実践ビジネス英語 Wednesday, January 7
1) Umemura thanks Breakstone for arranging an invitation to a party at a home of two of her friends, and confirms that the guests need to bring their own alcoholic beverages. Breakstone says it used to be understood that women would resign to become homemakers after they married someone from the same company, but that recently more men are quitting or taking time off to do so.
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Role Reversal (1)
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2) be dying to
We use this expression when we really want to do something. "'I'm dying to' get that new smartphone," for example, or "'I'm dying to' find out if they liked my proposal." We also say "be dying for," in which case we put a noun after the expression. Things like "'I'm dying for' a break. I'm so tired."
3) There is also the expression "be to die for," which uses the image that something is so good, so desirable it's practically worth dying to get. So you could say, "That suit 'is to die for.' What a beautiful design!"
4) BYOB
Bring your own bottle, booze or beer because the hosts won't be serving liquor. "Booze" can also be a verb meaning drink a lot of alcohol. It's common to say "booze it up," such as "Jason may be late today. Apparently he was 'boozing it up' last night."
5) save for
Retain for some later time, such as "We don't have time to discuss the job candidates today. Let's 'save that for' tomorrow's meeting." or "I 'save this dress for' special occasions like weddings or important company receptions."
6) power couple
In this case, "power" means influential in relation to business. So you'll hear about things like "a power suit" -- an expensive, beautifully tailored suit that says "I'm powerful. I'm tough."
7) unwritten rule
A code of conduct or expected behavior that isn't part of any official regulation or rules. You can also say "unspoken rule." For example, "There is an 'unspoken rule' in our office that we don’t take company supplies for private use."
8) homemaker
This refers to a woman or a man whose main occupation is caring for their home and, if they have any, children. I've heard that some people prefer "homemaker" to "housewife" because they feel "housewife" implies low status while "homemaker" sounds more respectful of the effort and the skills that go into that job. So you might want to err on the side of "homemaker" if you are choosing which one to use.
9) We're seeing
Breakstone means this phenomenon is occurring. This particular thing is happening. You could also say, "We should 'see' higher profits next year." Or "Japan 'saw' a higher consumer spending in 2013."
10) take a leave of absence
In this case, "leave" means permission. If we "take a leave of absence," we are given permission to be away from our job for a certain period after which we come back to it. Professors "take leaves of absence" to conduct research. A businessman could “take a leave of absence” to care for an elderly relative.
11) We also say someone or something is "AWOL," which means absent without leave. This is originally a military term, but it's also used generally to mean absent without permission or explanation. Things like, "Helen went 'AWOL' for nearly two hours yesterday.” Or "My keys have gone 'AWOL.' I thought they were by the door."
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実践ビジネス英語 Thursday, January 8
1) Umemura has heard that people who devote themselves to caring for their families harm their future careers. But Breakstone says her friend Anne-Marie earns so much that this isn't an issue for her and her husband. She adds that her friends have never regretted their decision for the husband to stay home, and Lyons says many men are now rethinking the concept of fatherhood.
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Role Reversal (2)
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2) employability
The ability to be employed by someone. You’ll also hear words like "navigability." "The new traffic lights have improved the navigability of the roads," for example.
3) male or female
When we are talking about people, I recommend using "male and female" as adjectives, and "man and woman" as nouns. “Male and Female" can sound very biological, objectifying. So as nouns, I use them only about animals. Things like "There's a new panda at the zoo. They just got a ‘female.’” Or “There are now three ‘women’ on the board of directors.”
4) make a six-figure salary
Earn an income that is written in six digits. You could also say, "Anne-Marie 'makes six figures.'" It’s also common to hear things like, "Homes in this area are priced in the low six figures."
5) at length
For a long time, extensively, such as "The president spoke 'at length' about the need to restructure the company. It's also used about written text. You could say, "This textbook describes the American Civil War 'at length.'"
6) be in no hurry to
Someone doesn't intend or doesn't see the need to do something right away or have it happen right away. You can also say, "be in no rush to." For example, "'I'm in no rush to' get a new car. My current one still works fine."
7) quite the
Very much a certain thing. This couple would have been very unusual a few decades ago. Or, thin neckties are "quite the fashion" now. You can also say, "quite a' something meaning a striking example of something. "He's 'quite a' negotiator, isn't he?" Or, “That's 'quite a' hotel suite. It's even got a grand piano."
8) rethink
Here "rethink" is a verb meaning reconsider or reexamine something to change it or with an eye to changing it. For example, "She is 'rethinking' her career path." And it can be a noun too, such as "We decided to do a complete 'rethink' of our marketing strategy."
9) fatherhood
The state of being a father. We also say "motherhood." "Motherhood" can be wonderful, and "motherhood" can be extremely exhausting. It can also refer to a certain group of people, such as "He plans to join the 'priesthood.'"
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実践ビジネス英語 Friday, January 10
1) Garcia describes a man she knows who decided to stay home with his children after his business failed. The man's wife who was offered a better job involving a lot of travel. And he volunteered to care for their 5-year-old daughter full time. Lyons says this is no longer an unusual occurrence. And Breakstone quotes government statistics that 214,000 married men were full-time stay-at-home dads in 2013.
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Role Reversal (3)
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2) not all smooth sailing
"Smooth sailing" means proceed smoothly and without problems, like a boat gliding through water. You could say, "It was surprisingly 'smooth sailing' in the negotiations. A lot of problems we expected didn't happen."
3) be henpecked
This uses the image of a female chicken, a hen pecking at her mate. In other words, constantly nagging him and dominating him. So you might say, "He 'is so henpecked.' His wife never lets him go out drinking on Friday nights."
3) go under
When a business "goes under," it fails. It goes bankrupt. Think of something sinking in water, disappearing from the surface. "A certain investment bank 'went under' in 2008 triggering the global financial crisis." Or "Company X got a bank loan that kept it from 'going under.'"
4) keep something afloat
Keep something financially solvent. Keep it surviving financially. So you could say, "He managed to 'keep his company afloat' by drastically cutting costs." Or "She does a lot of freelance translating to 'keep her afloat.'"
5) be hard on
Be difficult to bear or endure, such as "Closing that division 'was very hard on' the president. He started the company with it 20 years ago." Or "Being transferred to another town 'was hard on' John. He has a lot of friends and family here."
6) mean a lot of travel
In this case, "mean," "means" will result in, will bring this particular thing. For example, "Promotions often 'mean' more money but less free time." Or "A nice home can 'mean' higher taxes and maintenance costs."
7) at the time
We use this when we are referring to the way something used to be. The way it was "at the time" we are talking about. Imagine you are describing a terrible mistake you once made. You could say, "I was only 23 'at the time.' I was still quite green." And we also use "then" to indicate some past status that is no longer the current status, such as, "This regulation was introduced in 1995 by 'then' company president John Smith." Or "'Then' 40 years old John Smith was the youngest CEO in the company's history."
8) Behind every great woman stands a modest and kind-hearted man.
もともとのフレーズは、Behind every great man, there's a great woman.
（成功した男性の後ろには必ず偉大な女性がいる）
9) "man bites dog" story
An unusual story, something that doesn't usually occur. This comes from the journalistic principle that unusual events make the news, unlike regularly occurring common ones. I read an article about a "man bites dog" occurrence recently. Apparently some U.S. colleges are lowering their tuition.
【原稿チェック：Sei Shimura, Akira, Hiromi, Cecile】
【ディクテーション： Sanae】
