Dormitory : Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Mr. Dormitory.
Barbara : Let me introduce him to you (facing Rodriguez). This is Mr. Dormitory. He's been sent here as a researcher from the Russian Science Academy. (facing Dormitory) This is Mr. Rodriguez. He owns a health food company, "Love Calorie".
Dormitory : You mean that "Love Calorie"....! It's my great pleasure to meet you. Your reputation has proceeded you.
Rodriguez : Oh, I wonder what sort of reputation has proceeded me. I hope it's not a bad rumor or something. Well, I have been involved in some pretty sharp business practices in the past, you know. Hahaha.
Dormitory : I can't believe what you're saying. Love Calorie is rapidly becoming a leading company, known to everyone in the region.
Rodriguez : Well, not like the other doctors...... for your age, you really are so good with compliments. I think you are the type of person who can sense the atmosphere right on the spot. You differ from people who don't care about giving an unreasonably long address at a wedding party, or from people who talk too long, forcing us to put our glass back on the table once we've raised them for a toast. I do believe we're going to get along with each other.
Barbara : This situation has taken an unexpected turn, hasn't it, Shizuka chan? It might be a long night tonight. Take a cab when you go home instead of using our courtesy bus and you can claim it as an expense.
【語句説明】 ◆ face A: Aと向き合う、Aのほうを向く
◆ reputation: 評判、世評
◆ proceed: 進行する、先へ出る
【今日のトリビア】
うわさはかねがね聞いております。 (Your reputation has proceeded you)
(Sarah visiting a detective agency. A detective facing Sarah welcomes her rubbing his hands together)
Detective : Please take a seat. Well, what can I do for you today?
Sarah : I want you to investigate my husband's conduct. I think his behavior has been very strange lately.
Detective : I see. May I ask in what way?
Sarah : Returning home from work, he has been all over me more often than before.
Say, for example, trying to give me a shoulder massage while I'm cooking, or asking, "what food is this?" opening the pot lid.
Very abnormal attitude, indeed. He is just like a dog turning on his charm to gain his master's affection. That makes me feel so disgusted.
Detective : Ho. So, you mean he breathes down your neck more occasionally than he used to do. May I ask how he had treated you before he changed that way?
Sarah : Sure. He was around me only when I was out of sorts. Nothing makes me more jealous than his being indifferent to his family. But look at him now...
Detective : By the way, do you sense a shadow of woman behind him lately?
Sarah : All the time. There's rather no day I'm not sensing it.
Detective : Oh, I envy him.....! Oops, sorry. I was talking to myself. Well, I shall start the investigation of his conduct immediately, then.
【語句説明】 ◆ detective agency: 探偵事務所 * 私立探偵は a detectiveですが a private eye という表現も あります。
(Rodriguez having some drinks with Sebastian, a friend of his at a bar "Bar Bara". Madam Barbara is pouring them some alcohol into their glass over the counter.)
Barbara : Rod, I think you have been so nasty to Shizuka chan these days. If you keep doing that, she will really start avoiding you.
Rodriguez : Ha ha ha! No worries, Barbara. This is all what I've calculated to do, you know.
Sebastian : Who is Shizuka chan, by the way?
Barbara : Really? Your conduct just doesn't seem to have been well planned at all, though. If I were in her shoes and say, you were as hard on me as on her, I'd want to kill you.
Rodriguez : Oh, I wonder how you can manage things as a madam of this bar. See, love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Accidentally, you might come to love someone who you've loathed to death. Like people say, they hate what they really love.
Sebastian : It's more like your feelings towards me.... (Sebastian...blushing)
(Sarah, Rodriguez's wife, having visited the detective agency again)
Detective : Thank you for coming all the way here in this hot weather. Please come this way. Well, the heat makes our business more tiresome. As we shouldn't appear to be suspicious, the engine of the car must be turned off. So, inside the car is like a steam bath. Thanks to this, I've lost a lot of weight, though. Ha ha ha.
Sarah : So, what's the outcome? Like I've suspected, is he cheating on me?
Detective : Ha? Well.....I mean.....
