Bastille Day · Worksheet 1
One Day, Two Stories
Read the story. 英文を読もう。
1On the morning of July 14, 1789, angry crowds filled the streets of Paris. They had about 30,000 guns, but they had no gunpowder. So they marched to the Bastille, an old stone fortress and prison. Inside, there were 250 barrels of gunpowder.
2The people attacked the Bastille, and the fighting went on for several hours. Late that afternoon, the people took the Bastille. To many French people, the Bastille was a symbol of the king's power. But when they opened the doors, they found only 7 prisoners! Still, the news spread quickly, and the French Revolution moved forward.
3One year later, on July 14, 1790, people from all over France came to Paris. This time, there was no fighting. They held a huge festival to celebrate a united country. Even the king made a promise to follow the new rules.
4In 1880, France made July 14 its national holiday. That was 90 years after the festival of 1790. But the law did not say which July 14 it meant. So the day remembers both the fight of 1789 and the peaceful festival of 1790. French people call it the Fourteenth of July or the National Holiday.
5Today, the day starts with a big parade in Paris. Jets fly over the city with blue, white, and red smoke. At night, people dance at fire stations and watch fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. In Japan, people call the day Pari-sai, from the title of a French movie. But if you say that in France, nobody will understand you!
- crowd 群衆、人だかり
- fortress 要塞
- prison 牢獄、刑務所
- prisoner 囚人
- gunpowder 火薬
- symbol 象徴、しるし
- revolution 革命
- festival 祭り
- united 1つにまとまった
- promise 約束、誓い
- national holiday 国の祝日
- firefighter 消防士