実践ビジネス英語 2009年2月分

2009.02.04

2009年02月第1週分 Lesson 9  Customer Satisfaction (1)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

Kinkaid, Tyson, Hughes and Cortez talk about the importance of listening carefully to customer complaints, especially for companies that work directly with the public.

 

● "boy, do they ever have some horror stories …"

The word boy is often used by U.S. English speakers as an interjection when they are kind of happy or disgusted or surprised by something.

Kinkaid also adds the word ever to the same phrase in which she uses boy — "boy, do they ever have some horror stories." This ever isn’t really related in time, like for ever or have you ever…. In this case, ever is used to mean "to a great extent or a great degree." Sometimes so is also added to it. So, for example, you could say, "She was ever so mad," although to my North American ears, that sounds a little old-fashioned or stylized.

・ boy  (interjection) American English <informal>
1    used when you are excited or pleased about something: Boy, that was a great meal!
2 oh boy!    used when you are slightly annoyed or disappointed about something: Oh boy! Bethany’s sick again.  (LDOCE)

・ ever so <informal, especially BrE> very; really: He looks ever so smart. (OALD)

・ do they ever have some horror stories という具合に疑問文の語順になっているのはいわゆる「感嘆疑問文」で形式は疑問文，意味は感嘆文になる。否定疑問文の形が多いが，ここのように肯定疑問文の場合もある。イントネーションは常に下降調。

Hasn’t she grown! あのコ，大きくなったなあ。 = Has she grown!

 

● keep your ear to the ground 周囲の動きにアンテナを張る（←地面に耳をつける）

If you keep your ear to the ground, you’re keeping yourself informed of current trends. It means you’re shrewd or astute.

・ keep [have] your ear to the ground to make sure that you always find out about the most recent developments in a particular situation  (OALD)

 

● the folks in the trenches 仕事の現場にいる人々

Tyson uses the phrase "the folks in the trenches." Folks is the word that means people, but it’s often used when someone wants to say "people in general," but sound a little warmer or more casual about all those people. And a trench is a kind of a ditch. If you’re talking about the kind of ditch that soldiers might dig to protect themselves in a battle, it’s usually called a trench. They’re fairly deep and the dirt from inside is piled up on the edge to act (as) for the protection. So, talking about the folks in the trenches means that Tyson is talking about the people in the company who directly face maybe not an enemy but who directly face some of the most difficult points in their business days, and he is talking about them rather fondly.

・ my folks 家族

・ the trenches    the place or situation where most of the work or action in an activity takes place: Lane left teaching after 30 years in the trenches. (LDCOE)

・ in the trenches 仕事場［現場］にいて （ジーニアス大英和）

 

● back in the day ずっと昔

・ back in the day     in the past : My dad’s always talking about how great everything was back in the day.   (OALD)

 

● greenhorn 新米，初心者

A greenhorn is a person who’s inexperienced or maybe even immature. It also tends to include the idea of gullible. It’s easy to fool them. The word greenhorn‘s been around in English since about the 15th century, but at that time it meant a young ox who has just recently started sprouting horns.

・  greenhorn  <informal> (especially American English) someone who lacks experience of something (LDOCE)

 

● squeaky wheel ごねる人，うるさ型

There’s an old phrase in English: The squeaky wheel gets the oil or grease, which means if you complain enough, you’ll get something, you’ll get what you want. In this case, Hughes is referring to the old saying, but he’s also using it to mean irritating people.

・ The squeaky wheel gets the grease. 大騒ぎするほど注目を集める，大声で不満を言わないと何もしてもらえない

 

● right on the mark まったくその通りで

・ be on the mark to be accurate or correct: That estimate was right on the mark.  (OALD)

 

● gripe 不満

・ gripe something unimportant that you complain about [= complaint]: My main gripe was the price of refreshments. (LDOCE)

 

● frivolous 取るに足らない，浅はかな

Frivolous is the word that’s used to mean "unserious" or "inappropriate". And it’s the word that tends to be used with lawsuits that are maybe for some other purpose than settling a dispute.

・ frivolous lawsuits 取り上げる価値のない訴訟

 

● mushrooming 急速に発展［拡大］する

・ mushroom (verb) to grow and develop very quickly: New housing developments mushroomed on the edge of town.  (LDOCE) 日本語なら，キノコじゃなくて，（雨後の）たけのこ

 

● consumer empowerment 消費者の立場の強化

・ empower (verb) to give someone more control over their own life or situation: The Voting Rights Act was needed to empower minority groups.  (LDOCE)

 

● strike the right balance 適切なバランスをとる

・ strike a balance (between A and B) to manage to find a way of being fair to two opposing things; to find an acceptable position which is between two things

 

● runaround その場しのぎ，たらい回し

A runaround is often a kind of deception, meaning the person who’s doing it or the people who are doing it don’t want to give you an answer, they don’t want to satisfy your question. I think it can also happen genuinely, though, when nobody really knows what’s happening and they keep, for example, on the phone, transferring you to someone else who supposedly can help you, but they can’t, so they transfer you to someone else. Another way to use the word is to say "you got the runaround" when you called the company to try to get some help.

・ give somebody the runaround  <informal>  to deliberately avoid giving someone a definite answer, especially when they are asking you to do something: Every time we ask the landlord about fixing the roof, he gives us the runaround.  (LDCOE)

 

● inane ばかげた，無意味な

・ inane stupid or silly; with no meaning: an inane remark  (OALD)

 

● go through （電話が）通じる

 

 

2009.02.05

2009年02月第1週分 Lesson 9  Customer Satisfaction (2)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

Cortez tells about the time she was dissatisfied with customer service and Hughes notes that can happen when companies outsource.

