2008.09.03
2008年9月第1週分 Lesson 12 Midlife Crisis (1)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
● 今日のテーマ
Dan Potter’s colleagues wonder if it’s a midlife crisis that’s keeping him out of the office.
● see someone around ～を見かける
Right. The around means "in this area" very, very vaguely.
・ see somebody around to notice someone regularly in places you go to, but not talk to them: I don’t know who he is but I’ve seen him around. (LDOCE)
・ See you around. この around にはほとんど意味がありません。
● hectic てんてこまいの = very busy, full of activity (OALD)
● I understand that …
Kinkaid said she understand something about Potter. It’s very similar to heard, but instead of saying it’s sort of a rumor, it sounds like she has a little more positive knowledge of what’s happening.
・ that 節・wh 節を伴う understand は hear, know に近い。
● something of ～ ちょっとした～，～のようなもの
She also describes burnout as "something of a burnout." By using "something of," she’s not saying he definitely had sort of very bad experience from overwork or overworry. She’s saying, well, that kind of a thing but maybe not in its worst manifestation.
・ something of a shock/surprise etc <formal> used to say that something is a shock, surprise etc, but not completely or not in a strong or severe way: The news came as something of a surprise. (LDOCE)
● recuperate （健康･損失などを）取り戻す
She also says he took time off "to recuperate." Recuperate is one of those words you can’t take off what looks like a prefix. *Cuperate is not a word in general English. If you look on the Internet, you can find it related to semiconductors, but it wasn’t in any other dictionaries I checked.
・ recuperate to get back your health, strength or energy after being ill/sick, tired, injured, etc. (OALD)
● ditch 捨てる
・ ditch to stop having something because you no longer want it: The government has ditched plans to privatise the prison.
● family station wagon 家族用ステーションワゴン
Cortez mentions the family station wagon. In the U.S., the station wagon is a very dull sort of car. I think they are popular here in Japan for a while, though, and rather fashionable.
● thirtysomething 30代の人
・ thirtysomething someone between the age of 30 and 39: a new magazine aimed at thirtysomethings (LDOCE)
● rite of passage 通過儀礼
A rite of passage in anthropology is a specific ritual ceremony that people use to mark transitions in life. So for example, a wedding is a kind of rite of passage — you’re transitioning from being single to being married. Many cultures have some kind of ceremony or rite when kids become adults. But in general English, a rite of passage doesn’t have to be a specific ritual or ceremony. It’s maybe a less relax sort of state of activity that most people do at a certain age or transition.
I think you could say that in Japan Seijinno hi is a Japanese example of how you can use a rite of passage more generally in general English.
・ 成人の日 Coming-of-Age Day
● "as you grow older and hopefully wiser"
Tyson also talks about people growing older and wiser. That’s a fairly set phrase. Supposedly as you should(?) get older, one of the benefits of losing your youth is becoming wiser. And there’s another phrase that people use too: You are not getting older, you are getting better.
● set in 始まる（好ましくないこと）
Something that "sets in" is starting. But it sounds like something that’s being started and going deeper and deeper. You could say start, but it gives a rather different image of how something is starting and where it’s going.
・ If something unpleasant sets in, it begins and seems likely to continue or develop. : Then disappointment sets in as they see the magic is no longer there. / Winter is setting in and the population is facing food and fuel shortages. (COBUILD)
● equate A with B AとBを同一視する
Equate is a verb that’s related to equal. Equate is usually used when you want to make two things be equivalent or when you want to equalize them — you want to make them seem to be equal. It’s often used when the idea of seeming to be equal is in your hand.
2008.09.04
2008年9月第1週分 Lesson 12 Midlife Crisis (2)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
● 今日のテーマ
Tyson goes a little deeper into Potter’s troubles and Cortez and Kinkaid express their sympathy.
● inadvertently 不注意に，うっかりして
Tyson uses the word inadvertently to talk about leaving his keys on the desk. He could have used the word accidentally. It also works here, but the two words are somewhat different. Inadvertently is closer to "without meaning to." Accidentally includes the idea "by chance." I think in this case it’s not so much the chance he’s focusing on. He means it wasn’t what he meant to do.
・ if you inadvertently do something, you do it without realizing you are doing it, because you are not careful enough — use this especially to talk about someone’s behaviour or movements
- In a panic, I inadvertently pushed the accelerator instead of the brake.
- The Finance Minister inadvertently revealed budget secrets to reporters.
(Longman Language Activator)
● deliver 職務を果たす，結果を出す
Deliver is often used to talk about people who either can or can’t get results.
・ deliver to do or provide the things you are expected to, because you are responsible for them or they are part of your job: the costs of delivering adequate nursing care / the failure of some services to deliver the goods (=do what they have promised) / The company will deliver on its promises.
● "I knew … "
Cortez uses the past tense of the word know — she knew it. I think she chose the past tense because now she has more information, and so what she knew before is, I guess you could say, superceded by what she’s recently learned.
● burn the candle at both ends かなり無理をする
Cortez also uses the idiom "burning the candle at both ends." It comes originally from a French phrase that meant wasting your financial resources. It was as if the husband and the wife are both spendthrifts and they’re both just running through money really quickly, so that kind of accounts for both ends.
