人気ブログランキングへ
実践ビジネス英語 2008.07.17
2008年7月第3週分 Lesson 9 Career Activist (2)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
● 今日のテーマ
What’s the difference between workaholics and hard-workers? The team talks about the answer.
● point a finger 名指しする
Potter uses the phrase "point any fingers." He’s saying he doesn’t want to say it’s true in this situation. You can also use the phrase "point fingers" to mean "accuse" or "suggest guilt." Even the word fingers, you can use as a verb to mean "inform on." So, a police informant might finger another member of the gang.
・ point the/a finger at somebody to blame someone or say that they have done something wrong: I knew that they would point the finger at me. / I don’t want to point a finger of blame at anyone. (LDOCE)
・ finger [transitive] (informal) if someone, especially a criminal, fingers another criminal, they tell the police what they have done (LDOCE) 密告する
● "They live together, but they’re not close.
In this case, of course, Potter is using the word "close" in a psychological or emotional meaning, not physically.
● come to the forefront = come to the fore 先頭に立つ，前面に出る，台頭する
・ at / in / to the forefront (of sth) in or into an important or leading position in a particular group or activity: The new product took the company to the forefront of the computer software field. (OALD)
● "Can a three-day week-end once a year mend the fences?"
This sounds like a question, and she poses it as a question. But actually she’s saying it won’t work.
● mend the fences 関係を修復する
Finch also talks about "mending fences." It’s a phrase that’s often used to talk about improving or repairing the relationships between people. There’s another phrase in English — Good fences make good neighbors.
・ If one country tries to mend fences with another, it tries to end a disagreement or quarrel with the other country. You can also say that two countries mend fences. : Washington was last night doing its best to mend fences with the Europeans, saying it understood their concerns… (COBUILD)
・ Good fences make good neighbors. 垣根がしっかりしていれば，隣人とうまくやれる。
= A hedge between keeps friendship green.
= We remain better friends if we do not see too much of one another. Our neighbor does not live in our house and we do not live in his. Hedges or fences between our properties are not just physical barriers; they are a reminder to both of us that a good neighbor should never be obtrusive. (English Proverbs Explained : R. Ridout & C. Witting 1967)
● Hold on, everybody.
Yeah, and in English, also he could have said "Wait a minute, everybody," just like the Japanese version.
● I think I can buy that. それは認めましょう。
・ buy If you buy an idea or a theory, you believe and accept it. (INFORMAL) : I’m not buying any of that nonsense. (COBUILD)
● career activist キャリア志向人間
"A career activist" is someone who works hard and pays attention to his or her career and tries to get ahead through hard work and smart action. There’s another word, "careerist." That’s a negative term for someone who probably also works hard but is focused only on their own ambitions and their own success. It’s a negative way to describe some of the same activity.
・ careerist 出世第一主義者
・ get ahead = succeed
● workaholic と hard-worker の違い
So the difference between the two is, a workaholic can only think of work even when he or she is in other situations— it’s only work, work, work on their mind. A hard worker works hard, but also has other interests and looks forward to skiing after work.
● probe into ～ ～を探る
・ = to ask questions in order to find things out, especially things that other people do not want you to know
● quiz 質問する
・ = to ask someone a lot of questions [= question]
quiz somebody about something : Four men have been quizzed about the murder, but no one has yet been charged.
quiz somebody on/over something : They quizzed me on my involvement in the scheme. (LDOCE)
関連する投稿
by 
rickie
| Posted in NHKビジネス英語メモ | 