 

● hold time 待ち時間

Cortez talks about a long hold time. She could have said something more like "I was really upset by being put on hold for such a long time." I think on hold is a little more common way to talk about this, but everybody would understand hold time with no problem.

・ put ～ on hold ～を（電話口で）待たせる

on hold （電話口で）待って，切らない状態で If a person on the telephone is put on hold, they have to wait until the person that they want to talk to is free   (OALD)

I think the verb is hold because in the past it meant "hold on to the line," "keep the line open," "don’t let somebody else take over the phone line."

 

● コールセンター係の人について

I’d like to stick up a little bit, though, for call center people who have to follow a script. I’m sure part of it is their company training, so that they go through all the proper procedures and … in the case of calling a computer company, security is probably such a huge problem, but when I call my bank in the U.S. sometimes, I feel the same way until they get to the end of the script. They often can’t do too much to handle your specific problem.

・ stick up for ～ ～を支持する to support or defend somebody/something : Stick up for what you believe. ; Don’t worry—I’ll stick up for you.

Some places I call even run a recording saying "Your call may be recorded" for, you know, keeping up good service and things like that. They wanna check up on the people answering the phones. So, I don’t mind this too much. It does seem robotic; until occasionally you get through to the end of the script, I still can’t do anything to help you. That gets irritating.

 

● backfire 逆効果になる

・ backfire (on somebody) to have the opposite effect to the one intended, with bad or dangerous results: Unfortunately the plan backfired.   (OALD)

 

● erode  ～をむしばむ，徐々に損なう

・ erode to gradually destroy something or make it weaker over a period of time; to be destroyed or made weaker in this way  (OALD)

 

● wake up to the fact that … ・・・という事実に気づく

Hughes uses the phrase wake up to. He could have said "become aware of" or "pay attention to."

・ wake up to something   to start to realize and understand a danger, an idea etc: It’s time you woke up to the fact that it’s a tough world. (LDOCE)

 

● shoddy service いいかげんなサービス

He also talks about shoddy service. Nowadays shoddy is used when you want to talk about something that’s badly made or badly done or that is of poor quality, especially if the materials are poor quality. Originally, though, the word shoddy was wool; a kind of wool made from woolen waste left over bad pieces. It might even have been made of old rugs. It comes from the first half of the 19th century.

Sometimes it’s something that looks good when you first get it, but it very quickly becomes worn-out looking.

・ shoddy (adj.) 1. (of goods, work, etc.) made or done badly and with not enough care  2. dishonest or unfair   (OALD)

 

● You can’t afford not to そうしないわけにはいかない

Kinkaid starts off with the phrase "You can’t afford not to." And she is referring to making sure your employees are well trained in customer care. This phrase is used quite a bit for anything that.. : You have to pay for no matter what, even if you don’t want to, even if it’s difficult. You can’t afford not to spend that money.

 

 

2009.02.06

2009年02月第1週分 Lesson 9  Customer Satisfaction (3)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

The conversation’s focus moves on to how technology can cut both ways.

 

・ cut both ways 両刃の剣である to have two opposite effects or results

 

● down the street （同じ通りの）もっと向こうにある

It’s kind of interesting. I think in this situation people almost always would say "down the street," meaning just a little ways further along the street. But you could say "up the street" as well. I don’t think most people would say "up the street" in this situation.

And I think the reason for that might be that in this case you’re not going to a specific place; you’re just moving along the street somewhere. I think if you’re going somewhere more specific, you might say it’s just "up the street." Maybe it’s because up takes a little more effort than down. I really don’t know, but fairly strongly almost everybody would say "down the street" in this situation.

・ down ～ = along; towards the direction in which you are facing (OALD) 「自分が今向いている方向へ」

   down ～ = at or to a place that is further along something such as a road or path (LDOCE) 「道路・道のようなものにそってさらに進んだところにある」

   down ～ = If you are down a road or river, you are somewhere along it. (COBUILD) 「down ～ にいる，とは『それに沿ったどこかにいる』ということだ」

 

● two-edged sword 両刃の剣

Cortez uses the phrase "it’s a two-edged sword." Some people would say a double-edged sword. Both phrases are used a lot. You can also use a verb phrase with the similar meaning: you could say it cuts both ways. And all of those mean that you can have good or bad results.

 

● bug いらいらさせる

Bug is a word that’s been used in English at least since about the 17th century, when it meant an insect, you know, those little creatures that can often irritate you, and changed its meaning, and added meanings through the years. One of the most recent meaning I’ve heard is a kind of dog. If you cross a Boston Terrier with a pug, the result is now called a bug.

・ cross 交配させる

・ bug  <informal> to annoy or irritate somebody: Stop bugging me! (OALD)

・ as snug as a bug in a rug 居心地よくぬくぬくおさまって

 

● crash course 短期集中講座

A crash course in English is sometimes also known as a cram course. It usually means you’re trying to learn too much information in a very short time.

If you wanna refer to it a little more formally, you could call it an intensive course or a brief course. And usually they are focused on the basics.

・ crash (adj.) <only before noun> involving hard work or a lot of effort over a short period of time in order to achieve quick results

 

● I hear you. 気持ちはわかります。まったくだ。（イントネーション(↘↗)で『賛成できません』の意味にもなる）

 

● mobile phone の発音

The word /moubail/ or /moubl/ in English is pronounced in various ways. When it’s related to telephones, both pronunciations are fine. It just depends on the person’s speaking.