・ If you burn the candle at both ends, you try to do too many things in too short a period of time so that you have to stay up very late at night and get up very early in the morning to get them done. (COBUILD)
・ spendthrift 浪費家 a person who spends too much money or wh wastes money
・ run through to use up or spend money carelessly: She ran through the entire amount within two years. (OALD)
● run late 遅れる
・ run late/early/on time to arrive, go somewhere, or do something late, early, or at the right time: I’m running late, so I’ll talk to you later.
● "He once chuckled he may be late for his own funeral too.
This is also sort of a humorous way to describe someone who’s always late. You could call this a cliché too, I think.
● "sacrificed all things personal" の語順
Cortez uses the phrase "all things personal." It’s not the usual way to talk about your personal things. Usually, the adjective comes before the noun, right? — all personal things. But the regular phrase is very concrete. It means, for example, your wallet, your handkerchief, your own phone, things like that. But switching it around, it’s closer to everything personal, meaning not just your personal items, but also the personal decisions, all kinds of personal activities that Don has been sacrificing for his career.
● so-called New Economy いわゆるニューエコノミー
By using the phrase so-called to describe New Economy, Cortez is rather ironically referring to a phrase that people had been using a while ago for a very exciting and expanding economic time. People were saying, "Economics are changed! Everything is great!" So by saying so-call New Economy, she means that’s what they were saying, but that’s not really what it was.
● undergo a reality check 現実にぶつかる
She also uses the slang phrase "reality check." In this case, she’s still referring to New Economics as something that really isn’t new and really isn’t different. However the economy was working at that time, (it?) wasn’t different and new. And reality came back and made everybody go back to normal, and it wasn’t very much fun, actually. Usually a reality check disillusions people.
・ reality check <informal> an occasion when you consider the facts of a situation, as opposed to what you would like or what you have imagined: It’s time for a reality check. The Bears aren’t as good a team as you think. (LDOCE)
● come of age 成人する
To "come of age" is kind of a set phrase that basically means "become old enough." But "become old enough" is what people always do. To come of age means you now qualify to do various kinds of things because of how old you are.
・ coming of age the point in a young person’s life, usually the age of 18 or 21, at which their society considers them to be an adult (LDOCE)
● boom and bust 好況と不況の交替（期）
・ boom a quick increase of business activity [≠ slump] : The economy went from boom to bust (=from increasing to decreasing) very quickly.
2008.09.05
2008年9月第1週分 Lesson 12 Midlife Crisis (3)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
● 今日のテーマ
The team considers some other things that might lead to a midlife crisis.
● like 「たとえば」
In casual conversations, English speakers often use the word like to mean "for example."
● down the chute 落ちていく
Chute is a word that comes into English from French. That’s why the soft sound for the ch spelling — [ʃuːt]. Chute is an inclined trough or channel that you can drop things down and they slide all the way down from the top to the bottom. One house I lived in had a laundry chute. From the upstair hallway, you could open a small door and put your dirty laundry or sheets into the little opening and they would slide down into the laundry room. So you didn’t have to carry everything all the way down the stairs. Another thing that some apartment buildings have is a garbage chute or trash chute. You can go into the hallway outside your apartment and drop your trash through a small door in the hallway and it drops down into the trash area of the building.
● Your mortal days are numbered. 生きている日々は限られている
"Your mortal days" might be a phrase that’s a little bit difficult to understand. One meaning of mortal is "will die." So "mortal days" refers to the days that people are on the earth, because everybody dies eventually. The opposite of mortal is immortal, of course, and that, according to many Christian beliefs, your immortal soul continues after you die.
・ His days are numbered. 余命いくばくもない
= a person or thing will not continue to live, exist or be successful for much longer : His days as leader of the party are numbered. (OALD)
● mortality 死，死者数
Mortality is, of course, related to mortal. Mortality is the state of being subject to death. So, all living things eventually will die, so you can talk about the mortality of living things. Mortality is also used to talk about death especially when it’s in large numbers. You can talk about the mortality of war, for example.
● live out ～を最後まで生きる，生き抜く
・ If you live out your life in a particular place or in particular circumstances, you stay in that place or in those circumstances until the end of your life or until the end of a particular period of your life. : Gein did not stand trial but lived out his days in a mental asylum. / I couldn’t live my life out on tour like he does. (COBUILD)
● sweat 汗水垂らす
Tyson also mentions sweating to achieve. He doesn’t mean literally sweating. To sweat is often used to talk about making great efforts, whether you actually sweat or not.
・ sweat to work hard: They sweated and saved for ten years to buy a house.
sweat over He’d sweated over the plans for six months. (LDOCE)
● mull over あれこれ考える，～を熟考する
・ mull something over to think about a problem, plan etc for a long time before making a decision:
He’s mulling over the proposals before making any changes. / The company is mulling over a share offer. (LDOCE)
● chuck it all すべてを投げ捨てる［投げ出す］
The basic meaning of "to chuck" is to throw. But it’s often used also when you are not actually throwing something — when you’re giving something up, when you’re stopping something, when you don’t want to do it anymore.
・ When you chuck something somewhere, you throw it there in a casual or careless way. (INFORMAL) : I took a great dislike to the clock, so I chucked it in the dustbin. = throw (COBUILD)
● a supply of ～ ある量の～
A supply of something is an amount of it which someone has or which is available for them to use. : The brain requires a constant supply of oxygen. (COBUILD)
● turning back the clock
put [set, turn] the clock(s) back （冬時間用に）時計を贈らせる，時勢に逆行する，昔に戻ってやり直す
2008.09.10
2008年9月第2週分 Lesson 12 Midlife Crisis (4)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
● 今日のテーマ
Observing that many people feel life begins at forty, the team realizes that many middle-aged people are actually happy.
