☆ネイティブの生の会話からリアルな英語を学ぶ☆
=================================
1) Come to mind(思い浮かぶ)
=================================
Come to mindは「思い浮かぶ」や「思い付く」を意味する表現です。「真っ先に思い浮かぶのは〜」は「The first thing that comes to mind is ____.」、「何も思いつきません」は「Nothing comes to mind.」のように表現します。
<例文>
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of American food?
(アメリカンフードと聞いて真っ先に思い浮かぶ食べ物はなんですか?)
Don’t worry about making mistakes. Just say whatever comes to mind.
(間違いを気にせずに、思ったことを何でも言ってください。)
Nothing comes to mind right now. I’ll have to think about it.
(今は何も思い付きません。考えないといけません。)
=================================
2) That’s fair(なるほど)
=================================
that’s fairは相手の発言に納得する時に使われる相槌表現で、「なるほどね」や「そっか」を意味します。最初は納得していなかったことに対して、相手の説明や言い分を聞いて納得するニュアンスがあります。ただし、相手の考えに100%納得しているわけではなく、相手の説明を聞いた上で、相手の考えを受け入れる、という意味合いがあります。日常会話では、that’s を省いてシンプルに「Fair.」と言ったり、「Fair enough.」と表すことも一般的です。
<例文>
That’s fair. I see what you’re saying. That makes sense.
(なるほど。言いたいことは分かりました。納得しました。)
Fair enough. If you’re that passionate about it, then you should do it.
(なるほど。そこまで情熱があるなら、やってみるべきだと思います。)
Fair enough. I’ll find someone to cover your shift tomorrow.
(なるほど、分かりました。明日のあなたのシフトをカバーしてくれる人を探しておきます。)
=================================
3) Get in someone’s face(人の気に障ることを言う)
=================================
イラッとして相手に面と向かって不満を言ったり、非難したり、怒鳴ったりすることを get in someone’s face と言います。不満を隠さずストレートに相手に伝える行為や、喧嘩を売るような行為を示します。
<例文>
An angry customer got in my face today and started yelling at me.
(今日、怒ったお客様が私に面と向かって怒鳴り始めました。)
Our boss got in Tony’s face because he was messing around during an important meeting.
(大事な会議中にトニーがふざけていたため、上司は彼を叱りました。)
Don’t get in her face. She had nothing to do with it.
(彼女は関係ないんだから、彼女に怒鳴らないで。)
=================================
4) Raise one’s voice(怒鳴る)
=================================
raise one’s voice は本来「声を上げる」や「大声を出す」を意味しますが、日常会話では怒ったりイライラして「怒鳴る」ことを意味します。特に、カッとなって怒鳴り始めた相手に「Don’t raise your voice at me.(怒鳴らないで)」と言うような状況でよく使われます。
<例文>
I know you are upset but don’t raise your voice at me.
(イラついてるのはわかるけど、私に怒鳴らないでよ。)
When he loses his temper, he always raises his voice.
(彼はカッとなるといつも怒鳴ります。)
I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice.
(ごめん。怒鳴るつもりはなかったんだ。)
=================================
5) Mess around(ふざける)
=================================
mess aroundは状況によって様々な意味を持つ表現ですが、今日の会話では「ふざける」を意味します。授業中に勉強をせずにふざけたり、仕事をサボってお喋りをしたり、真面目な話をしているのにふざけた態度をとるような状況で使われます。
✔ちなみに、「I’m just messing around.」は「冗談だよ」を意味します。
<例文>
Stop messing around and do your homework.
(ふざけるのをやめて、宿題をしなさい。)
Can you stop messing around? We’re having a serious conversation.
(今、真面目な話をしているから、ふざけるのはやめてくれない?)
I’m just messing around. Don’t take it seriously.
