実践ビジネス英語 Wednesday, July 17
1) Nissen describes his recent trip to Chicago to see his parents and says he was surprised to learn that his father doesn't plan to retire until he is 65. Nissen says this is partly due to losses he suffered on the stock market but adds that his father is a workaholic who has mixed feelings about retirement. Breakstone says nearly two-thirds of Americans aged 45 to 60 plan to put off retirement.
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Second Acts (1)
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2) quality time: This expression refers to valuable, rich time that we devote to people we care about or to some important activity. Quality time nurtures our relationship with such people or allows us to achieve something important.
3) Yes, so, a busy company executive might spend quality time with his children on the weekends, take them to the park, read them bedtime stories that sort of things.
4) carouse: This is to drink a lot, to engage in rowdy, drunken partying. We see lots of new company employees carousing every year in April, don't we? Out celebrating their new jobs.
5) hit 65: In this case, "hit" means attain or reach something. And the nuance is that the thing reached is significant in some way, in this case, the advanced age of 65. So you can say things like, "The stock market 'hit' an all time high today." Or "The temperature 'hit' 35 degrees yesterday."
6) take a long, hard look: This means spending a good amount of time to ponder, examine something carefully. And the combination of long and hard appears with a number of verbs. You might say, "She thought about it 'long and hard' and decided to quit." Or "John worked 'long and hard' of his speech."
7) take a beating on the stock market: To "take a beating" is to suffer some kind of setback, defeat as if we've been beaten, pummeled in the losing fight, things like "The company's reputation 'took a beating' when it recalled one of its products." Or "The ruling party 'took a beating' in the last election.
8) We also have the expression "make a killing," which means to make a lot of money. "He 'made a killing' in IT stocks," for example. Or "The company 'made a killing' with its new software."
9) well-deserved: If something is "well-deserved" then it's greatly deserved. The person getting it has really earned it. Umemura also could have said "well-earned," as in "Jane got a 'well-earned' promotion. Or "Victoria got a 'well-earned' raise."
10) inveterate: We use this to refer to things that are established through long practice or to behavior that's habitual. Someone could be an "inveterate gambler," for example. I just saw an article that started "I am an 'inveterate' social media junky."
11) put off: Delay something into a later time, postpone, things like "We've decided to 'put off' the conference until next month."
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実践ビジネス英語 Thursday, July 18
1) Nissen says more and more people are delaying retirement because of reasons like financial losses, layoffs and no income growth. He also says the American labor forces have been getting older for some time partly because people are healthier and living longer. He goes on to describe how his father's job is threatened by aggressive younger colleagues willing to work for less money.
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Second Acts (2)
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2) why the big change?: We often use "why" with some noun or phrase like this and let the verb be understood from a context. Imagine a colleague says, "I've given this project to Rachel." You could reply just, "'Why' Rachel?" instead of "Why did you pick Rachel?" or "Why do you think Rachel is best?"
3) stagnant: Nissen uses this word to mean not growing, progressing. If my income is "stagnant," then it means I'm not making more money as time goes by, my salary stays the same. Likewise, if job growth is "stagnant," then new jobs are not being created in the economy.
4) get back to: In this case, "get back to" means return to some subject or task that was being dealt with earlier, such as "I'll 'get back to' this report next week. I've got to finish this other job first."
5) remind: Cause to remember, in other words. I might say to my husband, "'Remind' me tomorrow morning to take my passport to work? The personnel department needs a copy of my visa."
6) clientele: This refers to the clients, costumers of some person or business considered as a group, as in "That fashion brand caters primarily to an older 'clientele.'" or "That lawyer's 'clientele' includes some of the most successful business people in the country."
7) feel the heat: Nissen's father is feeling the pressure, the threat from these younger workers. Likewise, "Company X is 'feeling the heat' as its competitors slashed their prices," you could say.
8) It can also mean that someone is literally feeling the effects of hot weather, such as, "I need to get a bottle of water. I'm really 'feeling the heat' today."
9) go after: This expression refers to attacking or pursuing something. In this case, pursuing something because you want to obtain it, you know, the younger workers want to secure clients. We also use it about pursuing wrong doers so they can be punished, as in "The government is 'going after' copyright violators."
10) let go: This is a euphemism for firing someone, as in "The company had to 'let 20 employees go' this month."
11) A euphemism for "quilt" is "give notice." "I 'gave notice' last week," for example.
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実践ビジネス英語 Friday, July 19
1) Nissen says people aged 55 to 64 are having a particularly hard time finding new jobs. And he and Breakstone agree that members of that age group should have backup plans in case they wind up out of a job. Breakstone recommends continuing to network in order to have career potions and says with skill, drive and luck people can reinvent themselves.
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Second Acts (3)
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2) crawl back to health: Nissen uses "crawl" in the sense of move slowly or with difficulty. "Sales have 'crawled' up since last year," for example. Or "There was a big pileup on the freeway so traffic is just 'crawling' along."
3) pink slip: If we get a "pink slip," we are fired and "pink-slip" itself can be a verb just by itself. In that case, there's a hyphen between the two words. "The company 'pink-slipped' 10 people last month."
4) hoary adage: Breakstone is using "hoary" to mean very old, and not always but often this word has the nuance of trite, worn-out, ugh, that old thing kind of thing. It's also common to hear about "hoary clichés." I particularly object to the "hoary cliché" that girls are weaker at science and math than boys.
5) You can't teach an old dog new tricks. ⇔ You are never too old to learn.
6) plan B: This refers to what we'll do if our first plan doesn't work out or can't be done. What's our plan in that situation? I remember missing a train to the airport many years ago, and my friend said, "No problem. 'Plan B,' we'll catch a different train from Ueno."
7) fall back upon: This refers to what we can rely on, what we can turn to if our first chice doesn't work out, like a cushion that will break out fall. U.S. high school students usually apply to a number of colleges, for exmple. That way they have something to "fall back upon" or something to "fall back on" if they get into their first choice.
8) We also have the noun and adjective "fallback," one word, such as "This college is my first choice, and this one is my 'fallback.'"
9) go only so far: Only help you, only benefit you to a certain extent, in other words. Only effective to a certain degree, such as "Personal connections will 'only get you so far' in finding a job. We also have to be qualified and present ourselves well."
10) keep one's options open: Ensure that you have different things to choose from that you have choices available, Nissen means. A politician might say, "He won't run in this election but keep his options open for the future," for example.
11) doesn't hurt: Breakstone uses this to express the opposite of its literal meaning. "It doesn't hurt" means it's an advantage, a benefit to have or do some particular thing. For example, "It 'doesn't hurt' to keep our resume updated. That way if a job opportunity comes up, we can send it immediately."
【原稿チェック： Hiromi, Hiroko】
【ディクテーション： Sanae】