● get the message （相手の本意などを）理解する
・ get the message < informal> to understand what someone means or what they want you to do: OK, I get the message – I’m going! (LDOCE)
● give in to ～ ～に屈する
・ give in (to sb/sth) 1. to admit that you have been defeated by sb/sth: The rebels were forced to give in.
2. to agree to do sth that you do not want to do: The authorities have shown no signs of giving in to the kidnappers’ demands. (OALD)
● be tied down 縛られている
・ A person or thing that ties you down restricts your freedom in some way. : We’d agreed from the beginning not to tie each other down. (COBUILD)
● buy into ～ ～を受け入れる，賛成する
If you buy into something, you accept it or you believe it.
・ buy into < informal> to accept that an idea is right and allow it to influence you: I never bought into this idea that you have to be thin to be attractive. (LDOCE)
● culprit 原因，発端，犯人
・ culprit 1 a person who has done sth wrong or against the law 2 a person or thing responsible for causing a problem
● make a virtue of ～ ～を美徳にする
If you make a virtue of something, you decide it’s a good thing and you persuade everybody else to agree with you.
・ If you make a virtue of something, you pretend that you did it because you chose to, although in fact you did it because you had to. : The movie makes a virtue out of its economy. (COBUILD)
ほんとは，しなくちゃいけなかったのでしただけなのに，あたかも自分から積極的にやったかのようなふりをすること
● "Many people think that means perpetual youth."
Tyson mentions "Many people think that means perpetual youth." He’s referring back to the idea that U.S. culture says renewing yourself is a virtue — making yourself new again, reinventing yourself. I think that’s true in the U.S., and I think that many people do think it’s the same thing as perpetual youth. But you could, I suppose, reinvent yourself at whatever age you are, to fit your age, instead of trying to become young again.
● recapture one’s youth 青春時代を取り戻す
I just heard an the advertisement on the radio for some sort of treatment for men who want to regrow hair on their heads, and one of the reasons they think you should try it is so that you can be as self-confident again as you were in the twenties. It’s a really good example of recapturing your youth.
● hot potato
・ If you describe a problem or issue as a hot potato, you mean that it is very difficult and nobody wants to deal with it. (INFORMAL) (COBUILD)
● shed their spouses （shed 脱皮する）
Using the word shed almost makes it sound like a natural event.
● The clocks keep ticking. 時は（容赦なく）過ぎていく
You could also use the same phrase and say "the clocks is ticking," which means "Hurry up, hurry up. Time is passing."
● lithe 敏捷な，柔軟な
・ lithe moving or bending easily, in a way that is elegant (OALD)
A lithe person is able to move and bend their body easily and gracefully. : …a lithe young gymnast…/ His walk was lithe and graceful. (COBUILD)
● Life goes on. （それでも）人生は続く。
Right. The phrase is usually used as an encouragement.
・ life goes on <spoken> used to say that you must continue to live a normal life even when something sad or disappointing has happened: We both miss him, but life goes on. (LDOCE)
つらいことがあっても，ふつうに生きていかなければならないときに使われる
2008.09.11
2008年9月第2週分 Lesson 12 Midlife Crisis (5)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
== Key Phrases to Remember ==
● trade in ～ ～を下取りに出す
Trade and trade in are very similar, but when you trade something in, you replace something old with something new. To trade nearly means exchange; it doesn’t carry the extra meaning of replace.
・ trade something in to give something such as a car to the person you are buying a new one from, as part of the payment （← これが下取り）
trade something in for He traded his old car in for a new model. （← これは「下取りに出して交換する」） (LDOCE)
それ以外に， trade in ～ 「～を商う，売買する」この in は前置詞，上の in は副詞。
● deliver 職務を果たす，期待にそう
Based on the word deliver, recently in business circles you might hear someone talk about deliverables. And what they want to know is what you can bring to the table.
・ deliverables deliver した結果，提供品
・ bring ～ to the table 議事にかける
● be disillusioned 幻滅を感じる
・ If you are disillusioned with something, you are disappointed, because it is not as good as you had expected or thought. : I’ve become very disillusioned with politics. (COBUILD)
● be convinced 確信する
● someone’s [something’s] days are numbered 残された日々は限られている
This might sound like sort of a silly phrase; if you look at a calendar, all the days have a number. But what this really means is that you can count all the remaining days, and that implies that you can see the end.
● mull over ～ ～をあれこれ考える
= あんな時，こんな時 =
● Absolutely
You could also say "Certainly" at the same time that you say "Absolutely."
And that reminds me of a proverb that Ben Franklin made up. I think almost everybody knows this in the U.S. Nothing in this world is certain but death and taxes.
● No question about it.
Sometimes people might say, "No doubt about it."
● non-issue 問題にするまでもないこと
If it’s a non-issue, nobody wants to discuss it. It’s certain.
・ non-issue a subject of little or no importance (OALD)
● For sure.
Or you can even shorten this to "Sure."
● I bet (you) that the plane’ll be delayed again.
And you have to be careful, because the other person might say, "You’re on!" and take your bet.
Although usually even with this amount of money mentioned, everyone understands it’s not actually a bet.
・ You’re on. <informal> used when you are accepting a bet (OALD)
● "A hundred dollars says we’ll win the bid." の主語･動詞の一致
You do have to be a little bit careful with subject-verb agreement in English. And -s doesn’t always indicate that the speaker is thinking of the subject as plural.