(冗談だよ。真剣に受け止めないで。)
〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜
本日ご紹介したフレーズは、iTunes Japanの「ベストポッドキャスト」に2017から4年連続選出されたHapa英会話の人気コンテンツPodcast第332回「失礼な行為」の内容の一部です。Podcastの全内容をご覧になりたい方は、Hapa英会話のブログをチェック!会話の全文、会話の要約、ピックアップしたフレーズ、ポッドキャストでは説明できなかった表現や言い回しが掲載されています。
https://hapaeikaiwa.com/podcast332
〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜
同時也有10000部Youtube影片,追蹤數超過2,910的網紅コバにゃんチャンネル,也在其Youtube影片中提到,...
fair enough意味 在 范疇文集 Facebook 的最佳貼文
Taiwan Can Achieve More,
But It Takes Bilingualism
台灣可成就更高 但需要「雙語國力」
《作者從事與雙語教育相關的工作已斷斷續續30餘年。雙語已成國策,那就身體力行,開始用雙語發表意見吧。歡迎讀者對此形式提供您的意見及指教》
Among all sustaining forces, what Taiwan lacks most is the force of language. When people talk about a country’s competitiveness, most likely the main benchmarks are the military force, wealth force, technology force or even cultural force. The concept of“Force of Language”rarely came into mind. But in fact, linguistic capability is one of the key factors that can make or break a country in the long run , if not in the short.
在所有的可持續力量中,台灣最缺的就是語言的力量。當人們談論國家的競爭力時,通常主要的標竿都是軍事力量、財富力量、技術力量,甚至文化力量,而想都想不到「語言力量」這回事。但事實上,語言表達的能力,遲早也將是國家成敗的關鍵要素之一。
Examples are plenty. Take the tiny country of Singapore as a sample. Its existence and survival rests upon its capacity in applying and managing multi-lingual resources. Without that force of language, it can’t possibly thrive in a geographical setting as complex as this – with Malaysia on the north, Indonesia on the South-West, India to the West, and, particularly, the landmass of China up north. Geography is both a blessing and a curse to the country of Singapore, but its multi-linguistic capacity is a pure blessing. Without it, Singapore would still have been a trading center in that region and there is no way for it to have become one of the worldwide financial centers as today.
例子不勝枚舉,小小的新加坡就是一個樣本。它的生存,基於它運用、管理多重語言資源的氣度和能力。若缺少了這種「語言國力」,新加坡不可能在如此複雜的地理環境下茁壯 – 北有馬來西亞,西南有印度尼西亞,西有印度,尤其遠遠的北方還有中國這樣一塊大陸。地緣對新加坡這個國家既是祝福也是詛咒,但其多語能量則是百分之百的祝福。若非掌握語言國力,新加坡或許還能成為區域的貿易中心,但沒有可能變成今日的世界金融中心之一。
Hong Kong, in the past tense, also benefited tremendously from its bilingualism. By comparison, the mighty city of Shanghai in China will never replace the economic role Hong Kong used to play for China. I remember a sharp comment made by the past Premier of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Many years ago when visiting Taiwan, he was asked this question by a reporter : “Can you foresee Shanghai replacing Hong Kong one day“? “Never!”was Lee’s reply. “Why?” Here comes the issue of the force of language, “Because I simply can’t see that the Shanghainese can speak better English than the Hong Kong people”. End of discussion.
香港在過去,也大大得利於它的雙語能力。相較之下,中國上海這個巨型城市,永遠也無法取代過去香港對中國的經濟角色。我猶記得新加坡前總理李光耀的一針見血評論。多年前在造訪台灣時,記者問他:「你能預見上海有一天取代香港嗎」?「絕不可能!」李光耀回答。「為什麼呢」?這裡就看出語言的力量了,「因為我根本看不到上海人的英文能力有超過香港人的一天」。討論就此結束。
Taiwan is good at technology as well as in many other aspects. It produces over 50% of the high-end semiconductor chips for the world’s high-end industrial and military uses, and it also designs at least 25% of the chips for world’s daily electronic devices. Which means, should Taiwan’s economic activities be disrupted by a hostile party , or even worse, should the island country fall under a hostile party’s control, as a consequence, the entire world would be affected severely, even to the point of functionally inoperative.
