Cooking with Friends

失敗だらけだけど、笑いながら作ったパスタの夜。

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Last Saturday, my friends came to my apartment. We decided to cook pasta together. I am not a great cook, and neither is anyone else, but that did not stop us. Maya brought a bag of tomatoes. Ken brought too much garlic. Yuki brought a bottle of cheap red wine. I had olive oil and pasta in my kitchen. We started chopping the garlic, and Ken cut his finger almost immediately. We laughed. The kitchen got hot. The tomatoes splashed everywhere. We forgot to add salt to the pasta water. The first taste was strange — too garlicky, slightly bitter. We added more cheese and called it a success. We ate at the small table by the window. The wine was actually quite good. Nobody said the pasta was perfect, but nobody stopped eating either.

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neither is anyone else文法
他の誰もそうじゃない
〈neither + 倒置〉= 『〜もまた〜ない』。前文が否定 (I am not) を受けて『私だけでなく他のみんなも』を表す上級構文。
but that did not stop us文法
それで止まる私たちじゃない
〈that〉が前文全体 (誰も料理上手くない) を指す。〈stop + 人 + from -ing〉が省略形。
Ken brought too much garlic.文法
ケンはニンニクを大量に持ってきた。
〈too much + 不可算名詞〉= 『〜が多すぎる』。garlic は不可算。
We forgot to add salt to the pasta water.文法
パスタの茹で湯に塩を入れるのを忘れた。
〈forget to + 動詞〉= 『〜することを忘れた』(=しなかった)。〈forget + -ing〉(=したことを忘れた) と区別。
called it a success表現
成功だと言うことにした
〈call + O + 補語〉= 『O を〜と呼ぶ』。ここでは『成功とみなした』のニュアンス。
Nobody said the pasta was perfect, but nobody stopped eating either.文法
誰も完璧だとは言わなかったが、誰も食べるのをやめなかった。
〈either〉は否定文の文末に置いて『〜もまた〜ない』。〈too〉(肯定文) との使い分け。

内容チェック

本文の内容を思い出してから答え合わせ。細部まで読めたか確認しましょう。

What did the writer and the friends do last Saturday?
What went wrong while they were cooking?
Why was the evening still a success?

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