 

● He didn’t manage to net this customer.

Tyson uses kind of a little pun to talk about not buying anything. He was looking at fishing rods and he talks about netting a customer, catching the customer, and making a sale.

・ net 網で捕まえる

 

● mobile phone の発音

If you were listening carefully, you might have noticed that Hughes said /moubl/ instead of /moubail/.

 

● yak away ペチャクチャしゃべる

Yak is one of the many words you can use in English to talk about talking. Yakking usually is used when you are a little irritated by someone who talks rather persistently and usually about something that doesn’t seem to be very important.

・ yak <informal>    to talk continuously about things that are not very serious, in a way that is annoying (LDOCE)

Yeah. If you look in the dictionary, some of them will say the word yak is imitative, meaning it kind of sounds like what it’s describing.

・ imitative 擬声語

 

 

2009.02.11

2009年02月第2週分 Lesson 9  Customer Satisfaction (4)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

The group talks about some of the more extreme methods customers have resorted to to get their messages out.

 

● a disgruntled customer イライラした客，不満をいだいた客

Disgruntled is a word that means sulky dissatisfaction; not only are you one about something, but you are also pouting about it. It’s usually used in this form; you won’t often hear gruntle or gruntled. But I checked a dictionary and it has been used that way. It’s a back-formation from disgruntled. So, to gruntle someone is to put them into good humor.

 

● sledgehammer 大型ハンマー

Cortez also talks about a sledgehammer, which is fairly easy to understand. It’s a great, big, heavy hammer that tends to be used to pound a post into the ground, and to break down the wall and things like that. But you can also use it outside of its concrete meaning: to describe something that’s crudely or ruthlessly forceful. It’s using a power without any grace or dexterity.

 

● smash ～ to smithereens ～をこなごなにこわす

Smithereens is one more word that Cortez likes. This word comes from Irish Gaelic. And it just means little tiny pieces. It’s often used in cartoons for kids, I think because it sounds a little bit funny, one of the cartoon characters might say, "If you don’t stop that, I’ll break it to smithereens."

・ smash, blow, etc something to smithereens to destroy something by breaking it into small pieces (OALD)

 

● spread like wild fire 野火のように・あっという間に拡がる

"Spread like wild" fire is a phrase you will hear in English fairly often when someone means something is spreading out of control very quickly.

 

● go to great lengths to V Vするためにはどんな苦労も惜しまない

To go to great lengths is a phrase that means take almost any kind of action, use all of your abilities and push as far as you can to get what you want.

・ go to some/great/any lengths (to do something)    to try very hard or to do whatever is necessary to achieve something that is important to you: He went to great lengths to keep their name out of the papers. / Bella would go to any lengths to fulfil her ambition.  (LDOCE)

 

● nip ～ in the bud 大事に至る前に食い止める，～を未然に防ぐ

Kim also talks about nipping something in the bud. If you nip something in the bud, you stop it before it has a chance to grow, usually into a larger problem.

・ nip something in the bud to stop something when it has just begun because you can see that problems will come from it  (OALD)

 

● vigilante 自警団

Vigilantes have sort of a difficult reputation in the U.S.. On the one hand, on the frontier, there were often vigilante committees, which help to keep some sort of law and order on the frontier when the official authority wasn’t very strong or wasn’t present at all. On the other hand, though, because they weren’t official authorities, sometimes vigilantes or vigilante committees went too far, and didn’t handle things very fairly. So, it was a rough kind of justice and I suppose depending on which side you are on, they could be very helpful or they could be very awful.

 

● reams of e-mail 大量の E メール

・ reams <informal>  a large quantity of writing

 

● shy about ～ ～に遠慮する

・ shy away from something    to avoid doing or dealing with something because you are not confident enough or you are worried or nervous about it: They criticized the leadership, but shied away from a direct challenge.   (LDOCE)

 

 

2009.02.12

2009年02月第2週分 Lesson 9  Customer Satisfaction (5)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

== Key Phrases to Remember ==

 

● lose touch with ～ ～との接触［つながり］を失う

 

● there’s a fine line between ～ ～の間には微妙な差異がある，～の間の差は紙一重である

Instead of talking about the borders between two things that’s sometimes difficult to see, you can also talk about walking a fine line, which means exhibiting behavior that doesn’t go too far in the wrong direction.

It also often includes the idea of doing something a little dangerous.

・ walk on a fine line 微妙な差をこころえる to be in a difficult or dangerous situation where you could easily make a mistake; He was walking a fine line between being funny and being rude.  (OALD)

 

● go through （電話が）通じる，～の許可［承認］を得る

 

● customer loyalty 顧客の支持

 

● put someone on hold （人を）電話口で待たせる

→ 実践ビジネス英語 2009.02.05

 

● in the hope that … ・・・を願って

 

==  あんな時，こんな時 == 

「いらいらしている」「怒っている」と言う時  I’m upset.

● I was red with anger.

Instead of red, you could say "steaming with anger," or "boiling with anger."

 

● blow one’s top

If you think of anger as something that’s steaming or boiling, when it reaches a high pressure, you can blow the lid of the pot of water, for example.

・ blow your top/stack/cool also blow a fuse/gasket <informal>  to become extremely angry quickly or suddenly:  One day, I just blew my top and hit him. (LDOCE)

 

● make someone red

 

● make someone’s blood boil

 

● That’s the last straw! 堪忍袋の緒が切れた。

This phrase is based on the saying, "The straw that broke the camel’s back." It’s the way of saying that maybe that one event was not so important in itself, except that it was piled onto many other small events.