台灣在科技上很行,其他方面也不錯。在世界的高端工業及軍事應用中,台灣生產的高端半導體晶片佔比超過50%。在日常生活的電子設備上,台灣設計的晶片也至少佔比25%。這意味著,若台灣的經濟活動被某個敵意方擾亂,或在更糟情況下台灣這個島嶼國家落入敵意方的控制,後果將嚴重波及整個世界,甚至導致世界在功能上無法運作。
On top of that, Taiwan is ingenious in meeting unconventional demands for outlandish components. The most apparent case would be that of the birth of Tesla. When Elon Musk couldn’t get designers and factories from other parts of the world to risk making his non-heard-of components, he came to Taiwan and found willing and capable suppliers. Without the ingenuity of Taiwan’s able engineers, Tesla’s EV could have been delayed for many more years and might even have missed its first-to-market timing.
此外,台灣在非傳統、奇思妙想的零組件領域也很高明。最顯著的例子就是特斯拉的誕生。當伊隆馬斯克在世界其他地方碰壁、沒有工廠和設計師願意為他冒險製造那些聽都沒聽過的零組件的時候,他來到台灣找到了出路和供應商。沒有台灣的這份高明和工程師,特斯拉的電動車可能延誤多年,甚至失去市場首發的時機。
In the political arena, Taiwan has been firmly placed in the first tier among countries of democracy. To be fair, Taiwanese citizens still stand eager for eliminating the residual, inherited authoritarian elements in its political system; however, from a global standpoint, the mere presence of this remaining endeavor, by itself, proves that Taiwan has already passed the point of no return of an evolving democratic country.
在政治競技場,台灣已經被牢牢放在了民主國家的前列。但還是得公平地說,台灣公民還在熱切得期待把自己政治體制中那些殘留的、繼承來的威權成份加以剷除。然而從全球眼光來看,這種熱切現象的本身,就足以證明台灣作為一個民主還在演化的國家,在道路上已經沒有回頭餘地了。
In any aspect, Taiwan should have received a much higher level of acknowledgement from the international community than what it gets now. It makes people wonder why it didn’t.
無論哪個角度,台灣都應該得到比現在更高的國際認可和關注。這讓人感到奇怪,為什麼不是這樣呢?
Sure, one can blame the “Cut-Taiwan-off-the-World” program that the neighboring CCP (Chinese Communist Party) exercised. But blaming is not productive, not in everyday life nor in politics. We need self-assertive solutions much more than airing complaints.
當然,我們可以歸咎於中共的「切斷台灣的世界聯繫」招數。但是,歸咎往往是不起積極作用的,在生活中如此,在政治上也一樣。自我斷然提出解決方案,遠比時時抱怨要重要的多。
Citizens in Taiwan need to be able to speak out for Taiwan, not waiting for others to speak for it. To speak out to the world, you need languages! Presently, over 90% of the citizens on this island write and speak in just one language : the written Mandarin Character and the spoken Mandarin plus dialects.
台灣公民有必要自己為台灣發聲,而不是只等待第三方替台灣發聲。既然要自己對世界發聲,那就需要語言(國力)!當前,90%的台灣公民只會用單一的語種書寫和表達:書面的華文系方塊字,和華語加上數種方言。
This causes consequences in two-folds. On the political side, when Taiwan citizens shout in Mandarin, only people who understand Mandarin in other parts of the world can know what Taiwan is shouting for. Sadly, 96% of those who understand are under the firewall enclosure in China. Furthermore, Taiwanese messages are being censored, twisted and manipulated by the CCP in order to prevent its subjects from hearing it.
這造成了雙重後果。在政治面,當台灣公民用華語呼喊時,世界上只有聽得懂華語的人知道台灣在呼喊什麼。遺憾的是,96%聽得懂華語的人被鎖在中國的防火牆內。更糟的是,中共為了防止其控制的人民聽懂,持續不斷得堵絕、扭曲、操弄來自台灣的訊息。
On the economy side, although the top-layer of the academics, businessmen and technical elites are all quite proficient with a second language, mostly English or Japanese, the majority of the able engineers and middle managers in Taiwan cannot communicate efficiently enough to bring out their personal or organizational potentials.
