NHKビジネス英語を120%利用 【実践 4/25(Fri.)】
発行日時： 2008/4/29
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■□■NHKビジネス英語を120%利用■□■
& NHK News Headlines
発行者責任者 / Sanae Kawamoto
協力： Cecile, Sei Shimura, Ina, Akira, Kimie, Hiromi, Shin, Hiroko
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みなさん、こんにちは。
実践ビジネス英語 4/25 (Fri.) 分のお届けです。
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【原稿チェック： Shin, Kimie, Cecile, Ina】 【編集： Cecile】
【ディクテーション： Sanae】
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実践ビジネス英語 Friday, April 25
1<S>: Hello, everybody.
2<I>: Hello and welcome to the show. This is Susan Iwamoto. Let's
put our communication skills to work.
---------------------
Getting Settled (6)
---------------------
3<S>: Now, Susan, we've recently talked about the first day at work.
And now, we are looking at getting settled in a new place.
4<I>: That's right. And there are many angles from which we can
approach this. One is relocation assistance. The policies vary from
company to company, but while most provide some sort of relocation
assistance to international assignees, it's a real mixed bag when it
comes to new hires. The higher the position, the more likely the
person is able to get financial support from their organization to
help pay for those relocation costs.
Now, in some cases, the employer may even buy the transferees' home
and then sell it later. This happened for my family years ago when
my father was transferred from Boston to New Orleans. It made our
move much easier, not having to go through the long process of
selling our house.
5<S>: What sort of relocation assistance can international
transferees expect?
6<I>: Well, it depends on their situation. But employees who are on
international assignments are often introduced to real estate agents
recommended by the organizations. Compensation packages vary widely,
of course, with some companies picking up the tab for all
housing-related costs and others giving a set budget for the
transferee to work with.
Now, the real estate agents are often part of a relocation
assistance company. They will also provide help with setting up
utilities, opening bank accounts and taking care of other normal
start-up issues for the new employee.
In some cases they'll even provide more comprehensive services,
assisting the new employee with getting their children enrolled in
school or maybe giving them a tour of the neighborhood. And they
might also provide information to the family about support networks
or services available in their own language, such as giving Japanese
families information about Japanese-speaking doctors in the area or
taking them to a local Japanese supermarket or bookstore.
Now other companies take a hands-off approach, perhaps giving a
handout or manual with tips and advice, but otherwise letting the
employee find their own housing and generally fend for themselves.
7<S>: Now Hiroshi's colleagues also gave him advice about furnishing
his apartment, right?
8<I>: Yes, and they did mention that he had the option of looking
for a furnished or unfurnished place. Now unfurnished apartments are
more readily available in most locales but even unfurnished
apartments come partially equipped with a refrigerator, stove, oven
and lighting fixtures.
I was really surprised when I moved into my first unfurnished
apartment here in Japan, and found out that I needed to go shopping
for a fridge and stove and especially for lighting fixtures right
away if I didn't want to spend my first night in the dark.
9<S>: Hiroshi's coworkers also gave him some interesting advice
about garage sales. Do you think he'll be able to find some bargains
there?
10<I>: Definitely. Garage sales, also known as tag sales or yard
sales or, if you are in New York, stoop sales, are great places to
find inexpensive furnishings for your new place. If you go to any
suburb on a weekend, you're likely to find a small handwritten sign,
posted on a utility pole, directing you to a yard sale in the
neighborhood. And I have done my fair share of shopping at garage
sales over the years and sometimes it's just fun to browse and hope
for an unexpected treasure.
Actually, I've always liked hosting these kind of sales, too, even
at a young age. Now, my sisters and I were budding entrepreneurs and
I remember having our first yard sale in our elementary school. I
think I was about eight at the time. We took some toys that we
didn't need anymore but they were still in good condition and we set
up a table at the end of our driveway. We sold nearly everything in
a few hours. And the surprising thing was that this wasn't in some
random suburb in the U.S., but rather in our neighborhood in western
Tokyo. As you know, I used to live in Tokyo as a kid.
Now our Japanese neighbors must have thought it was a bit strange
and uh... we probably sold some of our wares just on the novelty
factor alone.
11<S>: In addition to apartment hunting, what are some of the other
concerns for international transferees in particular?
12<I>: Well, adjusting to another culture can be time-consuming and
it prevents employees from performing at the highest levels because
they are so busy trying to sort out cultural differences. And to
help with the transition, many organizations opt to provide their
international assignees with intercultural training.
13<S>: What does this sort of program involve?
14<I>: Well, I could talk for hours about this, but as it's my main
line of work. But in a nut-shell, intercultural training is a way of
giving international assignees the tools they need to acclimate
themselves to a new culture. Now some people may imagine that
intercultural training is a session devoted to business etiquette.
You know, dos and don'ts in a particular culture.
For example, the right way to exchange business cards in Japan. Of
course, that's important and those things are helpful. But a good
intercultural session goes a little deeper. It looks at how
someone's culture--their beliefs or values, their ways of
thinking --how it affects their communication and management styles.
