What I Found at a Garage Sale

ガレージセールで見つけた小さな宝物の話。

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Last Sunday, I walked past a house with a small sign: "Garage sale." I had never been to one before. I went in. There were old books, lamps, kitchen tools, and a small wooden chair. An older man sat behind a table. He smiled but did not push me to buy. I looked around for fifteen minutes. I almost left empty-handed. Then I saw a green notebook on the bottom shelf. It was old, with handwritten recipes inside. The pages were yellow but the handwriting was clear. The recipes had small notes in the margins: "Add more salt next time." "Mom's favorite." I asked the man about it. He said the notebook had belonged to his late wife. He was glad someone wanted it. I paid two dollars. Now I cook from it on weekends. I do not always make the recipes correctly. But every meal feels like a small letter from a stranger.

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I had never been to one before.文法
一度も行ったことがなかった。
過去完了 + never。経験用法を過去にずらす。
He smiled but did not push me to buy.表現
微笑んだが、買うように勧めてはこなかった。
〈push + 人 + to + 動詞〉= 『人に〜するよう強要する』。
I almost left empty-handed.表現
何も買わずに帰りそうになった。
〈almost + 過去動詞〉= 『〜しそうだった (が、しなかった)』。〈empty-handed〉= 『手ぶらで』、ハイフン付き形容詞。
the notebook had belonged to his late wife語彙
そのノートは亡くなった妻のものだった
〈belong to + 人〉= 『〜のものである』。〈late〉= 『亡き、故』、敬意を含む形容詞。
He was glad someone wanted it.文法
誰かが欲しがってくれて嬉しい、と。
〈glad + that 節 (省略)〉。感情形容詞 + 節の典型構造。
every meal feels like a small letter from a stranger表現
一食一食が、見知らぬ人からの小さな手紙のように感じる
〈feel like + 名詞〉= 『〜のように感じる』。エッセイの締めの直喩。

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 find at the garage sale?
Whose notebook was it, and why did the man sell it?
Why does the writer feel the notebook is more than a set of recipes?

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