実践ビジネス英語 Thursday, December 13
1) Collins says cabin attendants are limited in how they can handle food. They can't, for example, use open flame grills or ovens. She says that while some airlines are offering better fare, airplane food overall has been getting steadily worse for about 20 years mainly due to cost cutting. Asked why some airlines are introducing better food, Collins says they are concerned about keeping first and business class passengers satisfied.
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Hospital Food, Airline Food (5)
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2) no kidding: There are number of ways to use this expression. Collins means that's absolutely true, or that's absolutely right. You can also use "no kidding” to mean "really" such as "'No kidding,' you are going to start your own business?" Or "'No kidding,' he runs 20 kilometers every day."
3) grill: In addition to a "grill" for cooking or the action of cooking on such a grill, this word can mean question someone intensely, persistently as in "The prime minister was 'grilled' about his tax reform policies in the interview."
4) hopeless cause: Umemura also could have said "a lost cause," meaning something or someone that has no hope of success, where effort is futile. You could say, "We've tried to help John overcome his shyness, but it's a 'hopeless cause.'" Or "People have tried to teach me to cook, but it's a ‘lost cause.‘ I'll never be any good."
5) That hasn't been my experience: My experiences have been different, Breakstone is saying. I have experienced something else in that respect. And you could also use this construction in a positive sense, as in "‘My experience has been that‘ company A is very reliable."
6) be in terminal decline: Collins is using "terminal" to mean getting worse and worse with no improvement. It can also mean extremely, hopelessly severe, as in "He suffers from 'terminal' stupidity."
7) on a silver platter: Collins is referring literally to "platters," trays made of silver. However, we also talk about handing something "on a silver platter" to mean give someone something they didn't work for, they didn't earn, as if they are a spoiled, lazy, rich person getting it from a servant. So we might tell young people "Out in the real world, no one's going to hand you success 'on a silver platter.' You have to work for it."
8) complaint: Just a brief comment here on Japanese versus English usage. I know that in Japanese, the word "claim" is often used to mean "complaint." But in English, we wouldn't use "claim" that way for ordinary, everyday complaints. Customers call in with complaints. Companies have complaint departments.
9) bulk: Collins is using this to mean the majority, the main part as in "The 'bulk' of our sales come from computers and printers." There is also the expression "in bulk," which means in large quantities or amounts. Lots of people buy dish soap and toilet paper in "bulk" to get a discount, for example.