Often we don't have our objectivity about own culture and don't
realize just how deeply it affects our interaction with others. And
we may judge someone's actions or behavior using our own cultural
standards.
And as you can imagine, this has the potential for misunderstandings
whether on a personal or professional level.
15<S>: For example?
16<I>: Well, earlier in my career, I worked full-time at a major
Japanese corporation, and during my first big presentation there, I
noticed that one of the managers was leaning back in his chair with
his arms crossed. Now, looking at it with my American eyes and
judging it by my own cultural standards, I was worried that he
either didn't want to be there, perhaps thinking that my
presentation wasn't worth his time.
However when I spoke with him after the presentation, he gave me
very positive feedback. I realized that I made a mistake in reading
his behavior due to my lack of objectivity.
Now sitting in a meeting with your arms crossed may have a negative
meaning in the U.S., but not so in Japan. It was one of many
eye-openers for me as I navigated the Japanese business environment.
Now this may seem like a minor incident, but people working in other
cultures or multicultural teams may run into many of these
situations. They may feel an emotional reaction to someone's
behavior, due to the fact that it contrasts sharply with something
in their own culture.
Now, the other person's actions may be perfectly suitable in that
person's culture, or of course, may be rude in either culture. The
important thing is
to be able to step back for a moment and think objectively about
their behavior before you react to it.
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Word Watching
----------------
■ So much stuff, so little space.
17) There are definitely a lot of variations on this expression. But
the construction itself is pretty flexible and pretty common. For
example, I might say when I go shopping, "So many shoes, so little
money."
■ What's one person's trash is another person's gold mine.
18) This is a great expression to use when you can't really
understand why someone likes something so much when you yourself
think it's pretty horrible. I often use "one man's trash is another
man's treasure." Um... you can also say, "There is no accounting for
taste."
■ as is
19) Now this is a pretty common sign that you'll see. It's used,
especially for big-ticket items like cars. But you will occasionally
see it in shops for smaller items. For example, you might go to a
shop, you'll see a vase and it'll have a small chip, well ... a
little bit of damage on it, but it'll have a sign saying "as is,"
meaning the sale is final.
■ Have a great day.
20) Exactly. And there are all sorts of variations on this: "Take
care." "Have a good one." It's certainly something you'll hear if
you go to any store in the U.S. When you finish the transaction, the
clerk will say, "Have a good day," or "Have a nice day." Now, also
if I'm working someone at the end of the day, I'm likely to say,
"Have a nice night."
■ eager beaver
21) That's right. You know, sometimes it can be used very simply to
describe someone who's very enthusiastic or positive, but yes,
sometimes it can be used to describe someone who may be a little too
eager or too enthusiastic, maybe trying to impress someone.
----------------
Graffiti Corner
----------------
22) "Nothing is impossible," that's a great inspiring motto. It's
one of my mottos, actually. But it is true that nothing's impossible
for those who don't have to do it. Or in other words, "Easier said
than done."
---------------
23) That's all for today.
24) Thanks for joining us.
=========================================================
==== NHK News Headlines by Sei Shimura ====
（この部分は、NHKラジオ第 2放送、午後 6時からのニュースヘッドラ
インを志村さんがディクテーションしてお送りします。）
-------------------------------------------------
NHK News Headlines / Monday, April 28, 2008 #3,553
-------------------------------------------------
1) Japan's governing coalition has lost in Sunday's by-election for
a Lower House seat, dealing a severe blow with Prime Minister
Fukuda's management in Diet.
2) Japanese health officials have found a bird flu virus in swans
that died in a lake in Akita Prefecture.
<Words & Phrases>
1) by-election 補欠選挙
2) deal a severe blow 大きな打撃を加える
-------------------------------------------------
NHK News Headlines / Sunday, April 27, 2008 #3,552
-------------------------------------------------
1) Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has returned from Russia,
where he met President Vladimir Putin and his successor Dmitry
Medvedev to discuss a wide range of issues.
2) Japan's Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura rates the Japanese leg
of the Olympic torch relay as valuable for not ending in major chaos
ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan next month.
<Words & Phrases>
1) rate 評価する
2) major chaos 大きな混乱
------------------------------------------------
NHK News Headlines / Saturday, April 26, 2008 #3,551
------------------------------------------------
1) The Japan leg of the Olympic torch relay has ended under heavy
security with all 80 torchbearers finishing their run in Nagano
City.
2) Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has welcomed China's
announcement that it would hold talks with his envoys.
<Words & Phrases>
1) leg of the Olympic relay 聖火リレーの区間
2) torchbearer 聖火ランナー
3) envoy 特使、使者
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＜編集後記＞
ゴールデンウィーク、良いお天気の関東地方です。みなさん、いかが
お過ごしですか？今日はお休みですが、また明日から仕事ですね。
新入社員の息子は11連休だそうです。僕が会社に行ってもまだ使い
ものにならないから新人は休まされたなんて言っています。今年は売
り手市場だったのでずいぶん甘やかされているように見えますが、ど
うなんでしょうねえ。
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