● I"’m a hundred (and ten) percent certain of it."
Yeah, you can’t really have a hundred and ten percent certainty.
● "I’m quite [absolutely] sure of our victory."
In this phrase, absolutely is probably a little bit stronger than quite. Quite can be used sometimes to minimize what you’re saying.
2008.09.12
2008年9月第2週分 Lesson 12 Midlife Crisis (6)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
S = 杉田敏 I = Susan Iwamoto
S: Uh, Susan, we’ve been talking about stress, burnout, and midlife crises recently. Any thought?
I: Well, I had to laugh when Rosa Cortez mentioned buying a sports car. That is the classic cliché of a midlife crisis for men. My dad recently bought a new sports car— a convertible, no less! And he keeps joking that it subtracts ten years from his age when he drives it. I don’t think he’s actually going through a midlife crisis, though. How about you, Sugita san? Any sports cars at home?
S: Well, I’ve already gone through that stage and will be back to pedaling a bike as I used to as a student. But we can say that there are a lot of people who burnout at some point in their career. How about you, Susan? Did you go through a quarter-life crisis?
I: In a way, but that term was coined around the time I was emerging from mine. I viewed this was a natural part of my twenties, though, and it helped that I hadn’t set any strict deadlines to achieve certain life goals.
S: So what do you mean?
I: Well, many people have a clear idea of what they want to achieve by a certain age. For example, they want to have a successful career by 25, get married and buy their first home by 30, and have two or three kids by 35. That’s a nice idea, and though it does work out for some people, others may find that their life doesn’t adhere to such strict deadlines. I’ve often thought that people who choose these milestone birthdays as markers of success in life are just setting themselves up for disappointment.
S: But aren’t these deadlines a good way to motivate to stay on track?
I: Sure, as long as they realize that it might take them a little longer to achieve their goal or perhaps that their goals might change slightly along the way. I had a number of friend who dreaded turning thirty and a few who had a tough time with twenty five. I think people feel pressure to have checked off a number of items on their life to-do list by then. To be honest, I never felt that way. I had, and still have, goals and though I want to achieve them, arbitrarily setting age deadlines has always seemed like a bad idea. I say that now, though, checking with me again about ten years, I may be singing a different tune. "Midlife crisis, here I come." Actually that brings me to an interesting point. I’ve read something recently that suggested that midlife crises may be cultural; and Japan hasn’t had history of them. What do you think?
S: I don’t really think it’s cultural, nor generational. Everybody experiences stressful life events at different stages of life. They were called nervous breakdowns in the old days. Some Japanese new-graduates suffer from what’s known as May disease. There’s also a best-seller many years ago in Japan, titled Resistance at 48. They’re all about personal anxieties and uncertainties associated with major life changes. I understand that there’s no scientific evidence that crises occur more frequently in one age bracket than at any others. I think midlife crisis is largely a myth.
I: That’s a good point. Perhaps it’s just part of life’s ups and downs. I don’t know whether Don Potter is actually going through a midlife crisis or not, but he certainly is under a lot of stress. I think that can be a trigger for many people leading to a crisis of some sort, midlife or not. Jay Tyson made an interesting point about people in Don’s situation, wondering if all the sacrifices they made were worth it. That’s understandable. I think there comes a point in time when people wonder exactly why they are working so hard at the expense of time spent with family, friends or pursuing their own interests. Some people decide to make drastic changes, perhaps a career change, a move to another city, or in some cases, a divorce. Whether this is because of general dissatisfaction, or because they want to return to the carefree days of their youth, people who make these drastic changes may regret them later. Then again, big changes can be a good thing.
S: What do you mean?
I: I think there are a lot of people who get cut up in what they should do, rather than what they really want to do. They may be afraid to take a chance and follow their dreams. That reminds me of a woman I met in the U.S. a few years ago. She was in her mid-twenties at that time, living in her home town and working in a job that was stable and paid a reasonable salary, but that didn’t challenge her. In many ways, she was a typical candidate for a quarter-life crisis. She wanted to move overseas but had a long list of reasons why she shouldn’t go. However, she was eager to hear my experience of living in Japan and I could tell she really wanted to make the move but was afraid to do so. People who don’t take chances are the ones too often to wonder what might have been when they hit their midlife.
S: How about you, Susan? You mentioned you went through something similar to a quarter-life crisis.
I: Yes, there was a period in my mid- to late- twenties, when I found myself wondering what to do with my life. I had a nice steady job, but I found myself losing motivation as time went on. I liked certain parts of my job, but knew that I needed a change. I considered my options, and decided to explore the opportunities while still holding down my full-time job. I bought all sorts of career books, attended career workshops and had lots of long motivating talks with a good friend of mine who’s going to a similar phase.
S: Did that help clarify things for you?
I: It certainly helped me focus on the fundamentals, but those things were just some first steps. I then sought out(?) people with interesting jobs and asked them about career paths. I also found continuing education courses in subjects that interested me, and did a lot of self-study. What really cemented things for me, though, was a week at some institute in the US. I met so many intelligent, dedicated, and enthusiastic individuals working in my field of interest. And everything fell into place. However, I didn’t quit my job right away. Instead, I kept working, studying, keeping my eyes open for opportunities in my new chosen field. When a job opportunity popped up, I was ready.
S: Melinda Kinkaid talked about aging gracefully and Rosa Cortez talked about an increased sense of contentment in middle age. Do you think this is the case? Will midlife crises be a thing of the past?
