全257件 (257件中 1-50件目)
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ビジネス英会話（12/7）のディクテーションに挑戦
Paper Chase Day (5) Wednesday, December 7■ discard 処分する、捨てる、廃棄する1) dis という接頭語を使った言葉はいろいろあるdisown, discredit, disappoint, discrepancy2) Another one is "disrespect," which means treat someone badly.That's recently been shorten just to "dis." He dissed me so I dumpedhim.■ stuffaholic 物中毒者3) There's a bunch of examples here. These are very common,foodaholic, workaholic, chocoholic, shopaholic.4) There's a lot. I saw couple others, biblioholic, which issomebody who loves and collects books and infoholic, somebody who, Iguess, can't get enough information.5) I'm sure more and more words using that ending will be coined,because it's very easy to form them and it's a kind of idea. Well,there's almost always someone who overdoes something.■ pack-rat attitude6) You can also say the place where that person keeps all theirthings is a rat's nest.7) I think some parents might describe their kids rooms as rat'snests.8) その他、ビジネスに関連した言葉で rat が使われるのは、rat race = し烈な出世競争 I smell a rat. = 何かおかしい （ねずみの匂いがする）9) And it also includes the idea not just something strange, butit's strange because someone has evil intensions.10) copy cat = 猿真似Kids often use this word when they're doing something and anotherkid comes and does to same thing. It's a scornful word when kids useit, "Oh, you copy cat."11) parrot ⇒ おうむ、他人の言葉を真似る人、（動）おうむ返しに言う12) You probably use it in situations where somebody is sayingsomething that another person uh already said, but the currentspeaker isn't really thinking. They are just repeating what theyheard. They are parroting their boss or they're just parroting whatthey heard somewhere else. They either don't really understand it or they don't really mean it.■ reinvent the wheel 無駄な努力をする13) I think that the key point of this phrase is the needless. It'sthe needlessness of going back to the beginning and inefficiency andwaste of time that's involved. A similar phrase start fromscratch means that you need to go back to the beginning, it's a goodthing.-----------------------------14) Please tune in again next time.
2005年12月08日
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ビジネス英会話（12/5）のディクテーションに挑戦
Paper Chase Day (4) Monday, December 51) neat desks This is one of the first pieces of the advice that I read for people,young people going into businesses. "Keep your desk neat and asempty as possible." One book even went into how to do thatsaying, "take out the folder you need, for the the work you aredoing now, and the materials you need, only for that work, and whenyou finish, put it away before you take out the next one." But cometo think of it, it sounds like what parents tell their kids, "put yourtoy away before you take out a new one."ダンプカー（和製英語） 英語ではdump truckという2) think out loud 思っていることを口に出して言う。しゃべりながら考える。It's also called "talk to yourself." But that sometimes has a littlebit more negative meaning.He always talks to himself. 独り言を言う。3) My boss is talking only to himself and to God today.4) I've also heard that it's...it's okay to talk to yourself. The time tostart worrying is when you begin answering yourself.5) on earth 一体全体In the sentence, the phrase "on earth" is used as an intensifier.”Is there anything on earth?...of all the things on earth?”--------------------- Vocabulary Building---------------------6) retrieve （動）・・・を取り出す、（情報を）検索するA similar word is "fetch". "Fetch" tends to be used with dogs. It'sthe word English speakers use to tell a dog to go pick something upand bring it back. Sometimes people use it for themselves, like"Oh, I forgot the salt. I'll go fetch it." Or it can also be used to talkabout how much someone paid for something you're selling. You cantalk about what price it fetched.Golden Retriever 射止めた獲物を咥えて戻ってくるように訓練された猟犬7) If you are not sure which one to use, "retrieve" is probably alwaysacceptable. It sounds a little more formal than "fetch."-----------------------7) That's all for today.8) Thanks for listening.
2005年12月06日
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ビジネス英会話（12/2）のディクテーションに挑戦
Paper Chase Day Friday, December 21) if in doubt 決めかねるようならThis phrase, "if in doubt" and it's very similar phrase "when indoubt" are used a lot in English, either phrase is most oftenfollowed by either "don't" plus a verb or "ask."2) When in doubt, don't capitalize.大文字にしようか小文字にしようか迷ったときは小文字にしなさい。3) a pilot project 試験的なプロジェクト"A pilot project" is one that is a tentative model. It might be usedin the future if it goes well or it could be developed further if itseems to be a good start. The word "pilot" is used to mean sort of atentative beginning. In the phrase, pilot light, it's a small flamethat's constantly burning so that when you turn on your gas stove or when your water heater turns on, the main flame can easily start up toheat the water or turn on your stove.4) put your finger on the info 情報をすぐに取り出せるようにしておくAnd "put your finger on something" means find it, get itimmediately.5) draw bead on ～に狙いをつけるDraw a bead on something means take aim at it. The bead is a smallmetal knob on old rifleｓ, at the far end of the rifle, and it helpsyou aim the rifle in the correct place. So when you sight along therifle, you look at one notch up near your eye and you line it up withthe bead at the end of the rifle, and that's how you aim itaccurately.--------------------- Vocabulary Building---------------------6) pending 未決定の、～の間Words with "pend" in it often have something to do with hanging. Soif you can think of waiting as a kind of hanging because nothing'sactually happening. It's easier to understand pending.patent pending = 特許申請中7) well-organized人に関しても、物に関しても使えるYou are a well-organized person. = 頭の中も非常に整理が行き届いている。（最高の褒め言葉になる。）---------------------8) Talk to you again.
2005年12月03日
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ビジネス英会話(11/30）のディクテーションに挑戦
メモリーカードが壊れていて、録音が正しくてきていませんでした（悲）。Paper Chase Day (2) Wednesday, November 301) hate to get rid of 処分するのを嫌がるIn stead of saying you "hate to get rid of" something, you couldsubstitute the phrase "can't bare to part with" something.2) You've got to be joking. それは冗談でしょう。In a case like this, when you think someone's joking or trying tomake you believe something that isn't really true. You could say,"You've got to be joking," like Green does, but, there's a couple otherphrases. You could say, "Are you pulling my leg?" or more simply,"Unbelievable," or very casually, "Oh, go on!"3) toss out ～を捨てる、放り出すTakahashi talks about "tossing out the most paper." "Toss out" is aphrase of verb that means throw something away or get rid ofsomething, put it in the trash can. Sometimes for the samemeaning though people will drop the "out" and just say I tossed it.But "toss" alone is also its own verb. It's a kind of lightlythrowing things. You could "toss a ball up in the air," up and down,up and down. People toss a coin to choose teams or who gets to gofirst, a kind of decision making, mechanism. And you can also tosssalad. In that case, you take different kinds of leaf lettuce andbreak it up into bite size pieces and then in English, people don'tusually say "mix it." Mixing is a heavier action that you use for buttersand things like that with a spoon. Because salad leaves are verylight weight, to kind of toss them into the air, so that all thedifferent types get mixed up nicely.4) date back to the creation of the world 大昔にさかのぼるThe phrase "date back to the creation of the world," just means it'svery very old. Another phrase that people use sometimes to saysomething is very old is to say, "It's as old as dirt."5) ditch （ 動）捨てる、 （名）どぶ"Ditch" means "get rid of," but it's very slangy sounding. Actually,ditch is a noun and a verb. As a noun, it's a long narrow trench inthe ground. I think you probably hear it use much more in a slangmeaning. In this case, Greene is just talking about throwing away ordiscarding something, but you can also use it to talk about gettingaway from a person. Especially if it is with some friend orcompanion that you don't want to be with right now, you can also,"ditch the police," if they're following you. That's escape fromthem following you. You can also use it to talk about skippingclasses or not going to school or playing hooky.ditch a girlfriend = ガールフレンドを捨てる--------------------- Vocabulary Building---------------------6) cull 選別する、間引く"Cull" is kind of an interesting word. When it's used as a verb, itcan be neutral, it just means picking things out of a group for somereason. It can also be used negatively. If you're picking them out,because they're defective. But as a noun, it almost always refers tothings that have been rejected and so they're usually worse qualityor not functioning properly things like that.-----------------------7) Thanks for listening.
2005年12月01日
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ビジネス英会話(11/25）のディクテーションに挑戦
Blogosphere(6) Friday, November 25*TalkS: Chris, we talked about blogosphere composed of blogs and bloggers.C: Hmm.S: Now some of my friends become bloggers, uh..C: Oh, yeah.S: Now I read their blogs, and some are interesting, others are boring.C: Yeah, a friend of mine started up her own blogs, so she lives here and her family lives in the US, and I think she wanted to use it so that her sister and her mother and her friends could see her son growing up.S: Hmm.C: And here about the activities, but I looked at it a few times, but she's so busy and I don't think she updates it very often. S: But that's the good way to keep up with each other.C: Yeah, I think it's a great idea. You know, you can limit who has access to it if you want to, so you can keep it private, and you can also allow people a certain amount of commenting on your blog if you'd like.S: Yeah, as we said many of the bloggers are not professional journalists, they are just the common people. But historically, blogs are bloomed during a political election or natural disaster or terrorist attack.C: Uh, they seem like a great thing to keep up with current events. I supposes if you find a couple of blogs written by people that you either agree with or disagree with, but find very interesting. Then uh, whenever a current event happens, you can read what they're thinking and of course, read the papers..S: Yeah.C: See what's on TV.S: And some of the mainstay media like newspapers and magazines..C: Um-huh.S: direct their readers to refer to blogs which contain more information. C: Yeah, I saw that. It's a great way to correct information when there's chaos because anyone who has some information can post it, and as long as the readers remember that it's not an official statement, it's what people are thinking at that moment. I think it's wonderful.S: Some blogs have become controversial..C: Um-huh.S: written by American soldiers that are stationed in Iraq.C: I thought it was pretty amazing that military hadn't been censoring them at all at the beginning. And even now I think censorship of the soldiers' blog is very right.S: Um-huh. I think it's difficult to sensor blogs technically.C: Yeah, right. Well, I guess what they would have to do is give orders about what kind of content you could put on your blog, and then take disciplinary action for people who break that. I don't think that military would be reading everybody's blogs, but somebody might report it to them.S: And of course, recently we talked about a podcasting.C: Um-huh.S: Which is like a personal radio station.C: Oh, they're great. I haven't looked at a lot of them. I haven't had a lot of time yet, but I found a couple of websites that list podcasts, and they're...they're all organized by topic. Ah, the ones I've looked at so far are free, so some of whom are very amateurish that doesn't mean it won't be interesting, but it doesn't sound like what you hear of on the radio or TV.S: All these new technologies, uh, pose a challenge to communications people..C: Yeah.S: They have to know how to integrate these new tools into traditional methods of communication.C: Yeah, I think it's very tough for people whose job is managing communication, but on the other hand for people who want information, I think it's like a new Renaissance, maybe. For me the hardest thing is finding the information I want or finding the time to look at everything that I'd like to look at.S: Sometimes there's too much information.C: Oh, there's so much information out there. I could just spend all day, everyday, reading things, and listening to the radio or podcasts or whatever is available.●あんな時、こんな時○S: It was all the rage. 大流行している。S: hellの代わりに、hornetを使うこともある。 スズメバチのように怒った。C: "Mad" is also used, sometimes to mean very crazy about, "I really like or love you." You could say "I'm mad about you." and that means "I really love you." It's different from "I'm mad at you," which means "you've done something I don't like.S: mad の次に来る前置詞に注意。 I am mad at you. 私はあなたに怒っている。 I am mad about you. 私はあなたに夢中。首ったけ。C: "Mad" also includes the idea of crazy. "Angry" only means angry. And in the past, I think people were careful to keep those two meanings separate, but nowadays people use it pretty interchangeably when they're talking about anger.S: blow my top 怒りを爆発させる 類した表現も色々とある。 hit the roof hit the ceiling go through the ceiling あまりにも腹が立って天井、屋根から突き抜けるくらい 興奮した、飛び上がった、という感じ。C: There's another phrase using "blow." You could say "blow a gasket," and they give the idea that they're so much pressure you just explored with anger.S: Oh, that's great[beautiful]! 反語、皮肉C: And you show that you're using the opposite meaning by the intonation that you use.S: nuisance 嫌なこと、面倒くさいことC: Similar phrase is, "What a pain."S: perturb 動揺させる、狼狽させる、不安にさせる 怒る、イライラする、という意味S: irk, vex, pique ちょっと気取った言い方C: Yeah, they're not explosions of anger, they're more like a bunch of pinpricks.S: 特に exasperated は big word。 irked, vexed, piqued とは、ちょっと違った意味合いがある。 formalな抗議をするときに使うことが出来る。 お店の店員の態度が悪い。店長を呼んで、 "I was quite annoyed [disturbed, ruffled, exasperated]" という単語を使って苦情を言う、という感じ。S: resentful 憤慨しているS: I can't say I'm at all pleased. 満足しているとは言えない。C: It sounds like someone who's still quite angry, but it's a little bit cooled off anger. The person isn't feeling finally angry at this point, but they're not ready yet to give up the anger.S: 言い方によっては、慇懃無礼な響きにもなり得る。C: There's all kinds of ways to say this, but here's the good one.C: Please join us again next time.
2005年11月26日
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ビジネス英会話(11/23）のディクテーションに挑戦
Blogosphere (5) Wednesday, November 23---------------- Word Watching----------------■ hear over [through, on] the grapevine うわさや口コミで知る1) Another way to say you heard a rumor or somebody told yousomething is to say "a little bird told me," and then pass on thenews.2) A more formal way to say this is "anonymous sources." Andthere is a couple of other similar phrases as well, you might hearthat on the news for example.a reliable source said 信頼できる情報筋によれば■ jump ship 転職をする、急に会社をやめるもともとは「（船員が）契約期間を満たさずに船を降りる」「（無断で）持ち場を去る」といった意味似た様な意味で、 bail out （飛行機のパイロットなどが）緊急脱出をする、というフレーズもある3) "Jump ship" could be, because the ship is in a bad conditionbecause the working conditions are no good, but it could also bebecause some other place or different ship or a port has muchbetter conditions.もっと一般的に「会社を辞める」という場合には、quit や resign を使う■ compare notes 情報交換する、感想を述べ合う 4) Another way people say this is "catch up with someone" or"catch up with each other."■ food for thought 思考の糧（古典的な隠喩 metaphor ）5) In school in the U.S., kids learn about some rhetorical devicesand especially metaphor and simile. Simile is a phrase that uses"as "or "like " in it. So for example, you could describe someone isbeing as tough as leather. And it doesn't mean their skin is hard.It means they're very tough character they're not easily stoppedor hurt.6) The only problem with using similes and metaphors is that thebest ones are used again and again and again. And often turn intocliche.■ blogosphere7) Sphere is kind of a difficult pronounce word even for Englishspeakers and it means uh...a ball something round and threedimensional. You can talk about "atmosphere," "stratosphere" or even "sphere of influence," which is used a lot in international politics.Western Hemisphere 西半球 Eastern Hemisphere 東半球sphere 活動の範囲、領分■ registered nurse10) The licensing of nurses in the U.S. is controlled by each statesseparately. So there are differences from state to state. Butgenerally registered nurses do a three or four year course. Manyof them earn B.A.'s, but the uh first four years of college. They arealso licensed practical nurses and they do a shorter course. Theyalways work together with a nurse or a doctor. And more recentlynurse practitioner has become a little bit more common. And theyhave still more training and can do some of the basic tasks thatdoctors used to handle.11) That's all for today.12) So long for now.