Sarah : Please don't bother telling me the truth in a straightforward manner.
Detective : Sure, I understand. Now...it's very hard to say...
Sarah : So, he's having an affair, right?
Detective : It would've been better if it was something more like that, I could say....In fact, he's not just cheating on you, but seems to be "seriously in love".
Sarah : ???
Detective : At the club "Bar Bara", he was being appealed to with tears, "What's our relationship going to be like from now on?" And his answer was this: "Play it cool as it's always been. Oh, don't cry so much. See, my feelings towards you can never ever change".
【語句説明】 ◆ all the way: 遠路はるばる、遠いところ (例) Did you really swim all the way across? (本当にここまで泳ぎ渡ってきたの?)
(Rodriguez and Sarah having been given counseling)
Counselor : Do you have anything you wish to say to your wife, Mr. Rodriguez?
Rodriguez : Well, let me see. I dare say, I want her to treat me with a little more tender loving care.
Sarah : Without my tenderness, girls out there treat you warm-heartedly enough, right?
Counselor : Now, please calm down, Mrs. Rodriguez. Why don't we listen to what your husband has to say? Please make it clear how considerately you would like to be cared for.
Rodriguez : Let me see.....for example, you know a small pack of mustard served with a meal. I want her to cut it open for me. I can't do it well since my fingers are big and rough, you see. Wa ha ha ha.
Plus, I want her to trim the downy hair growing on my neckline.
The sort of tiny but hearty considerations for me are wanting.
Oh, and one more thing. I want her to stop purchasing snacks like sweet bread or cookies all the time. I dream of eating something more easy to swallow like pudding, jelly, and ice cream.
Sarah : OK, let me pay you back. for what you've said to me now. When you blow your nose, I want you to wipe your nose with tissues. How disgusting to see slimy stuff spread all over the place!
And aside from that, I want you to stop lining up on the kitchen table the nostril hair you pulled out. The other day, I was nearly ready to cook Chinese dumpling (gyoza) mixed with them.
【語句説明】 ◆ treat: 扱う
◆ tender loving care: 心づかいのある思いやり
◆ out there: あちらに、向こうに > ※今日のトリビア here 「ここ」に対して out there 「そと」を指します。 ただし、具体的に“どこの場所で”と明言せず、 下界や外の世界といった抽象的な範囲で使われます。
ドラマ「X-Files」のサブタイトルとしても知られている 有名な一節があるのでご紹介します。 (例) The truth is out there. (真実はそこにある)
◆ warm-heartedly: 心優しい
◆ Calm down : (慌てている人、気持ちが高ぶっている人へ) まあまあ(落ち着いてください)
◆ considerately : 思いやりのある
◆ care for : 世話をする、かまう
◆ rough : 荒い、ごつごつした
◆ trim : 刈る
◆ downy : うぶ毛で覆われた
◆ neckline : えり足
◆ consideration : 思いやり
◆ hearty : 心からの
◆ wanting : 欠けている、足りない
◆ purchase : 買う( = buyのていねいな言い方)
◆ dream of doing : ~を夢見る (例) I dream of living in Hollywood. (ハリウッドに住むのを夢見ている)
◆ swallow : 飲み込む * easy to swallowで「飲み込みやすい、のど越しのいい」
◆ pay back : 仕返しをする
◆ blow your nose : 鼻をかむ
◆ wipe : 拭い取る
◆ disgusting :(嫌悪で)むかむかする、うんざりする
◆ slimy : ぬるぬるした
◆ spread : 広がる
◆ aside from : それだけではなく(= in addition to) (例) Aside from Sally, others had noticed it. (サリーだけでなく、他の人たちもそれに気づいていた)
◆ line up : 一列に並べる
◆ nostril hair : 鼻毛
◆ nearly : あやうく (例) I nearly missed the last train. (危うく最終電車に乗り遅れるところだった) ●第25話『サラの決断』の巻
Sarah : It could be that the baby I've been carrying might not be Rod's child....
Veronica : Oh, now I see. The world goes on like that all the time. When one is having an affair, the other is, too, mutually. They are even, you know.
