6/18 (Wed.) 〜 6/20 (Fri.)

実践ビジネス英語　　　Wednesday, June 18

1) Breakstone and Nissen express their satisfaction at holding a working dinner with other H&B staff. And Lyons regrets focusing on the past during the main course. Collins and Breakstone reassure him with Breakstone saying H&B has to keep up with social change. Breakstone also says the two largest demographic shifts in the past century have been the entry of women into the workforce and much longer life spans.

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The Impact of Changing Demographics (1)

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2) coordinate busy schedules
In this case, "coordinate" means harmonize in a common action or effort, things like, "The marketing and production departments need to 'coordinate' their activities more closely." Or "She always 'coordinates' her shoes and accessories very carefully with her clothes."

3) working dinner = ビジネス会議を兼ねたディナー
working breakfast, working lunch
power breakfast, power lunch ともいう
working capital = 運転資金
working class = 労働者階級

4) backward-looking agenda
Concern with the past, Lyons means. We also say "forward-looking" in other words thinking or planning for the future, such as "We have a very 'forward-looking president.' He is always trying to incorporate the latest technology."

5) rambling rumination about
Lyons uses the adjective "rambling," the verb is "ramble." And in this case, both refer to talking for a long time and in an aimless manner, such as "Instead of giving concise, focused answers, the interviewee 'rambled' on for 20 minutes."

6) Ramble can also mean wander aimlessly. For example, "I 'rambled' around the neighborhood during my lunch break, did some window shopping."

7) a good dose of
"Dose" can mean the amount of medicine that is received at one time, such as "This vaccine is administered in four 'doses' overall." But here, we are using the image of medicine to mean an amount of something that we experience. And it can be a good thing or bad thing. For example, "He got a good 'dose' of humility when the boss criticized his careless mistakes." Or "Beating his sales quota gave him a good 'dose' of self-confidence."

8) keep up with
Breakstone means stay informed or up to date about something. Some people "keep up with" national security issues. Others "keep up with" new information technology.

9) anticipate
To foresee, Breakstone means. Things like, "He didn't 'anticipate' how crowded the store would be." Or "We achieved our sales quota much more quickly than we 'anticipated.'" "Anticipate" can also mean expect something with pleasure, look forward to it, such as, "Consumers are eagerly 'anticipating' company X’s new smartphone."

10) it's fair to say that
I can say this without being wrong, Breakstone means. I'm right to say that.... We also have the expression "safe to say," which means we are not at risk of being wrong, you know, this is extremely likely to be the case. For example, "'It's safe to say' handwritten letters will never make a comeback." Or "'It's safe to say' sales will go up this year. Our new model is doing very well."

11) demographic shift
"Demographic" in this case refers to the makeup of a group of people. The ratio of men to women, for example. What professions people have, their ages, etc. You'll also hear about "demographic trends," such as the graying of Japan's society.


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実践ビジネス英語　　　Thursday, June 19

1) Lyons says intelligent businesses will be more flexible regarding working conditions allowing telecommuting, for example, while Collins says forward-thinking companies are trying to help men and women run a household through such measures as offering daycare services. Breakstone says the number of Americans over 65 is expected to more than double by 2050. And Lyons says businesses have to encourage good employees to keep working regardless of their age.

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The Impact of Changing Demographics (2)

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2) telecommuting
This is working from home with a computer connection to your employer. There's also the verb "telecommute," as in "I 'telecommute' two times a week."

3) enlightened human resource policy
If someone or something is "enlightened," then it's wise, it's characterized by understanding and reason. For example, "The company has a very 'enlightened policy' regarding paternity leave. Uh, new fathers can take up to one year off."

4) stay ahead of the game
Maintain an advantageous position over one's competitors, Collins means. Do things sooner, be in a better situation. For example, "They invest a lot in R&D to 'stay ahead of the game' technologically." Or "She is always studying new English vocabulary
to 'stay ahead of the game.'"

5) go all-out to
Give it all they've got, in other words, use all their abilities, resources or strengths to do something. You might say, "She 'went all-out' to get the job. She researched the company. She spoke to people who work there, and she practiced her interview responses for hours."

6) not too far off the mark
This expression uses "mark" in a sense of a target someone is aiming at. If someone or something is "off the mark," they are wrong or inaccurate. So Collins is saying that remark is pretty accurate, actually. Or you could say something like, "Our sales projections were 'way off the mark.' It was a much better quarter than we expected."

7) hold down a job
This means successfully keep a job. For example, "She can't 'hold down a job' because of that short temper. She keeps clashing with her bosses."

8) draw on
This means use someone or something as a resource, as if we are extracting something beneficial from that person or thing. For example, "He 'drew on' his 25 years of experience to write a book about marketing."

9) be left behind = 取り残される、遅れをとる
No Child Left Behind Act ⇒ 落ちこぼれ防止法

10) incentive
An "incentive" is something that encourages someone to do something. When a government provides a "tax incentive," for example, it offers lower taxes in return for doing something the government wants, like making capital investments. Or a company might offer its employees "financial incentives" like a bonus to bring in new customers.


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実践ビジネス英語　　　Friday, June 20

1) Collins says the graying population will create more opportunities in the healthcar,　financial services, and leisure fields, while Nissen points to the expected housing surplus and predictions that older consumers will have less disposable income. Breakstone says non-white people will soon be in the majority in the U.S., which will require businesses to be more multicultural in their employment and in their products and services.

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The Impact of Changing Demographics (3)

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2) take into account
Factor in some element when making a decision, a judgment. Interviewers "take many things into account" when choosing a new employee, experience, manner, appearance.

3) graying population = 高齢者人口
aging population とも言う
graying hair = 白くなりかけた髪

get gray hair = 白髪になる
口語では、心配する、気苦労で老け込むという意味でも使う
（病気やショック、体調の急激な変化により白髪が増えることがあるので）

「ロマンスグレー」は和製英語。英語では、silver fox と言う

4) cruise ship
"Cruise" can also be a verb, meaning to proceed smoothly or rapidly, such as "Preparations for the conference have been 'cruising' along. We'll be ready in plenty of time."

5) in the way of
Nissen means a kind of something, along the lines of something. For example, "This area doesn't have much 'in the way of' restaurants." Or "She's never done much 'in the way of' public speaking."

6) disposable income
This is the income left after taxes are deducted. We are free to dispose of it, use it, however we want. "Disposable" can also mean something that's meant to be thrown away after it's used. I just read about a U.S. city that charges a fee for "disposable" grocery bags, for example.

disposable diapers = 使い捨てのおむつ

7) discretionary purchase
This means purchases that we can freely decide to make. We also say "discretionary income," money that's ours to spend as we like. Another common expression is "act someone's discretion," which means according to their own judgment. Things like, "Employees are allowed to 'purchase software at their discretion," meaning they don't have to get someone else's approval first."

act at your own discretion = あなたの好きなように、思い通りにやりなさい、責任は自分でとりなさい

8) so-called
"So-called" has two meanings. One indicates that something has an incorrect name
that doesn't deserve that name. For example, "This 'so-called' mentor never provided any useful help or advice." Or "These 'so-called' instructions are incredibly confusing." Or it can mean the common term for something. What something is usually called, such as "John Smith, the 'so-called' king of PR, has just put out a new book."

9) in the majority
In the larger of two groups, Breakstone means. She means non-Caucasians will
soon be more numerous than Caucasians. We also say "in the minority." Apparently I'm in the minority when it comes to a certain type of food. I don't like melons but everyone else seems to like them.


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【原稿チェック： Hiromi】
【ディクテーション： Sanae】
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