2005年11月24日
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ビジネス英会話（11/21）のディクテーションに挑戦
Blogosphere Monday, November 211) claim to be journalist ジャーナリストであると名乗る、自称するThis is the way "claim" as usually used in English. It doesn't meancomplain or complaint like it does in Japanese.日本語では、クレームというと苦情と同じような意味で使われますが、ここでは、違います。2) questionable 問題の多い、いかがわしいSomething "questionable" is something you should watch out for. It'sdoubtful, it's problematic, it's fishy.3) come across 出くわす、たまたま見つけるIf you "come across" something, you find it when you're not reallylooking forward. It just kind of appears in front of you and younotice it.4) a giant step away ～は大きく違っている、離れている"A giant step away" means it's very different from. I think maybe thephrase "giant step" as used because there's a kids game, a children'sgame in the U.S. called "Mother, may I?" and the basics of the game isone child is the mother and the other children are told what kind ofsteps they can take to come up closer toward the mother. They can takebaby steps, regular steps or giant steps, and they have to be carefulto say, "Mother, may I?" before they actually move, or they have to goback to the starting line. Some groups of kids add all kinds of otherdifferent steps as well.5) I think this is a mistake many people make. They look at thestatistics and then expect individual cases to reflect exactly thesame information. But, of course, statistics are made up of many manydifferent individual cases. And so I think for each individual case,you have to look at freshly again with the statistics as a kind ofindication of possibilities.■ Vocabulary Building6) evolve into ・・・に発展する、進化して・・・になる "Evolve into" sounds like a slow process of changing from one state to another state.7) That's all for today.8) Thanks for joining us.
2005年11月22日
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ビジネス英会話（11/18）のディクテーションに挑戦
今日は娘の発表会「不思議の国のアリス」で、娘は見事「アヒル」役という大役をやり終えました（笑）。Blogosphere (3) Friday, November 181) subscribe to （新聞や雑誌などを）購読する、同調する、賛成する"Subscribe" is often used to talk about the way you get newspapers ormagazines regularly. You pay by the month or by the year, and theneach issue is delivered to your house at the correct time. But"subscribe" in English can also be used to talk about what you believein or something that you approve of. It's also possible to use"subscribe to" to mean sign off on, actually, put your signature on apolicy statement or something like that.2) frontIn weather forecasting "front" is the word you use for new air massthat's coming through, the front edge of it, that's changing the weather.3) so-calledReid uses the phrase "so-called." This is often used in English to say"That's what it's called," but that's not really what it is. Anotherway you could do this, which actually works better in print is to cut"so-called" and put "quotes" around "news." That means again, you'reusing the word "news" but it's not really what most people think ofis news. In that case, those kinds of quotation marks are calledscare quotes.4) bad news draws more fliesbad news sells ともいう。悪いニュースを掲載したほうが新聞や雑誌が売れるdraws more flies というフレーズから有名なことわざを思い出す ⇒ Honeydraws more flies than vinegar. = 厳しい言葉を使うよりも優しい言葉を使ったほうが、やさしく接したほうが効果がある5) household name おなじみの名前"To become a household name" is to become very very famous or very veryfamiliar to everybody, a kind of part of everyday life, even at home.-------------------- Vocabulary Building--------------------6) spell doom 死、破滅を意味する"Spell" is used, of course, to tell what the letters are in a word,but it has a broader meaning as well. You can use spell to meanindicate, signify or even express. The phrase "spell it out" meansexpress it very clearly.----------------------7) That's all for today.8) Thanks for joining us.
2005年11月19日
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ビジネス英会話（11/16）のディクテーションに挑戦
Blogosphere (2) 11月16日（水）・17日(木）ブログの世界1) draws over a million visitors 百万以上のアクセスがあるvisit , hit も使う。Reid also uses the verb "draw" to talk about attracting orpulling visitors to the website. 2) spike （アクセス数の）急増"A spike in traffic" means a high point. A time where many more people in usual visit the website. You can talk about "peaks" when the number goes up rapidly very rapidly. You can also talk about "troughs" which is the opposite, the number goes way down below average.3) willIn this sentence, Reid uses the verb "will". In this case,I think he's not talking about the future. I think he's talkingabout whether Takahashi-san wants to or not, if it's in his will to go along with what Reid's proposing. Instead of saying "will" he could have said "if you like" or "if you want" or "if you don't mind."4) podcast （ネット上の）簡易型ラジオ放送A "podcast" very simply is a kind of audio file that you candownload from the internet. What makes it a little bit different than any old kind of an audio file is that they're often on a subscription basis which means you pay some money for it. Not all of them at that way, but it's quite common. And every time you re-connect to the website, you automatically receive the latest audio file. ----------------Vocabulary Building----------------5) roster of ・・・ ・・・の登録リストThere is other words that have the similar meaning. Youcould say "registry" and that tends to be used with government especially local government. If you're lookingfor information about marriages and deaths and births andthings like that, you'd consult the county registry.Another word with a similar meaning is "roll". And be careful of the spelling, that's R-O-L-L. 6) Talk to you again.
2005年11月17日
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ビジネス英会話(11/14）のディクテーションに挑戦
Blogosphere (1) 11月14日（月）・15日(火）ブログの世界1) how 's your dad doing? お父さんの具合はいかがですかWhen you have time, take a look at the text and you'll see "dad "is written with a small letter. Sometimes it's hard to tell which way to write that word, and the same with "mom." But usually if you ask yourself, can I use his or her in front of it, you should write it with a small letter. If you're using it as a name , then you should write it with a capital letter. Dad, Mom 自分の親のことを言う場合には、大文字を使うことが多い。2) he downs every dose （薬などの1服を）きちんと飲むYou could say a measure, a single measure and the amount of the measurement, of course, depends on what the prescription was. Sometimes "dose" is also used to talk about other things, though. Maybe things that are good for you that you don't really want. So for example, "You could need a dose of discipline." or "You could look at something with a dose of skepticism."3) immensely 非常に、大いに（形容詞は immense）"Immensely" is kind of an interesting word here. It meansvery very much. But if you think about it, you can't substitutethe word "largely" here. Because "largely" means for the most part. It doesn't mean the 100%. 4) laying the groundwork for ・・・ ・・・のために土台を築く、基礎作りをしている（建築からでたことば）"Laying the groundwork" comes from the construction industry, and is talking about building foundation or preparingfor the visible part of what's being built. It's very commonto use either one of those phrases in this kind of situation. 5) blog ブログA blog is a kind of diary or journal that's posted on the internetso that anybody can read it. It's short for web log. Web meaning the world wide web, and log meaning journal or list of activities or something like that. 6) oh （イントネーションによってニュアンスが違う）How you say "oh" can make a difference in the meaning. If you slide up very clearly, making it a very strong kind of a question. "Oh" it sounds a little bit like your sort of skeptical about what you just heard. If your intonation is falling, it shows a little more interest, "Oh", you're kind of surprised and pleased. ＊上記のOhは各種のイントネーションで発音されていますが、うまく書けませんでしたので、区別していません。----------------Vocabulary Building----------------7) jell （意思・意見・計画などが）固まるjelly からの逆成語"jell" in this case, is a verb. When it's a verb, you have to spellit j-e-l-l. It seems to be a backformation from the word"jelly," and that means "jelly" was the first word and the verbwas developed from the noun. There is another kind of gel,g-e-l, which is probably short for gelatin and it's a noun thatdescribes that kind of a mass like a hair gel.8) Thanks for tuning in.
2005年11月15日
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英会話上級（11/11）のディクテーションに挑戦
今日はついでに英会話上級にチャレンジしてみました。Review It! Apply It! Lesson 18 Friday, November 111(A): Hi, everyone, Thank you very much for joining us today. 2(G): Welcome back, everybody, Are you ready to begin?--------------------------------B. What would YOU say?Anitaさんや、Garyさんならどういうか？（共通ダイアログ）A: Don't tell me you were here all night.B: I went home to shower and change.A: You can't keep this up. It's not healthy.3(G): Well, a friend told me I should give 80%, not a 100% that 80% is good enough. What do you think? 4(A): Personally, I don't think I could do that. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and like to give my all 100%.5(G): Oh, my problem is I like to give a 100% to my work, too. I don't like to do something in the field that I could have done it better. But you're right. In some ways, it's not good for my health. 6(A): Not just some ways, The long term effects of sleep deprivation are really more serious than you think.7(G): Zzzzz...8(A): Gary?（共通ダイアログの後に）9(A): You know what, you're absolutely right. I'm fed up with this. I can't take any more of these all-nighters. My house is in decline. I have no personal life and my productivity is not up to par. I'm gonna talk to the boss about it. 10(G): Hum...it's OK for you to vent like this to me, but be careful how you put it to the boss.（共通ダイアログの後に）11(A): I know, but in this company, results are the bottom line regardless of health. I can't afford to miss any deadlines.12(G): Well, as a friend, I hope you find the way to meet your company's expectations without sacrificing so much of your private life.13(A): Yes, but I know that these high-pressure situations won't last forever. As I start to work my way up in the company, I'll have more free time. 14(G): I'm glad to hear that. I know your work is important to you. But you also have you look out for yourself.-------------------------15(A): Thank you everyone, You did a great job. 16(G): Yes, really terrific work everyone, until next time.17(A, G & Y): Bye!
2005年11月13日
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ビジネス英会話（11/11）のディクテーションに挑戦
2週間に1回来るラストの金曜日はいつも長いですね。Team Spirit (6) チームの求心力 11月11日（金）・12日（土）S: Ah, Chris. As you were growing up.C: Um-huh.S: Which was more emphasized, the spirit of competition or the spirit of team work?C: That' s kind of hard to say 'cause it really depends on the situation, but I'd say at home we were encouraged to cooperate usually. There are six kids in my family, so without cooperation we'd have chaos.S: With other members of the family and with neighbors ?C: Yeah, right.S: Cooperation ?C: Uh, you know, help each other, don't fight too much. My parents always insisted that we be polite to each other, even within the family. They'd say, you know, you don't have to like each other, but you do have to be polite. Because you are in the same family.S: Um-huh.C: So that's a kind of cooperation, I think. So that we could get along fairly smoothly.S: There has been a lot of emphasis on group achievement in Japan.C: Um-huh.S: An individual is a constituent member of the group.C: Yeah.S: And as the group you have to act together.C: Uh-huh. I've heard it described by one person as not polar opposites, not individualism on one end of a spectrum, and group or cooperation type behavior at the other end, but more as a circle. So Japan starts at one part of the circle and the U.S. starts at the other part of the circle, so in the U.S. people think "If it's good for me, it's gonna be good for my team as well." Whereas in Japan people start thinking "Oh, it's good for the group. So it's gonna be good for me as well." And I think this circle view is more useful when you have people like Japanese who tend to think more of group first and people like Americans who think of individual competition first to work together more easily. It's, uh, I think it helps bring people to the other ways of thinking more easily.S: So as an American working in Japan, is it hard to strike the balance between the two?C: Yeah, I think so because I can see some of the things I should do to be a good team member here. But it goes very strongly against, uh, not even so much what I think, but what I feel is correct. And I think it easier to change your thinking because it's conscious, and you can study things and let's look at statistics. But changing something that you feel is a lot harder. I find it a lot harder in any way. Even if your mind tells you it's useful. In this recent vignette, talking about team spirit when Takahashi-san said, he distracted Japanese self and started acting more American. I think he's not really talking about how difficult it can be to do that. I'm sure he found many challenges in trying to lose his Japanese self so that he could, could work better in the U.S. But then some people do that more easily than others.S: That's true.C: Um-huh.●あんな時、こんな時○C: In this case, the word "Boy" is used more like an interjection. I don't think it means a young male. You could substitute "Wow."S: "Brother" も interjection（間投詞） "Boy, oh boy" とも言う。S: "Whew" も間投詞で、"やれやれ" という感じ。C: Yeah. This is really an interjection. It looks like a word the way it's written, but I think most people will say it's sound more than an actual word.S: これ（"Thank goodness!"）もよく聞く言葉ですけれど、"God" という言葉 をあまり口に しない方がいい、というように考える人もいます。 "God" の代替語として、"goodness" "heavens"C: Some other phrases that you could use to talk about relief or a sigh of relief, like you hadn't realized how upset a person was until everything was settled and a sigh of relief is escaped from that person.S: "a sigh of relief" 安堵の溜息を漏らす 何かあってホッとした、という時の溜息。C: Another one people use sometimes when they're saved or they're relieved just at the last moment is "saved by the bell." I think this phrase comes from boxing probably, where the bell at the end of the round is rung when a boxer is just about to lose. So you can be saved by the bell because the time runs out before you actually have the trouble you're afraid of.S: "saved by the bell" （ボクシングの状況で）ベルによって救われた。 "安心した" という意味。 "To my great relief" と言って、文章を続ける言い方もあります。 "put one's mind at ease" 安心させる "put someone at ease" "ease somebody's mind" とも言える。C: In the military, a higher ranking person might tell a lower ranking person at ease, which means he doesn't have to stand at a tension he can take a somewhat more relaxed stance.S: "at ease" 軍隊では "休め" の意味。C: Of course, there're all kinds of ways to express this feeling, but here's the good one. "I'm relieved to know that we can make the delivery deadline."S: That's all for today.C: Please join us again next time.
2005年11月12日
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ビジネス英会話（11/9）のディクテーションに挑戦
Team Spirit (5) Wednesday, November 9---------------- Word Watching----------------■ brainstorming 自由討議1) And in that case, it's often a sort of a business tool, when a group of people or team is trying to generate new ideas or different approaches.2) It's hard to just say things off the top of your head without thinking about them when you're with a group of people.3) I think also other people's ideas, even when they are bad ideas after you had a chance to think about them, can spark your own ideas. You hear something from someone, and it makes you think something else and so. cross-fertilization などともいう4) Yeah, it's sort of a kind of control the group free association.■ Greetings 「やあ、こんにちは」 （口語）5) I think it comes also partially from science fiction. If you think of "Alien" is coming to visit the earth. Lots of times in...in movies, old movies and science fiction stories. They say "Greetings. Take me to your leader. take me to your leader 宇宙人がいう言葉とされている6) Yeah, my brother's been doing that for years and I do it occasionally. Although what I usually use in e-mail also means greetings, but it's a different word "salutations."7) A couple of other things I sometimes use in e-mail are "Howdy",but that's usually when I wanna be a bit humorous or "Hi, there."8) It's also fairly common for English speakers just to completely drop any kind of greetings and start writing as if it was a conversation and their answer in what was written in the previous e-mail.■ lay back のんびりやる、リラックスするビジネスの場合、形容詞の laid-back を使うと、あまりやる気の無い、ゆったりし過ぎている、となる9) Yeah, if you think of someone who's paying attention andwho's interested in the enthusiastic, you think of them as sittingup straight or maybe even leaning forward. I always thought those motorcycles looked really uncomfortable too. AlthoughI've never sat on once, I can't say for sure. leave-behind マーケティング用語で、営業のツールとして潜在顧客 のもとに残しておくもの（会社概要、製品のサンプル、ノベルティなど）■ upcoming 今度の、きたるup-and-coming 前途有望な、新進の、頭角を現した 10) Up-and-coming is an adjective to describe people that have high potential. Nowadays sometimes they just call them high-potentials with an asset used as a noun or the talents.Sometimes people in the company that are expected to go farare called talents.11) And there is uh...an older phrase also "rising star," somebody who's star type person who's coming up quickly from lower ranksin the company.rising star 新進気鋭のup and running 軌道に乗っている 12) That means every thing's organized and started and it's continuing along smoothly.13) Thanks for listening.