・ the last straw  also  the straw that breaks the camel’s back    the last problem in a series of problems that finally makes you give up, get angry etc: Making me work late on Friday was the last straw. (LDOCE)

● I’m perturbed.

・ perturb to make somebody worried or anxious: Her sudden appearance did not seem to perturb him in the least. (OALD)

 

=  インフォーマルな表現 = 

● What a nuisance!

 

● I was quite irked [crossed, vexed, piqued].

・ irk  <formal or literary> to annoy or irritate somebody

 

● I was mad as all get-out.

This phrase might be a little hard to understand. It means very, very angry. I looked on the Web, and it turned out a lot of people don’t know it. For me, it’s a very common, everyday sort of a phrase when you get angry. I also asked a friend of mine, who’s about ten years younger than I am. She didn’t know it, either. So, I was very surprised to find out that I was mad as all get-out is actually sort of an unusual phrase.

・ (as) ～ as all get out  <informal> to a great or extreme extent : He was stubborn as all get out.  (NOAD)

 

● Oh, that’s great! 皮肉

So, you have to be very careful with your intonation. You say (in a happy tone), "Oh, that’s great!" It means you’re happy about it.

 

=  少し改まった表現 = 

● I was quite annoyed[displeased, disturbed, exasperated] by …

These are all shades of irritation or anger. You could also add the word dismayed. Dismayed tends to mean "disappointed" and "appalled." Disturbed is probably pretty close to dismayed.

● I was fuming.

・ fume (at / over / about somebody/something)  to be very angry about something: He was fuming with indignation. / She sat in the car, silently fuming at the traffic jam.  (OALD)

 

 

2009.02.13

2009年01月第4週分 Lesson 8  Keeping Fit (6)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

S = 杉田敏      I = Susan Iwamoto

 

S: Susan, in our most recent vignette, we’ve been discussing the importance of customer satisfaction. We’ve all had our share of a lot of frustrating experiences. How about you, Susan?

I: Well, I’ve experienced both sides of this. I’ve dealt with dissatisfied customers and I have been one myself from time to time. As Sue Kim mentioned in the vignette, it’s tiring to be stuck on the phone, listening to recordings wondering if you’ll ever get to speak to an actual human being. Generally, even if I’m annoyed with a long wait or have a frustrating problem, I try to be as friendly as possible until I create a positive connection with the customer service rep. I figure that many of their causes come from angry customers and it would be nice to give them a break. This is also a great way to ensure a quick and effective service.

・ be stuck    途方に暮れる，行き詰まる

・ rep    (=representative) 担当者

・ give ～ a break 大目に見る，勘弁する，チャンスを与える 

 

S: You mentioned you had to deal with those sorts of customers yourself.

I: Yes, I have. Two jobs come to mind, in particular. When I worked for a bank in Boston, I sometimes answered calls directed to the president’s office. When a customer calls the president’s office rather than the manager for the local branch, for example, you know there’s likely to be a very angry customer on the other end of the phone. I usually managed to calm them down by being very polite, empathizing with them, and then I lead the transfer for them directly to the person who could best help them, or offer to looking into the matter myself. I would then give them a specific time I would call them back with the updates so that they wouldn’t feel as though they’ve been so brushed off. That seemed to do the trick.

・ on the end of the phone = on the other end of the line 電話の相手側

・ brush off    関係を断つ，耳を貸そうとしない

・ do the trick 効き目がある

S: I’ve heard that the worst thing you could say to an upset customer is "Please don’t get excited. Calm down." What do you think?

I: I think that’s true. That’s bound to have opposite effect, with the customers becoming even more upset. It’s better to acknowledge their frustration and move on to a concrete solution as quickly as possible.

S: And what was the other job you hated?

I: Oh, this was much worse. When I was in college, I worked part-time as a file clerk for an insurance company on the brink of bankruptcy.

S: Bankruptcy! That must have been a stressful workplace.

I: In some ways, yes. But I think it was more stressful for customers, many of whom were trying to get their claims paid on time and in full. My job as a file clerk was easy and stress-free, I have to admit.  But I had several colleagues who worked as customer service reps, and they spent a day fielding phone calls from furious customers. One day, my supervisor pulled me aside, told me I was doing an excellent job, and offered me a promotion to customer service rep. I said thanks, but no thanks. I was just trying to earn for some extra cash for college and didn’t want to spend a day getting screamed at by customers.

・ file clerk    文書係

・ on the brink of ～    ～の瀬戸際で

・ claim 保険金の支払い要求

・ in full 全額

・ field （質問などに）うまく答える，処理する

・ thanks, but no thanks ありがとう。でも結構です。

 

S: Both Rosa Cortez and Jay Tyson mentioned store clerks, who would rather chat on their phones than help customers. Have you run into this problem in the United States?

I: Now, I have seen this once or twice and I’ve heard complaints from friends about this lack of service. But strangely enough, I’ve had an opposite sort of problem here in Japan with too much service.

S: Too much service? What do you mean?

I: Well, although I think customer service in Japan is excellent, there are times when I wish it were just a little so. For example, there are a couple of clothing stores in my neighborhood that I nearly stop going to altogether, because the salespeople follow me around the store the entire time I’m there. Now I hate to think they suspect(?) me of shoplifting, so I’m going to guess that they’re just trying to be available if I need any help. This happens occasionally in department stores too. Frankly, I find it really annoying.

S: I think their intention is to provide attentive service.

