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八時に止まるピアノ
引っ越してきた日の夕方から、上の階でピアノの音がするようになりました。短い曲を繰り返し弾いて、いつも同じところで間違えます。本を読んでいても音が気になって、ゆうきさんは何度も同じ行を読み直しました。
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From the evening of the day he moved in, the sound of a piano began to come from the floor above. Someone played a short piece over and over, and always went wrong in the same place. Even when he was reading, the sound distracted him, and Yuki read the same line again and again.
ところが一週間たって、あることに気がつきました。ピアノは毎晩、八時になるとぴたりと止まるのです。土曜日も日曜日も同じでした。上の人も、夜は音を出さないように気をつけているのでしょう。そう思うと、ピアノはそれほどいやではなくなりました。
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But after a week, he noticed something. Every night, when eight o’clock came, the piano stopped dead. It was the same on Saturdays and Sundays. The person upstairs must be careful not to make noise at night, too, he thought. Once he saw it that way, the piano didn’t bother him so much.
ある晩、ゆうきさんは十時過ぎにスピーカーで動画を見ていて、ふと思いました。この音は、下や隣の部屋に聞こえていないだろうか。上のピアノに気がついてはじめて、自分が出す音のことを考えたのです。同じ建物に住んでいるからには、自分も気をつけなければなりません。
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One night, a little after ten, Yuki was watching a video through his speaker when a thought struck him. Could the people below or next door hear this? It was only after noticing the piano upstairs that he had ever thought about the noise he made himself. Since he lived in the same building, he had to be careful too.
ゆうきさんは引き出しから古いイヤホンを出して、動画の続きを見ました。それからは、夜はイヤホンを使うようになりました。上の曲も、少しずつ最後まで弾けるようになっています。今夜も八時にピアノが止まると、ゆうきさんはイヤホンをつけました。
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Yuki took an old pair of earphones out of a drawer and watched the rest of the video. From then on, he used earphones at night. Little by little, the person upstairs is getting all the way to the end of the piece. Tonight, too, when the piano stopped at eight, Yuki put his earphones in.
Three expressions
毎日練習して、この曲が弾けるようになりました。
After practising every day, I can play this piece now.
「〜ようになる」: “come to (be able to) …”, “start …ing”. It describes a gradual change in ability or habit, and follows the dictionary form, the potential form or the nai form. In the story, 「夜はイヤホンを使うようになりました」 means “he started using earphones at night”.
一人で暮らしてはじめて、母の大変さが分かりました。
Only after living on my own did I realise how hard my mother had it.
「〜てはじめて」: “only after … (did you understand or notice)”. It follows the te form, and what comes after is usually something like 「分かる」 or 「気がつく」. In the story, 「気がついてはじめて、〜考えた」 means “only after noticing it did he think about …”.
約束したからには、最後までやります。
Now that I’ve promised, I’ll see it through to the end.
「〜からには」: “now that …, (I must) …”, “since …”. It follows the plain form, and is often followed by a resolve or a duty, such as 「〜なければならない」 or 「〜つもりだ」. In the story, 「同じ建物に住んでいるからには」 means “since he lives in the same building”.
One small thing to do
Tip
After ten tonight, turn the TV or music down a notch; if you watch videos through a speaker, try earphones for one night.