2005年11月10日
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ビジネス英会話（11/7）のディクテーションに挑戦
Team Spirit (4) チームの求心力 11月7日（月）・8日（火）1) Takahashi-san inserts the word "do" in this sentence to emphasizethat he feels strongly about this. I think maybe it's another one of those positive signs he's been giving without actually saying "yes."to take in a new job. 2) gut issue 基本的な問題It's funny he chose the word "gut" to talk about important issues,important topics. Gut is a part of your body, and many people saytheir...their gut is too large or growing when they are kind of fat and out of shape. So it's kind of a little pun he chose that phrase to talk about health and fitness.3) Lunch with Punch パンチの効いたランチ"Lunch with Punch" is kind of an interesting name for this campaign. First of all, lunch and punch rhyme, so makes it easyfor people to remember it. It has kind of a rhythm. Then also"punch" has three meanings in English. It's a kind of fruit drinkthat often includes alcohol, so it's possible to have some punchwith your lunch. It also means power, something that has punchhas power or it has an energy. And third meaning is to hit someonewith your fist. So in this case, I think probably the campaign isreferring to power and energy being in control of your lunch. either no or let's go ==> either go or no go とも言う。4) I wonder if fine really means that it's a little bit funny thatshe is saying uh...they sound very interested in Takahashi-sanalso but...but then she says "we don't wanna pressure you, take your time", which actually could be adding more pressure.5) And once again, Takahashi-san still hasn't quite said "yes."He can't say much more without saying "yes." But he still hasn't said yet.------------------- Vocabulary Building-------------------7) gut issue 基本的な問題、感情的な争点A gut issue is something that's so deep, it's almost instinctual.It's not from your head where you think, it's not from your heartwhere your emotions are. But it comes from... from your belly.Gut has basically two meanings in English. One is your intestines,the organ that processes food after your stomach, and also belly, the area of your body where your intestines are. So sometimes people talk about having a big gut meaning their fat,or in this case, gut issue which is referring to how deeply people feel, physically feel issues. ----------------------8) Thanks for listening.
2005年11月08日
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ビジネス英会話（11/4）のディクテーションに挑戦
今日は天気が良いので、今から娘と公園へ散歩に行きます。==============================================================Team Sprit (3) 11月4日（金）・5日(土）チームの求心力==============================================================1) problem solving 問題解決I'm really glad Takahashi-san said "problem solving" in this case.Recently I often hear people trying to avoid the word "problem"and they substitute the word "issue". But issue is a broader word, it includes problems, but it also includes things that are not problems, topics that you need to discuss to make adecision. It doesn't mean it's a problem, it's something to talk about. Although it would've been funny in this case, because he is talking about solving something. It would've been pretty funny,if he'd said "issue-solving."issue management という言葉はある。mainland China 中国本土PRC(People's Republic of China) ともいう2) keep one's eyes and ears open to ・・・常に耳をそばだて、目を凝らしておく"Keeping your eyes and ears open to something" means whenyou see it or hear it, you think about it seriously, you don'tjust reject it after a quick look. ただ keep one's eyes open とだけもいうAnd using the proposition "to" in this case, means exceptnew things and take a really good look at them before you reject them. See them as is good possibilities. You could say"keep your eyes and ears open 'for' something." But the meaning is a little bit different then, it means search for something, try to find something, be alert to something thatmight be coming. 3) team player チームとして仕事のできる人その反対は individual contributor ( ≒ lone wolf 一匹狼 ） Another way to say someone who works individually, but in anegative way is to call them the "star" or the "prima donna." ----------------Vocabulary Building----------------4) raise the roof 大騒ぎする、激怒するThere're a couple of similar phrases, but they are not quiteas broad or wide-ranging as raise the roof. "Raise the roof"just means make a lot of noise. It could be because of theparty, it could be due to anger, but uh other phrases like "raisea stink" usually means complain. And another one "blowone's stack." means make a lot of noise because you areangry.5) Tune in next time.
2005年11月05日
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ビジネス英会話(11/2）のディクテーションに挑戦
Team Spirit (2) Wednesday, November 21) low key 押さえた調子、控えめな調子"Low key" means not too noticeable, kind of quiet. The opposite,however, is not a "high key." If you want to (wanna) say the opposite,you probably say something like "conspicuous," or "high profile."2) pound one's chest 胸をたたくI've never actually seen someone pounding their chest physically in anargument, but I think it refers to things like not just using a voicebut using your body also is part of the argument, the way you movekind of energetically or even aggressively. People do stamp their feetactually during arguments, especially if they're very frustrated andthey might "chew the scenery but usually that just means "over act" orpoor out your emotions much larger even than with normally beacceptable in that situation.3) chew the scenery 大げさに振舞うAnd I think especially because Takahashi-san used the phrase "chew thescenery," it's an idiom that comes out of the theater and originallyit meant an actor who's over acting. So they are doing too much, so theyare very unbelievable. But, recently it's sometimes used almostpositively to mean somebody who's acting with energy and enthusiasm.4) Chinese-American 中国系アメリカ人"Chinese-American" is one of the so-called hyphenated Americans.Various people in the U.S. put their cultural background first beforeAmerican to describe themselves and where their families came from. The hyphen, however, is not always used in writing that idea showing yourcultural background is called hyphenated Americans, but it's notalways written that way. That's a style decision.African-American アフリカ系アメリカ人5) Please join us again
2005年11月03日
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ビジネス英会話（10/31）のディクテーションに挑戦
*Team Spirit (1)I think Takahashi-san did a really good self-introduction at this point,because he spoke his name very slowly, and very clearly.I think almost everyone tends to say their name too fast in introductions,so it's difficult especially when it's a name from a different language.It's difficult to catch the name clearly and correctly, which makes a little bit harder on the other people.*a licensed nutritionistTakahashi-san described himself as a licensed nutritionist.Sometimes he's also, in other times called himself a dietitian.In English, in many situations, two words are pretty much interchangeable.It means a person whose profession is related to food and how it affects your body. But in some circumstances, one on the other, is a little moreappropriate. I'd say dietitian is a little more related to clinics andthe medical properties or affects of food. And a nutritionist is someone who knows a lot about food, but maybe notquite so much about using food for treatment.*test kitchen実際に食品を作ってみたり、調理したりして、スタッフみんなで味見をして、意見を言ったりする。外部の人を招いて、photo session をする等、多様な目的で使われるkitchen のこと。*taste treatsTakahashi-san also talks about "taste treats." A treat generally in English is something, maybe small but delightful and unexpected,a small nice surprise.And they’re often something to eat or related to eating.But to make it very clear here, he says taste treats. You couldprobably substitute the word snack in many situations.あるいは、"tidbit" とも言う。"おつまみ"という感覚に似たちょっとした食べ物。Ida Fine says that they worked in closer association with MarshEg.This makes it sound like both doing their own separate work, but by talking to each other and coordinating their work they managed todo more work and to do it better.Other way, she could have said it include they worked closely with MarshEg or in close cooperation with.Thanks for joining in.
2005年11月01日
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ビジネス英会話（10/28）のディクテーションに挑戦
2週間に1度来る復習の金曜日はフリートークの分量が多いので、大変です（汗）。=======================================================10月28日（金）・10月29日（土）Focus on Wellness (6) 健康重視戦略フリートーク1（S）: Now, Chris, we talked about the focus on wellness. Uh...theword "wellness" seems to be coming back. It means more thanjust being well, right?2（C）: Yeah, I think so, because we have the word "well" and wealso have the word "healthy". So I think wellness is a largerconcept. It includes being healthy and it includes being uninjuredI guess you could say. I think it includes mental health as well,but that's still closer to physical health. I think wellness includesthe idea also of being happy and comfortable in your life, not justphysically and mentally, you know, the way you should be.3（S）: Well, compared to the 70's and 80's, people are more health-conscious these days. We no longer hear about three-martini lunches or liquid lunches, do we?4（C）: That's true. I think also maybe the pace of life is a littleslower, so you could have a drink or two at lunch time, and didn'thave to function immediately afterwards. But uh...it's it's not onlythat I think part of it is because baby boomers are getting older,though oldest ones are retirement age now. And uh...even theyounger baby boomers are at least middle-aged, I think. And so I think they are thinking about their health a lot more.5（S）: They don't want to look old.6（C）: Yeah. I think, in the past, people just sort of assumedthey're gonna lose a couple of teeth as they got older and theyassumed they were gonna get wrinkled and they assumed they weregonna lose hair and turn gray. And that, you know, their musclewill start sagging and it's true all of those things do happen topeople, but the more they take care of yourself, the later ithappens or I think it happens less. I've read things about gettingolder people even very old people to exercise makes quite adifference in their quality of life or I suppose you could say intheir wellness.7（S）: And more people are on diet and we talked about portioncontrol.8（C）: Yeah, I think people are thinking about it a lot moreI don't know if it has much of an effect yet, ha ha...But if this idea of wellness continues to become really main stream andeverybody just expects to have some degree of wellness intheir lives. Although I have read a couple of things, heard acouple of things about people who think in the near future you may be able to live for ever, or at least extend your life quite a bit.9（S）: I am reminded of this graffiti we did a number of years ago. Which went something like uh... I intend to live foreverso far so good.10（C）: Uh,Huh.11（C）: Ha ha..I guess everybody could say that.-------------------- あんな時、こんな時--------------------□ Am I glad to see you! （窮地に陥って、そこに誰か助ける人が現われた。）ああよかった、といった時の表現12（C）: With the intonation you can make it more clear whetheryou just happy to meet someone or whether they came in thenick of time and saved you.□ Glad you could drop by [stop by].13（S）: drop by も stop by も同じような意味ですね。ちょっと立ち寄ってくれて、ありがとう。14（C）: Just be careful who you drop in on. Because or who you drop by to see, because a lot of people are not too happy withthat.15（C）: You can also use this as a farewell. When the peopleare walking down the sidewalk going back toward the car or tothe train station, you're waving good-bye, you could say "glad you could stop by."□ It's great to hear from you.16（C）：hear from は「お手紙をもらう」ということですけれど、17（C）: I think this one is when somebody calls you or sends a letter. If they call you on the phone, of course, you can say itdirectly to them after they've called you, if it's a letter, youmight write this in your reply and earlier we had "glad to hearthat." "Glad to hear that" you would say someone face to face."Glad to hear from you" implies that you are not face to face.□ Charmed.18（S）: Charmed. というのはどういう時に使いますか？19（C）: It sounds a little old-fashioned to me or maybe a littlebit British. You can use that, when you meet somebody, itmeans you are very charming, so I feel charmed just meetingyou.20（S）: fantastic と fabulous を結びつけた言葉として、fantaburousなんていうのもある。21（C）: You could also say "delighted."□ I'll be glad to do what I can.22（C）: The first one in this set is probably used usually whensomebody's made a request. and you're glad you can help them or support them or give them what they'd like. The second one can also be used the same way. It gives me great pleasureto help you or to do what you would like. You can shorten it and just say "With pleasure." □ It gives me great pleasure.23（C）: The phrase "it gives me great pleasure" is fairly often used to when people are introducing other people. Like on astage "It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you our speaker tonight."------- 問題-------24（C）: There's all kinds of things you could say, but here ispretty good one. "I'm so glad to see you again. You're lookinghealthy and prosperous." looking healthy and prosperous 健康で裕福そうに見えますね。---------------- English Challenge----------------125（C）: Look at the form. You will hear a man giving informationto put on the form.26（C）: The answers are: (1) Chong (2) Boston (3) Super Soft (4) Sales representative.227（C）: Look at the form. You will hear a message from a customer enquiring about a company's cleaning services. Fillin the blanks with the appropriate information.28（C）: The answers are: (1) computer (2) warehouse (3) 7thof June (4) reception--------------------29（S）: That's all for today.30（C）: I hope you can join us again.
2005年10月29日
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ビジネス英会話（10/26）のディクテーションに挑戦
私もBrightwell Farm 社で働いてみたいものです。。Focus on Wellness (5) Wednesday, October 26---------------- Word Watching----------------■ spouse 配偶者1) Spouse is used a bit more formally in English most of the time,but there is a joke people say "What's the plural of spouse?",and the answer is "spice."It's following the pattern of mouse-mice. The actual plural is"spouses."2) There is other ways to talk about another person who isimportant to you depending on what kind of relationship you haveand what you think about it. Sometimes people talk about theirpartner, which I occasionally find a little confusing, I'm not sureit first if they mean a business partner or the person they're living with. Another one that people sometimes use is "significant other." I think that started off more as a joke, to tell the truth, but now it's become pretty main stream especially for people who either aren't married or think their marital status is not important in a situation.significant other 同棲中の異性、共同生活者(もともとは社会学の用語）■ crumbleThat's the way the cookie crumbles. 運命に任せるしかない、思い通りにはならないものだ、（状況があまり望ましくない時に使う）3) A similar phrase is "that's the way it goes."That's life とも言う。■ turned one's thumbs down 拒否・拒絶・禁止all thumbs 不器用な人4) There is other phrases with thumb as well. Two of them are related to whether you are very young at growing plants or not,if you have a green thumb , it means you have a talent, for plants indoor or outdoor whatever type. If you have a brown thumb, it means you have no ability with plants and they tend to die and turn brown when you are taking care of them. ■ consider it done できたも同然、できたと思ってください5) So be very careful using it, it's only good when you'reabsolutely certain that it will be done.-------------------------6) Joining us again.