I: Well, yes. Though I appreciate that to a certain degree, I’m the type of shopper who just wants to be left alone to browse until I have a specific question or request. In the U.S., if a salesperson asks me if I need any help, I just say, "No thanks. Just browsing." And they leave me alone until I approach them. I haven’t figured out the way to say this huddling salespeople here in Tokyo without sounding really rude.

・ Just browsing. 「見てるだけです」 うるさい店員を追っ払う決まり文句。

 

S: Tony Hughes mentioned the trend of the past several years of outsourcing customer service to call centers in other countries.

I: Yes, and it’s a fascinating issue from the perspective of intercultural communication, for sure. Many companies offer intercultural training to call center employees. And some go as far as offering accent reduction courses and suggesting employees use English names while at work. Now, I think that  intercultural training is a good idea. While it’s certainly necessary to have understandable English, I don’t think it’s necessary to change their names just for work. There’s a computer-help line I called several times in the past when traveling in the U.S.. Every time I called them, I talked to someone in a different country. Now, most of the reps have lots of accent, but their English is easy to understand and most of the time the service was exactly what I’d expect in the U.S.. However, I’ve talked to a couple of reps who sounded as though they were speaking in a fake(?), kind of exaggerated American accent accent. And in both instances reps were really forceful and actually a bit rude in their interaction with me. As I mentioned, they tend to be very calm and friendly on the phone, so it was a surprise to be treated like that. I shrugged it off as a sort of cultural misunderstanding, but I can see how failure to their customer service reps effectively could lead to even more customer complaints.

・ from the perspective of ～ ～の観点で

・ go so[as] far as to V [Ving] Vさえする

  ・ shrug off   無視する，受け流す

 

 

2009.02.18

2009年02月第3週分 Lesson 10  Pet Economy (1)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

Tyson, Kinkaid, Kim, and Shiga talk about how much money people are willing to spend on their pets, and how that spending has led to great performance for Great Lakes in the pet food business.

 

● go through the roof    （価格などが）急上昇する，怒っている

In English you can use the idiom "go through the roof" to talk about how rapidly sales are rising. You can also use words like soaring or rocketing, or even skyrocketing.

・ go through the roof    1.(of prices, etc.) to rise or increase very quickly   2. (also hit the roof) <informal> to become very angry    (OALD)

 

● deserve a pat on the back 賞賛に値する

Kinkaid says they "deserve a pat on the back." "A pat on the back" is an idiom for recognition or praise. Another way you could say this is to use the word attaboy. Attaboy actually comes from a phrase: the phrase is "That’s the boy," meaning "That’s correct," "That’s right," "Good job." But if you look in a dictionary now, attaboy is written as one word: A-T-T-A-B-O-Y.

・ a pat on the back (for something / for doing something)    praise or approval for something that you have done well; He deserves a pat on the back for all his hard work. (OALD)

・ Attaboy! いいぞ，よくやった    used when you want to encourage somebody or show your admiration of them, especially a boy or man  (OALD)

 

● put in one’s two cents’ worth 話に口をはさむ，自分の考えを（割り込んで）述べる

"To put in your two cents’ worth" is to give your opinion. Sometimes people use this phrase even without the word "worth." "Here’s my two cents." Nobody is quite sure where this phrase comes from. Some people think it might be related to the phrase "A penny for your thoughts," meaning "Please tell me what you think." "You’re being very quiet and I’ll give you a penny." Or it might come from poker games or gambling of that type where you wager some money before you make your play.

・ two cents (worth)    <American English> < informal>    your opinion or what you want to say about a subject: Everyone had to put in their two cents worth.  (LDOCE)

・ A penny for your thoughts[?] （黙って［考え事をして］いる人に向かって）何考えてるの？ 

a penny for your thoughts/a penny for them <spoken> used to ask someone who is silent what they are thinking about  (LDOCE)

 

● in the right place at the right time しかるべき時にしかるべき場所にいる

Occasionally, people will use this phrase in the opposite way to say bad luck in, say, "Oh, it was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

 

● gross の発音

Shiga mentions gross domestic product. Of course, that’s all the production of the country before taking out all the costs and things. But the word gross is kind of interesting. It came into English from Middle French and that might be why the o is pronounced as an [oʊ] sound ([groʊs]) instead of an [ɔ] sound, like other words that end with –oss. So, for example, you say cross[krɔ(ː)s] and floss[flɔ(ː)s], toss[tɔ(ː)s], moss[mɔ(ː)s]. All those words are spelled with –oss. Only gross is pronounced with the [oʊ] sound.

・ 杉田先生はgrossの発音を間違って覚えていたとおっしゃっていましたが，わたしもはじめて知りました。

 

● 典型的な犬の名前

Rex is one of the more traditional names or you could even say clichéd names for dogs in the U.S.. A couple of other very common or clichéd names are Fido[fáɪdoʊ] or Rover[róʊvɚ] or even Spot. I haven’t actually known any dogs actually with those names. But I think all English speakers in the U.S. anyway would know immediately that that’s probably a dog if they heard those names. I also read that people names become more popular and Max is one the most popular names for dogs these days.

 

 

2009.02.19

2009年02月第3週分 Lesson 10  Pet Economy (2)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

The team talks about how the treatment of pets has changed over the years and then they talk about the new pet hotels people use when traveling without their pets.

 

● scraps from the table 食卓の食べ残し

Tyson talks about "throwing scraps from the table to the dog." I think that’s very typical of almost anybody anywhere who has a dog, but you can also use the phrase "throw someone scraps" or "throw someone a bone." It becomes an idiom that means you’re giving them a little something to try to keep them happy, although they’re actually rather disappointed or maybe a little angry about what’s happening.

