中に / 現在に至る / 平らな道 / 中古車

Hi,


1. それは機械にしては非常に人間ぽい動きで、まるで中に人が入っているかのような歩き方と身振りだった。

I understand this is basically saying that, for a machine, the robot was remarkably human-like in its way of moving and walking, and its gestures.

I'm wondering if まるで中に人が入っているかのような means that the robot's behaviour was "exactly as if a person was entering (e.g. a room)", but I am hazy about the purpose of 中に.


2. ５年間出版社で働いた後、独立し、現在に至る。

This is an exercise in which the student is supposed to fill blanks from a list of supplied words. 至る is the word I was left with after doing the others; if it doesn't make sense then I have something else wrong.

I am somewhat unsure how the three parts connect to make a coherent sentence. Does it mean "After five years working in a publishing company, I became independent (self-employed), and then remained independent (self-employed) up until the present"?


3. 平らな道がどこまでもまっすぐ続いている。

This is an exercise in which the student is supposed to fill the blanks from a list of supplied words. 平ら is the word I was left with; if it doesn't make sense then I have something else wrong.

To me, this looks like "A flat road continues straight on to anywhere", which is a bit weird. Is it some kind of proverb or saying?


4. 中古車を買う上で注意しなければならないことを教えてください。

Does this mean "Please tell me what I should look out for (= be cautious about) when buying a second-hand car"?

1)
まるでロボットの中に人が入っているかのような

2)
Yes, both for 至る and its meaning.

3)
平ら is correct, but you seem to misinterpret どこまでも.

4)
Yes.

Thank you!

3) So what does it mean then? Doesn't どこまでも mean "(to) anywhere"? I don't get it...

Or "to wherever" thus "endlessly", as there is no place you can point to that isn't covered by どこまでも. Trying to point to a point not covered would be like trying to point to infinity on a number line.

Thanks, then:

"A flat road continues straight on to wherever."
"A flat road continues straight on endlessly."

What does it mean? Is it supposed to be understood literally, or is it some kind of metaphor or proverb? I don't really get it, even in English...

(It is an example sentence in a vocabulary quiz, so I was not expecting anything too cryptic or philosophical.)

It literally means so.

eeky said:

Thanks, then:

"A flat road continues straight on to wherever."
"A flat road continues straight on endlessly."

What does it mean? Is it supposed to be understood literally, or is it some kind of metaphor or proverb? I don't really get it, even in English...

(It is an example sentence in a vocabulary quiz, so I was not expecting anything too cryptic or philosophical.)

Click to expand...

Try "as far as the eye could see".

Not intended as a criticism, but keep in mind that sometimes you get tripped up on figurative/idiomatic items by tending to approach things too literally. So when that happens, take a step back and see if you can think of a more metaphoric/idiomatic alternative that fits the situation.

Mike Cash said:

Not intended as a criticism, but keep in mind that sometimes you get tripped up on figurative/idiomatic items by tending to approach things too literally.

Click to expand...

I don't know where you get that idea from when "Is it supposed to be understood literally" is actually the question I asked.

Toritoribleさんの詳し答え、ありがとう。

どこまでもって、英語の一つ歌を思い出します：Wherever you go(どこまでも), whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you...
I am not sure whether my understanding to be correct.