実践ビジネス英語 Wednesday, January 14
1) Breakstone says mothers now earn most of the income in almost half of U.S. households with children, up from 10 percent in 1960. Lyons says America no longer resembles the old TV show "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet," in which the husband worked and the wife stayed home. And Garcia predicts even more stay-at-home fathers in the future. Lyons cites research showing that fathers’ participation in child rearing is beneficial to the child.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Role Reversal (4)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2) that compares with
We say this when we are going to state some contrasting fact and you can say that too, "this contrasts with." For example, "Company X has annual turnover of only 30 percent. 'That compares with' the industry average of 60 percent." Or "Mutual fund Y achieved returns of 9 percent in 2013. 'That contrasts with' the 5 percent average for the year."
3) breadwinner
This is someone who earns income to support a family. The image is putting bread on a family table. So you could say, most families need two "breadwinners" to get by. And Breakstone refers to the main "breadwinner," the person who provides the bulk of a family's income.
4) jump
Breakstone uses "jump" as a noun meaning a large increase. And, of course, it's also a verb, as in, "Sales 'jumped' 15 percent last year. We also have the phrasal verbs "jump at" and "leap at," which mean eagerly seize some opportunity, immediately take advantage of some chance. Things like, "He 'jumped' at the chance to work in the Paris office." Or "She 'leapt at ' the opportunity to do some freelance work."
5) stem from
Occur or develop as a result of something. So the big increase in households where mothers are the main breadwinners occurred, developed as a result of more women working. And another example, imagine a company that’s reluctant to introduce a new product. You could say, "It 'stems from' the poor economy. The company doesn't want to take the risk."
6) reshape
Change the shape of. We also say "whip something or someone into shape ," which means improve its condition. There’s a sense of doing it quickly or with considerable effort. Things like "Margery, can you rewrite this report? 'Whip it into shape' for tomorrow’s meeting?" Or
"These new staffers need a lot of training. I'll ask John to 'whip them into shape.'"
7) Sorry, a what nation?
Using "sorry" like this is a good way to ask someone to repeat something or explain further. To be a bit more formal, you can say "I'm sorry," such as "I'm sorry I couldn't quite hear your last sentence."
8) classic sitcom
I've never actually heard anyone use the full term for sitcom, which is situation comedy. It means a comedy series that features a continuing group of characters in a succession of episodes.
9) spike
Here, "spike" is a noun referring to a sharp increase. It can also be a verb, such as, "Mobile phone sales 'spiked' last year due to the introduction of attractive new models." And in the news business, bit of a trivia for you, "spike" can mean decide not to publish or broadcast a certain story. You could say "We 'spiked' the story when we discovered problems with its accuracy."
=================================================
実践ビジネス英語 Thursday, January 15
1) Lyons says many people feel that working mothers are jeopardizing their marriages. And Garcia describes how some stay-at-home mothers have made remarks to the househusband she knows that seemed to imply he's less of a man for taking care of his children full-time. Lyons says many companies still expect men to prioritize work over family and Breakstone says her friend is content not to return to the corporate elite.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Role Reversal (5)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2) have mixed feelings about
Have both good and bad feelings about something. We also say "have mixed emotions." You could "have mixed emotions" about moving to a new town, for example. You could be excited but sad to leave your friends and family, too.
3)judgmental
To be "judgmental" is to judge harshly, be harshly critical of others. There's a nuance of arrogance that "judgmental" people feel they have the right to pass judgment on others. Something like, "He's very 'judgmental' about divorce. He always refers to people who end their marriages quitters."
4) catty
"Catty" means spiteful, cruel. It's always used about women because this term uses the negative image of a cat as a sly, you know, nasty woman. Imagine I say, "That dress looks great on you. It's so slimming." That would be a "catty" remark because I'm implying that the woman is fat.
5) insinuate
Hint, convey something indirectly. And we "insinuate" bad things, unpleasant things. For example, "Are you 'insinuating' that I'm slacking off?" Or to use the noun form, "I resent that 'insinuation.' I do not slack off at work."