・ throw somebody a bone    to give somebody a small part of what they want as a way of showing that you want to help them, without offering them the main thing they want    (OALD) 相手の機嫌をとるために譲歩する

 

● vet =veterinarian 獣医

Tyson uses the word vet to talk about the animal doctor. Vet is actually short for a much longer word that’s a little bit tough to pronounce. In fact, in the U.S., there are three very common pronunciations: veterinarian[vetɚrnɚriən], that’s the full phrase; but some people pronounce it [vetrənɚriən]; and you’ll even hear people say [vetɚnɚriən] occasionally.

 

● kennel (US)犬の預かり所，(UK)犬小屋

Basically, a kennel is a structure or shelter for a dog or dogs. And in the US, kennel usually means a larger facility where many dogs are kept. So, the kennel could be where hunters keep their dogs, or it could be where breeders keep their dogs. It’s often the word for where you take your dog when you can’t take them on your vacation with you, if you don’t have a pet hotel in your neighborhood. In the UK, kennel is also used for a single dog house in the person’s backyard. In the US, that is usually called a doghouse.

There’s also an idiom in the US. If you say someone is in the doghouse, it means they are in trouble; they did something wrong. You can’t use the phrase "in the kennel" with the same meaning.

・ in the doghouse 窮地に陥って，困って

be in the doghouse  <informal> to be in a situation in which someone is annoyed with you because of something you have done  (LDOCE)

 

● drop off 乗り物から途中で降ろす

 

● "the cable channel for pets"

I read an article once about a guy who made videos for his cat, because he’d noticed the cat paying attention to birds and things on television, just on regular television programs. And he thought the cat would really enjoy being able to watch more.

 

● dog’s life    惨めな暮らし

Kinkaid talks about a dog’s life being proverbial.  "It’s dog’s life" is used to talk about how difficult life can be. If you think about dogs in human history, mostly they were for work. They did all kinds of work and they were often not treated all that well. There’re a lot of phrases in English that use the word dog that means something not very good. So you can say things like going to the dogs. That means becoming bad, falling apart. You could say dog tired, which is very, very tired; die like a dog, which is a nasty way to die. You can call someone a dogsbody, which means they are rather subservient and they just run around doing what other people tell them to do. And there’s also dog-eat-dog competition: very hard, nasty competition. But interestingly thing is; younger people hear the phrase "It’s a dog’s life," and they’re beginning to understand that phrase as meaning luxurious, soft, and comfortable life. So, you can kind of tell people’s ages just by how they understand this phrase.

・ a dog’s life   an unhappy, full of problems or unfair treatment

・ go to the dogs 落ちぶれる    If you say that something is going to the dogs, you mean that it is becoming weaker and worse in quality. (INFORMAL) : They sit in impotent opposition while the country goes to the dogs.   (COBUILD)

・ dog-tired    Extremely tired  (American Heritage 4th)

・ die like a dog   惨めな死を遂げる

・ dogsbody    下っぱ，雑役係 a person who does all the boring jobs that nobody else wants to do, and who is treated as being less important than other people  (OALD)

・ dog-eat-dog 食うか食われるかの    when people compete against each other and will do anything to get what they want: It’s a dog eat dog world out there.   (LDOCE)

 

● Chihuahua チワワのつづり

Chihuahua is one of those words that people have trouble spelling in English. It actually comes from Spanish, and originally it’s the name of a Mexican state.

 

● move with the times 時流に従う (= keep up with the times)

・ move[change/ keep up] with the times   to change when other things in society, business etc change: We’ve got to move with the times.   (LDOCE)

 

 

2009.02.20

2009年02月第3週分 Lesson 10  Pet Economy (3)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

Tyson observes that two thirds of US households have one or more pets and the others go on to comment on the development in the pet food market.

 

● on the rise 増加中で，出世の道を歩んで

Kim uses this phrase to talk about actual numbers, actual amounts that are increasing. But you can use this phrase to talk about anything that’s becoming stronger or becoming more powerful. You could say, for example, some politician is on the rise; they’re being quite successful and moving ahead in their career.

・ on the rise   becoming greater or more numerous; increasing; becoming more successful

on the + 動詞と同形の名詞 型イディオム

 

● sense of purpose, sense of pride, sense of humor, sense of urgency

Companies are often looking for employees who have sense of urgency; they want to get work done and they want it done soon, they want to achieve their goals earlier than the deadline. You can also use sense of shame.

・ さまざまな sense of ～

 

● outlet for ～ ～のはけ口

A retail outlet is a retail store: a place where you can go buy individual items. Individuals go buy what they want. It’s the opposite of wholesale. An outlet mall is a little bit different. In this case, outlet is short for factory outlet. So instead of sending products through retail outlets in the usual flow, things are sent directly from factories. Usually they’re not quite right in some way; they might be the last season’s goods; they might be perfectly good items but they weren’t dyed proper color, for example. Occasionally they have imperfections.

・ (retail) outlet 小売店 ←→ wholesale  卸売り

・ outlet mall  アウトレット店

 

● The number tell the story. 数字は語る。

Tyson talks about numbers telling the story. What he means is look at the data and see what’s actually true. This is the way in the US that business people often talk to each other. Saying that a customer complained about something is usually not enough of a spur or impetus to make them take careful action. You’ve got to show them what is wrong through the numbers.

