E to J translation exercise for Lesson 5 Part 4

[hirashin]

Dear native English speakers,
Would you check my sentences?

問 次の英語を日本語に訳しなさい。
① Most Japanese people eat rice at least once a day. (most of Japanese people とは言わない)

② Steve set up a company to develop a new kind of computer everyone can use easily.

③ There are more than 3,000 artificial satellites moving around the Earth.

④ What Lucy said made Tom decide to go to Japan. (What S V = SがVする/した事)

⑤ That phrase has made people lose interest in developing new things.

⑥ I realized how important it is to listen to people carefully.

⑦ When my cellphone rang, I was about to get on the train to Tokyo.

⑧ After graduating from college, I got a job in Kobe as a computer engineer.

⑨ Lucy comes to school much earlier than before these days.

⑩ After giving a lecture in that college, I received a lot of requests from many colleges and companies all over Japan to give talks. (lecture = talk = 講義,講演)


⑪ Professor Suzuki is really good at English. He always helps me learn the language.

⑫ He is always searching for better ways of achieving his goals.

⑬ The person who runs this workshop has always told people that you should never give up.

⑭ Because of the difficulty we faced then, we were about to lose hope and give up.

⑮ The professor explained how the small rocket was able to reach the height of 2,000 kilometers.

Hirashin

 

[Buntaro]

8. After graduating from college, I got a job in Kobe as a computer engineer.
(Hirashin, you and I have previously discussed this grammar point.)

9. Lucy comes to school much earlier than before these days.
Wrong. Better: Lucy comes to school much earlier than she used to.

12. He is always searching for better ways of achieving his goals.
Wrong. Better: He is always searching for better ways to achieve his goals.

15. The professor explained how the small rocket was able to reach a height of 2,000 kilometers.
The professor explained how the small rocket was able to reach the height of 2,000 kilometers.
Both are correct. The meanings are different.

The rest are correct.

 

[hirashin]

Thanks for the help, Buntaro.

8. After graduating from college, I got a job in Kobe as a computer engineer.
(Hirashin, you and I have previously discussed this grammar point.)

I'm sorry, but I don't remember it. Does this sentence sound off?

9. Lucy comes to school much earlier than before these days.
Wrong. Better: Lucy comes to school much earlier than she used to.

I'd like to use "these days". How about this, then?
The number of Japanese students who go abroad to study is decreasing these days.

12. He is always searching for better ways of achieving his goals.
Wrong. Better: He is always searching for better ways to achieve his goals.

OK. I'll change it into your version.

15. The professor explained how the small rocket was able to reach a height of 2,000 kilometers.
The professor explained how the small rocket was able to reach the height of 2,000 kilometers.
Both are correct. The meanings are different.

The rest are correct.

Thanks.

 

[Buntaro]

A. After graduating from college, I got a job in Kobe as a computer engineer.
B. I got a job in Kobe as a computer engineer after graduating from college.
C. I got a job in Kobe as a computer engineer after I graduated from college.

A, B, and C are correct. C is better than B. (B is very "Japanglish".) It is important to note that A and C have different meanings, and this difference must be explained to the students. (Japanese students tend to always use the A example and ignore the C example, which is a mistake.)

I'd like to use "these days".

Yes, you can use it, but it is a direct translation of 最近 and sounds like "Japanglish". It is better to use the phrase "used to". "The number of Japanese students who go abroad to study is decreasing these days" is very "Japanglish" for a couple of reasons. First, "is" should be replaced with "has been", as in "The number of Japanese students who go abroad to study has been decreasing these days." (I teach the students to always use 現在完了形 with "these days".) But it still sounds very "Japanglish". Better to say "The number of Japanese students who go abroad to study has been decreasing recently." But it is best to say "used to".

It is natural for the students to want to use the direct translation of 最近, but this should be avoided, because this is not what native speakers say.