6) less of a man
Deficient as a man, not as manly, as masculine as others. You can use a variety of words with "less of a." Things like, "Not getting married does not make you 'less of a' woman." Or "Having a job doesn't make you 'less of a' mother."
7) catch up with
Bring or get up to date. Get to some more advanced place that others have achieved. For example, "Company X needs to 'catch up with' the industry's use of social media."
8) put the company first and family second When we "put something first," we give that top priority over other things, such as "She always 'puts her career first.'" Or "He always 'puts his wife first.'" We also say "come first and come second." Things like, "My daughter 'comes first,' no matter what." Or "She got tired of 'coming second' to sports."
9) career prospects
The career chances someone will have in the future, their chances for advancement and such. "Prospect" can also mean a potential customer or candidate for a job. Things like, "We are interviewing three more 'prospects' tomorrow." Or "This article describes how to turn 'prospects' into clients."
10) not have a problem with
Be OK with something. Don't object to it. For example, "I 'don’t have a problem with' working overtime or coming in on weekends sometimes. And we also say, “have a problem with,” which can mean object to something, be disturbed by it. "He has a 'problem with' our new ad campaign.
He thinks it’s sexist."
=========================================================
実践ビジネス英語 Friday, January 16
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Role Reversal (6)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1[S]: Now our current vignette talks about the growing number of stay-at-home fathers in the United States. This is not nearly as common in Japan but I believe your husband takes care of your daughter full-time, doesn't he? If I may ask, what led you to that decision?
2[H]: That's what we had planned to do for some time actually, long before our daughter joined our lives. My husband is a professional artist and he works out of studio in our home. That gives him a much more flexible schedule than me. So we decided that it would be best for him to be our daughter's main daily caregiver. Sometimes I even think that fate intervened on our behalf in that respect.
3[S]: In what sense?
4[H]: Well, my husband is very good at thinking on his feet. He has a real knack for adapting to unexpected twists and turns, and heaven knows, child-rearing presents a lot of unexpected twists and turns. So, between the two of us, I often think he is actually the better choice to stay home with our daughter.
And his gut instincts are almost always right when it comes to child-rearing. I'm more of the research-oriented type. Read lots of books, search on websites that are staffed by pediatricians and other experts. We balance each other out that way.
He'll often say, "I think we should do this. We should handle this problem this way." And I'll go online and find expert advice that collaborates his opinion and gives us both the extra reassurance that we are basically doing all right.
5[S]: So he's enjoying child-rearing then.
6[H]: Oh yes. And it's also given him a profound respect for the mothers of the world and the wonderful but, let's be honest, exhausting job that they take on. A while back he remarked, "Anyone who says, 'Oh she's just a stay-at-home mom,' has no idea what they are talking about."
And I do as much as I can when I'm home and on my days off. My husband does most of his painting at night now, after our daughter goes to sleep. So the morning is one of my "shifts." I always take care of breakfast, the first diaper change, etc. so he can sleep in and get a little extra rest. Likewise, I handle bath time in the evenings.
7[S]: I often hear about the conflict that occurs between stay-at-home mothers and working mothers in the United States, each side criticizing the other's choice.
8[H]: Uh, yes, the so-called "mommy wars." You know, I think a lot of that comes from fear. All mothers are afraid on some level that we are not making the best choices for our children or for ourselves, and I think that makes many women defensive about their lives.
A lot of stay-at-home moms probably worry about their future careers, for example, or think, "Would it be better to show my children the image of a working woman?" On the other side, working moms likely worry that their children will someday resent them for not being around more, or that they won't have as deep a bond.
I'll admit. I think about those things sometimes, but I try to tell myself that she'll be fine as long as she knows that we both love her and ultimately everything her father and I do is for her. And I would never belittle the work of another parent in the home or the office. We all work very hard and we all make sacrifices.
【原稿チェック： Sei Shimura, Hiromi, Cecile】
【ディクテーション： Sanae】