 

● put a premium on ～ ～を重視する

・ put [place, set] a premium on ～ to think that somebody[something] is particularly important or valuable

 

● source locally  地元で調達する

Recently there’s been a new word coined to talk about sourcing your food locally. A person who does that is sometimes called a locavore: loca- comes from local and vore is the ending of words like carnivore—meat eater.

・ locavore   地元産の食べ物を好んで食べる人

carnivore  肉食動物 /  herbivore  草食動物 /  omnivore  雑食動物

 

● mirror 反映する

You probably know mirror as a noun. You can also use this as a verb and it’s fairly obvious what the meaning is. It’s "copy" or "follow along in exactly the same way."

 

● fancy get-up   高価でしゃれた服

Get-up is slang for outfit or costume. It can talk about the style of what you’re wearing or in another situation outside of fashion, it can also talk about the general composition or structure of something. I’ve usually heard it used to refer to somebody’s outfit. "Wow, that’s a nice get-up you’ve got on today!"

・ get-up   a set of clothes, especially strange or unusual ones  (OALD)

 

● You said it.   そのとおりです。

It might sound funny to hear Tyson tell Shiga what he just said. But this phrase is used to mean, "Boy, I agree with you very strongly."

・ you said it!
a) used when someone says something that you agree with, although you would not have actually said it yourself because it is not polite:  ‘I was always stubborn as a kid.’ ‘You said it!’
b) especially American English    used to say that you agree with someone: ‘Let’s go home.’ ‘You said it! I’m tired.’  (LDOCE)

 

 

2009.02.25

2009年02月第4週分 Lesson 10  Pet Economy (4)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

● 今日のテーマ

The team talks about the effect the pet care business is having on many sectors of the economy.

 

● 犬のひも，lead とも言えるが， leash が多い

Yeah. You can use either word for dogs. Horses, though, usually you only use the word lead, if you attach a rope to a horse to walk it somewhere, when you’re not riding it. I think the difference in the meaning of those two words is, you lead a horse, you’re not tying it down or anything; but you leash a dog, you have the attachment on the dog to control it.

 

● house 会社

Tyson talks about fashion houses. He means individual fashion businesses. The word houses is used for some kinds of businesses in English. The main examples would be companies like groups of brokers or dealers or investment banks. They’re often called houses. Publishing companies are sometimes called houses. And casinos and movie theaters you’ll often hear called houses.

In fact, in casinos in some of the gambling games, the house has a hand in it. The house refers to business, not the customers who are also playing in the same game.

・ have a hand in ～ ～に関わっている

・ a fashion/ banking/ publishing / software house

 

● balloon 急増する，膨張する

Shiga talks about the ballooning cost of healthcare. Ballooning is often used to mean "rising very rapidly," "expanding very rapidly." You can also say the exploding cost of healthcare. I think you can even buy healthcare policies, healthcare insurance for your pets these days.

・ balloon (v.) to suddenly become larger in amount [= explode]: The company’s debt has ballooned in the past year. (LDOCE)

 

● buy on impulse   衝動買いする

 

● "It’s important to remember that a pet’s an animal, not a human being."

I think this is where a lot of people have trouble with their pets. They don’t realize that they can’t develop the kind of relationship you might have with a small child, with the pet, with an animal. They aren’t people, and you need to understand how animals act and what kind of security they need. It’s not quite the same as a little kid.

I read about problems, for example, where a dog will think it’s the boss of the family and will threaten some members of the family, if they are not responding the way the dog thinks they should.

 

● fall for ～   夢中になる，ほれる：詐欺の被害者になる

To fall for something is a phrase that has two meanings. In this case, it’s very clear to fall for a cute little creature means is to fall in love with it; to be captured by how cute it is, and how charming it is. But the other meaning to fall for something, usually, fall for a scam ― it means "become the victim of something. "

・ fall for somebody/something
1    to be tricked into believing something that is not true: He is too smart to fall for that trick.
2    to start to love someone: That was the summer I worked at the fairground, and met and fell for Lucy.
3    to like a place as soon as you see it   (LDOCE)

 

 

2009.02.26

2009年02月第4週分 Lesson 10  Pet Economy (5)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

== Key Phrases to Remember ==

 

● judging by ～ ～から判断すると

 

● deserve a pat on the back   賞賛に値する

→ 実践ビジネス英語 2009.02.18

There’s a similar phrase "give yourself a pat on the back." Sometimes that’s someone else who can’t really give you something, who can’t really give you the praise or some kind of recognition that you want. But you can do it for yourself.

 

● have the option    選択肢を持つ = opt

 

● on the rise 増加中で，上昇中で

→  実践ビジネス英語 2009.02.20

 

● sense of purpose   目的意識

→  実践ビジネス英語 2009.02.20

 

● put a premium on ～ ～を重要視する

→  実践ビジネス英語 2009.02.20

 

==  あんな時，こんな時 == 

話を元に戻す時 Going back to the subject of ～

● Let’s backtrack a bit.

This can also mean "Let’s review what we said recently." But this could be part of the steps going back to the main line of conversation or discussion.

・ backtrack   to return by the same way that you came: We had to backtrack about a mile.  (LDOCE)

 

● Let’s return from the digression.

Sometimes when someone takes the conversation off into some other topics, they’ll stop speaking and say, "Ah, but I digress," which is a cue for everybody to go back to the main topic.