2005年10月27日
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ビジネス英会話（10/24）のディクテーションに挑戦
会社でもちょうどイギリス人と価格交渉があったのですが、私にとってはイギリス英語はちょっと聞き取りにくいですね。加えて、内容が内容なので、エキサイトしてくるとなおさらです。Focus on Wellness (4) Monday, October 241) reputation management = 自分の会社の評判をどのようにして守っていくか、良くしていくか2) Why indeed. どうしてでしょうね。"Why indeed," might be sort of a difficult phrase to understand. Itdepends totally on the situation. It could be very negative, meaningthere is no reason at all, or could be very positive, meaning thereare so many good reasons. I don't even understand why you're askingthe question.3) norm 標準"Norm" is very similar to average. It means what most, in this case,companies do. "Normal" is a similar word, but it tends to be used muchmore broadly to mean not strange or not unusual.4) socially responsible 社会的責任This is a very controversial kind of a thing these days. Some peoplesay, companies because they are part of the society, must give back tothe society. They should be very considerate of the people aroundwhere the company is located and functioning. Other people say thatcompanies are already providing many kinds of social benefits. Theygive jobs, their workers spend money, they keep the economy movingalong so that everybody benefits.CSR = corporate social responsibility 企業の社会的責任5) a loaded question 含みのある質問"A loaded question" is a question that's often meant to lead theresponder to a specific kind of an answer or a question that's tryingto influence another person. It tends to have all kinds of hidden orbackground meanings.
2005年10月25日
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ビジネス英会話（10/21）のディクテーションに挑戦
何度聞いても冠詞って難しいですね。1) field-test 実地試験する"Field-testing" is opposed to "lab-testing." "Lab-testing" is incontrolled circumstances. "Field-testing" is taking it outside intothe real world to see if it actually works.2) crunch さくさく(ぽりぽり)食べるIf you eat something crunchy, you can say, "you crunched it." Otherwords you could use are "eat" or "munch."3) Right. It's used especially for snack foods.turn one's thumbs down、あるいは it's thumbs-down は拒否、拒絶、禁止という意味4) You can also say the opposite, "thumbs up" means "OK, go ahead. You have approval." "thumbs down" の反対は、"thumbs up"5) portion control 一食分、一回分、一人前の量をコントロールすることThis is a big problem in the U.S. for a couple of reasons. I read anarticle that said when food is in larger packages, people tend to eatmore or use more. And it's not just the packaging, it's also theplates and dishes. If they give people smaller plates, but tell themthey can eat as much as they want, they tend to eat less off ofsmaller bowls or plates than they do off of larger bowls and plates.Also defining a portion is sometimes difficult. People buy food incans and jars, but if you don't read the can or jar carefully,sometimes you find out what you maybe estimate as one or two portionsis actually defined as three or four by the maker.6) That's all for today.7) Thanks for listening.（編集後記）金曜日は渋谷で行われた「読書術」のセミナーに参加しました。本を読むのは好きなのですが、今までいかにムダに読んでいたかを思い知らされました（悲）。これからは、読書記録をつけていこうと思います。
2005年10月22日
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ビジネス英会話（10/19）のディクテーションに挑戦
Greene さんのイギリス英語は私にはかえって聞き取りにくかったです。普段聞いている「米語」が一番しっくりきます。1) "Free of charge" is one way to say you don't have to pay.Sometimes you could say just "free," another word is "gratis,"or you could say "for free." In the legal world, sometimes lawyers will work pro bono. And that means for the general good which means they don't charge for their services. 2) "Dependent children" are usually your children living athome until their eighteen as long as they're still in school.Depending on the reason for declaring dependence or independence,children until the age of 22 , if they're in college, are often counted as dependent children. Sometimes kids though in the US will declare theirindependence from their parents before they turn eighteen. 3) for life ずっと、一生涯、for good 4) A similar word to "bloated" is "swollen." Bloated sounds like somekind of liquid or gas has been held inside. Swollen especiallywhen you talk about people tends to mean because of some kind of injury or something that's not quite healthy. 5) wellness mental health, physical health も入れた総合的な 健康状態 "Wellness" is the word that sounds a little bit fashionable to me,a little bit new age. It sounds like it doesn't have a very specificmeaning because you could say you're well, you're healthy, you're notsick , why do we need the word "wellness?" I'd say the way it's been used nowit tends to focus on not just being healthy, but also working a little bit to stay healthy, taking care of yourself eating right, exercisinga bit, and also making sure you're mentally healthy. You're ratherhappy or satisfied. 6) an instant success すぐさま成功を収めた、an overnight success 7) Instead of "regulatory roadblocks," you could say "regulations,"or "requirements," or you could add government to that to show they'requite official. Some people when they talk about very negativelymight call it government meddling, meaning they're missing aroundin places where they shouldn't be. 9)Tune in again.
2005年10月20日
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ビジネス英会話(10/14）のディクテーションに挑戦
2週間に1回来る、杉田先生とクリスさんのトークの日は、分量が多く大変です。(>_
2005年10月15日
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ビジネス英会話（10/12）のディクテーションに挑戦
久々にミーティングの後の、打ち上げおよび2次会に参加しました。飲み会も、たまにでると貴重な情報が得られますね。New Horizon (5) Wednesday, October 12■ What's cooking? 何が起こっているの、どうなっているの1) The other phrase is often used as a greeting."How are you?"の意味で挨拶としても使いますね。Right. Sometimes people say similar thing like "What's up?" or"What's new?", although I heard people complain about"What's new?". Because they don't know what to say, especially ifit's someone they see pretty regularly. *** like "Something new,everyday?" "I have to have news for you every day?""Nothing in particular." というような答えになってしまって、あまり会話のスタートとしては良くない、と考える人もいる。2) Yeah, but still it's very common.あるいは、"What are you up to?"というのもありますね。3) Yeah, you should be careful using that as a greeting, though.Because it sounds like the person speaking "So, you're doingsomething.", and they don't understand what you are doing orwhy you are doing it."What do you mean?"と聞き返されることがあるかもしれません。■ advice and council 助言と指導ways and means というフレーズがあります。4) Uh huh, ways usually means how to do something, processes, uhthings that will get you what you want. And means usually meansthe financial or monetary support that helps you get what you want.ways and means 歳入、歳出、財源という意味もあるWays and Means Committee 政府の財源に関する委員会《米》歳入委員会｛さいにゅう いいんかい｝ ■ pass up5) It was too good there was no way I could say no. Although there was a movie that made the phrase "Make him an offer he can't refuse."*famous because the phrase means we were forcedhim to do it. But we were presented this something nice like anoffer.6) Another way you can use this phrase is if you don't want totake advantage of an opportunity is to say "I'll take a pass on that."■ employee turnover 転職率、離職率7) In the restaurant business, "turnover" often refers to howmany customers you serve. That's how often your tables are turned over. So to be profitable, for example, a restaurant mayneed to turn the tables over twice, just to break-even. And moreturnover after that, more customers at the same table, turnsinto profit.■ last but far from least 通常の言い方は、last but not least8) Right. This phrase is been used a lot. So I think it's turned into kind of a cliche, so nobody really pays attention to it. Atwhich is really kind of opposite of what the phrase originallywith used to mean. It was saying, the priority of items isn't theimportant thing, although it's last, it's not unimportant. But nowbecause the phrases become such a cliche, people don't reallypay attention to it.9) Thanks for joining us.
2005年10月13日
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ビジネス英会話（10/10）のディクテーションに挑戦
今日は比較的短かったので、その後のニュースなどもディクテーションしてみました。New Horizon (4) Monday, October 101) dog-eat-dog 食うか食われるかの、熾烈な競争の"Dog-eat-dog" is a phrase, it's often used to describe a fierce competition or even ruthless self-interest. So when people are taking care of themselves or companies are competing against other companies, they focus very clearly and strongly on their own interest.cutthroat 喉をかき切るような2) scramble up the ladder 出世の階段を苦労しながらよじ登るIn English if you just say the "ladder", it often means a corporate ladder. it's climbing up through the hierarchy in a company. But climbing up a ladder, also means being successful, because you are getting higher and higher. "Scramble up the ladder"makes it sound much more difficult. In this case "scramble" is a kind of awkward climbing or could be moving on your hands and knees quickly because you just can't get to your feet. So "scrambling up the ladder" sounds like there's a very fierce competition to rise in the company.3) have one's tongue hanging out 渇望しているTakahashi says his tongue is hanging out, in this case the phrasemeans he is anticipating, he is excited, he is looking forward to something. Sometimes the same phrase is used to mean all tired out, like a dog when it's tired and tongue is hanging out and the dog is panting. 4) a stack of greenbacks （アメリカの）ドル札の束"A stack of greenbacks" means a lot of money. Greenback is oneof the slang words for U.S. dollars, because until very recentlythey were green front and back. Now they've added a few other colors, but they're still mostly green I'd say.Do we see eye to eye on that? = Do we agree with each other?advice and guidance ご指導ご鞭撻5) go for it 思い切ってやってごらんなさい"Go for it" is a phrase people use a lot to encourage people to trysomething new. You could say "try it", "take a chance", "go for it".6) please continue listening.今日はおまけでその後のニュース（10/11）も挑戦してみました。-----------------------------------------NHK News Headlines / Tuesday, October 11, 2005-----------------------------------------1) Three days after the strong earthquake in Pakistan, aid supplies including those from Japan have begun arriving.2) Japan's lower house of parliament has passed a set of bills to privatize postal services which is the core of prime minister Koizumi's structural reforms.3) In Indonesia, police have made their first arrest in connection withrecent suicide bombings in Bali.
2005年10月11日
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ビジネス英会話（10/7)のディクテーションに挑戦
いつもに比較すると、今日は多少分かりやすかったような気がします。New Horizon (3) Friday, October 81) behind someone's back 背後で（あまり良い意味では使わない） If you do something behind someone's back, you're doing it secretlyand it's always something negative. Like if you plan a surprise partythat's offered secretly, but you wouldn't say you've done it behind someone's back. Because it's not usually a negative kind of a thing. Ｔｈｅｒｅ are some other phrases related to "back" and most of themrelate to bad things, so for example "to stab someone in the back" is to betray them or to damage them somehow when they are not able to protect themselves. It's a sneaky kind of an attack. If someone is on someone's back, it means that they are criticizingthem harshly they won't leave them alone.back stabber 裏切り者、わざと悪口を言う人2) "Dates back to" is a phrase that means looks back to a certainpoint in time. You could say "dates from" instead. "Dates back to"is strongly routed in now looking back over the past. Right datesback to some point in the past, "dates from" is much more they'refeeling of coming from the past up to now.3) Takahashi-san could have said what's the annual employee turnover. It has a same meaning as in yearly numbers.4) In the U.S. recently, a couple of car companies have been verysuccessful selling lots of cars, because they are offering the employee discount to anybody who came to buy one,5) Laurels 月桂冠（→名誉、栄冠）Laurels are leaves formed into a kind of wreath and used as a symbol of victory or maybe of doing a good job. So sometimes laurels is also used to mean reputation or symbol of approval.So if someone is sitting on their laurels, it means they're no longer being active in building or maintaining their reputation or their victory. They're just gliding, they're using the reputation, but not actually working any more.sit on one's laurels 現在の栄誉に満足して何もしない。 6) In English often "sit back" means sit down and relax, leanback, just let everything flow. If you sit up or sit straight, it means your alert to your paying attention when you're ready for work. 7) Thanks for tuning in.
2005年10月08日
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ビジネス英会話（10/5）のディクテーションに挑戦
母が突然、高血圧で倒れ、病院に担ぎ込まれました。幸い意識も回復し、話せるようになったのですが、まだ何も食べることもできず、動けません。「いつまでもあると思うな、親と金」ですね。今後の対策も考えなくてはいけません。入院が長期化しないと良いのですが・・・**********************************************************New Horizon (2) Wednesday, October 51) appreciate = 理解するという意味と、感謝するという意味と両方ある。この場合は両方の意味が入っていると理解していいのでしょうか？Yeah, I think it's... it's quite strongly mixed here because on theone hand, he is pretty much decided to leave the company and May Greywon't be very pleased with that. But on the other hand, he's also beenvery open about it, because he may wanna come back some day. And Ithink, she is glad he's been opening clear. So, she is sort ofthanking him for that and she is also understanding his position atthe same time.2) In a discussion or an argument, this phrase means "I head what yousaid, but I disagree."3) on the surface"On the surface" is a nice useful phrase meaning I haven't looked intodeeply yet, but first impression is good. Another phrase you could useis "at first glance." A similar phrase is "superficially." But,superficially is usually used when you are saying it's only thesurface and that's a negative point.4) devil's advocate 悪魔の代理人In stead of "take on the role of devil's advocate, many people say"play the role of devil's advocate," it's basically the same meaning,But, a "devil's advocate" is interesting also. First of all,"advocate" means a backer or supporter generally and specifically canalso mean attorney or lawyer. The phrase "devil's advocate" though,usually describe somebody who's supporting the opposite argument forthe sake of argument by arguing by discussing two sides of some issue.You can lean more about the issue or you can test the argument that'syou really support. So, playing devil's advocate is like supportingthe devil, it's taking up the other side.5) So, here's an example of Grey playing devil's advocate. Usually,this would be a pretty aggressive question to ask someone who justsaid they were pretty much decided to move to a new position. Italmost sounds like she thinks he can't look into the new job on hisown. But, because she already said she was gonna be the devil'sadvocate for his decision, it's OK for her to ask hard and directquestions.6) It's a good thing that Grey decided play the devil's advocate,because he's already found an area that Takahashi hasn't looked intovery carefully that is about the culture of the company he's thinkingabout joining. He begins by saying frankly, although phrases he could use include, "to tell the truth," or "actually," it depends onhow formally he wants to express himself.7) Takahashi-san also talks about leveling with the people who mightbecome his new team members. Level with is very informal way to saytalk openly or frankly, but sometimes if you look at someone and say,"I'll level with you," it's usually a signal that they are going totell you something you don't really want to hear.8) Join us next time.
2005年10月06日
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ビジネス英会話(10/3）のディクテーションに挑戦
期末、期初は特に業務が忙しく、ディクテーションをする時間がなかなかとれません（悲）。****************************************New Horizon (1) Monday, October 31) seeIn this case when Takahashi-san says he is going to "see" May Grey, itdoesn't mean he is going to take a look at her. "See" is used invarious different ways. Basically, of course, it means perceive withyour eyes, but you can also perceive with your mind and in that case,it means understand. For example, "I see what you're saying," "I seewhat you're getting at." But also see is used mean visit or consult.So, you see a doctor when you need to find out if you're healthy ornot.2) You of all people."You of all people" is a kind of thing people might say when they seea bit of irony in the situation. I think, in this case, Takahashi-sanseemed very happy at the company and so May Grey is a bit surprisedthat he is considering leaving. You can use the phrase "you of all" or"that of all" with almost any other group when you see one individualor one unit that's for some ironic reason acting differently from therest of the group.3) here's the story"Here's the story" isn't, of course, fiction. He is telling what'sactually happening. Some other phrases you could use in stead of"here's the story" would be, for example, "here' the skinny," which isvery slangy. "Here's the set-up" is another way you could talk aboutwhat's happening.4) too good to pass up = too good to decline = to turn down5) I'd be in chargeThis conversation is rather interesting in the verb forms thatTakahashi chooses, he switches back and forth from talking aboutthings as if they're not quite settled yet. It's not decided yet. Butthen now and then he'll say something that sounds like he's trying tohold back but actually deepen his heart, he has decided to go. In thiscase, he says I'd be in charge of external relations, "I would be" instead of "I will be." So, in this sentence anyway, he's showing thathe hasn't completely decided yet.6) temptingA couple of other words Takahashi could have used in stead of"tempting" are "inviting" or maybe "attractive" or even "compelling."All of them talk about the offer drawing him towards making a change."Tempting" makes it sound like he is in two minds about whether hereally wants to go or not. It's very tempting but on the other hand,he likes where he is, so he is kind of going back and forth and backand forth. If he'd say "inviting," it sounds much more like it's avery pleasant to move to the second place and he is not reallythinking about staying. If he'd said "compelling," it sounds like theoffer somehow pushing him to take it. Although it doesn't really sayanything about whether he's fighting that push or not.7) the deal isn't final = the deal isn't done8) Thanks for listening.
