It has been said the Japanese society is one that is built on the belief that human nature is fundamentally good or a society based on mutual trust.
It has been 60 years since the end of the war, and of course one can see that some of the features of this society have changed, but as far as I can see, within my own my family ; my wife who has been a full-time home-maker seems to have changed a great deal, whereas I, a person who has spent 40 years working within a company and thus supposedly has been within a society based on contracts all this time, I don't feel I have changed at all .
The differences between us show up the most in our changing attitudes towards doctors. When I go to see a doctor, I usually listen to what he says obediently ( agree ' Yes, yes' ), thank him and go home.My wife on the other hand, collects plenty of data, itemizes her symptoms in detail and then when she gets to the hospital, she asks the doctor various questions. And she further questions the doctor's answers.
The other day, I was working around the garden, I felt a cramping pain in my chest muscles and couldn't move for about 10 minutes. So the next day I went to the hospital.
The doctor at the university hospital took a look at my X-ray photo, and asked me how long I had been having these symptoms, “They started a few years ago”, I answered.
“Well the photo looks clear, I think it must have been a little muscle pain.” said the doctor, “If the symptoms have been ongoing for several years, you can rest assured that it is not life-threatening.” I felt glad and went home.
When my wife heard my story, she said, “ So, you went, but you didn't solve a thing.”
“Oh I see,” I thought, “So that's how she feels.”
Well, I guess I'm just a typical Japanese man.
今週の文法 This week's grammar point
～かぎり：as far as
今週の語彙
■信頼関係mutual trust ■性善説the view that humans are born good ■戦後after WWⅡ, after the war ■特徴characteristic, feature ■契約a contract ■経験する to experience ■ちっとも語not･･･at all ■表れる to appear ■感謝する to show appreciation, be grateful ■データ data ■準備する to prepare ■症状 a symptom ■箇条書きにする to itemize ■庭仕事をする to do the garden ■大学病院the university hospital ■Ｘ線写真an X ray (photograph) ■数年前から for several years, a few years ago ■筋肉痛muscular pain ■命にかかわる deadly, life threatening ■平均的な average
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