H☆Mさんの おぼえた日記 - 2018年1月14日(日)

[Age-Friendly Environment](1,2,3) -Lesson 19 / Business Communication in Action-

Lidia Grace: I hate to be a wet blanket, folks, but I'm feeling a bit depressed this morning.

Steve Lyons: I'm sorry to hear that, Lidia. What's wrong?

Grace: Well, I had an emotionally wrenching experience over the weekend. I had to take away my father's car keys. It was painful for him and for me.

Alyce Collins: My heart goes out to you, Lidia. I had to do the same thing with my dad a few years ago when it became obvious he was no longer fit to sit behind the wheel. He'd had some fender-benders, and I was afraid he'd get involved in a major accident.

Lyons: How did he take it, Alyce?

Collins: Well, his pride was a bit hurt at first. But he's a pretty level-headed guy, and I think he was relieved in a way. He was also worried that he might cause an accident.

Grace: It was a different story with my dad. He begged me not to take his keys away. He said he wouldn't have a life without his car.

Chuck Salmans: Many older folks feel that way, especially those who live in places where a car is vital. We can expect more scenes like that as the graying of society continues.

Salmans: Did you know that here in the U.S., the number of people aged 65 and over is expected to rise from 48 million to 79 million in the next 20 years?

Collins: Wow. That's a sobering statistic. My father was 82 when he surrendered his car keys. These days he lives in a nursing home. If he needs to go somewhere by car, there are volunteers who provide such services to residents. The volunteers have all undergone training in senior care, CPR and first aid.

Salmans: Tell me, Lidia, what did your father do before he retired?

Grace: Well, he was a banker for 40 years. When he turned 65, he left the bank and was recruited by a financial consulting firm. He finally retired at 73 when the firm was downsized.

Lyons: It sounds like he really liked his job.

Grace: He did. So it was a real shock for him to suddenly find he was no longer in demand. He went from having days full of back-to-back meetings and hundreds of emails to - nothing. It was demoralizing and disorienting for him.

Salmans: My uncle retired last year. Before that, he made a list of things he wanted to do during his retirement.

Salmans: One was getting a dog. He got an eight-week-old Scottish terrier. The puppy kept him busy as he trained it, took it for walks and played with it.

Collins: How sweet. That's a great idea.

Salmans: Yes, my aunt and uncle say it's the best thing he's ever done. He's met all sorts of interesting people while taking the dog for a walk. And it's been good for his health.

Collins: Steve, your parents are part of the growing number of Americans who've chosen to spend their retirement abroad. They moved to Costa Rica, as I recall. How are they doing?

Lyons: Very well, thank you. My dad worked as a pediatrician for many years in Akron, Ohio. Like Lidia's father, he found it hard to adjust to the retired lifestyle. He soon realized that he needed to be around more people. So he decided to go back to college and study for a year as he assessed his lifestyle priorities.

Grace: What a cool thing to do.

Lyons: Anyway, after a year back in school, my folks decided to pull up their roots and make a new start in balmy Costa Rica. They work as volunteers in their local community.

Grace: Good for them.


[words and phrases]
-[a wet blanket]座を白けさせる人/(人の喜びに)水を差す人(⇒消火用の濡れ毛布から)

-[my folks]自分の親/両親

-[an emotionally wrenching experience]胸が締めつけられるような/辛い経験

-[My heart goes out to you./Our heart goes out to him.] 深く同情します/お悔やみ申し上げます。

-[the graying of society]社会の高齢化、⇒[graying/aging population]高齢者人口

-[fender-bender/benders](米口語)車の接触事故/(軽度の)衝突事故

-[fit to sit/get behind the (steering) wheel]「車を運転する」ことに適している
　⇒[fall asleep at the wheel]ハンドルを握ったまま眠りに落ちる/居眠り運転をする

-[sobering statistic] 考えさせられる数値/ハッとするような統計値
-[surrender/surrendered] 引き渡す/手放す/放棄する=[relinquish/give something up because we're forced to]
-[malpractice] 医療事故/医療過誤/不正療法/不正行為/背任行為
-[CPR]-[cardiopulmonary resuscitation] 心肺(機能)蘇生法

-[pull up one's roots] 住み慣れた土地を引き払う/定住地から新しい土地に移る
=[pull up stakes] 立ち去る/転居・転職する⇔[puｔ down one's roots]
--[grass roots] 一般大衆/草の根/根源

-[balmy] うららかな/爽やかな/気候が穏やかな、
=[warm, temperate weather]温暖で穏やかな天気
　⇒[The weather forecast is predicting balmy temperatures around 24 degrees.]天気予報は24度前後の心地よい気温を予測している。

[be around]①(人と)一緒にいる/(人の)そばにいる、②やって来る/訪れる、③生きている
　⇒①[I'll be around if you need me.]必要があれば、いつでもお近くにいますから。
　⇒②[I'll be around at 9.] 9時に伺います。
　⇒③[I'll be around in 2020 to see the Olympics.]2020年には生きてオリンピックを見る

-[Scottish terrier]
-[puppy]=[doggy]=[a baby dog]⇔[a baby cat]=[kitten]
--[pussy/pussy cat] にゃんにゃん/猫ちゃん/感じのいい人
　⇒[Mom, where is my pussy?] ママ、僕の猫ちゃんはどこ？
　⇒[Come on my puss! Super is ready!] おーい、猫ちゃん! ご飯の準備ができたよ!