2005年10月04日
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ビジネス英会話（9/26）のディクテーションに挑戦
3時半起きは、朝の時間を有効活用できますね。****************************************Be Your Own Boss(4) Monday, September 261) go it alone 他人の力を借りずに自分でやる"Go it alone" is a phrase people often use in English to talk about people who are independent, and don't want a lot of help from other people. 2) trade on prestige 威光とか名声を利用して商売をするAnd then the phrase she also uses "trade on prestige" it doesn't mean actual trading, it means trying to use prestige to help build up a business.3) stone-broke 全くお金を無くした、破産した"Stone-broke" might sound like sort of a strange phrase, but stone in this case doesn't mean a rock. In this case, it's a kind of intensifier, so it means he was absolutely completely broke, he had no money. You can also hear the phrase in "stone-cold" meaning in this case like a stone very cold.Another similar kind of intensifier is the word "dead". And when it's used as an intensifier, it doesn't mean "not living". It just adds intensity to the word it modifies. So for example, you could say "dead-broke" is another way you can talk about being completelyout of money. or you could also use "dead" in a phrase like a "dead-right".4) rabid 凶暴な Caruso also talks about rabid loan collectors. "rabid" is usually used in two meanings. One is to describe animals that have a specific kind of viral disease, But it is also used in another way to mean raging or uncontrollable or having excessive enthusiasm. So rabid loan collector is a loan collector who will not let you get away.5) Another phrasae Caruso uses is "running for deep cover". Another way to say that is he is hiding, he is avoiding the creditors, and he is not paying his loans. "Running for"of course is escaping and trying to run away. "Deep cover" means someplace where you can hide or no one can see you.6) petty cash 小口現金"petty" is a word in English that can be kind of negative. Whenit's describing cash, it's very neutral and just means small amounts of cash. But if you use it to describe people, it means they have a very narrow outlook, they think about a focus on things that are not really very important. Another word you could use is trivial.7) Thanks for listening.
2005年09月27日
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ビジネス英会話（9/23）のディクテーションに挑戦
今日はイマイチ良くできませんでした。特に最後の箇所が良く聞き取れませんでした（悲）。Be Your Own Boss Friday, September 231) supersaturated 極度に飽和状態にする、供給過剰にするIn general English, "supersaturated" is used to mean very concentrated, very thick, very busy, something like that. Buttechnically it's a term in chemistry, describing a solution whichis more highly concentrated than it usually can be. And you cando that by changing the circumstances. especially the temperatureand the pressure of the solution. 2) I haven't looked back since 後悔はしていない"I haven't looked back since." is also often used to mean "I haveno regrets. I've kept my eyes on the future and went forwardwhen I was doing. 3) keep someone in the loop 常に情報を与えておく、仲間にしておくIf you're in the loop, you're in the know. it seems to have been useda lots in ?so? early 70's. Although, with also used in technology beginning around the 1940's.4) walk that upstairs 上層部の人たちに持っていくWhen you walk someone or something somewhere, you take them and walk with them, you escourt them. So by saying that Ben will walk that upstairs, Caruso is saying that Ben will help Deen Reid to become a franchisee of that's what he wants. "Upstairs" refers to the bosses to people higher than you.5) get cracking 仕事をスタートする、始める"Get cracking" is an idiom that means get started or another one is "get a move on". But nobody seems to know really why we say "cracking". 6) mentor 良き助言者A mentor is a person in the company who might act as an advisorBut it's a fairly close and warm relationship in many cases. Somepeople call the person being mentored a mentee, but I've also heardpeople complain about that, because it doesn't seem to be formed correctly. I think that's going to be the way everybody refers tothe person who receives the advice from a mentor. Another word you could use though is ?prodigy?6) That's all for today.7) Thanks for joining us.
2005年09月24日
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ビジネス英会話（9/21）のディクテーションに挑戦
Be Your Own Boss Wednesday, September 211) make a move for me アクションをとる、引越しをするThe phrase "make a move" for me has sort of two meanings at the sametime. The phrase "make a move" means to take action. But in this case,the action is moving from one residents to another. In U.S. Englishpeople say "move," move house sometimes, often they just say, "I'vemoved." "I'm going to move," or "I have to move," and that meanschange your residents. So by using this phrase to talk about andactual change of residents, I hear both meanings at the same time. Ithink in British English though, this wouldn't work, because I believethey say "remove" or "removal."to mean changing your residents.2) From some of the articles that I've read, this is the point wheremany small business is failed. They don't have a clear plan, but evenmore than that they don't have the financing they need to keep themgoing for two or three or even five years while they build up theirbusinesses.3) critical 非常に大切な、重要な、危篤の、危険な、病気が峠にある"Critical" is a word that's used in various ways in English. In thiscase, it means very very important. But in a medical field, it's oftenused to mean "the changing point" of a disease or it's also usedreally generally to mean a serious illness or disease. They describepatients as "in critical condition."4) red cent びた一文I suppose you're wondering like many people do why a "red cent." Well,even now pennies or one cent are made with a lot of copper so theyare sort of reddish or oranges color. And I read in the past, theyused to have a much higher copper content, so they were redder eventhan they are now. And they've been called various thing. The red centis one of them and it means only one cent, one penny and that's asmallest denomination of currency in the U.S.5) "Red cent" is also used in the phrase, "not worth one red cent"and another way to say that is "utterly worthless."6) That's all for today.7) Tune in again.
2005年09月22日
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ビジネス英会話（9/19）のディクテーションに挑戦
Be Your Own Boss (1) Monday, September 191) What's the occasion? どうしたんですか？"What's the occasion" is a fairly common question when somebody isoffering you something nice and when you're wondering why. "Occasion"is often used with the word "special," "a special occasion," somethingthat needs the special recognition but it can also mean a reason or anopportunity and it's also use sometimes for vaguely kind of socialevent. So when people ask, "What's the occasion," they usually meansomething like, "Is it somebody's birthday?" "What are wecelebrating?" "Is it an award that you've won?" or "Did you get apromotion?" something good like that.2) QT = quiet"QT" is kind of an interesting thing to say. It's slang for quiet,keep it quiet, keep it secret. And it probably comes from people usingthe first letter and the last letter of the word quiet. Occasionally Ithink you see it on the "Q and T," although I usually hear it withoutthe "and."Keep it on the QT. = 秘密にしておく、内緒にしておく。（口語）3) take it for granted"Take it for granted" is a phrase that means we understand it, wedon't really need to talk about it. It's a given.4) mixed feelings 複雑な思い新しいことにチャレンジする期待感と不安感がミックスされているということThat's right. You feel both happy and worried at the same time.5) liaise"Liaise" is sort of a newish verb that was created from the originalnoun "liaison." When you take a noun and make a verb out of it, that'scalled a backformation. And they are less common in English thanstarting out with the verb and changing it into a noun. A couple ofother examples are "escalate" from "escalator," which was originally aproduct name, and "burgle" from "burglar."6) millionaire 大金持ちIn English, when you talk about a rich person, you often call them amillionaire, meaning they have a million dollars. Nowadays a milliondollars doesn't go as far as it used to. It's not so unusual to be amillionaire, I guess, although I'm not one. But we still use thephrase generally to mean somebody with a lot of money.7) color me + 形容詞 or 名詞 私を～と呼んでください。私は～です。The phrase "color me" usually followed by an adjective, althoughsometimes an actual color is used... became fairly popular in the 80s,I think. And it just a way to describe yourself. Some other examplesthat you might hear are "color me skeptical," "color me shocked," "color me unimpressed" or "color me stupid." They are all kinds of ways todescribe yourself.自分のことを言うときだけに使うcolor you や color her とは使わない8) Thanks for joining us.
2005年09月20日
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ビジネス英会話(9/16）のディクテーションに挑戦
Early Bird (6) Friday, September 161: Chris, I know you are an early bird.2: That's right.3: What time do you get to the office?4: About 7:10, usually.5: That's early.6: Yeah, luckily, I'm a natural early bird. I've always tended towake up early.7: So, at that time of the day, do you find many of your colleagues?8: I'm usually one of the first. On my floor, there's another guywho tends to come in pretty early, usually by 7:30. I'm usually inbefore everybody though, on my floor. Some of the other floors, when Isign on to the company land, I can see usually there's two orthree people before me. Although sometimes I am the first one to signon.9: So, you have the morning all by yourself.10: Yeah.11: What do you do mostly.12: Oh, um... one of the reasons I get there that early is becauseI can't stand the crowded trains.13: Uh-huh.14: And since it's easy for me to get up, I pack my breakfast andlunch and carry it with me. So, first I have breakfast at my deskwhile I do e-mail and things like that. And it's nice, it's veryquiet. We have, you know, hot water and things like that, so I canhave coffee. It's no problem at all.15: So the trains are not crowded?16: No, it's great. I'm very happy with that, even, you know, lessthan ten minutes different, the following train, the one it goes afterthe one when I usually take is much more crowded. Although it's stillearly, it's not completely packed like regular rash hour, but it'sstill probably has about twice as many people as the train I've beentaking recently.17: You said you are natural early bird.18: Yeah, that's for sure.19: So, as a child, did you get up early in the morning?20: Yes. Of course, sometimes my parents had to wake us up, butthat tended to be more when I got a bit older and when I was workingin the evening and going to high school. But when I was a quite bityounger, we had to ask my parents if we could get up in the morning,because they didn't like little kids to be up alone. They get sillyideas, right? So we'd have to ask first and a lot of the time, they tell us,"No, go back to bed. It's too early. I can also remember waking up andnot feeling sleepy, so, instead of turning on the light because itwasn't quite light enough, right? In stead of turning on the light andwaking up my sister, I'd hold open the curtain on the window so I getenough lights, so I could read until it was time to get up.-------------------- あんな時、こんな時--------------------■ I fully realize that your company is not a nonprofit organization."nonprofit organization" あるいは、"not-for-profit organization" ともいえる。21) I think not-for-profit tends to be more British English andnonprofit tends to be used more in the U.S. But I think they arebasically the same things.■ You're on your way to becoming a board member. That's what I'veheard.22) Occasionally, instead of "on your way to," you'll hear "on theroad to." I think probably the difference is "on the road to" is muchmore clear past that people know you need to follow. So, for example,if you want to become a doctor, what you need to along the way is veryclear, so they might say "on the road to" in that case.■ money is not a dirty word = profit is not a dirty word23) I think the opposite of that is people who focus more on well beingand support and helping other people, sometimes they feel like makinga profit is... is less noble or not good.■ They say the stock market is about to tumble again.24) In this case, "tumble" is used as a verb, but you can also use thephrase "take a tumble" with the same meaning.■ My information is that the local currency will be devalued soonerrather than later.25) A little more formally sometimes in newspapers if they'll sayunnamed sources.26) My source tells me = 私の情報源から聞いたところによれば27) I've heard over the grapevine. うわさによれば■ I do appreciate that you are giving me advice out of sheergoodwill.28) This one on the surface looks extremely polite, but it's actuallya way to say, "I don't want your advice," without saying it quite soboldly or directly. And also with the "do," it's kind of stressing theappreciation.29) It might be followed up with a sentence something like this, but Ithink I have enough experience to make my own decisions.どれも非常にフォーマルな言い方ですね。30) If you are going to use some of these phrases, be sure it's in a veryformal situation because otherwise it sounds like you're rather angry.Because people tend to speak more formally than is appropriate whenthey become angry.------- 問題-------31) You might hear something like this: Your company is well-known toall of us so please abbreviate the company profile section and gostraight into your proposals.32) That's all for today.33) Thanks for staying with us.
2005年09月17日
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ビジネス英会話のディクテーションに挑戦（9月14日）
Early Bird (5) Wednesday, September 14■ nine-to-fiver 9時から5時までしか働かない人1) "Nine-to-fiver" has a lot of those elements, I think. If I'm justthinking of it sort of neutrally to mean it means an office worker ora white color worker, and working nine-to-five was good, because youdidn't really have to do overtime and most people had salaries. So itis fairly similar to "salary man" in Japanese.■ I didn't used to be a morning person.2) This phrase is sort of difficult, I think, for many Englishspeakers, because we don't use it that often in a negative. So itsounds a little awkward no matter how you say it.3) 正しい過去形の形 ⇒ didn't use to口語では、didn't used to という非文法的な言い回しが一般的とされている。Right. I think it's just been changing over the years and recentlyboth are acceptable when you're writing, and I think a lot of it isinfluence of speaking because the "d" at the end of "used" and the "t"at the beginning of "to" are naturally this is regular... it's notlazy or anything, it's regular North American pronunciation. But theytend to form together and become one sound. So, people say "didn't useto."4) イギリス英語では、usedn't to という形がありますが、アメリカではあまりみたことがありませんね。Yeah, to me, it looks funny and it sounds funny.■ cuppa = cup of を略したものイギリスでは、紅茶よりも、最近コーヒーの消費のほうが増えているというような統計もありますね。5) Uh-huh. I've heard the... I guess you call it a word, "cuppa" butfor me it's very British and I probably never used it unless I wasmaking a joke or something. We do use that pronunciation, but wealways have a cup of what... at the end. One slang made a talk aboutcoffee is to say "a cuppa joe."6) joe というのは？It's slang for coffee.7) つづりは何ですか？"J-o-e," just like the men's name, but you don't have to capitalizethe "j."■ extreme 極度の、極端なつづりも "ex" で始まるのではなく、"x" で始まるものもある。8) I've often heard this related to the sports. But, ten years ago,there is a sporting event including various kinds of sports called the"X Games," and most of the sports are extreme type, so I think, in thewinter version, there's snowboarding but not Olympic snowboarding theydo tricks and, you know, dangerous kinds of things but they alsoinvent new moves. There's also a summer version, and I think thatincludes skate boarding and probably mountain biking and other sportslike that.9) Thanks for listening.