In this case, frankly speaking, it might be more difficult to claim the compensation money. Besides, no one can guarantee that his lawyer wouldn't get wind of your affair.
Say, are you really sure that the baby you're carrying isn't Rod's?
Sarah : I haven't got a clue. Possibly, the baby might be Rod's or maybe not....
Veronica : Does Rod have the slightest idea about that?
Sarah : No...
Veronica : Are you going to live all by yourself after the divorce?
Sarah : .............
Veronica : Let me tell you this. You should make believe as if the whole thing never happened, Rod's affair, your will to divorce and the baby's biological father!!
You are and will always be Rod's wife as ever. And, bring up the coming baby as Rod's child. This is the best way for you, I think.
【語句説明】 ◆ it could be that: ~ということもあり得る (that以下は主語+動詞の語順)
◆ carry: 妊娠している
◆ the world: 「世界」のほか ⇒ 「世の中、世間」という意味もあります
◆ go on: 続く、進む
◆ all the time: いつも
◆ have an affair: 浮気をする
◆ mutually: 双方で
◆ even: おあいこの (形容詞)
◆ in this case: この場合
◆ frankly speaking: 率直に言うと
◆ claim: 請求する
◆ compensation money: 慰謝料
◆ lawyer: 弁護士
◆ get wind of: (事実やうわさを)嗅ぎつける (例)I wonder how Jack got wind of the truth... (どうやってジャックはその事実を嗅ぎつけたのかしら…。)
◆ I haven't got a clue. 「わかりません」 > ※今日のトリビア clueは「手がかり、ヒント」の意。平たく言えば "I don't know." と同じ意味で すが、こちらも会話で頻繁に使われる表現のひとつ。なお、I don't have a clue. という言い方もあります
◆ possibly: ひょっとして
◆ slight: わずかな、少しの
◆ idea: 考え、見当 * なお、have the slightest ideaで「多少なりともそれを知っている」の意
◆ live all by yourself: (他人を頼らずに) ひとりで暮らす
◆ divorce: 離婚
◆ make believe: ~のふりをする、~らしく見せかける (例)I know you made believe not to hear me. (キミ、わざと聞こえない振りをしただろ)
Sarah: Look, Robinson. Your daddy is going to give you your bath-bath.
Rodriguez: Sarah, how come you can spoil him that way? Besides, his name is Gonzales, not Robinson. I repeatedly told you if it was a boy, Gonzales, if a girl, Saridon. Have you forgotten all that?
Sarah: No, he's definitely Robinson. I want my son to grow up as a man, like Robinson Crusoe, who can survive staunchly even on a deserted island, say, like a man who heroically protects his beloved woman.
Rodriguez: That's what it is. Being a man's man, he needs to be equipped with a strong shape and iron spirit, never turning a hair no matter what happens to him; bankruptcy of the company, a sharp fall of stock prices, the misfortune to lose his hair in his 20's, or whatever extraordinary natural phenomenon happens to him!
Sarah: Oh, my! Rod, take a look. The nape of his neck is so hairy. Looks like a baby monkey. But, he is very much like you.
Rodriguez: Well, and his bristly hair. As is to be expected, he is descended from the Rodriguez Family. .....Oh, boy!?? What's this!??
【語句説明】 ◆ give bath-bath: お風呂に入れる (赤ちゃんことば)
◆ how come: なぜ (= why) > ※今日のトリビア 「なぜ」と聞いてピンとくるのは"why"ですが、会話では"how come~" が頻出します。文の作り方は、「how come + 主語+動詞~」 、つまり 平叙文の語順で行います。
◆ spoil: (子供などを)甘やかす
◆ repeatedly: 繰り返して、再三再四
◆ definitely: 絶対に
◆ grow up: (人が)成長する、おとなになる * growは、草花などが「生育する」
◆ staunchly: 勇敢に、頼もしく
◆ deserted island: 無人島 * desertedは、「人が住まない、さびれた」
◆ heroically: 雄雄しく
◆ beloved: 愛する(形容詞)
◆ be equipped with A: Aを装備する ⇒ Aを身に付ける (例) She was equipped with a knowledge of Japanese. 彼女は(仕事などに必要な)日本語の知識を身につけていた。
(Grandmother and grandfather are visiting from Sarah's parents' home. Rodriguez and Sarah welcome them opening the entrance door. Ding-dong. Rattling sound)
Sarah: Yippee! Dad, Mom! It's been a long time. How have you been?
