実践ビジネス英語 Wednesday, November 21
1) Umemura asks for advice in planning H&B’s holiday gathering saying he is unfamiliar with U.S. Christmas parties. Collins says the event is not Christmas specific, and Lyons describes office holiday parties as a long-standing practice that give people a chance to bond. Umemura says liberal alcohol consumption helps people loosen up at yearend parties in Japan. But Collins says current attitudes in the United States are different.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Office Holiday Party (1)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2) Is this the first time you've... : Another common way to say this is "Is this your first time to..." So Lyons could have asked, "'Is this your first time to' be a party planner?" Or "Is this your first time to give a speech in English?"
3) appreciate: Umemura is using this to mean "be grateful for" as in, "Oh, thanks for checking my translation. I really 'appreciate' it." The adjective form would be "appreciative." For example, "They were very 'appreciative' of our help."
4) start by correcting: One common expression using "correct" is "I 'stand corrected.'" We use this when someone is pointed out an error we made and we admit we were wrong. Imagine, I mistakenly say, "The Tokyo summer Olympics were in 1968." Someone corrects me, shows me the right date on the Internet. And I say, "Oh! I 'stand corrected', the Tokyo games were held in 1964."
5) multicultural: "Multi," of course, gets put in front of many, many English words. I've always liked the word "multifaceted," which means something has many different aspects or elements like the facets of a gem stone. I just read an article describing someone as a multifaceted person. He was a writer, singer and activist. Or you could encounter a multifaceted problem that has many different elements that need to be addressed.
6) time-honored: This refers to a respected practice that's been around for a long time. Lyons also could have said "long-standing," but that doesn't always mean a good thing. You could have a "long-standing" problem but not a "time-honored" problem. So eating noodles on New Year's Eve is a "time-honored" tradition in Japan. In American, eating hotdogs and watching fireworks are time-honored traditions on the 4th of July.
7) bond with: To develop a close relationship with to form a tie. One friend of mine and I, we bonded over our love of reading We are always talking about books we are reading and recommending new titles to each other.
8) once the drinks start flowing: In this case, "flowing" means something is moving steadily or insignificant amounts. You'll see things like foreign investments "started flowing" after the government introduced special tax deals.
==================================
実践ビジネス英語 Thursday, November 22
1) Lyons describes office holiday parties as primarily professional events and warns that going too far under the influence of alcohol can damage a person's career. As an example, he recounts how a former coworker of his horrified everyone at a company party by drunkenly confessing her infatuation with her boss in front of the boss's wife. Collins says she takes care to listen as much as she talks at such events.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Office Holiday Party (2)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2) unrestrained alcohol-fueled behavior: Lyons is using "fuel" as a verb to mean support or stimulate something. You might read about "Panic-fueled"selling on the stock market, or hear that sales rose "fueled" by the success of the company's latest luxury car.
3) be three sheets to the wind: Simply put, this means drunk. And I'd say pretty drunk, you know, visibly drunk. I looked up the origin in my idiom dictionary, but it was a bit complicated, so let's just go with pretty drunk. Another common expression using "sheet" is "white as a sheet," which means someone is very pale, like a white bed sheet. So you could say, "She was feverish and white as a 'sheet,' so our boss sent her home."
4) have a crush on someone: This means to be infatuated with someone. I had a big "crush on" an actor from Hong Kong when I was in high school. Any guesses who he was?
5) as if that wasn't bad enough: We often use this expression to mean the thing I just mentioned would be sufficiently bad all by itself, but no, there's more. As in, "I was 15 minutes late to the meeting, and 'as if that wasn't bad enough,' I'd left the papers I needed at my desk."
6) someone's jaw drops: This refers to the way a mouth fall open when we are shocked. And it can be shocked in a good way as well as bad. My jaw dropped the first time I saw the giant Buddha in Todaiji Temple in Nara.
7) the guilty party: This can mean a person who committed a crime or some bad act, but it can also mean a thing that causes a problem. Imagine, one of your desk drawers won't shut. You could look in the back and say, "Ah! There's 'the guilty party.' There's a book blocking the way."
8) underline: This expression uses the image of drawing a line under something. And Collins is using it to mean show clearly or definitely. "John and Mark's argument 'underlined' their poor relationship, for example. They can also mean stress or emphasize. As in, "The president 'underlined' the need to cut costs in his speech."
9) make a conscious effort to: An intentional effort, a deliberate effort. You can use "conscious" with a number of words. For example, "He made a 'conscious' choice to work fewer hours to have more time with family." You'll also hear about a "conscious" decision or a "conscious" attempt.
10) wee: This word has a strong Scottish aura. It means small. I think Americans mostly use it with a sense of fun, you know, a bit of a humorous tone, like, "We have a 'wee' problem. Uh... the computer system's crashed."
==========================================
実践ビジネス英語 Friday, November 23
1) Lyons says he limits his conversation at holiday parties to safe subjects like hobbies and always defers to his superiors. Collins says there can even be legal ramifications to giving such parties, and she and Lyons recommend Umemura take steps to promote responsible drinking. Options include having a bartender and making people pay for drinks. Collins also suggests clarifying that minors cannot drink alcohol.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Office Holiday Party (3)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2) defer to: Lyons uses this expression to mean respectfully submit, acquiesce to the opinion or decision of someone else. For example, there are two veteran editors at my paper, and we disagree on a style point, I usually "defer to" their greater experience.
3) steer something toward: Lyons tries to direct the conversation, in other words maneuver it toward safe territory. Another common expression using "steer" is "steer clear of," which means avoid, keep away from as if we are maneuvering a car or some other vehicle away from something. So, Lyons tries to "steer clear of" dangerous topics like religion or politics.
4) behind the cheerful facade: Collins is using "facade" to mean the outer apperance. Not always, but this usage often appears when the outer appearance is false or deceiving, as in, "His confidence is a 'facade.' He is actually very insecure." Or "The company was concealing massive debts behind a 'facade' of success."
5) legal ramifications: "Ramifications" refers to the consequences, the developments that result from some action or occurrence. A news article might predict certain ramifications from a tax increase, say, lower spending and investment. Or it might talk about the "ramifications" of a court decision, such as stricter penalties for certain crimes in the future.
6) help oneself: Collins is using "help oneself" to mean serve oneself. You'll often see signs saying "Please help yourself" in front of things like a stack of brochures that lets people know it's OK to take one. And again not always but sometimes with this there's a nuance of serving oneself or taking something without permission. For example, "He didn't ask if he could borrow my pen. He just 'helped himself.'"
7) donate the proceeds to a charity: In this case, "proceeds" is a plural noun used to mean the revenue from a particular sale or activity. So someone could write a book and donate 20 percent of the proceeds to an animal rights group. In other words, 20 percent of the money form selling the book. Or a company's public offering of stock might result in proceeds of five million dollars.
8) minor: Collins is using "minor" to mean someone who is not old enough to be a legal adult. So in Japan, a “minor“ is someone under 20 years of age. Be careful with the spelling, it's m-i-n-O-r in this case. Even native speakers often get it wrong and write m-i-n-E-r, which is somebody who gets ore or minerals from the earth.