2005年09月15日
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ビジネス英会話のディクテーションに挑戦（9月12日）
仕事がバタバタしていてなかなかディクの時間が取れません（悲）。Early Bird (4) Monday, September121) with every mileDomingo kind of cut a sounds a little bit short, you could add "with" every mile you drive away or "along with" every mile you drive away. But it is very common kind of shortening in conversation.2) way back when かつては、昔は"Way back when" is a phrase that means "in the past". But it tends to bring in a feeling the speaker is looking at the past nostalgically.3) double the timeReid says it takes double the time to get there. "Double the time" refers to the time that used to be usual for his father. 4) largelyIn this case, Reid says "largely on flat land". In this case, it doesn't mean big. It means "mostly" or "mainly".5) I'm all for it 大賛成"I'm all for it." is kind of interesting, because the opposite wouldn't be "I'm all against it". It would probably be "I'm completely against it."6) stifleStifle's kind of interesting verb. It means smother or suppress, so you can use it all kinds of situations from murder by stopping someone's breathing which is "smother" all the way to "stifle dissent" which means suppress or stop people from expressing opposite opinions. It's also usedsometimes to talk about "heat" in the summer when there is very high humidity or if you're in a closed up room that becomes very hot. People call it "stifling heat". And there wasa TV show in the 70's where a husband use to tell his wife fairly often to "stifle herself", which is actually rather rude sounding7) night classes 夜間授業Night classes at the college or university or very commonway for working adults to complete a college education8) That's all for today,9) Please tune in again next time.
2005年09月13日
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ビジネス英会話のディクテーションにチャレンジ(9月9日）
昨日まで合宿して会社の研修プログラムに参加してきました。たまには普段と違った場所で、普段と違った人と過ごすのも気分転換になりますね。Early Bird (3) 早起き人生 Friday, September 91) get out of bet 起床するGetting out of bed and waking up are sometimes confusing also.If you're speaking very generally in situations you can choose eitherone because the specific meaning doesn't really matter. Getting outof bed is very narrow meaning it's actually throwing back the coversand putting your feet on the floor and standing up. Waking up talksabout the difference between sleeping and being fully awake, it's thatperiod where you begin to become conscious of your surroundings.Getting up is very similar to getting out of bed although it'sslightlybroader you can refer to most of the activities that you do in theprocess of going from being asleep in bed to being awake in active.Or we also mentioned rise earlier. It sounds a little more poetic oryou might hear in literature or maybe it's a little old fashioned.2) get up on the wrong side of the bedRight. Yeah, if you get up on the wrong side of the bed, you probablygetin a being bad mood all day.3) fall asleepYeah, sometimes if you come into work in a bad mood, people ask you"So you got up on the wrong side of the bed ? huh."4) farther and further.There're two fairly similar words, "farther" which is used here and"further". In modern English they're used pretty much interchangeably,although if you want to show a difference in them."Farther" spelled with "A" tends to be more often used with referenceto time, space or degree. "Further" spelled with "U" tends to bemuch less concrete usages, much more abstract.5) furtherThey are sort of a set phrase, nothing could be further from the truth.So that's not really talking about time or distance or sort of concretekind of things, so that's maybe a good example to keep in your mind.6) mortgages 住宅ローンA mortgages is a loan to buy a house or some other kinds of property.The spelling and pronunciation are quite different, because it's quite in old word in English and came originally from French. The actualmeaning of it is "dead pledge" which sounds a pretty serious. It seemsto be related to the fact that once the money is either paid off orthereis been a failure to be paid off, the deal is finished.7) Thanks for joining us.
2005年09月10日
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ビジネス英会話のディクテーションにチャレンジ（9月2日）
会社の業務が忙しくなると、だんだんディクテーションの時間がとれなくなってきます。なんとか金曜分のアップしました。しかし、もう9月、早いですね。************************************Fast Food Campaign (3) Friday, September 21) hard-earned bucks 苦労して稼いだドルReid uses the phrase "hard-earned bucks." So, he is kind of focusingon the kind of thing he'd like to spend his money on. "Bucks" is slangfor money or dollars in particular and "hard-earned" means you had towork hard to earn them.2) dipping sauce ソース状のものHe also talks about having a "dipping sauce on the side." "On theside" means it hasn't been mixed up together with the main food thatyou're eating, and because it's the dipping sauce, it sounds like youuse your fork to take pieces of fruit and put it into the sauce andeat it. That way you can control how much of the sauce you get.3) score points 点数を稼ぐIf you "score points with someone," you please them. the score points sounds like they give you the points because they're happy.4) time-crunched 時間に追われている、時間が足りなくて困っているReid also mentions "time-crunched customers," crunch is used inEnglish sometimes to mean a critical situation often coming because ofsome sort of a shortage. So in this case, people have a shortage oftime.5) coming down 起こっていること、起こりつつあること"Coming down" is slang for be happening.6) wee hours 真夜中、早朝 （夜中の １時 2時）"Wee" is a word that means very small or tiny. So, "in the wee hours"means one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock about that time.wee = 少しwee bit = ほんの少し7) skeleton crew 骸骨のように少数のクルー、スタッフA "skeleton crew" anywhere is the smallest possible crew. So, if youthink of a skeleton as the bones only of the body, everything else hasbeen removed. Then you can kind of get the idea of a skeleton crew.8) That's all for today.9) I hope you can join us again next time.
2005年09月03日
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ビジネス英会話のディクテーションにチャレンジ（8月31日）
Fast Food Campaign (1) Monday, August 291) get rolling （仕事などに） さぁ、取り掛かりましょう"Get rolling" means start to be active. There are a couple othersimilar phrases, "Let's get a move on," or "Let's get cracking."2) lifestyle ライフスタイルPeople often talk about "lifestyle" in the U.S. Basically what itmeans is the way you choose to live your life.1980年代の buzzword のひとつです。3) yummy おいしい、舌触りがいい （子供たちがよく使う言葉）"Yummy" is a very casual kind of word that means tasty or delicious.You can also shorten it and just say, "Yum," or you can double it andsay, "yum-yum."4) big-name 著名な、有名なbig-name company = 著名企業、大企業5) cater to ～にこたえるThe first meaning of "cater" is to provide food to somebody. There'scatering businesses that will provide food at parties or other kindsof get-togethers wherever you're holding it. But another meaning ofcater is to provide what's needed or desired. It has a little bit of aimplication that you're doing what other people want because they wantit not because it's what you want to do.6) glossy 体裁の良い、光沢のあるSomething "glossy" has a smooth and gleaming or shiny surface.Sometimes glossy is used to refer to magazines, because they use thatkind of heavier shiny paper. So sometimes people call them glossies.7) gross という単語もあるgross グロウス gloss グロス と発音が少し違うgloss には、glossy という形容詞があるが、gross には、形容詞はないThat's gross. = 気味が悪い8) But "gross" is also a noun and in that case, it's a measurement. Itmeans twelve dozen of something.9) beef up ～を強化する、～を増強するTakahashi here made sort of a pun. "Beef up" means make somethinglarger or stronger, but using the word "beef" when talking aboutmaking a menu larger, stronger is kind of a joke, kind of a pun.10) produce 農産物"Produce" is a word, when it's used as a noun, it refers to fruits andvegetables. So that's food that's grown, that isn't grains or grasses,that kind of thing.動詞と名詞では、アクセントの位置が違いますproduce 【プロ】デュース （名）農産物produce プロ【デュー】ス （動）産出する11) Thanks for listening.
2005年08月30日
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ビジネス英会話のディクテーションにチャレンジ（8月26日）
今回の分はいつにもまして、長かったので死にそうでした。しかも、未だに分からない所も何箇所かあり、くじけそうです。ディクテーションは奥が深いです。。*********************************** Growing Pet Market (6) Friday, August 26 1: Chris, I think you told me before that you don't have a pet now, but you used to before, right? 2: Yeah, when I was a kid, my family had, actually we had two dogs, one when I was real little and then we got a second one a little, acouple years after that when I was in elementary school. And my parents keep a dog now. All my sisters' families have dogs and my brother's family has cats. I am the only one without a pet. 3: But you don't want to own a pet in Japan. 4: I would like to, but we try to travel as much as we can. And eventually, we may move to the U.S. for few years, so it seems a little bit unfair to put a dog... because we'd get a dog. It seems a little unfair to put a dog through a move like that. So we decided we'd wait for a while anyway and see if things settle down more. 5: Over the years, we are seeing more and more pets in Japan. Don't you think so? 6: Oh, yeah. I came about... a little over 20 years ago and I didn't see fairly many dogs at all. I've always lived in the city. I don't know, there're probably more dogs out in a country where there is more space, but wow! I see dogs all the time, every day nowadays. 7: And I see ads are saying pets allowed at for apartments. 8: Uh-huh. Yeah, I think it must have been really hard, a while ago, if you try to have a dog in the city. 9: Now, there are city audiences allowing pets and apartments and people with over that pets are trying live together peacefully. 10: Yeah, I think that can cause a lot of trouble. Especially because, I think, um... I think in Japan especially in the cities from what I've seen, people treat their dogs anyway, like children. And I think dogs need more discipline. And so, I think even little dogs can be extremely irritating if they are not properly trained, which actually, I think means training the owners. Even if it's a little tiny dog, I think you can physically control it better than even slightly larger dogs. But, little dogs can still be pretty noisy. I think people are more aware of training dogs in the U.S. than they're here. But, of course, there are plenty of people in the U.S. that don't control their dogs properly. 11: In the vignette, we talked about some services that are unique to Japan, like crematory services... 12: Right. 13: ...for pets or safe keeping of the ashes of pets. Another thing I notice in my neighborhood is the handbills or posters are looking for a lost pets. 14: Uh-huh. Well, people do that in the U.S. too. If your cat or dog wanders off, I think first, people drive around in their cars hoping to see it somewhere. They don't usually go that far, I think. 15: But then by the individuals, right? 16: Right. Yeah, and people might put it in the ad in a papersaying they lost their dog, if someone saw it, please call. And most people have the license, maybe with the dog license, the tag on the collar, they'll also put their address or phone number or both. So if someone finds a dog they can call up and you can go pick it up. 17: Here, it's... it's a professional service, it's like going to a private eye. 18: Uh! 19: And ask for consult the investigators about locating your lost pets. 20: Are they very successful? 21: I should say so, according to one program I saw on TV. 22: I haven't heard of that in the U.S., but also in the U.S., people treating their dogs like children is a growing trend, so maybe it's available some places. By the time I was in college, the dog we had as a pet, it gotten really old and my parents had it put down because they were afraid he hurt himself. He was mostly deaf and blind and sometimes he couldn't quite control himself, so they were afraid he'd fall down the stairs. And they decided one day, just to have him put to sleep because he was obviously on his last legs. And thenwhen you do that, the afterwards veterinarian takes care of the body and disposes of it. But recently, people are doing things like having their dogs stuffed... 23: Freeze dried (???Please a dries???分かりませんでした), cloned... 24: Yeah, cloned and that. Well, I don't think they can clone dogs yet, I've heard of cats, but dogs can't be far behind. 25: Right. 26: I just can't imagine it, I mean I was sad when they put our dog down and I hadn't even been living at home with them in a last couple years. I was away college. But, you know, I feel like it's... it's a pet, it's a dog, and you need to take care of it compassionately. I don't think I'd ever clone my pet. 27: Another thing we're seeing more and more of these days is guide dogs or seeing eye dogs. 28: Oh, yeah. That's a good thing, I think. As long as dogs are well-managed, it doesn't bother me if people bring them in to many kinds of places, formal places I don't think, like expensive restaurants, I don't think you should bring your dog. But when I was in Germany, I saw in some of the restaurants, not the fancy ones, but people would bring their dogs in. They were always well-mannered dogs. They would wait quietly under the owner seat. And sometimes you'd even see the waiters bring your water for them. So as far as I'm concerned as long as they are well-disciplined and well-mannered dogs, I don't care if people bring them. ------------------- あんな時、こんな時 ------------------- 29: Get a load of this. "Get a load of this" is quite casual. It introduces something a bit surprising that you think the other person will be surprised at as well. 30: You know what? "You know what?" you can say with all kinds of intonation. It's much more neutral and introducing and item of news. You could also say, "No what?" And even kids make a joke. They look at their friends and they say, "No what?" and the kid says, "What?" and they say, "That's what." So, it's no information at all. 31: now here this. I think people use it now even outside of the navy when they want sound very authoritative. 32: Guess what? "Guess what?" it's often used to introduce surprising and happy news. 33: Hey. Yeah, probably. Also "hey" is used in many kids of situations depending on the intonation. And it's really pretty close to interjection. 34: One we didn't list here is "attention." I think in a... maybe sort of an emergency situation, you might here on a public address system that PA system, you might hear someone will say, "Attention!" And they might repeat it a couple of time. A little more politely would be, "May I have your attention?" or "May I have your attention, please?" Or even, "Attention, please." ------- 問題 ------- 35: Something like this would be very natural. "Have you heard?" or "Have you heard the latest?" 36: That's all for today. 37: Thanks for staying with us.
2005年08月27日
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ビジネス英会話のディクテーションにチャレンジ （8月24日）
うーん、今日は分からないところだらけでした。完敗です（涙）。まだまだ実力が足りません。ディクテーションは難しいですね。1) op-edI think most people know the word "op-ed ", but I don't think they know it stands for opposite editorial.Sometimes a newspaper even invites opinions or short articlesfrom local people.2) columnistI used the "n" and I think I usually hear it that way, so colum'n'ist.People might laugh off they hear of it(???). 3） underdogunderdog is sort of the and opposite of top dog, if you think topdog is someone at the top of the hierarchy and an underdog is a little guy somebody who seems to have the odds stacked against him. It's not exactly opposite because top dog you usually talkingabout clear hierachical organization. but in underdog althoughthey are at the bottom, it's not a hierarchy, it's someone who'snot expected to win, even though they try very hard. People oftensupporting underdog because of their their zeal and their focus on winning.4) big cheeseBig cheese sounds sort of funny, so I think probably although a boss might call himself a top dog. He probably wouldn't call himself the big cheese. I think it's the people underneath my ???. (分かりません） I think it only be used as the joke by the person who is the big cheese.5) ashesI think people say ashes because ashes is what remains are ashes are the remains of something that's been burnt. Even if there is a larger pieces in it.6) diamond-studdedSo week that has many holidays stuck into it. A stud is a short piece of metal that push through fabric or leather and has a backing on it so that it does not come out again. So a diamond-studded collar would be collar with diamond stuck into it on little pieces of metal. You can also say a tie stud. A tie stud is has a little pin that you push through the tie and shirt and you put a little back on it to keep it pinned to your shirts it doesn't flap around. A tie clip is the tack you slide on from the side. So almost anything that has the kind of a metal tease that stuck through fabric or leather can be called a stud. Then if you think of a week as a strip of seven days and few of them have a holiday, stuck into them. It's ・・・ I think you can imagine that it's a sort of similar idea to a diamond-studded collar.7) sell like hotcakesWhen I was growing up, we usually called them pancakes, although I knew the word hotcakes. Another word for pancakes is flap-jacks.That's all for today. Please join us next time.