在經濟面,雖然頂端的學術工作者、企業家、技術精英都有不錯的外語能力,例如英文或日文,但是大多數的能幹工程師和中層管理者,還無法有效的通過外語溝通以展示他們自身或組織的真實潛力。
It’s such an obvious yet ignored national issue : Taiwan needs bilingualism for its political sustainability and economic prosperity. A thriving bilingualism in Taiwan can be achieved by flipping its mentality towards education, or by changing its attitudes towards “outsiders” and installing a more open-minded immigration policy.
如此明顯的國家級議題卻遭到忽視:台灣的政治可持續及經濟的繁榮,非需要「雙語國力」不可。若想如火如荼的推動雙語國力,有兩條路可走,一是翻轉其對教育之心態,或改變對「外來者」的態度、建立一套更開放的移民政策。
Either way, Taiwan must implement a bold and innovative approach to this “force of language” challenge. And that approach can start today. Are you ready? Yes, I meant YOU!
不論採哪一種方式,台灣對這「語言國力」的挑戰,必須實施一種既大膽又創新的路數。今天就可以開始,你準備好了嗎?沒錯,說的就是你!
* 更多有關台灣之未來,請往 《范疇 前哨預策網》InsightFan.com
* 註冊為免費會員,瀏覽部份熱點議題電子書、觀點及預先的對策
* 註冊為追蹤會員,支持一個永遠獨立、終身不受任何政治體制管
束、推動台灣世界地位、思考人類文明未來的園地
fair enough意味 在 Eric's English Lounge Facebook 的最讚貼文
[時事英文]彩券是一種窮人稅 (a tax on the poor)?
最近看到多家媒體報導鼓勵大家支持「公益」彩券,就聯想到之前看過的一些彩券報導。雖然每個國家的彩券發行的法律、收益的分紅和管理規範都不盡相同,還是可以參考以下美國多家知名報社關於美國彩券的社論。根據西方的經驗,購買彩券的人大多是低收入戶,他們將微薄的收入用來買「公益」彩券,窮人的錢成為彩券的主要財源,因此,公益彩券反而像變相的「窮人稅」。彩券是否如迷幻藥般,使部分窮人更窮?值得大家深思。
從社會與心理層面看臺灣「樂透瘋」公聽會:https://bit.ly/30W6mpJ
★★★★★★★★★★★★
The lottery is a particularly awful example of political corruption. Here government is raising revenue by selling the Powerball dream of wealth without work. Studies in a number of states have shown that lottery ticket sales are concentrated in poor communities, that poor people spend a larger portion of their income on tickets and that the poor are more likely to view the lottery as an investment.
1. political corruption 政治腐敗
2. raise revenue 提高收入
3. Powerball 威力球(美國境內發行的彩券)
4. dream of wealth 財富的夢想
5. more likely to 更傾向於
彩券是政治腐敗的一個特別可怕的例子。政府藉由兜售威力球一夜致富的夢來增加國家的稅收。許多州的研究表明,彩券的銷售集中在貧困社區,窮人將多數收入花在彩券上,而窮人更傾向於將彩券視為一種投資。
——《華盛頓郵報》
★★★★★★★★★★★★
Lotteries are regressive taxes on poor people, in that a ticket costs relatively more for a poor person than a rich person, and punitive taxes on the poor and uneducated people who are the most avid buyers. The people who can least afford it are throwing away on average 47 cents on the dollar every time they buy a ticket. And the government, which relies increasingly on the lottery for funding, goes out of its way to tell them it is a good idea.
