実践 9/26 (Wed.) - 9/29 (Fri.)

実践ビジネス英語

実践ビジネス英語　　　Wednesday, September 26

1) Garcia and Collins agree on the importance of realistic, gradual
weight-loss goals. And Collins mentions the risk of putting on weight amid a busy travel schedule. Nissen says he keeps active at airports to help avoid this, while Garcia avoids alcohol on planes. Collins says she limits her drinking at business conferences both for weight reasons and to focus on networking.

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Losing Weight (4)

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2) crash diet: In this case, "crash" refers to an intense effort made in a very short period of time. So someone on a "crash diet" will try to lose a huge amount of weight very quickly. Likewise, we have the term "crash course" when someone learns a lot about something in a short period of time, as in "I'm taking a 'crash course' in French before my vacation to Paris."

3) the way to go: The right approach, the right thing to do or choose, Garcia means. I think a smartphone is "the way to go," if you want to buy a new cellphone. You can do so many different things with it. And we also use "way to go" by itself to mean "well done." Imagine a foreigner tells you, "I just read a Japanese newspaper article without using a dictionary." You could compliment them by saying, "Way to go!"

4) learn a lesson: We use this expression when we learn from some unpleasant experience. We also say "learn one's lesson." Let's say, I don't give myself enough time to prepare for a presentation. And as a result, I don't do a very good job. I could say later, "Well, I 'learned my lesson,' next time I'll start preparing earlier."

5) steady as she goes: I believe this expression uses the image of a ship being steered slowly, steadily. Ships are usually referred to as female in English. So "steady as she goes" refers to gradual, careful, steady implementation or progress in something. For example, I prefer low-risk investments that yield a profit over time, not high-risk, high-return possibilities. So "steady as she goes" is my motto for investment.

6) park oneself in a chair: Like a car, we can park ourselves or something else in a certain place for a while, leave it there for a certain amount of time, as in "She 'parked' the baby with her mother-in-law while she went grocery shopping," or "He 'parked' some money in a Swiss bank account."

7) surefire: This probably refers to a gun that is certain to fire properly when you use it. If something is "surefire," it's guaranteed, certain to achieve certain results, as in "Being late to work all the time is a 'surefire' way to make a bad impression."

8) booze: Collins is using this as a noun to mean alcoholic drinks. It can also be a verb meaning to drink alcohol, especially regularly or to excess. Most of us do a fair amount of boozing when we are in our 20s, don't we?

9) all too well: We use "all too" with many different words to mean excessively, very. Not always, but the nuance is very often negative, like "He is late to work 'all too often," or "She knows 'all too well' the danger of not saving money."


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実践ビジネス英語 Thursday, September 27


1) Nissen says being obese is different from being slightly overweight and that reserch shows overweight people are not at a highter risk of cancer or heart disease than people at normal weight. Garcia mentions a study that showed overweight elderly people had a reduced risk of dying and adds that doctors say extra weight can strengthen bones. Collins says it can also help
women look younger later in life.

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Losing Weight (5)

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2) keep one's wits about one: This means to be able to think clearly. Have one's mind work smoothly, especially in stressful or charged situations. I remember when my husband and I were travelling in Europe, we lost a plane ticket. We had only a few hours before the plane. But we "kept our wits about us." We dashed to the airport and managed to get another ticket issued in time.

3) nurse: This is a verb, but not the "nurse" that means take care of
someone who is sick. This means consume slowly, over a long time. Although I think it does draw on the image of caring for something. It's also common to say "nurse a grudge," which means to hold on to a grudge for some time. For example, "John's been ’nursing’ a grudge against the company for years."

4) There's no question that: Something is irrefutable, there's not doubt about it, Nissen is saying. For example, "'There's no question' the world economy is extremely fragile right now."

5) obese: This is the adjective, and the noun is "obesity." And it means extremely overweight. On a related note, it's best to avoid the word "fat" in general. It's very harsh and direct. "Overweight" is softer.

6) plump という言葉も女性に対して使います。
Or "chubby."

7) two different things: This expression is used a great deal to contrast different things to say they are not the same. When it comes to investments, for example, taking a risk and being reckless are "two different things." Or "Knowing that I should exercise and having the willpower to do it are 'two different things.'"

8) pack a few extra pounds: In this case, "pack" means carry or wear and it　often has a nuance of weight or power, as in "The XY Flyer 'packs a 550 horsepower engine,'" or "This curry 'packs a punch.' It's really spicy."

9) osteoporosis: This is a bone disease. It uses the root "oste" which refers to bones. It shows up in words like, "osteopath," "osteoplasty."

10) shed tears: This refers to crying. So if someone "sheds tears over something," they are unhappy about it , say, lament it. I took my last math class in my freshman year of college and was very happy, it was over. "Shed no tears" about saying goodbye to math forever.


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実践ビジネス英語 Friday, September 28

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Losing Weight (6)

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1[S]: In our current vignette, Bill Nissen talks about the "diet by slogans" method he's been using to lose weight. This involves posting motivational statements like "Move it to lose it" in various places to encourage himself to stick to his fitness regime. What do you think of this approach, Heather?

2[H]: Actually I often do something very similar myself. I don't post notes anywhere, but I do repeat slogans or famous quotations to inspire myself in different areas of life: work, finances or personal relationships. One of my long-time favorites is from Mark Twain; he said, "I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." In other words, "Try not to worry too much. Try not to torture yourself with unfounded anxiety."

I think this approach is particularly effective for me because I'm primarily a verbally oriented person. However, some people are more visually inclined, so they might do better with a visual approach. For example, cutting out pictures of healthy, active people from fitness magazines and pasting them on their refrigerator. A visually oriented person might look at that and think, "That's what I want to be like. I will not eat that doughnut."

3[S]: So what other methods would you recommend for aiding weight loss and fitness?

4[H]: Keeping a detailed record of what we eat is another vital element in staying healthy. I've seen this recommendation over and over in fitness magazines and books, and I think it's true. A little nibble here, a little snack there may not seem like a big deal. But it can easily add up to 300, 400 extra calories a day.

Writing everything down prevents us from taking in too much, just like keeping track of our spending helps us avoid using too much money. All you need to do is keep a little notebook handy. But if you have a smartphone, it's especially easy to track calories. I have an app that takes all the guesswork out of how much I consume. It contains a long list of foods and their calorie counts including the dishes served by specific restaurant chains. It also creates graphs of my daily calorie intake and my weight.

5[S]: What about working out? What are some good ways to make sure we haul ourselves off the couch and get the blood pumping?

6[A]: Another piece of advice I've often heard is "get a workout buddy. "It's very easy when we are exercising alone to say, "I'm too tired to run or go to the gym today. I'll go tomorrow." Next thing we know, it's two weeks later and we haven't done anything. Exercising with someone else helps prevent those excuses. It's a good kind of peer pressure. If we don't keep our exercise dates, we feel embarrassed, wimping out and guilty for standing the other person up.

7[S] It can be hard though to match up schedules during busy modern lives.

8[H]: True. In which case, I recommend drawing on social networks. Create an online group of people working out and post regularly on your progress. I'd also recommend investing in nice workout clothes. When I was running a while back, I thought about buying some cheap sweat pants and t-shirts at discount clothing store but they looked heavy and bulky. I thought that's not going to inspire me to get up early and head for the local park.

So I went to a fitness store and bought some sleekly designed pants, a jacket and a running belt to carry water, my smartphone and my keys. It was great putting on that gear in the mornings, it made me feel like a real runner.