Notes
escape 逃げる;
boldly 大胆に、勇敢に;
fierce 凶暴な;
shield 〈…を〉〔…から〕保護する;
tear 破る;

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One day in the town of Weser, in Germany, a boy was playing with his little sister, four years old. Suddenly the boy saw rushing down the hill a mad dog followed by men, trying to stop it. In a moment the boy saw that the dog was running directly toward his little sister. Not thinking for a moment of his own danger, or escape, this brave boy in a flash threw off his coat, wrapped it around his arm, and boldly faced the fierce dog. Holding out his arm, shielded by the coat, the boy turned the dog’s attention to himself, so that the wild beast jumped at him and worried him until the men came up and killed the dog. The men said, “Why did you not run away from the dog? You could easily have done it.” “Yes,” answered the boy, “but if I had he would have attacked my sister. I thought I would let the dog tear my coat instead of her!”
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Notes
currency 通貨;

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The Euro became the European currency in 2002. The Euro had always been stronger than the American currency, but now, for the first time in almost 20 years, 1 Euro equals 1 U.S. dollar. How did this happen? A major reason is energy. The U.S. produces most of its oil, so Americans don’t need to worry so much about energy. Most European countries don’t produce much oil, and since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, they are trying not to buy oil from Russia. The price of oil is going up, and this is hurting their economies. (by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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