実践ビジネス英語 Wednesday, May 7
1) Collins says her 43rd birthday brought home to her that she is now middle-aged, a situation Lyons commiserates with. Pearson says it's important to make the best of life as one grows older, and says the numbers of Americans 65 and older is expected to reach 92 million by 2060. Collins and Breakstone agree that everyone develops the physical signs of aging, and Lyons says the first sign is probably fatigue.
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Healthy Aging (1)
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2) be in denial: Refuse to acknowledge some truth. Collins may have been telling herself, "Oh, no! I'm not approaching middle age. I'm still young." Imagine someone who won't save for retirement, who says, "Oh, I'll be fine. I'll manage." He "is in denial" about what he'll need for retirement.
3) it hit me: In this case "hit" means really feel something, realize it. We use it about things that have a strong emotional impact on us, like they are physically hitting us. "It hit me" the other day that I've lived in Japan for nearly 22 years now. Wow!"
4) if it's any comfort: Another way to say this would be "if it's any consolation" or "if it makes you feel better." Imagine someone in your office is upset over a mistake. You could say, "'If it's any comfort,' I've done the same thing."
5) to quote: We use this expression when we are going to recite the words of someone else, very often it's a famous person like Browning. "To quote" Oscar Wild, "I can resist everything but temptation." But you can use it with non-famous people too. "To quote" my father, "No one ever regrets saving too much money."
6) make the best of: This is to do the best you can, be as positive as you can in a situation that's not ideal, things like, "He doesn't like his job very much, but he is 'making the best of it.'" Or "My desk is too small, but I'm 'making the best of it.'"
7) after all: Pearson is using this to mean recalling or considering the fact that.... In this kind of situation we are stressing some fact with the hope that other people will accept it, something like, "I'm not surprised he missed the deadline. 'After all' he only had 2 days."
8) telltale sign: A "telltale sign" indicates something. It's clear evidence of something. For example, "Bad spelling and grammar are two 'telltale signs' of virus-loaded fake email." Or "Bluish nails are a 'telltale sign' of anemia."
9) vim and vigor: This is energy, enthusiasm. It's a little old-fashioned, I think, but you still see it. I might use it in a joking way. I might go to the office and say, "Well, I'm full of 'vim and vigor' today. I had a very good night's sleep."
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実践ビジネス英語 Thursday, May 8
1) Collins says her vision has deteriorated as she's gotten older while Lyons laments the unexpected aches and pains he experiences. According to Pearson, elderly people have told him that aging has made them more easy-going and less competitive. Breakstone says she's met plenty of bad-tempered elderly people, but Collins thinks people like that were always grumpy. Lyons asks what middle-age people can do to age well.
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Healthy Aging (2)
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2) my folks: Lyons means his parents and this is always plural. We don't say, "I'm going to meet 'a folk' this weekend." And you can use it about other people's parents too. "Did you see 'your folks' over the weekend?"
3) drive someone nuts: Really irritate someone, really annoy them. Personally, it "drives me nuts" when people take up two seats on the train." Or you could say, "It 'drives Rudy nuts' when people interrupt him."
4) out of the blue: We use this when something happens without warning, unexpectedly. The image is something falling out of a cloudless blue sky. So you could say, "Everything seemed fine but then they canceled the contract 'out of the blue.'" Or "Right 'out of the blue,' our boss announced he was leaving."
bolt out of the blue （晴天の霹靂） とも言う
5) bright side: The positive element or elements in a certain situation. We often urge people to look on the "bright side" to emphasize the positive factors in some situation. So imagine, someone has to work a lot of overtime, you might tell them, "Well, look on the 'bright side.' You'll get a nice big paycheck for it."
6) deep-seated urge: Something "deep-seated" is firmly established. It's very difficult to change as if it's deep under the ground. So there could be a "deep-seated" rivalry between two companies, or "deep-seated" structural problems within a company. And this can literally mean far below the surface. I've read about "deep-seated" mineral deposits, for example.
7) oldster: An old person, in other words, just like a youngster is a young person. Breakstone also could have said "the 'old fogies,' you know, or the 'old-timers,' you know."
8) crotchety: A "crotchety" person is bad-tempered, cranky. Another way to say this is crabby, something like, "She is always 'crabby' when she doesn't sleep well."
9) grump: This is a cranky, unhappy person who complains a lot. We also say "have the grumps," which means to be in a bad humor, to feel sulky. "He's 'had the grumps' all morning," for example.
10) get the H-E-double-hockey-sticks off of someone's lawn: "H-E-double-hockey-sticks," this is an old-fashioned expression that we still use as a joke. Ice hockey sticks a shaped like "L"s, so the person means H-E-L-L, hell.
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実践ビジネス英語 Friday, May 9
1) Pearson recommends that people remain physically, mentally, and a socially active as they age, but Collins wants more specific advice. Breakstone urges eating more fresh fruit and vegetables, which are good source of antioxidants. Pearson says people who exercise have healthy cardiovascular systems and just walking a half hour each day can extend a person's life. Breakstone says staying out of the sun is also beneficial.
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Healthy Aging (3)
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2) euphemistically: This is an adverb. There's also the adjective "euphemistic" and the noun "euphemism." They are all about using softer or indirect terms for something unpleasant or offensive. "Let go" is a "euphemism" for "fire," for example. "Between jobs" is a "euphemism" for "unemployed."
3) autumn years = 人生の秋、晩年、引退後の人生をさす
autumn of one's years や golden years ともいう
4) common sense: Ordinary good judgment, practical sense, things that people don't or shouldn't need to be specially taught, they should know them naturally. For example, "It's 'common sense' not to interrupt your boss when he or she is speaking."
5) pile up: Accumulate, in other words. Literally or figuratively form a pile, things like, "I've got to answer emails this morning. They've really 'piled up' in my inbox." Or "Complaints are 'piling up' about the bugs in our smartphone app."
6) no-brainer: Something so simple and obvious, no one should have to think about what to do. We don't have to use our brain to figure it out. So imagine you are looking at two new computers. You might say, "This is a 'no-brainer.' Model X has a lot more memory and it's cheaper."
7) ward off: This is to keep something harmful away, to deflect it. For example, "Washing our hands regularly can help 'ward off' colds and other illnesses." Or "The government has introduced new measures to 'ward off' deflation," that kind of thing.
8) add years to someone's life: Pearson means make your life longer. We also have the expression "lose years off of one's life." And this can be literal or figurative. We often use it when something really scared us or stressed us out. We are saying, "Oh, well! That really took a toll on me. I once tripped near the bottom of an escalator. I was all right, but very scared and when I got up, I thought, "Oh, I just 'lost five years off my
life.'"
9) get into one's head: This means realize a certain truth, accept that truth and act accordingly, such as "He finally 'got it into his head' that he needs to be on time."
10) all very well: We use this expression to mean something is fine. Something is all very well, but something else also needs to be considered, needs to be done, things like " The occasional impulse purchase is 'all very well,' but I can't buy whatever I want all the time." Or "Having fun or relaxing is 'all very well,' but studying is important too."
【原稿チェック： Cecile, Hiromi】
【ディクテーション： Sanae】