2005年08月25日
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ビジネス英会話のディクテーションにチャレンジ【8月22日（月）】
『ビジネス英会話』の中でクリスさんが解説している箇所のディクテーションにトライしたものです。==========================================================8月22日（月）・23日（火）Growing Pet Market (4) 成長するペット市場1) leashAnother word for leash is lead, because one of the things you do with the leash is lead an animal. 2) leash lawIn the U.S., also there is always great discussion of leash laws.leash laws tend to be at very local levels and they tell pet owners how they need to restrain their pets out in public. So the dog owners don't like leash laws because they like the animals to be as free as possible. But people who don't own petsare often very strong supporters of leash laws. Because they don't like strange pets, especially dogs wandering around the city. 3) chunkA chunk is a piece or a part or a share but it also includes the idea of a larger kind of a piece. 4) toteTote is a verb that means carry something and it's not somethingheavy but it's not something really really light either, somethingextra that you are carrying. So tote also becomes a tote bag a kind of bag for carrying things around. People often take totebags when they're going shopping or to put picnic supplies in when they are going on a picnic. A handbag is usually the kind of bag that a woman carries everyday. For handbag or often called a purse as well.5) Please join us again.
2005年08月23日
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ビジネス英会話のディクテーションにチャレンジ～8月22日（月）～
『ビジネス英会話』の中でクリスさんが解説している箇所のディクテーションにトライしたものです。==========================================================8月22日（月）・23日（火）Growing Pet Market (4) 成長するペット市場1) leashAnother word for leash is lead, because one of the things you do with the leash is lead an animal. 2) leash lawIn the U.S., also there is always great discussion of leash laws.leash laws tend to be at very local levels and they tell pet owners how they need to restrain their pets out in public. So the dog owners don't like leash laws because they like the animals to be as free as possible. But people who don't own petsare often very strong supporters of leash laws. Because they don't like strange pets, especially dogs wandering around the city. 3) chunkA chunk is a piece or a part or a share but it also includes the idea of a larger kind of a piece. 4) toteTote is a verb that means carry something and it's not somethingheavy but it's not something really really light either, somethingextra that you are carrying. So tote also becomes a tote bag a kind of bag for carrying things around. People often take totebags when they're going shopping or to put picnic supplies in when they are going on a picnic. A handbag is usually the kind of bag that a woman carries everyday. For handbag or often called a purse as well.5) Please join us again.
2005年08月23日
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ビジネス英会話のディクテーションにチャレンジ
ラジオ英会話のディクテーションを通じて勉強を行っているMLに入会し、今までずっと単に利用しているだけだったのですが、初めて自分でもチャレンジしてみました。http://home.att.ne.jp/zeta/sanae/melmaga.htmレベルの高い方々が揃っているので、とても勉強になります。==========================================================8月19日（金）・20日（土）Growing Pet Market (3) 成長するペット市場● chubby "Chubby" is an adjective that means a little bit fat, but it's usedwhen it's kind of pleasing. Babies and very small children are oftenchubby and cute because they're chubby.● chow Then "chow" is a slang for food or meal.● vet "Vet" is actually short for a veterinarian （ベトロ【ノ】リアン） orveterinarian （【ベ】ットロノリアン）. You can pronounce it eitherway.Maybe one of the reasons people usually say "vet" is because they'renot sure which pronunciation is correct. In any case, vet is mucheasier to say and if you're talking about animals, of course, it meansanimal doctor. "Vet" is also short though for veteran, someone whowas in the military and fought.● frisky "Frisky" is an adjective that means lively and playful, exactly likekitten's act when they're awaken and playing.● Then ask for it. This phrase is often used in the U.S. because you shouldn't be afraidto ask for what you want or say clearly what you need, so when peopleare hesitating a bit, often their friends will say, "Go on, ask forit. If you want to it, ask for it. People can't read your mind.● gewgaw "Gewgaw" is kind of an interesting word. It means something that's ashowy or bright but also cheap. So you can use it for a junk jewelry,you can use it for decorative trinkets things like that. There's alsovariation of it, pronounced ギーゴー, and that's actually the versionthat I've always used.● the butt of jokes "The butt of a joke" is something that you're making fun of anobjective ridicule. I think it's the word butt is used in this phrasebecause one of the sort deep meanings of butt is a like a backstop ortarget or the deepest, heaviest end of something.● incuranceTakahashi also said the "insurance more than paid for itself," whatthat means is the medical coverage that they received with worth morethan the premium he was paying for that insurance.Thanks for listening.==========================================================
2005年08月21日
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【NHKのラジオ講座でお勉強・6月8日】
★今日の１文★ ～シニアのためのものしり英語塾から～ ■ I belong to the Monoshiri Fitness Center. 私はモノシリ・フィットネス・センターに所属しています。 ------------------------------------------------------------ 今回はものしり語法塾の中で取り上げられていた動作動詞と状態動詞について、少し補足説明を試みたいと思います。 テキストには、状態動詞の例として、believe（～を信じている）、love（～を愛している）、resemble（～に似ている）・・・など15の動詞の実例を挙げて、「これらの動詞はもともとの主語の状態（今～ている）を表しているので、原則として－ing 形にしてはいけません。Aya resembles her mother. （あやはお母さんに似ているよね）（×） Aya is resembling her mother.と、説明がされています。 これはこれで、中学校、高校と英語を最初に学んでいく過程では全く間違っていないのですが、この個人的ブログをお読みの皆様向けに敢えて、その次のステップを書いてみたいと思います。 原則として－ing 形はいけないのは理解しましたが、では原則ではないのはどのような状態でしょうか。テキストで（×）がつけられた Aya is resembling her mother. は文法的にあり得ないのでしょうか。 答えは実は「あり得る」のです。 Aya が母親に似ている程度が一貫して同じなら、その程度に区切りがなく、もし、その似ている程度をグラフで表せば、一定の時間内で常に変化のない水平の線となります。これはまさに状態動詞 resemble が表す意味であり、進行形を使うべき理由がなく、次のように表現されます。Aya resembles her mother. しかし、Aya が月日の経過と共に、ますます母親に似てきた場合には、似ている程度が少しずつ変化し、グラフにすると水平線ではない（3年前＝ほとんど似ていない、2年前＝やや似てきた、1年前＝とても似ている、現在＝そっくり）ような変化を遂げているとしたら、Aya is resembling her mother more and more as time goes by.というような文も適格な英語文です。 同様に、変化するのが母親に似てきた度合いでなく、愛する気持ちである場合は、I am loving you more and more as the days go by.と言えますし、少しずつ自身の能力への確信を深めていることを表すなら、I am believing in my own ability bit by bit.と、resemble も love も believe も進行形を用いることができるのです。つまり、状態動詞は一般に「常に不変の状態を表す」と考えられ、そのために「状態動詞は進行形にできない。」と言われていますが、その程度（強度）が区切りのついた変化する状態が連続体をなしているような場合には、文脈次第で状態動詞も進行形を使って良いのです。 これがテキストでいうところの「原則ではない」使用例です。 今回はテキストの解説のちょっとひねくれた見方をしてしまいましたが、本意は勿論テキストのあら捜しにあるのではなく、文法のルール、決まりごとが相当しっかりしている英語でも色々と例外があるケースがありますよ、ということを書いてみました。There is no (general) rule without exceptions. それでは今日はこのへんで。============================================================★今日のフレーズ★ ～ビジネス英会話から～■ as snug as the bug in a rug 居心地良くぬくぬくと納まっている ------------------------------------------------------------ snug は快適、心地よい bug は（昆）虫、害虫、rug はじゅうたん、敷物なので、本当にそうなのかどうかは分かりませんが（敷物の中にいる虫のように）、ぬくぬくと（安全で）居心地が良い、というような意味になっています。snug, bug, rug と全てΛ'g（アグ）の音で韻を踏んでいるところが、常套句になる決め手ですね。 余談ですが、英語では極めて頻繁に使われている技法なのですが、日本語ではなかなか使われていないようで、「箱根八里の半次郎」、「大井追っかけ音次郎」など氷川きよしの曲名などに苦労の跡が伺えます（笑）。------------------------------------------------------------♪参考文献『謎解きの英文法』 久野すすむ・高見 健一著 くろしお出版『新英和大辞典（第6版）』 研究社『英辞郎 on the Web』 スペース・アルク＜編集後記＞● 朝食を抜いて（腸内をきれいにすることによって）、健康になる、というような ことが書いてある本を読み共感したので、最近、太り気味で運動不足なこと もあり実践してみることにしました。1ヵ月後、どうなっているでしょうか。 （4行日記参照：http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/jissenyongyo/） 中村でした。
2005年06月08日
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【NHKのラジオ講座でお勉強・6月3日】
★今日の１文★ ～英会話中級から～ ■ People are not liars すべての人は嘘つきではない。[嘘つきはいない] Not all people are liars. すべての人が嘘つきではない。[嘘つきもいる] ------------------------------------------------------------ 今回は英会話中級のStep Ahead に突然取り上げられている否定の not について、大事な区別なのですがテキストには何も解説がないので、ここでちょっとコメントしたいと思います。 いわゆる部分否定と全体否定というやつですね。 テキストには「否定の not をおく位置によって文の意味が変わります。」とだけ書かれており、その通りですが、なぜ文の意味が変わるかが重要です。その説明だけで２つの文を見ると「文頭に not が来ると部分否定で、途中に来ると、全体否定なのかな」と思う人がいても不思議ではありません。 答えはもちろんそうではなくて、なぜ文の意味が変わるのかといえば、 not の直後に全体を表す単語がきているかどうかです。それにより否定する範囲が違ってくるからです。 上の例文 People aren't liars. は「人々は嘘つきではない」と「直後の liars 」を否定し、people ≠ liars を明示しているのですが、 下の文では、Not は「直後の all 」を否定して、all ( people ) ≠ liars を明示しています。つまり「すべてが～というわけではない」という意味を表し、一部分を否定する部分否定となります。 all 以外にも、英語では not の後に全体を表す語[ all, every, both, always,quite, exactly, altogether, necessarily など]がくれば、。「すべての人が[必ずしも]～とは限らない。」という意味になり、部分否定の文となります。Not every person can lead a pleasant life. [部分否定]すべての人が人生を享楽できるわけではない。No one can lead a pleasant life. [全体否定]誰も人生を享楽することはできない。Not both of my parents are strict with me. [部分否定]両方の両親ともが私に厳しいわけではない。Neither of my parents is strict with me. [全体否定]このように部分否定は not が文頭に来ることも多いですが、A great scholar is not necessarily a good teacher.偉大な学者が必ずしも優れた教師であるとは限らない。と文の途中にきても、その直後に necessarily がきていれば、部分否定となります。また、「全体」までいかなくても、「多くは」、「とても」を示す many, much, veryなどの直前に not がきても部分否定で、「あまり多くは～ない。」のように「多くは」を否定する、弱い否定を表します。I am not much interested in gambling.私は賭け事にはそんなに興味はない。（＝あまり興味がない）部分否定と全体否定、なんとなくお分かりいただけましたでしょうか？それでは今日はこのへんで。============================================================★今日のフレーズ★ ～ビジネス英会話から～■ bolt かんぬきを掛ける、施錠する ------------------------------------------------------------ bolt の名詞はボルトなので、「ボルトで締める」というのから始まって、昔のドア、門などに使っていた「さし錠」を挿して締める→かんぬきタイプの施錠にも使われるようになったようです。 また発音は「ボ（バ）ウルト」と二重母音なので要注意です。 ちなみにこの単語、飲食物を大急ぎで食べる（飲む）、や逃亡するといった意味も持っています。bolt (down) a sandwich [ breakfast ]大急ぎでサンドイッチ [朝食] を食べるbolt with the master's money主人の金を持ち逃げする------------------------------------------------------------＜編集後記＞● 平日はようやく多少早起き（4時半）できるようになったのですが、休日は 会社に行かなくて良いと、気が緩んでしまうのか、気がつくと7時半とか8時 とかになっています。体が眠りを欲しているのか、単に気合いが足りないだ けなのか・・・。 中村でした。
2005年06月03日
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【NHKのラジオ講座でお勉強・6月2日】