・ digression  話の脱線

digress  to talk or write about something that is not your main subject:   Do you mind if I digress for a moment?   (LDOCE)

 

● Let’s not get sidetracked.  脇道にそれるのはやめよう。

・ sidetrack  

1    to make someone stop doing what they should be doing, or stop talking about what they started talking about, by making them interested in something else:  Don’t get sidetracked by the audience’s questions.
2    <American English>    to delay or stop the progress of something:  An effort to improve security was sidetracked by budget problems.   (LDOCE)

 

● But that’s beside the point. Let’s focus on the key strategy.

If you wanted to soften the phrase, you could add perhaps or maybe: "But that’s perhaps beside the point." "But that’s maybe beside the point."

 

● Attention.   注意を引く

It sounds like it must have been quite a large group of people.

・ One conference please.  一つのテーマに集中しよう。

 

話題をあえて変える時

● Not to change the subject, but …

・ Not to change the subject  「話を変えるわけではないんですが」といいつつ話を変える。

・ flops a film/movie, play, party, etc. that is not successful 完全な失敗（作）

 

● let me digress a bit and tell you a little story about …

 

 

2009.02.27

2009年02月第4週分 Lesson 10  Pet Economy (6)

《ディクテーション・ノート》

S = 杉田敏      I = Susan Iwamoto

S: We’ve been talking about pets and pet-related businesses recently. Susan, do you have any pets of your own?

I: Sadly, no. Not at the moment. I wish I did, though. I had a dog and a cat, growing up. My current building doesn’t allow pets. But I’d like to get a dog or a cat in the future. How about you, Sugita-san?

・ Sadly, no. Not at the moment. 「悲しいことにノーです。今のところは飼っていません。」 Not = I do not have any pets of my own.

S: When I was in elementary school, we kept a mongrel named Fuji, who lived to be seventeen. But I haven’t had a pet since. Ah, Rosa Cortez mentioned that many people viewed themselves as pet parents rather than pet owners.

I: Yes, I can understand that. For my family and friends, having a pet is like having another kid in the family. I grew up with three sisters and a female cat. And we used to joke that our dog was our little brother and my dad had bond with him as the only other male in the house. We had our dog Teddy  for eleven years, and a cat named Pussycat for seventeen years and they were truly cherished by our family. Now things seemed to be changing in that respect in Japan, too. Now I know there have always been people who’ve treated their pets as part of the family. But when I lived in Tokyo as a child and then after college, there were many families who would keep their dogs chained up outside all day and night. I rarely see this nowadays.

・ mongrel    雑種 「富士」なんて犬の名前は最近耳にしませんが，そういえばうちの犬も「フジ」だった。

S: Melinda Kinkaid mentioned that 40% of dogs in the US sleep in their keeper’s bed. Was that the case in your family?

I: Yes, for sure. Our dog and cat took turns sleeping in our beds most of the time. But to be honest, I was really happy when Teddy, the dog, chose one of my sisters’ bed, because he was a golden retriever and, frankly, he took up far too much space in my single bed.

・ S is the case.   = S is true.

・ take turns Ving 「かわるがわるVする」

S: Both Melinda Kinkaid and Shiga Hiroshi mentioned the increasing amount of money people are spending specialty pet food.

I: Yes, and that’s a big difference, compared to when I was growing up. Back then, we just bought basic dog and cat food at our local supermarket. I think it cost about a dollar for four cans of food. We’d occasionally give them table scraps or special treats, of course, but we kept that simple for the most part. Nowadays, my family and friends with pets all seem to buy specially formulated pet food, either at the supermarket or, more often, at the many specialty pet superstores that have popped up in the country in recent years. Those stores have an amazing array of pet goods, including the pet fashions Jay Tyson mentioned.

・ specialty store   専門店

・ treat   ごちそう

・ pop up   突然現れる

S: Pet fashions are very popular here in Japan, too.

I: That’s for sure. I have at least four or five pet specialty shops in my neighborhood alone. They stock loads of tiny raincoats, sweaters, and other fashions, and one of them even has a bakery, (?) birthday cakes and cookies made specially for dogs. I’m always amazed that dogs will let their owners dress up in those tiny fashions. Every time my sisters and I tried to dress our dog up, he would struggle and wriggle out of the T-shirt, (?), scarf, or whatever we’d chosen for him.

・ That’s for sure.   それは確かです

・ wriggle out of ～ 体をくねらせて～からでる，～を脱ぐ

S: Sue Kim and Melinda Kinkaid mentioned pet hotels as an alternative to kennels, when their owners travel. These seem to be gaining popularity in both the US and Japan.

I: True. And I also know many people who will ask a friend or relative to watch the pets while they are away. Others will hire dog- or cat-sitters, kind of like baby-sitters, to check in on their pets on a daily basis. Cat-sitters are a great option, as cats tend not to need as much attention as dogs. Kennels and pet hotels, though expensive, are a good alternative for those who don’t have that option. One of my friends in New York had an interesting approach to this. She went to Puerto Rico to visit her family this past Christmas, but couldn’t bring her dog along. She considered hiring a dog-sitter, but was worried that dogs needed more attention. Kennel seemed impersonal, so she decided to send her dog on a vacation of its own.

・ alternative to ～ ～に対する代案，選択肢

・ on a daily basis  = every day

S: A doggie vacation?

I: Yes. The dog went to a dog retreat in New Hampshire owned by a family with a large house and a lot of land. They had separate areas for older dogs, who didn’t want to be bothered by frisky puppies, and they made sure to give all the dogs good foods, plenty of exercise and lots of affection. Everything seemed to go well and she’s thinking of doing the same thing next year.

・ retreat   保養所，収容所

・ frisky   じゃれつく