(どくしょ)

reading (books)

(あき)

autumn; fall

(としょかん)

library

(いべんと)

event

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(すずしい)

cool, refreshing

(ほん)

book

(よむ)

to read

(ちょうど)

exactly, just

(きせつ)

Season

(じき)

period, time, season

(ぜんこく)

nationwide; the whole country

(かんけい)

relation

(ひらく)

to open, to hold (event)

(ある)

a certain (some)

(まち)

town

(こども)

child

(えほん)

picture book

(かい)

meeting; gathering

(まいしゅう)

every week

(おとな)

adult

(すき)

liked, favorite

(しょうかい)

introduction, presentation

(さんか)

participation

(ひと)

person / people

(ほか)

other

(はなし)

talk, story

(きく)

to listen, hear

(はなす)

to speak, talk

(さいきん)

recently

(すまほ)

smartphone

(みじかい)

short

(ぶんしょう)

text; document

(おおい)

many

(かみ)

paper

(たのしい)

fun, enjoyable

(しる)

to know, learn

(かんがえる)

to think; to consider

to be called / said to be

Passive of 言う, used to describe how something is referred to. 青いケシと言われる花 means 'a flower called the blue poppy'.

to become (い-adjective)

Expresses a change of state for い-adjectives. Drop the final い and add くなる. Indicates something has changed or will change to a new state.

it is because ~

Gives a reason at the end of a sentence. Used here to explain why gasoline prices dropped (government subsidies).

Passive form

The passive voice. 落とされて is the passive of 落とす (to drop). Indicates the bombs were dropped (by someone).

is doing, has been doing (ongoing state/action)

Expresses a continuing action or resulting state. Formed with て-form + いる. Can describe an action in progress or a state resulting from a past change.

for the purpose of / in order to

Used in テストのために ('for the purpose of testing') to explain why the E8 train was running.

intended for, aimed at

大人向け marks the book-introduction gatherings as meant for adults.

to do together; mutually

Compound verb suffix indicating a reciprocal or mutual action.

te-form for connecting clauses

The te-form connects sequential actions or clauses. Here it links 'started' with the following action.

want to ~

Verb stem + たい to express desire.

quotative particle

Marks the content of what someone said or reported. Used with 言う here.

-ness (turns an adjective into a noun)

Replacing the final い of an i-adjective with さ makes a noun. 暑い becomes 暑さ, 'the heat', which is the cause of the poor rice quality here.

want someone to ~ (for my/our benefit)

Combines てもらう (receive the favor of someone doing something) with たい (want). Expresses a desire for others to do something.

読書の秋、図書館でイベントが増える

Autumn, the season for reading: more events at libraries

秋は「読書の秋」と言われます。

Autumn is called "the autumn of reading."

涼しくなって、本を読むのにちょうどいい季節だからです。

That's because it gets cooler, making it just the right season for reading books.

この時期、全国の図書館で、本に関係するイベントが開かれています。

At this time of year, libraries across the country are holding book-related events.

ある町の図書館では、子どものために、絵本を読む会を毎週開いています。

At one town's library, they hold a picture-book reading session for children every week.

大人向けには、好きな本を紹介し合う会もあります。

For adults, there are also gatherings where people introduce their favorite books to one another.

参加した人は「ほかの人の話を聞いて、読みたい本が増えた」と話していました。

One participant said, "Hearing what other people said, I now have more books I want to read."

最近は、スマホで短い文章を読む人が多くなりました。

These days, more and more people read short texts on their smartphones.

図書館は、紙の本の楽しさを知ってもらいたいと考えています。

Libraries hope people will come to know the joy of paper books.