I: Let’s hope so. There has been a definite shift in perception of what it means to be middle-aged. Jay Tyson mentioned that life begins at forty. But I think even that is changed. I think more and more people are thinking that life begins at fifty or sixty. My parents are in their sixties, and although they may have officially retired, it feels more like they’ve just downshifted a bit. My dad still works on a project basis, sometimes in the U.S., and sometimes overseas, and my mom is looking for a flexible part-time job so that she can make a little extra money but still have time to travel and visit me and my sisters. This isn’t unusual, and I think the baby-boomer generation in particular is responsible for a big shift in society’s perception of people in their 50s and the 60s. Maybe by the time I get there, sixty will be the new thirty.
時間切れになってしまった。ここまで。
2008.09.17
2008年9月第3週分 Lesson 13 Child Safety Campaign (1)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
● 今日のテーマ
Great Lakes is working with a consultant to plan a child safety campaign.
● Now let’s get going. では始めましょう
It sounds like they’ve been chatting for a while and now Tyson’s ready to have everybody get down to business.
● "Meet Mike Morrison." ～を紹介します。
Using simply the word "Meet ～." to introduce someone is fairly casual, but you could also describe it as efficient.
● kick off ～をスタートさせる
・ if a meeting, event, or a football game kicks off, it starts. (LDOCE)
● school board, education board 教育委員会
・ school board = a group of people, including some parents, who are elected to govern a school or group of schools in the US (LDOCE)
● canvass 聞いて回る，詳しく調査する
Canvass is kind of an interesting word. Generally, if you are using it as a verb, you spell it with two s‘s on the end. When it’s a noun, it’s usually spelled with one s. As a noun, it’s a kind of fabric — heavy fabric that’s used for tents and things like that. It comes from a Latin word for hemp. It looks like the verb is also related to that. The fabric made from hemp, the canvas used to be used for sifting. And so, if you think about talking to people and finding out their opinions or observations, it’s the kind of sifting through their opinion.
・ canvass
2 [intransitive and transitive] to ask people about something in order to get their opinion or to get information:
Police canvassed the neighborhood, but didn’t find any witnesses.
3 [transitive] to talk about a problem, suggestion etc in detail: A committee was set up to canvass the city’s educational options. (LDOCE)
● thumbs up 承認，賛成
・ thumbs up / down used to show that something has been accepted / rejected or that it is / is not a success: Their proposals were given thumbs down. (OALD)
● full steam ahead 全速力での前進
The phrase "full steam ahead" means "go forward rapidly and strongly." It comes from ships — steam ships — using all the power to go ahead. You’ll also hear the phrase "full speed ahead" used in exactly the same way.
・ full speed / steam ahead = with as much speed or energy as possible (OALD)
● deploy 配置につかせる
Deploy is a verb that is used to talk about sending out your forces in a way that will effectively achieve your goal. It sounds very military. It comes from the military and it’s sometimes used in business. And I suppose here it’s a good verb to use. It sounds like sending out your police and other resources to seriously go find those children who’ve been lost.
・ To deploy troops or military resources means to organize or position them so that they are ready to be used: The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops. (COBUILD)
= to use effectively : deploy arguments / resources (OALD)
● abduction 誘拐，拉致
Another word you’ll often hear for abduction is kidnapping. And although kidnapping starts with the word kid, you can use it for people of any age.
● take the initiative to V Vすることに乗り出す
If you take the initiative in a situation, you are the first person to act, and are therefore able to control the situation. : We must take the initiative in the struggle to end the war. (COBUILD)
if you have or take the initiative, you are in a position to control a situation and decide what to do next: Why don’t you take the initiative and ask him out? (LDOCE)
● stakeholder 利害関係者
Kinkaid uses the word stakeholders. A stakeholder is someone who has an interest or maybe a stake in something that’s going on. Stakeholder is also used in companies. It refers to not only the shareholders — the people who actually invested money in the company — but everybody else who has a strong involvement. So stakeholder would include employees and probably customers.
● grade school ［米］小学校
I think in the U.S., grade school might be even more common than saying elementary school. And I think it’s because people say you’re in the first grade, the second grade, the third grade. So it’s called a grade school.
● fend off ～を回避する
・ fend off to defend or protect yourself from sth/sb that is attacking you. (OALD)
2008.09.18
2008年9月第3週分 Lesson 13 Child Safety Campaign (2)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
● 今日のテーマ
Although they decide reaching teachers is a priority, the team will need to find ways to attract media attention to individual abductions.
● "To be sure that … "
Tyson uses the phrase, "To be sure that …" He could have said "To ensure that …" And there are three words that are rather similar but in US English, they’re used differently. Ensure means take action to be sure that something happens. Assure is similar, but assure is using words to make someone else more comfortable that something will happen. And then the third word is insure. Insure is usually used in US English to talk about the business of making sure that thing will happen.
・ ensure to make sure that something happens or is definite ～を確実なものにする
・ assure to tell somebody that something is definitely true or is definitely going to happen, especially when they have doubts about it ～を保証する，請け合う
・ insure to buy insurance so that you will receive money if your property, car, etc. gets damaged or stolen, or if you get ill or die. 保険にかける (OALD)
● drive A home to B AをBに十分理解してもらう
Tyson also talks about driving a message home. If you drive something home, it’s usually a message or a meaning or even a threat perhaps. You’re reinforcing or emphasizing it. You’re very powerfully sending your message.