6. relatively more 相對更多
7. most avid buyers 最狂熱的買家
8. go out of one’s way(特別是為其他人)非常努力地做
9. punitive taxes 懲罰性賦稅
彩券是對窮人的累退稅,也是對那些醉心於購買且未受過教育的窮人之懲罰性賦稅。因為與富人相比,買彩券所付出的成本對窮人而言相對較高。那些負擔得起彩券的人,平均每次要花47美分購買彩券。政府愈來愈依賴彩券來籌措資金,並竭盡全力告訴他們這是個好主意。
——《商業內幕》
★★★★★★★★★★★★
What if I told you there was a $70 billion tax that the poor pay the most. You'd probably say that isn't very fair. But that's exactly what the lottery is: an almost 12-figure tax on the desperation of the least fortunate. To put that in perspective, that's $300 worth of lottery tickets for every adult every year. Researchers have found that the bottom third of households buy more than half of all tickets. So that means households making less than $28,000 a year are dishing out $450 a year on lotteries.
10. a 12-figure tax 一個12位數的稅
11. the least fortunate 最不幸的
12. worth of… 值得⋯
13. dish out 祭出;拿出
14. What if...? 如果(尤指糟糕的情況出現)會怎麼樣?
如果我告訴你,在700億美元的稅收中窮人付出的最多,你會怎麼想?你可能會說這不太公平。但這就是彩券:對最不幸者的絕望徵收近12位數的稅。從這個角度來看,那對每位成年人來說是每年價值300美元的彩券。研究人員發現,最底層的三分之一家庭所購買的彩票超過總數的一半。這意味著年收入不足兩萬八千美元的家庭,每年要花450美元來買彩券。
——《華盛頓郵報》
★★★★★★★★★★★★
Historical data implies that when the economy goes bad, lottery revenues go up, because "when people are feeling desperate, they are more likely to stop by the gas station and buy five lottery tickets, hoping they get a big windfall.”
15. historical data 歷史數據
16. feel desperate 感到絕望
17. get a big windfall 獲得巨額、意外的收穫
歷史數據表明,每當經濟不景氣,彩券收入會增加,因為「每當人們感到絕望,他們更有可能在加油站前停下來,買五張彩券,並希望自己能獲得巨額的財富。」
——《ABC新聞》
★★★★★★★★★★★★
In 2008, during the height of the recession, at least 22 of the 42 states with lotteries — including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — set sales records.
18. height of the recession 經濟衰退的高點
19. set sales record 創下銷售記錄
2008年,時值經濟衰退的谷底,在42個有賣彩券的州中,至少有22個州——包括紐約州、紐澤西州和康乃狄克州——創下銷售記錄。
——《紐約時報》
★★★★★★★★★★★★
Lotteries are sometimes criticized as a "de facto tax on the poor," according to Matheson. "The poor spend a much higher percentage of their overall income on lotteries than the rich, and they can afford it less," he said. John Spry, a finance professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, has also studied the economic disparity among people who play instant scratch-off games. About three out of four instant game tickets sold in Minnesota are purchased by people with below-average incomes, according to Spry. He also cites research that shows that in South Carolina, 60% of instant lottery tickets were purchased by people with very low incomes.
20. a de facto tax on the poor 一種對窮人的實質賦稅
21. overall income 總收入
22. economic disparity 經濟差異;經濟失衡(國際法名詞)
23. below-average incomes 低於平均水準的所得
按馬特森所言,彩券有時被批評為「對窮人的實質賦稅」。他說:「窮人在彩券上的花費占總收入的比例遠比富人高出許多,而他們所能負擔的也更少。」明尼蘇達州聖湯瑪斯大學的財金系教授約翰・斯普里也研究了玩即時刮刮樂的人之間的經濟差異。根據斯普里的說法,在明尼蘇達州售出的四張即時刮刮樂中,約有三張是由收入低於平均水準的人購買。他還引用了一項研究,該研究表明,在南卡羅來納有60%的即時彩券是被收入很低的人買走。
——《CNN》
★★★★★★★★★★★★
Think on this a moment. In a place where government has utterly failed to provide adequate education and public services, government is using advertising to exploit the desperation of poor people in order to raise revenue that funds other people’s public services. This is often called a “regressive” form of taxation. The word does not adequately capture the cruelty and crookedness of selling a lie to vulnerable people in order to bilk them. Offering the chance of one in a 100 million is the equivalent of a lie. Lotteries depend on the deceptive encouragement of mythical thinking and fantasies of escape.
