
have achieved their ability at home. Eighty-three-year-old Derick Herning
lives in the remote Shetland Islands in northern Scotland, where he offers
tours to the occasional tourist in English, German, Dutch, Russian, Norwegian,Frisian, Gaelic, French, Danish and Swedish. He won the Polyglot of Europe
competition in 1990 by speaking 22 languages, but says he has learned ninemore since.
CD 1 - 4
How do these super language learners achieve their success? Are there
some learning methods that we all can use? On a general level, linguists haveuncovered some of the strategies that good language learners use to acquire
their skills. For instance, Rebecca Oxford of the University of Alabama in the
United States was able to identify six groups of strategies by interviewing andobserving successful language learners. Putting them in simple terms, thesegroups consist of memory strategies (e.g. reviewing vocabulary), cognitive
strategies (e.g. analyzing grammar and taking notes), planning strategies(e.g. making plans to overcome your weak points), emotional strategies (e.g.
rewarding yourself for reaching goals), social strategies (e.g. finding native
speakers to talk with) and compensation strategies (e.g. using gestures tocommunicate things you don’t know how to say). There is also the important
issue of motivation. If you are strongly motivated to learn the language, forexample in order to live abroad, you are more likely to work hard to achieve
CD 1 - 2

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

① 2〜7

2

Unit 1 – Super Language Learners

your goals.
CD 1 - 5These are all things that, in theory, can help anybody to become asuccessful language learner. But what about hyperpolyglots? Do they haveany extra tricks that enable them to learn languages on such a large scale?
Michael Erard, who has investigated the learning habits of hyperpolyglots ina book called Babel No More: The Search for the World’s Most Extraordinary
Language Learners, has found super language learners often share certain
characteristics.
CD 1 - 6
For a start, they tend to be good at mimicry, that is copying the voices andbehavior of different people. One polyglot, Michael Harris, is a good exampleof this. An actor by training, Harris carefully observes the facial expressions
and mouth movements of native speakers of the language he is learning, whichhelps him to copy their pronunciation. When he speaks a foreign language, headopts a new identity, associating the language in his head with the verbal andphysical behavior of native speakers. This helps him not to confuse one languagewith another. Of course, he makes mistakes as he learns each language, but
Harris says it is important not to feel embarrassed. It is unrealistic to expect
to become a native speaker with perfect grammar and pronunciation, he says.
Sometimes there will be times when you cannot express exactly what you wantto say, but in those cases you have to find other ways to communicate yourthoughts. Harris also recommends regular and short practice: perhaps justfor 15 minutes, four or five times a day. The quality of the practice is more
important than the quantity.
CD 1 - 7
In the end, a determination not to give up is perhaps the most importantcharacteristic shared by super language learners. Knowing 20 languages
doesn’t make you rich or famous. The main benefit is the ability to communicate
with so many different people around the world. There is, however, one moreadvantage to language learning that scientists have recently discovered. It
appears that knowing more than one language also boosts brain power. People
who use two languages regularly have improved ability on various cognitive
tasks and, what’s more, they are also less likely to suffer from mental diseases
like Alzheimer’s. So, if you ever feel frustrated or discouraged about learning
English, perhaps that can be your motivation to keep studying.
 Notes
hyperpolyglot polyglot（多言語話者）に「超越」を意味する hyper を付けたもの did so =learned more than 10 languages be exposed to ~「 〜 に 触 れ る 」 occasional「 た ま の 」
Frisian「フリジア語」主にオランダ北部のフリースラント州で使用されている。 Gaelic「ゲール語」アイルランドや英スコットランドで使用されている。 uncover「発見する」 compensation
strategy「補償ストラテジー」 mimicry「模倣，物まね」 ~ by training「〜としての教育を受けた」 Alzheimer’s「アルツハイマー病」老年認知症の一種

3

5

10

15

20

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Reading Comprehension
Decide if each sentence is true or false.
1. [ T / F ]A hyperpolyglot is someone who can speak at least 20
languages.

2. [ T / F ]Derick Herning learned languages by traveling around theworld.

3. [ T / F ]The strategies described by Rebecca Oxford can be used byanybody learning a language.

4. [ T / F ]Being an actor probably helps Michael Harris to be a goodlanguage learner.

5. [ T / F ]Using two languages can improve your thinking skills.

①8

Summary
Fill in the spaces with the words at the top.
embarrassed

fluently

motivatedcopying

strategies

Learning a foreign language is hard work, so it is amazing to think that there
are people who can speak as many as 20 or 30 languages 1) _______________.
Known as hyperpolyglots, these super language learners use a variety of2)_______________ to achieve their goals. Linguists have studied these methods

in order to help people learn languages better. Hyperpolyglots also tend to
be good at 3) _______________ the voices and actions of different people, rather
like actors, and they don’t get 4) _______________ when they make mistakes.
Above all, they are very 5) _______________ to learn and don’t give up easily.
Being a hyperpolyglot might not make you rich, but it will make your life moreinteresting.

4Unit 1 – Super Language Learners

Think about the Issues
Write down and share your ideas with your classmates.
1. Are you strongly motivated to learn English? What strategies do you use
to help you learn?

2. Do you think that anybody can become a super language learner? Why /Did You Know?
why not?


Did You Know?
There are a number of well-known historical figures whoare believed to have been super language learners. For
instance, Cleopatra, the famous pharaoh of Egypt during
Roman times, could speak nine languages and the 17th
century English writer John Milton could speak 11. In
more recent times, J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of
the Rings books, learned 35 languages and even createdseveral fictional ones which he used in his stories.

5