番組の冒頭と最後の部分も何と言っているのか知りたいというリクエストがあったので、ちょっとディクしてみました。この部分は毎回同じようなことを言っているので、これ以降ではカットしちゃいますね。ありがとうございます。
実践ビジネス英語 Wednesday, December 12
Business Communication in Action.
Hello, everybody.
Hello and welcome to the show. This is Heather Hayward. Let's take a look at conversation at work.
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1) Breakstone expresses skepticism that airline food will ever improve and Collins says that according to a relative of hers in the airline business, processes such as packaging and freezing have a significant effect on the taste of food served on planes. She adds that passengers' noses dry out inside the cabin, and that changes in air pressure numb their taste buds as the plane climbs higher.
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Hospital Food, Airline Food (4)
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2) toss-up: Collins is using this expression to mean a situation where there's no clear criteria for choice. Imagine you are choosing a new parts supplier. You might say, "It's really a 'toss-up' between company X and company Y. They are both offering an excellent deal."
3) "Toss-up" can also refer to a situation with an unpredictable outcome, you know, where the results could go any way. It's often used regarding elections, for example. You might hear something like, "At least five states are a 'toss-up' between the democratic and the republican candidates."
4) improve one's act: To do better, to perform some task better, Breakstone is saying. There is also the expression "clean up one's act," which is to stop behaving in a way that people don't like, start coming up to an acceptable standard of behavior. Imagine someone who is very sloppy in his work, always makes careless mistakes. His boss would tell him, "You have to 'clean up your act.'"
5) menu-wise: "Wise" is often used as a suffix to mean "in terms of" or "with respect to." So you could say, "This supplier may be the best option ‘cost-wise.‘" Or "This year has been very expensive for me 'tax-wise.'”
6) do a number on: This means to damage or hurt something as in "The cold weather has really 'done a number on' sales of summer clothes." Or "The rain really 'did a number on' my suede shoes."
7) dry out the nose: "Dry as a bone" is a very common expression uh, meaning very dry. I certainly drink a lot of water on airplanes. You know, my throat gets dry as a bone because the humidity is so low.
8) numb: Collins is using "numb" as a verb here to mean remove sensation, make unable to feel. Thank goodness, dentists numb our mouths before they start drilling. It can also be an adjective meaning devoid of sensation. My fingers are "numb" from the cold, for example. And another common meaning is unable to feel or act normally because of some overwhelming emotion. Imagine someone is unexpectedly fired, they might be "numb" from the shock.
9) taste bud: Another expression using "taste" is "leave a bad 'taste' in one's mouth." And this is when some experience leaves us with unpleasant, distasteful memories or feelings. I had lunch at a restaurant recently where the service was very bad. The staff were rude and slow. And it left a very bad "taste" in my mouth, you know, I'll never eat there again.
