英語検定ライティング準１級（第205回）

臓器移植「腎臓移植後に２カ月も生きた話」

３カ月前くらいにアメリカで豚の腎臓を移植する手術をした患者の話は聞いていた。さっき気になって検索したら２カ月後に他界されてた。60歳を超える高齢でもともと持病はあった。
About three months ago, he heard of a certain patient who has taken the surgery, where his original kidney could be transplanted with that of a pig, not human’s.
Just now, he did the internet search on the surgery’s results, which informed him that such an operation enabled him to keep two more months alive.
This patient aged 62 had had his own pre-existing diseases, and he had had several surgeries in the past.

初めて聞いた時は医療技術の進歩もそこまで来たかと驚いたが２カ月というのはどのように評価されるのか。10年くらい延命できたら画期的だったのか。それとも２カ月でも充分なのか。
When he heard of this surgery for the first time, the medical developments have made extremely tremendous progresses in our modern society, to his astonishment.
But it matters to him whether the fact this patient could live a little longer should be evaluated highly or not.
This kidney transplantation would be appropriated more around the globe if he could have lived for another 10 years, instead his prolonged two months’ life has already been an epoch-making miracle, only time tells us.

彼は快楽主義者なので楽しい活動ができないのなら生きる意味はないと考えがちだ。引き篭もりや寝たきりに意味は見出せない。農耕民族よりも狩猟民族の方に重きを置くタイプなのだ。
He is a hedonist, so he tends to think that his life doesn’t make sense when he couldn’t find something enjoyable or entertaining in his daily life, in other words, he rejects to be someone antisocial or to be someone bedridden.
A hunting tribe outweighs an agriculture race, he says.

税金地獄の日本の中で生活費を切り詰めながら多くの一般庶民はギリギリ生きている。彼もその１人だ。たまに死にたくなる。まだ仕事があるのでそれはできない。また孤独でもない。
A tremendous number of ordinary citizens have lived an irritating or frustrating life for three decades, which forces them to fail to make both ends meet because the government has imposed too heavy a taxation on them, including him, but he wants to accept what Japan is.
Sometimes he feels that such terrible affairs would kill him, but he mustn’t commit suicide because he works at the cram school, where not a few students depend on his humorous or comfortable conversations, at the same time, he avoids suffering from uncontrollable loneliness.