Maria: How about you, how have you been? We were so worried as we have scarcely heard from you lately. Let me see your face closely. Ah, haven't you lost a bit of weight? Oh, my! Your ribs are standing out! Are you eating decently? Don't tell me you've been having hard life?
Rodriguez: I tell you what, Sarah has been on a diet. I keep telling her that she is rather too thin and I think women are cute when they are slightly plump.... She has been possessed by the idea of herself being fat. I really don't know what to do about it. Now, please come in.
Sarah: (Mind your own business...I know you always go out for a drink with a slender-hipped model working for a mail-order company!)
(Lorenzo, Sarah's father, and Maria, her mother are dandling Gonzales (tentative) )
Lorenzo: Well, when Sarah visited us with you, I once shouted at you saying things like "I'll not marry my daughter to a man of unknown origin!!", knocking over the dining table, then I remember causing my favorite fried prawns to fly all over the place.
Sarah: Fried prawns.....yeah, right. "I want to eat fried prawns today! I don't want to eat tomorrow!" is your favorite phrase, isn't it?
Lorenzo: Come to think of it, our decision to give you my daughter was perfectly right. We never imagined that we would be blessed with a boy this soon. Now, we're ready to die happily anytime, aren't we, sweetie?
Maria: What are you talking about, I'm not ready for that. Speak for yourself!
Rodriguez: Incidentally...I have something that I want to ask two of you -
【語句説明】 ◆ ding-dong: 呼び鈴の鳴る音。 日本語の「ピンポーン」にあたります。
◆ rattling sound: ガチャガチャ(という音)
◆ Yippee!: やった! * とても嬉しいときに使う感嘆詞
◆ scarcely: ほとんど~ない (例) It was very dark and I could scarcely see in front of me. (とても暗かったので、目の前を見ることはほとんど出来なかった)
Rodriguez: There's something I would like to ask you.
Lorenzo: What's that?
Rodriguez: There's no chance you two could be Japanese, is there?"
Lorenzo: What? Japanese? You mean "Morgan Oyuki's" homeland?
Maria: Darling, your example is ancient. When it comes to Japan, one immediately thinks of "healthy sandals", right? You know, the ones that make you feel so good, with the bumpy buttons massaging the arches of your feet.
Lorenzo: No, no. When it comes to Japan, it has to be Akihabara. I heard they sell an unbelievably awesome electronic product, I mean the one you can watch cable TV programs for free.... (clearing his throat) By the way, we're Italian to the core, and our ancestors were living in Firenze for generations. So, what's the problem with that?
Rodriguez: I confess that Gonzales might have Japanese lineage.
Lorenzo: Wh, what? It can't ever be possible, you idiot!!
【語句説明】 ◆ homeland: 母国、祖国
◆ when it come to A: Aの話となると (決まり表現です) (例) I'm not too good when it comes to paperwork. (事務仕事となると、私はどうも苦手です)
Rodriguez: I confess that Gonzales might have Japanese lineage.
Lorenzo: Wh, what? It can't ever be possible, you idiot!! And, what do you mean by that? You mean Sarah was having a.....with someone else....you mean that?
Rodriguez: No, no, Lorenzo, I don't mean that at all. I just wanted to know the line of your ancestry.
Lorenzo: Don't be stupid!! How many times do I have to tell you that we two are both Italian to the core!
Maria: Calm down, darling. All the blood will rush to your head if you get any angrier. What if your veins pop? Your life insurance matured long ago, and hasn't been renewed since then. Please watch what you do.
(Maria heading for Sarah who is doing household chores in the kitchen)
Maria: Sarah, listen, Sarah!
Sarah: What, mom?
Maria: For God's sake, don't tell me that Rod has been aware of the truth?