http://www.nhk.or.jp/gogaku/english/business2/index.html

 

Business Communication in Action  実践ビジネス英語

Hello everybody.   こんにちは。みなさん。

 

Hello and welcome to the show.

This is Heather Howard.

Let's take a look at conversation at work.

 

 

Laptop Etiquette (3)

 

 

Alvarez refers to studies showing that people process information better when they take notes by hand.

Ueda agrees that writing by hand makes people more engaged with what they're hearing.

Grace asks about the students' response to the ban.

And Alvarez says they initially felt it was too harsh a measure.

Alvarez lists benefits to using a laptop including being able to download course material.

 

 

Block: Alvarez uses "block" to mean prevent something from happening. The opposition party blocked the legislation, for example. They did not allow it to be passed. It can also mean, impede the physical progress or movement of something. The strikers blocked other employees from entering the factory. Or, there's also the meaning "shut out from view." Like, oh, that new building blocks our view of Mt. Fuji.

 

Make sense: Ueda says, "That makes a lot of sense." The logic, the reasoning behind something holds up, is solid. For example, it makes sense to open another branch. Ah, sales have been up and up. Or, it makes sense not to change jobs right now. Ah, the job market's too unstable.

 

Whiz at shorthand: With a shorthand, Ueda is referring to special writing systems that use symbols and abbreviations to write quickly. "Shorthand" can also mean a quick way to say or show something. Like, the color red is often used as shorthand for danger. Or, a heart symbol is shorthand for love.

 

Shorthanded 人手不足の

 

Whiz kid

 

Paraphrase: Reword a statement, ah, spoken or written. We express the same meaning but not in the exact same terms. To paraphrase Shakespeare, cowards die many times, the brave just once.

 

Sufficient evidence:

 

It's not a leap to think that: I think using "leap" this way is a fun, ah, expression. So, when we say something is a leap, we mean it isn't logically connected to something else. A does not readily follow from B. So, the images is somebody has to make a huge jump from A to B in order to connect them and it doesn't really work. You might say, "Carl smiled at Amy once. And she thinks he has a crush on her? That's a bit of a leap." So, if something is not a leap, then we're not straining logic. It is a rational connection or link. Like, Carl is always smiling at Amy and trying to talk to her. So, it's not a leap to think that he likes her.

 

The same holds true for: What is true of A is true of B, Grace is saying. Ah, the same principle applies, the same facts are true. And we often say just "holds true." Like, I need a quiet environment to work in. This especially holds true when I'm on deadline, you know, when I have limited time to finish.

 

Revolt:

 

Mandate:

 

Extreme: Alvarez says, "At first, the students' opinion was that a ban was too extreme." That it was going too far.

 

Look up:

 

Unfamiliar concept:

 

On the fly: In a hurry, ah, without advanced thought or preparation. He gave the presentation on the fly. He didn't have time to prepare beforehand. Ah, we also have the similar expression "off the cuff." Ah, you could say, oh, she has an off-the-cuff speaking style. Ah, she doesn't use notes.

 

Play by ear ぶっつけ本番でやる

 

Well-organized:

 

Beneficial:

 

Object to:

 

Heavy-handed: Overly forceful, ah, blunt or tactless. Heavy-handed, the image of handling someone too roughly or pushing down too hard. You might say, "Our sales tactics have been too heavy-handed. Too many ads all over the place." Or, the police were criticized for their heavy-handed response to the protesters.

 

 

That's all for today.

Hope you had fun. Bye.