・ drive home to make something completely clear to someone: He didn’t have to drive the point home. The videotape had done that. (LDOCE)
● platform 足がかり，基盤 ←→ track ［米］プラットホーム
(英語で「3番線」はtrack No.3 だが) Although usually in the U.S., you talk about trains by which track it’s on. You could talk about the platform if it’s absolutely necessary to talk about that piece of building or equipment or whatever you want to call it.
・ 最後は，ホームのあのコンクリート製の建造物それ自体をいいたい時はplatformとしかいいようがない，ということ。
● charge （受け持っている）生徒･子ども
Charges, or charge, might seem like sort of a strange way to refer to the students that the teachers are teaching. I think it comes from "be in charge of." Something that is given to your care, you could call a charge. I think in English it tends to be used for children being taken care of by teachers or babysitters or nurses even.
・ charge [countable] <formal> someone that you are responsible for looking after: Sarah bought some chocolate for her three young charges. (LDOCE)
● turn up one’s nose at ～ ～に目もくれない，鼻であしらう
・ turn your nose up (at something) <informal> to refuse to accept something because you do not think it is good enough for you: My children turn their noses up at home cooking. (LDCOE)
● high profile 高い知名度
・ high-profile receiving or involving a lot of attention and discussion on television, in newspapers, etc.
● hook 人の関心を引きつけるもの
The word hook here is slang. Tyson uses it to mean something that will grab the attention of mass media.
・ hook = something that is attractive and gets people’s interest and attention [= draw]: You always need a bit of a hook to get people to go to the theatre. (LDOCE)
● get a good grip on ～ からをしっかりと把握する
・ grip = an understanding of something
have/get a grip on something : I’m just trying to get a grip on what’s happening. / She was losing her grip on reality. (LDOCE)
● perking at peak heat 最高潮に持って行く
・ perk to gain in vigor or cheerfulness especially after a period of weakness or depression
● the three R’s 読み書き計算
The three R’s means reading, writing and arithmetic — the three words don’t all actually start with R. But it’s an easy way to talk about education basics. The phrase seems to come from England in the early 195h century. There was a guy making a speech about how important education is. And supposedly he showed his lack of education by talking about the three R’s. Now, whether this is actually a true story or not, nobody really knows, but it is kind of interesting.
● have ～ up one’s sleeve ～をこっそり用意している
If you have something up your sleeve, you have planning in place; you know what you gonna do. Sometimes you have it up your sleeve because you’re hiding it. I don’t think that’s true in this case, although they don’t really need to publicize their tactics and strategies.
・ If you have something up your sleeve, you have an idea or plan which you have not told anyone about. You can also say that someone has an ace, card, or trick up their sleeve. : He wondered what Shearson had up his sleeve. (COBUILD)
● "the one where you reach teachers" 関係副詞のwhere
It might seem a little strange to use the word where in this sentence, but English speakers often use where instead of "in which." "In which" sounds quite a bit more formal, I’d say.
2008.09.19
2008年9月第3週分 Lesson 13 Child Safety Campaign (3)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
● 今日のテーマ
It seems that the best way to attract teachers to the campaign is to contribute to the classroom by offering prizes that satisfy their educational hopes and dreams.
● tie in with ～ ～と関連づける
・ tie … in with ～ to link something or to be linked to something
● touch base with ～ ～と連絡を取る
・ touch base (with somebody) to talk to someone to find out what is happening about something (LDOCE)
● from coast to coast 大西洋岸から太平洋岸まで，全米で
Tyson uses the phrase "from coast to coast" to refer to the whole country. He could have said "the whole country," or he could have said "nationwide." Although "coast to coast" refers only to the continental part of the U.S., technically, it’s used to mean the whole country.
● canvass
● wants and needs 要望と要求
"Wants and needs" is almost a set phrase that people use quite often, especially if they don’t really want to distinguish between something that’s needed and something that’s wanted strongly.
● hopes and dreams 希望と夢
And here’s another of those kind of doubled-up phrases — hopes and dreams.
● drum up ～ ～を集める，あの手この手でかき集める
If you drum up something, you try to raise interest in it: you try to get people to pay attention to it. It’ been used since about the mid-19th century in the U.S. And it’s very similar to using an actual drum to draw people to a specific location.
・ drum something up to get support, interest, attention etc from people by making an effort: He travelled throughout Latin America drumming up support for the confederation. (LDOCE)
● be split down the middle 真っ二つに割れる = split in two/ half
・ The board had split in two. / Split the pineapple down the middle.
● "However, we believe …"
Morrison begins with "we believe." Sometimes Japanese and English use we and our a little bit differently. In this case, he’s referring to himself and his company — his colleagues. He’s not referring to the group that he’s talking to right now including himself.
● the powers that be 上層部，首脳陣
Another phrase Morrison uses is "the powers that be." The phrase "the powers that be" is often used to refer to any kind of authority. It’s whoever the authority is. In this case, it doesn’t really matter specifically who the individuals are on the board of director. The important thing is that they have the power, they are the authority in this case.
・ the powers that be (often ironic) the people who control an organization, a country, etc.
● prototype 試作品
・ prototype = the first form that a new design of a car, machine etc has, or a model of it used to test the design before it is produced
● swing 動かす，変えさせる
・ if emotions or opinions swing, or if something swings them, they change quickly to the opposite of what they were
2008.09.24
2008年9月第4週分 Lesson 13 Child Safety Campaign (4)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
● 今日のテーマ
After listening to more details of the plan for the campaign, Morrison expresses his hope for its success.
