Notes
boathouse 船小屋;
anchor 錨(いかり);
drift away 漂う;
——————–
An 18-year-old man in Indonesia was working as a fisherman. He was living alone out at sea on a “rompong,” a very small boathouse. In the middle of July, the rope to the anchor broke, and his rompong drifted away. He ran out of food and water after one week. How did he survive? He caught fish and ate them, and he drank rainwater. A ship finally picked him up near Guam, almost 2000 kilometers from his home, on August 31. He was taken to Japan, and he flew back home to Indonesia. He was happy to be home, but he said that he would never live and work on a rombong again! (by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
——————–

Notes
registered 登録した;
blackout 停電
——————————-
A terrible earthquake hit Hokkaido on September 6. I felt very sorry for the people there. Actually, my daughter and her family live in Furano. The earthquake there registered 4 on the Japanese scale. I was very worried about them because they have little children. There was a blackout, so they didn’t have any electricity. Finally, I got a call from her. Fortunately, nothing was damaged, and everyone was safe. She said that the family enjoyed watching the stars during the blackout. She had never seen such a stunning star-filled sky! I was surprised at how positive they were about it.
——————————–