実践ビジネス英語 Friday, April 5
1) Breakstone says small talk can also serve as an informal greeting, and Lyons adds that sales representatives and service workers use it to put clients at their ease. He also advises Umemura not to respond in too much detail to questions like, "How's the world treating you?" as the askers are usually not seriously inquiring into his well-being. Collins recommends vague or unexpected answers.
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The Power of Small Talk (3)
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2) sales rep: Here "rep," r-e-p is short for representative. You You'll also see this in writing. Capitalized before the names of members of the U.S. House of Representatives, though in that case, it would be spoken representative or read representative John Smith.
3) "Rep" can also be short for reputation, as in "That company has a very bad rep when it comes to environmental pollution."
4) put someone at their ease: If we put someone at their ease, we cause them to relax. If I feel at ease, I'm relaxed, as in "I always feel at ease talking to my boss."
5) cause someone pain: Umemura is referring to physical pain here, but we can also use this expression about emotional distress, as in "He caused his mother a lot of 'pain' when he dropped out of school."
6) We also use "pain" or "pain in the neck" to mean something that's annoying or bothersome, you know, a nuisance, as in "I hate my commute. It's such a 'pain' to change trains three times."
7) ritualized exchange of pleasantries: "Pleasantries" are polite or pleasant social remarks. And it can refer to statements in both spoken and written English. For example, I might start an email with a pleasantry like, "I hope everything's been well with you." or "I hope you are enjoying the holiday season."
8) the average person: In this case, "average" means common, ordinary, most people, in other words, such as "'The average person' probably can't name all the members of the cabinet." or "'The average person' can't write the kanji for 薔薇 バラ or rose.
9) 普通の人を表す言葉 = John Q Public
平均的な人（男性） = John Q Citizen
平均的な人（女性） = Jane Q Public
10) by way of reply: Collins uses "by way of" to mean as a means of, for the purpose of. For example, "He took her to lunch 'by way of' an apology."
11) "By way of" can also mean "via," going through something, as in "I'm flying to Seattle 'by way of' Los Angeles." or "She heard about the merger 'by way of' the rumor mill."
12) refreshing: We often use "refreshing" about things that restore our vitality or energy. A "refreshing drink of water," for example, or a "refreshing shower." In this case, however, "refreshing" refers to things that stimulate us in a good way because they are new, fresh, different, as in "I found his proposal very 'refreshing.' It was extremely original. "