● position 位置づける
・ positioning （製品・サービスの）差別化
● champion 勇者
・ champion of ～ a person who fight for, or speaks in support of, a group of people or a belief (OALD)
● scared stiff 怖くて縮み上がる
If you are "scared stiff," you’re scared so badly that you can’t move, you can’t take action to help yourself. A similar phrase is "frozen stiff," but that, of course is because it’s so cold.
・ scared stiff / scared to death / scared out of your wits (=extremely frightened) : I was scared stiff at the thought of making a speech. (LDOCE)
● on the street 米 ←→ in the street 英
● "by screaming, kicking, and running away"
Morrison talks about three actions that kids should take if they think they’re in danger: screaming, kicking and running away. However, there is a phrase in English: kicking and screaming. And it’s another set phrase. It tends to mean protest. You don’t have to actually kick somebody; you don’t have to actually raise your voice in order to protest.
・ kicking and screaming 抵抗しながら protesting violently or being very unwilling to do something: The London Stock Exchange was dragged kicking and screaming into the 20th century. (LDOCE)
For example, you could say something like : my professor insisted that we practice presentations and make good ones in class, although we were kicking and screaming the whole way. I found out later that it was an excellent skill for my future.
● get down to brass tacks 核心・本題に入る
"Get down to brass tacks" is an idiom that means "get started", "focus on what we are here for"," let’s do the business we are intending to do here." Why you get down to brass tacks, however, nobody really knows. Some people think it might be because on counters in dry goods stores. There used to be brass tacks for measuring fabric. So, to make something clear, and to focus on it, you would measure the fabric by brass tacks. A lot of people don’t accept the story, though, as the origin of the idiom.
・ get down to brass tacks <informal> to start talking about the most important facts or details of something
・ dry goods store 服地屋
● as of ～ ～の時点で
・ If you say that something will happen as of, or in British English as from, a particular date or time, you mean that it will happen from that time on. : The border, effectively closed since 1981, will be opened as of January the 1st. / She is to retire as from 1 October. (COBUILD)
● cover letter 添え状
・ covering letter a letter containing extra information that you send with something
● Big Bad Wolf 極悪人
I think in the U.S., when you say Big Bad Wolf, almost everybody including very small children would think about the story about the Three Little Pigs, because the character Big Bad Wolf threatens them.
・ the Big Bad Wolf a dangerous and frightening enemy.
● off duty の警官・消防士
Fire fighters will also put on their uniforms to volunteer for firefighting-related events, although they don’t have to be quite so clear about whether they’re on duty or off.
● play-acting 芝居・実演
Play-acting is very similar to pretending. It’s one of the major activities kids do.
● role-playing 役割演技
Role-playing and play-acting are basically the same activity. However, role-playing is usually used for educational purposes, while play-acting is usually for theater, or children’s imaginative play.
● have the bases covered 万全の準備をする
"Having the bases covered" is an idiom often used in English to mean you are thoroughly prepared, you are ready for everything.
・ cover (all) the bases to make sure you can deal with any situation or problem so that nothing bad happens: Parents are already stressed trying to cover the bases at home and at work. (LDOCE)
2008.09.25
2008年9月第4週分 Lesson 13 Child Safety Campaign (5)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
== Key Phrases to Remember ==
● Let’s get going. では始めましょう。
● take the initiative 率先してやる，自ら乗り出す
More slangy way to say "take the initiative" is to describe a person as a "self-starter."
As a verb, initiate basically means "start" or "begin."
・ self-starter = someone who is able to work successfully on their own without needing other people’s help or a lot of instructions – used to show approval (LDOCE)
● high profile 高い知名度
● gain momentum 弾みがつく，本格化する
● contribute to ～ ～に寄与［貢献］する
So anything that contributes to .. is part of the cause of something.
● be scared stiff 恐怖を感じる，怖くて縮み上がる
= あんな時，こんな時 =
会議を始める時 Let’s get going.
インフォーマルな表現
● Let’s get rolling.
・ Let’s roll. ≒ Let’s go.
"Let’s roll" includes the idea of "start", but it focuses more on going, even more physically moving.
・ start [get/set/ keep] the ball rolling to make sth start happening; to make sure that sth continues to happen
● Let’s kick it off.
・ kick off → 実践ビジネス英語 2008.09.17
● Where do we begin? どこから始めようか？
It sounds like they’re getting into the discussion portion of the meeting.
・ Where did we leave it last time? 前回はどこで終わりましたっけ？
● Who’s on [up] first?
With this phrase, you’d have to be very careful with the phrase "Who’s on first?" because if you say "Who’s on fírst?" it sounds like "Who’s standing on the first base?" But if you say "Who’s ón first?", it means "Who’s the first speaker?" It’s like "Who’s on stage first?"
少し改まった表現
● Let’s convene the meeting.
・ convene to come together for a formal meeting
● May I call the meeting to order?
・ call a meeting to order 会議の開会を宣言する
● I’d like to lay down a few ground rule before we start.
・ ground rule （野球などの）ルール，基本事項，基本的行動規範
・ 会議のground rule
Generally, it might be things like turn off your cell phone, no side-conversations. It could be even something like when you plan to take breaks. However, if you’re having a discussion that’s rather sensitive or discussion where people might become angry with each other, you could set more specific ground rules about how to discuss topics. For example, you might say that before giving your own opinion, you must repeat, in your own words, what the previous speaker said.
