一週間前から出張で米国サンタクララにきております。今日は土曜日で一息ついています。
西海岸ですが朝は冷え込みます。
今回は来年度からの赴任後にするであろう仕事を彷彿とさせる前哨戦のような仕事をしています。
米国人と議論するわけですが、あらためてリスニングが難しいことに呆然としております。人により程度の差はありますが、基本、何を言っているのかわからないのです。
米国での滞在経験や仕事の経験のある同行者は問題なく聞き取れているようなので、慣れるしかないのは理解していますが、フラストレーションはたまりまくりです。帰国は4日後です。
3.実践ビジネス英語 2013/3 Lesson 23 Tips for the Real World 1,2,3
■前回の復習です
keep someone afloat
catch flak for
undercut
small fry
hold one's own against
when the going gets rough
come off
wear sackcloth and ashes
profusion
be spoiled for choices
no fewer than
There are only so many minutes in the day.
wind up
■意味を考えてみよう。今日取り上げる単語が含まれています
That kind of experience can be invaluable in helping students get a good perspective on life and work as they prepare to enter the real world of careers and responsibility.
I think we Canadians and our cousins to the south have pretty much the same take on how to teach our kids about financial responsibility.
It's something that seems to be deeply ingrained in our culture.
You can see that in the expression "filthy lucre."
My wife and I would often let Jim do that when he was just a little tyke.
I've always been a firm believer in giving children an allowance in exchange for doing chores.
It instilled in him a solid appreciation for the value of money and hard work.
I explained that if we didn't pay off the whole bill at the end of the month, we'd have to pay extra to the credit card company.
★invaluable, 非常に貴重な、大いに役立つ
extremely useful; indispensable:
ex) An invaluable source of information
★our cousins to the south, 私たちの南にいる（仲間である）アメリカ国民
cousin
(usu. cousins) a person of a kindred race or nation:
ex) Do we never learn from our American and European cousins?
★be ingrained in, ...にしみこんでいる、...に根づいている
ingrained
(of a habit, belief, or attitude) firmly fixed or established; difficult to change:
ex) His deeply ingrained Catholic convictions.
★filthy lucre, 不浄な金、悪銭
filthy
disgustingly dirty:
ex) A filthy hospital with no sanitation
lucre
[mass noun] money, especially when regarded as sordid or dis tasteful or gained in a dishonorable way:
ex) Officials getting their hands grubby with filthy lucre.
★tyke, 小さな子供、ちびっ子
<informal> a small child, especially a cheeky or mischievous one:
ex) Is the little tyke up to his tricks again?
★give someone an allowance, （人）に小遣いをあげる
allowance
a sum of money paid regularly to a person to meet needs or expenses:
chiefly <N. Amer.> a small amount of money given regularly to a child by its parents:
★instill in someone, （人）に...を植え付ける[教え込む]
instill
gradually but firmly establish ( an idea or attitude) in a person's mind:
ex) The standards her parents had instilled into her.
★pay off, ...を全額払う、...を完済する
pay a debt in full:
ex) When the debt is paid off, does he need to continue paying rent?
pay offには、yield good results;という意味もあります。
ex) All the hard work I had done over the summer paid off.
■もう一度読んでみよう
That kind of experience can be invaluable in helping students get a good perspective on life and work as they prepare to enter the real world of careers and responsibility.
I think we Canadians and our cousins to the south have pretty much the same take on how to teach our kids about financial responsibility.
It's something that seems to be deeply ingrained in our culture.
You can see that in the expression "filthy lucre."
My wife and I would often let Jim do that when he was just a little tyke.
I've always been a firm believer in giving children an allowance in exchange for doing chores.
It instilled in him a solid appreciation for the value of money and hard work.
I explained that if we didn't pay off the whole bill at the end of the month, we'd have to pay extra to the credit card company.
■前回の復習の答えです
keep someone afloat, （人、企業など）を（経済的に）持ちこたえさせる、...を破産させない
catch flak for, ...のために激しい非難を浴びる
undercut, （ほかの会社など）より安く売る
small fry, 取るに足りない人[もの]、小物、小さな存在
hold one's own against, ...に負けない、...に引けを取らない、...に対抗する
when the going gets rough, 状況が厳しくなっている時に
come off, 印象を与える
wear sackcloth and ashes, （自分のしたことを）悲しんでいる[後悔して]いる
profusion, 豊富、多量、多数
be spoiled for choices, （選択肢が多くて）選ぶのに困る（というぜいたくな状況である）
no fewer than, そんなに多くの数の
There are only so many minutes in the day. 一日に使える時間は限られている
wind up, （結局）...になる
