Notes:
LED (Light-emitting diode) 順方向に電圧を加えた際に発光する半導体素子のことである;
separately 別々に;

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This year, the Nobel Prize in Physics has gone to Akasaki Isamu, Amano Hiroshi, and Nakamura Shuji for their work on blue LEDs. They did research separately, but they all helped to make LED lighting possible. Usually the prize for physics goes to research that seems very far from everyday life, but this time the prize is very easy to understand. LEDs have changed the world so much. LEDs use much less energy and last longer than older types of lighting. Traffic lights and flashlights are made with LEDs now, and LEDs light up computer and smartphone screens. (by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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Notes:
prefecture : (フランス･日本などの)県，府
embarrassed: 恥ずかしい、きまり悪がる
as a result: 結果的には

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I went to Nagano Prefecture to go skiing repeatedly when I was a child. I couldn’t stand up on the skis at first, but as I practiced many times, I learned how to ski. Now I am good at skiing and am learning how to snowboard. Skiing remains a very pleasant memory for me thanks to beginning at an early age. I have heard that skiing is very difficult for people who begin to ski after they grow up. If we start skiing when we are adults, we can’t ski at first and we feel embarrassed, so we stop practicing. As a result, many adults can’t improve their skills. I was very young when I started skiing, so I didn’t feel embarrassed even when I failed. I would like to say to parents who want to go skiing with their children and to the children who want to start skiing, “It is still not too late if you begin right now!” (written by student Miss A, edited by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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