● Here’s a housekeeping announcement first.
・ housekeeping announcement 会議とは関係ない日常業務などのお知らせ
This might be something like "be sure to throw away your cans and bottles in the proper receptacle.
2008.09.26
2008年9月第4週分 Lesson 13 Child Safety Campaign (6)
《ディクテーション・ノート》
S = 杉田敏 I = Susan Iwamoto
S: Uh, Susan, in our most recent vignette, Great Lakes was about to kick off a child safety campaign as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts. Do you think American corporations are eager to get involved in such activities?
I: Sure, although the approach Mike Morrison described was very hands-on. Not all corporations are get so involved.
・ hands-on doing something yourself rather than just talking about it or telling other people to do it: a chance to get some hands-on experience of the job (LDOCE)
S: What do you mean?
I: Well, although many organizations feel it is their duty to get something back to the community, there are a number of levels at which to do so. For example, Great Lakes will be working directly with teachers, schools and community groups. They’re going to write their own lesson plans and construct a web site to support their effort. Other organizations take a different approach and contribute mostly monetarily by donating to local community groups and charitable foundations or perhaps sponsoring events to raise money for good causes.
・ raise money （募金などで）金を集める
・ cause 大義，主義主張
S: Child safety definitely qualifies as a good cause.
I: That’s for sure. This is an area that’s been getting more attention in Japan, too, fortunately or unfortunately. Time has changed a lot since my childhood, when my sisters and I roamed freely about the neighborhood, with our biggest safety concern being whether or not we’d fall off our roller-skates.
・ qualify = to have all the necessary qualities to be considered to be a particular thing
qualify as : It doesn’t qualify as a date if you bring your children with you. (LDOCE) 「～と呼ぶにふさわしい」というくらいか。
S: Did you ever have safety-awareness classes as a child?
I: More, we did get the classic warning from my parents — don’t talk to strangers — and we occasionally had guest speakers at school to talk about crime in general. There was a popular anti-crime campaign at the time, with public service ads, or PSAs, on TV, featuring a crime-fighting dog called McGruff. I remember his catchphrase to this day: Take a Bite out of Crime. I remember having a police officer visit our school to talk about crime awareness. We also had guest speakers to talk about the dangers of drugs, especially while Ronald Reagan was President. His wife Nancy led an anti-drug campaign with a slogan "Just Say No." I also vividly remember a former actor coming to my junior high school to give a special anti-drug talk. He had been a drug addict and told us some horrific and gory stories meant to scare us away from experimenting with drugs. However, I don’t recall corporations getting directly involved in these campaigns.
・ scare ～ away(off) to make an animal or person go away by frightening them: She moved quietly to avoid scaring the birds away. (LDOCE)
S: Do you think corporations have a responsibility to give something back to society at large?
I: Yes, I think so. A cynic might see their effort as a ploy for good publicity, but I think there are organizations who really do feel the obligation in a good way to contribute to the community. I found many examples in the past at places where I worked.
・ cynic ひねくれたものの見方をする人
S: Such as?
I: Well, I used to work for a regional bank that placed a high value on corporate social responsibility. I headed(?) corporate communications led off with local non-profit organizations to improve the quality of life in the community that our bank did business in. There was also a wonderful program I had never encountered before at any place I’d worked.
・ place a high value on ～ からを重視する
S: What sort of program was it?
I: It was a sabbatical program for the bank’s employees. Up until then, when I heard the word sabbatical, I thought of professors taking a year off from teaching, concentrated on research. I had no idea this was possible in the corporate world.
・ sabbatical a period of time when sb, especially a teacher at a university, is allowed to stop their normal work in order to study or travel
S: What was the purpose of the program?
I: Well, the bank chairman was very committed to nonprofit work, and he wanted to encourage it among the bank staff. He created a program that would allow employees who’d been working for the bank for at least three years to take a three-month paid sabbatical to work for nonprofit organizations. The last time I checked, this program was still going strong. Usually, the employees worked for local community organizations, but in one case, a bank employee went to Indonesia to help with the tsunami relief efforts for three months.
・ going strong to continue to be healthy, active or successful: My grandmother is 90 and still going strong. (OALD)
S: Any other examples?
I: One of the companies I worked for in Japan had a similar view toward corporate responsibility, though it had no sabbatical programs that I was aware of. The company often donated a large amount of money for disaster relief and support community projects. And periodically there were smaller events, such as employee book drives to raise money for charities in and out of Japan. In fact, we had a special office devoted to the corporate social responsibility initiatives. That corporation is famous for its cameras among other products, and has many photo-related events, activities, and courses with local schools and community groups. On a very local level, the company headquarters hosted a summer festival each year for the neighborhood to express its gratitude for the community support. It’s nice to see the corporation focus on more than just profits. And how about you, Sugita-san? Have the organization you worked with in the past been involved in these kinds of initiatives?
S: Oh, yes. My company plans and executes a social action program on behalf of our clients. One of the most well-known programs that we’re deeply involved in provides a home-away-from-home for families of serious ill children receiving treatment at near-by hospitals. We’re also engaged in cultural, educational, and sports activities in Japan and in China.
・ home from home <British English> = home away from home <American English> a place that you think is as pleasant and comfortable as your own house
今週もここで終わってしまった。次回こそ Word Watching まで行きたいものだ。