24. utterly fail to 徹底地失敗
25. fail to provide 無法提供
26. adequate education and public services 充分的教育與公共服務
27. exploit the desperation of poor people 利用窮人的絕望
28. fund public services 資助公共服務
29. a regressive form of taxation 一種累退的賦稅形式
30. sell a lie 兜售一個謊言
31. vulnerable people 弱勢群體
32. mythical thinking 不切實際的想像
33. fantasy of escape 逃避的幻想
試想一下,在政府完全無法提供足夠的教育與公共服務的地方,為了提高國家稅收以資助他人的公共服務,政府正運用廣告來利用窮人的絕望。這通常被稱作「累退」的賦稅形式。這個詞並未充分體現出,政府為了欺騙弱勢群體,向他們兜售謊言此一殘酷與奸詐。提供億分之一的機會即形同說謊。彩券所仰賴的是不切實際與逃避現實的幻想,帶有欺騙性的鼓勵。
——《華盛頓郵報》
★★★★★★★★★★★★
Some policymakers argue that the moral cost of lotteries is low. After all, the games are voluntary. And perhaps the money collected by the state is better off going to schools than to booze and cigarettes and whatever else. In an age of rising income inequality, it’s pernicious that states rely on monetizing the desperate hope of its poorest residents. State lotteries take from the poor to spare the rich, all while marching under the banner of voluntary entertainment. Banning lotto games will not make our poorest communities suddenly rich. But these neighborhoods have lost enough lotteries in life even before they touch a penny to the scratch-off ticket.
34. moral cost 道德成本
35. be better off 境況更好;經濟狀況較先前(或多數人)好
36. rising income inequality日益加劇的所得不均
37. take from the poor to spare the rich 劫貧濟富
38. under the banner of 以⋯⋯的名義;在⋯⋯的旗幟下
39. voluntary entertainment 自願性娛樂
40. a scratch-off ticket 一張刮刮樂
有些制定政策的人認為,彩券的道德成本很低。畢竟,那些都是自願的博弈。而且,由州政府收取資金並將之用於各級學校,也許比用在喝酒、抽菸或其他東西上都來得好。在一個所得不均日益加劇的時代,各州將貧困居民僅存的希望貨幣化,無疑是有害的。國家彩券劫貧濟富,以自願性娛樂的名義推進。禁止博彩遊戲並不會讓我們最貧窮的社區突然變得富有。但這些社區甚至連刮刮樂的一毛錢都沒贏過,卻已眼睜睜輸掉數量可觀的彩券。
——《大西洋》
★★★★★★★★★★★★
今政府開辦之彩券販售,雖係有法令依據的合法行為,其販售權力也優先給予殘障弱勢者,每年所獲盈餘也多用在公益事業或挹注部分運動項目,不可謂沒有功勞。但整體而論;彩券是藉公益之名,慷民眾之慨以補政府的不足,彩券盈餘所挹注的公益項目,都是政府原本就應照顧的族群,不應等待民眾簽注的盈餘才來做這些事。
——立法院第8屆第2會期第2次會議紀錄
https://bit.ly/2EkkktK
★★★★★★★★★★★★
國內運動彩券之評析: https://www.npf.org.tw/3/5099
圖片出處: https://bit.ly/2P11l9L
★★★★★★★★★★★★
參考資料:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/refusing-t0-cheat-the-poor/2015/07/09/78154b9a-2670-11e5-aae2-6c4f59b050aa_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.55b
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/refusing-t0-cheat-the-poor/2015/07/09/78154b9a-2670-11e5-aae2-6c4f59b050aa_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.55bf29a1f446
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/lotteries-americas-70-billion-shame/392870/
http://www.businessinsider.com/lottery-is-a-tax-on-the-poor-2012-4
http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/12/news/companies/powerball-lottery-games-poor/index.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/lotteries-americas-70-billion-shame/392870/