Column Discussion (Expert)｜コラムディスカッション（上級）Lesson46 : Ancient Humans May Have Entered Europe Earlier Than Once Thought

PART A_1

Let’s learn vocabulary. Listen and repeat the words and the sentences with your tutor.

PART A_2

1.　ancestor	/AN-ses-ter/
	-a person related to you who lived a long time ago
	His ancestors came to America during the 1900s.
2.　assume	/uh-SOOM/
	-to accept something to be true without question or proof
	I assumed you had a bad day because you were unusually quiet.
3.　emerge	/ih-MURJ/
	-to appear by coming out of something or out from behind something
	Rosa emerged from her room dressed in purple.
4.　genetic	/juh-NET-ik/
	-belonging or relating to genes (parts of the DNA in cells) received by each animal or plant from its parents
	Some diseases are said to be genetic.
5.　insufficient	/in-suh-FISH-uhnt/
	-not enough; lacking in what is necessary or required
	He was upset because the food was insufficient.

PART B_1

Let’s read the article. Please read it aloud, and I will check your pronunciation and intonation.

PART B_2

Ancient Humans May Have Entered Europe Earlier Than Once Thought

Human bones found in Bulgaria suggest that humans had settled in Europe thousands of years ago. The discovery indicates that humans and Neanderthals, our nearest ancestors, coexisted on the continent for much longer than previously assumed. Scientists analyzed four pieces of bone and a tooth that emerged from four Homo sapiens, the earliest of which dates back to about 46,000 years ago, according to genetic research. The previous discovery of human bones occurred in Romania; attempts to date these bone fragments were insufficient. They were most likely 40,000 years old, give or take a few thousand years. The bone material also contained Neanderthal genes, indicating that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens had mated about 200 years ago. According to the scholars, Europe’s ancestors arrived from Africa about 47,000 years ago, during a brief time of warming. This suggests that humans and Neanderthals coexisted on the same continent for around 7,000 years, communicating periodically but not regularly.

PART C_1

Let’s answer comprehension questions. Please answer them based on the article.

PART C_2

1.	What do the human bones found in Bulgaria suggest?
2.	What pieces of evidence did the scientists gather to support such claims?
3.	How old were the bones discovered in Romania?

PART D_1

Let’s discuss the article. Please answer the questions below and express your opinions.

PART D_2

1.	What can you say about the scientists’ efforts?
2.	How do you think would this new discovery affect the history we already know?
3.	How does the discovery benefit our society?
4.	Should scientific discoveries be taught in school? Why or why not?
5.	Do you think more research should be done on our ancestors? Why or why not?

REVIEW AND FEEDBACK

Now, let us review the things that you learned in this lesson.

ではこのレッスンで学んだことを振り返りましょう。

(Please give a short feedback on how your student did on your class.)

	Grammar 文法	Pronunciation 発音	Vocabulary 単語	Comprehension 理解
GOOD	文法の誤りはほとんどなく、完全な文章で話すことができる	ほとんどの単語をはっきりと正しく発音することができる	習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を理解し、質問に正しく答えることができる
FAIR	文法の誤りはあるが、完全な文章で話すことができる	発音の練習が必要な言葉がいくつかある	たまにミスはあるが、習った表現を適切に使うことができる	文章を完全に理解するのは難しく、質問に正しく答えられないときもある
POOR	文章で話すのは難しく、単語だけで話すことができる	発音の練習が必要である	習った単語と表現を少しだけ使うことができる	文章を理解するのは難しく、質問に答えるのは難しい

TUTOR FEEDBACK

GRAMMAR
Good:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with minimal grammatical errors.
Fair:	Was able to speak in complete sentences with evident grammatical errors.
Poor:	Was able to speak using words only.
PRONUNCIATION
Good:	Was able to pronounce most of the words clearly and correctly.
Fair:	Mispronounced a few words.
Poor:	Mispronounced most of the words.
VOCABULARY
Good:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class.
Fair:	Used appropriate expressions learned in class and made a few errors in word choice.
Poor:	Used only a few words and expressions.
COMPREHENSION
Good:	Was able to understand the passages and answer the questions correctly.
Fair:	Had a little difficulty in understanding passages and answering questions.
Poor:	Had a hard time understanding passages and answering questions.

Parts of this lesson material are based on:
An article by Voice of America