★今日の１文★ ～ものしり英語塾から～ ■ Road narrows 道幅狭し ------------------------------------------------------------ 今回はシニアのためのものしり英語塾で取り上げられていた「他動詞、自動詞」という分け方について、もう一度確認してみたいと思います。 他動詞はそれだけでは文が完結せず、対象となるものや人が後に続く必要があるのに対し、自動詞は目的語が来なくても文として完結することができますね。皆様もこの違いは良くご存知で、今更解説する必要もないと思いますが、ただ知っているのと、それを正しく使いこなせるのとではちょっと違います。 その単語が自動詞か、他動詞かを知っておくことはとても重要です。 例えば他動詞 love は I love. (×）だけでは文として成立せず、I love you. と目的語を入れなければいけないのに対し、Flowers bloom. ( 花は咲く）では、目的語が必要ありません。 bloom が自動詞だからです。 同様に例文の Roads narrows. が、道が狭くなる→道幅狭し、となるように、英語では人以外のモノでも何でも主語になれます。僅か2語ですが、S＋Vの構造をもつしっかりした文の意味をもつ2語です。Time flies.時間は飛ぶように過ぎる。Money talks.お金がモノをいう。Truth counts.真実が重要である。 では、次の文はどこがおかしいか分かりますでしょうか。He entered into her room. （×） 彼は彼女の部屋へ入った。He left from New York a few days ago. （×）彼は数日前にニューヨークを発った。He reached to Boston the next morning. （×）彼は翌朝、ボストンへ着いた。She married with him. （×）彼女は彼と結婚した。答えは、いずれも他動詞なので、前置詞が必要ないのです。（上からそれぞれ、 into, from, to, with が不要）「～について話し合う」は discuss または talk about であって、 discuss aboutとは言いません。 discuss は他動詞だからです。 また、translate のように自動詞も他動詞も両方とる単語もあるので要注意です。Humor doesn't translate easily between cultures.ユーモアは異文化の間では簡単に訳せないのよ。translate は「翻訳する」という他動詞の他に、「（ある作品などが）訳せる」という自動詞の意味もあるので、その後に目的語のない上記のような文も正しいのです。 動詞を正しく使う上では、それが自動詞なのか他動詞なのかが大切なので常にチェックしておきましょう。 （なお自動詞・他動詞については、私のフリーページでももう少し詳しく解説 していますので、時間のある方は目を通してみてください。） それでは今日はこのへんで。============================================================★今日のフレーズ★ ～英会話上級から～■ churn out （作品などを）量産する ------------------------------------------------------------ churn は「（バターをつくるために）攪拌器を動かす、激しく揺り動かす」という意味がありますが、それに out（put）[外へ排出] が伴うと、大量生産する、量産する、という意味になります。 It's the kind of adventure picture the studios churned out before. それはハリウッド映画のスタジオ［撮影所］がかつて大量に作り出していた種類の冒険映画である。------------------------------------------------------------＜編集後記＞● 我が家に雑誌の取材が来ました、が主役は0歳・6ヶ月のうちの長男です。 2時間ぐらい撮影があったようですが、途中から機嫌が悪くなり、「あれ ではいい写真が取れてないよ。急にお風呂場も取られてしまうし。。[妻談]」 とのことですが、どんな結果になったのか、8月に発行されるというその子育 て雑誌の特集号が楽しみです。 中村でした。
2005年06月02日
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【NHKのラジオ講座でお勉強・5月27日】
★今日の１文★ ～ビジネス英会話から～ ■ We were strangers in the night Up to the moment When we said our first hello Little did we know Love was just a glance away A warm embracing dance away ------------------------------------------------------------ 今日はシニアのためのものしり英語塾で取り上げられていた Frank Sinatraの Strangers in the night の歌詞について、ちらっとコメントしてみたいと思います。 あえて上に訳は書きませんでしたが、皆さんなら上記英文を見たときにどのような訳文をあてますか？ このような翻訳は、英語の文法の知識・解釈を完全にできた上で、かつ味わいのある日本語に仕立てなければなりません。いつも思うのですが、翻訳家さんってすごいですね。上記文もジェームス天願先生は素晴らしい日本語訳を創られているのですが、それを見る前に解説してみたいと思います。 まず、運命的出会いが始まる前の１行目 strangers は形容詞では「奇妙な」ですが、名詞として「見知らぬ人、よそから来た人」の意味があります。invite a stranger into one's home見知らぬ人を家に招き入れる２行目：Up to the moment その時（瞬間）まで、ですが、どんな時（瞬間）までかというと、３行目：When we said our first hello の時までです。 say first hello で、「最初に挨拶を交わす」ですから、 出会ってお互い"hello" というまでは、４行目：little did we know な訳です。この little did we know は、どう作られているかというと、元はお互いについてほとんど何も知らなかった。 We knew little (each other). から来ています。a little (少しは・・・だ） ではなくて、 little （ほとんど・・・ない）ですので、気をつけてくださいね。この「little （ほとんど・・・ない）」の否定の副詞句を強調して「全く・・・ない。」と言いたい場合には、little が文頭に来て、S+Vの倒置が起こるわけです。Never in my life have I seen a UFO.生まれてこのかた、一度もUFOを見たことがない。 そして、５行目：Love was just a glance away ですが、away は対象まで時間や距離的にどれだけ「離れて」いるか、を表すので、通常はThe museum is ten minutes away by bus. 博物館はバスで10分です。のように使うのですが、ここでは距離感を表すのに、なんと glance を使って、愛（Love） までは、わずかちらっと見る（just a glance) だけの距離だった。→ひと目で愛が芽生えた。と言っているのです。更に６行目：A warm embracing dance away で、距離感を「ぬくもりを感じながら抱いて踊ったスローダンスの分だけ」とも言い換えています。それらの解釈を踏まえ、ジェームス天願先生は以下のように訳されました。夜の見知らぬ者同士最初の挨拶を交わしたあの瞬間までひと目でそして１回のスローダンスで２人の愛が芽生えるなんてお互いは露知らずうーん、味わい深いですねぇ。先生は他にもIt turned out so right （For strangers in the night)出会うべくして出合った （夜の見知らぬ者同士）などとも訳されており、さすが、といった感じです。翻訳はまた違った技術が必要になってくるので、普通の人にはちょっと難しい話ですが、良い訳文を原文と比較して眺めてみるのも面白いですし、なぜその日本文になるのか、と考えていくと、とても勉強になりますよ。それでは今日はこのへんで。============================================================★今日のフレーズ★ ～もの知り英語塾から～■ right 適当な ------------------------------------------------------------right は、右側の、とか正しいといった意味の他にも、上の歌詞で出てきたような、人と人との間で「相性がぴったり（理想的）」という意味があります。それにMr.をつけると、理想の男性、や夫にふさわしい人、という意味になります。Can I please just see what Mr. Right looks like? 理想の人がどんな人かちょっと見せてくれない？ ------------------------------------------------------------＜編集後記＞● 前から気になっていた「英和大辞典（研究社・第六版）」をついにアマゾンで 購入しました。Used で4000円以上安く買ったのですが、ほとんど新品同様 で届きました。オンライン辞書も良いですが、昔ながらの辞書も良いですね。 中村でした。
2005年05月29日
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【NHKのラジオ講座でお勉強・5月24日】
★今日の１文★ ～ビジネス英会話から～ ■ I doubt tipping will ever disappear. 私はチップを渡す習慣がなくなるとは思えません。 ------------------------------------------------------------ 今回は珍しくビジネス英会話の冒頭のセリフから、後半部分を抜き出してみました。きっと誰もが聞き流しているであろう doubt に敢えて着目して、少しだけ解説を加えてみたいと思います。 doubt の意味は皆さんご存知の通り「疑う」ですが、同じように「疑う」という意味をもつものに suspect があります。 では、上記例文の doubt の箇所に suspect を使うことはできますでしょうか？答えはノーです。 では質問を変えて、次のように「疑う（怪しむ）」文があった場合には、doubt と suspect のどちらを使えば良いかわかりますでしょうか？I （ ） he will pass the exam.彼が試験に合格するかどうか疑わしい。I （ ） he is a spy.彼はどうもスパイくさい。 どちらも疑うことには変わりないのですが、少しその方向が違います。doubt はあることについて、その確からしさ、正しさを「本当にそうなの？」と疑うのに対して、suspect は、あることを「実はそうではないか」、と疑うことを指します。I doubt if he will be able to come.( = I do not think that he will be able to come.)私は彼が来られないと思う。上の doubt （that, if ) S+V は「S+V ではない」と思う、という意味です。それに対して、suspect はI suspect that he stole it.（I think that he stole it.)私は彼がそれを盗んでのではないかと思う。となり、suspect (that) S+V は、「S+Vではないか」と思う、となります。つまり、 S+Vだと思うのか、そうでないと思うのかが正反対なのです。最も分かりやすい例を挙げると、I doubt it.そうは思いません。I suspect it.そうかも知れませんね。となります。 it だと思うのか、思わないのかで使い分けているのです。従って例題は、I （ doubt ） he will pass the exam.彼が試験に合格するかどうか疑わしい。I （ suspect ） he is a spy.彼はどうもスパイくさい。と、上段には doubt が、下段には suspect が入ります。 一見同じような意味でも、使い方を区別しなければならない単語ですので英作文の際には注意しましょう。I doubt if I fully understand the difference. なんて言わないで下さいね。 それでは今日はこのへんで。============================================================★今日のフレーズ★ ～英会話中級から～■ blow over 収まる、取りざたされなくなる ------------------------------------------------------------over には全て覆い尽くす⇒（完全に）終わり、という収束感があり、school is over.学校が終わるThe game is over! 勝負あったな。/そこまでだなどと使いますね。 blow over も（嵐などが）「止む（おさまる）」の意味から、ものごとが、「もう取りざたされなくなる」の意味に転じるようです。It will all blow over by tomorrow.明日になれば丸く収まってるまた、似たような例としてものごとが「丸く収まる、なんとかなる」という言い方もありますが、それには work out などが使えます。Things will work out.何とかなるよ。ちなみに楽観的な私は上の例文が大好きです。------------------------------------------------------------＜編集後記＞● 最近はだんだん暖かくなってきましたね。晴れた日はとても気持ちよいです。 でも、ちょうど良い季節はあっという間で、すぐに梅雨、そして暑い夏、が来る のでしょうね。 中村でした。
2005年05月24日
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【NHKのラジオ講座でお勉強・5月20日】
★今日の１文★ ～英会話レッツスピークから～ ■ None of us bowl very well either. 誰もそんなにボーリングするのうまくないから。 ------------------------------------------------------------ 今日も英会話レッツスピークから特に誰も注目していないと思われる１文を取り上げて、少し解説を加えてみたいと思います。 まず、bowl ですが、いわゆる名詞としてのはち、わんの他にボーリング関係の動詞として、ボーリングをする、ボールを転がす、（ボウリングで）得点を出す、（ピンを）倒す、などの意味もあるようです。 紛らわしいのは ball を転がす、のですが発音は ball の伸ばす音の ⊃：ではなくて、bowl は２重母音の OU オゥです。ボゥリングとしっかりと最後に[ ゥ] の音を入れてくださいね。 そして今回私が注目してほしかったのは、none の方です。「誰も（・・・ない）」が主語になっているのですが、原則 none of ～ の形では、of の後に来る名詞が「数えられる名詞」の複数形であれば複数扱いをして、「数えられない名詞」であれば単数扱いをするのです。None of my friends are anxious to see him again. [→friend は数えられる。]私の友人の誰も、もう一度彼に会いたいとは思っていない。None of that money on the desk is mine.[→総称としての「お金」は数えられない]机の上のあのお金は１円たりとも私のものではない。 今回は of の後に人( us )が来ているので、複数扱いとなり -s の必要がないのです。人は数えられるので「あの人もできない、この人もできない、」と複数感が出てくるのですね。数えられない「モノ」は一緒くたにまとめて単数です。 そして、否定形ですから「・・・もまた」は too ではなくて、either です。こちらも気をつけてください。 同じような扱いをする単語に all があります。こちらも「（数えられる）人」を指す場合には複数扱いをし、「（数えられない）モノ」を指す場合には単数扱いです。All were glad to hear the news.その知らせを聞いて、皆喜んだ。All is not gold that glitters. / All that glitters is not gold光るものすべてが金とはかぎらない。／見掛けは当てにならない （ことわざ） つまり、逆を言うと複数扱いしていれば、「人」を表しており、単数扱いしているならば、「モノ（人以外）」を表していると分かるわけです。All were silent.一同無言であった。All was silent.あたりは静まりかえっていた。単数・複数、簡単なようでいて、結構奥が深いのです。冠詞と同じく日本人には使い分けの分かりにくい箇所ですが、少しずつ勉強して理解していきましょう。それでは今日はこのへんで。============================================================★今日のフレーズ★ ～英会話中級から～■ in the first place 最初から、まず第一に ------------------------------------------------------------ in the first place は、直訳としての「最初から、まず第一に」という意味の他に、そこから派生して、むしろ不平・不満などを言う時に「そもそも、もともと」という意味で使われることが多いようです。In the first place, I have no interest in him. そもそも私は彼に興味がない。He shouldn't have been there in the first place. もともと彼はその場にいるべきではなかった。------------------------------------------------------------＜編集後記＞● 土曜の朝、いきなり寝坊してしまい、短眠生活失敗です（苦笑）。やはり 会社がある日とない日で緊張感が違い、心のどこかに甘えが出たのか も知れません。● 最近欲しいと思っているのが、話題の「トークマスター２」です。今はなる べくリアルタイムで聞くようにして、録音もカセットテープでやっているので、 ちょっと手間がかかりますね。でも、 でも、そういうものって手間がかかったり、リアルタイムで聞かなきゃ、と 思っているから続くのであって、タイマー録音にすると聞くのが後回しに なったりして、疎かになるかも、とも思う複雑な心境です。 中村でした。
2005年05月21日
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【NHKのラジオ講座でお勉強・5月18日】
★今日の１文★ ～英会話レッツスピークから～ ■ I have brown hair, and I'm wearing jeans and a cream-colored blouse. 私、髪は茶色で、ジーンズとクリーム色のブラウスを着てるわ。 ------------------------------------------------------------ 今日は特に誰も注目していないと思われる英会話レッツスピークのレイチェルのセリフについて少し解説してみたいと思います。 別にジーンズにクリーム色の ブラウスはファッション的にどうのこうの、という着こなしの解説ではありませんよ（笑）。 注目してほしかったのは、日本語では一切概念にない「冠詞」についてです。レイチェルは自分の見た目を説明するのに、髪、ジーンズ、ブラウスを挙げていますが、髪は「冠詞なし」、ジーンズは「複数形」、ブラウスは「不定冠詞」を使っています。英語では、この使い分けにはきちっと意味があります。この場面では、これ以外の使い方はあり得ません。 まず、髪についてですが、冠詞がついていません。なぜでしょう。髪は１本、２本と数えられるのではないか、という声が聞こえてきそうですが、これがまさに a hair と hair の対比なのです。 １本の髪の毛を表す場合が a hair で、髪の毛が何本も集まって１つの連続体をなす毛髪が hair です。今回、レイチェルのセリフは髪の毛１本１本についての色を説明したのではなく、髪全体の見た目の色を言っているので、brown hair と無冠詞になるのです。 同じことは money などでも当てはまります。「お金」の場合は紙幣や硬貨は明確な形をもつ単一の個体なので、a ten-dollar bill [１枚の10ドル紙幣] 、 three quarters [ 3枚の25セント硬貨]のように a がついたり、複数形にもなります。しかし、この紙幣や硬貨がたくさんあつまり、１つ１つの明確な形や境界線がなくなって連続体をなすと、英語では money という１つの「数えられない」名詞として用いられるわけです。 レイチェルの髪の毛が何本、なんて数えられないですものね。そのような場合は無冠詞です。 furniture[家具], cattle[家畜] なども同様です。 次に jeans ですが、これは「複数形」になっています。 jean と複数にしない場合には、ジーンズ（あや織り綿布）、デニム生地、という素材のことを指します。ズボンやパンツは１着でも足（を穿くの）は２足ですよね。ですから、jean+s と複数形にしなければいけません。 shoes[ 靴 ]、glasses[ めがね ]、scissors[ はさみ ]も同様です。 もし２着のジーパン、といいたいなら two pairs of jeans となります。 最後に blouse ですが、これは1着しか着ませんし、普通に不定冠詞 a で対応します。これは問題ありませんね。 そして、それらは次に話題に出てくる時、その時は他のものから区別され、限定されるので定冠詞 the がつくのです。John bought a tie, but he returned the tie soon.ジョンはネクタイを買ったが、そのネクタイはすぐに返した。最初は a tie ですが、第２文では the tie です。 冠詞の区別は、日本人にはとても難しいものですが、少しずつ使い方を勉強していきましょう。それでは今日はこのへんで。============================================================★今日のフレーズ★ ～英会話上級から～■ What's in it for ・・・ ? ・・・にとってはどういう利点があるの？ ------------------------------------------------------------ it は文脈によって指すものが変わりますが、 it のままで使われることが多いようです。」。what is in は「何があるの？」ではなくて、何の「利点」や「重要点」があるのか？と言う意味になります。for以下は「・・・にとって」です。What's in it for me? 私にはどんな利点があるのですか？ What's in a name? 名前なんか何だ。⇒大切なのは中身［実質］だ。------------------------------------------------------------＜編集後記＞● 早起き、短眠生活をすれば不眠症なんて無縁ですね。まずは4時間半睡眠 生活、そして、睡眠の質を高めていき、目指すは3時間睡眠です。● ようやく我が家もDVDを買いました。最近のDVDはとても便利ですね。ハード ディスクに、SDカード、電子番組表を利用しての2つの番組同時録画や、 録画しながら追っかけ再生、マルチ画面など多機能すぎて説明書読むだけ で一苦労です。DVDにしても-R、-RW、＋RW、RAMと色々規格があるようで 私は時代についていけてないかもしれません。 中村でした。
2005年05月18日
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