[Quelling Anger ](1,2,3) -Lesson 4 /Business Communication in Action-
Ueda Shota: Say, have any of you noticed the construction that's been going on in an old warehouse building a few blocks from here?
Pat McMillan: Yes, I have. It looks like quite a project. Any idea what they're doing?
Ueda: Well, I was handed this flyer when i was stopped at a red light in front of the warehouse while I was cycling to work this morning. It seems the space is being converted for use as anger rooms.
McMillan: What are those?
Bill Nissen: Oh, I know what they are. When I was based in Texas, I used to go to one every so often to let off some steam. Anger rooms, which are also known as rage rooms or break rooms, are reinforced and soundproofed so you can scream and yell as you smash cups and dishes, furniture and other stuff.
Lidia Grace: That's definitely an interesting business model. I guess it addresses a need that some people have.
Nissen: Yes, anger room chains have been popping up all over the country ever since the first one is said to have opened for business in Texas about 10 years ago.
McMillan: Let me get this straight: you pay money to go into a room to smash things up when you're feeling angry and upset with the world?
Nissen: Yes, that's it in a nutshell.
Grace: How much does one session cost?
Ueda: The flyer says a half-hour starter session costs between $30 and $50, with two or three electronic devices and a bucket of dishes. If you pay a bit more, they'll lay on more dishes, as well as things like laptops, computer monitors, cellphones and large-screen TVs.
McMillan: Remind me to keep you away from my work station, Bill. What did you usually order when you wanted to vent your spleen on some inanimate objects?
Nissen: I usually got a monitor, a big flat-screen TV and a chair. It's actually quite hard to destroy a TV, even with a metal bat. Computer monitors are pretty tough too. And forget about chairs. I don't like the sound of breaking glass or china, so I never used them.
Grace: But isn't it dangerous, with all that debris flying around?
Nissen: Yes, it is. Customers have to wear closed-toed shoes, and long pants and long sleeves are recommended.
Nissen: The anger room operator provides customers with protective equipment including a helmet, goggles, boots and gloves. You also have a choice of music. People who are visibly intoxicated are turned away.
McMillan: So what's the client base for such an operation?
Nissen: Well, it's mainly men, although there are some women who find them a great way to relieve pent-up stress. Some people go to anger rooms after they've been through traumatic experiences like a breakup or divorce. Other reasons include being passed over for promotion, seeing their favorite sports team lose a big game or frustration with politics.
Ueda: The promotional flyer I got says lashing out in such a setting gives people back their edge. It lets them feel they've taken their power back after they've been through an experience that makes them feel weak and diminished. Bill, I hear that some people who patronize anger rooms have been known to write the name of their hated boss on a mannequin and then smash it. Did you do that, by any chance?
Nissen: No comment. [Laughter]
Grace: Here's a serious question for you: are these anger rooms actually therapeutic?
★Anger rooms, which are also known as rage rooms or break rooms, are reinforced and soundproofed so you can scream and yell as you smash cups and dishes, furniture and other stuff.
「怒りの部屋」はまたの名を「激怒の部屋」や「破壊の部屋」と言い、補強と防音が施されています。ですから、コップやお皿、家具などの物を壊しながら、叫んだりどなったりできるのです。
★Yes, that's it in a nutshell.
ええ、簡単に言えば、そういうことです。
★People who are visibly intoxicated are turned away.
見るからに酔っ払っている人は、入店を断られますが。
[words and phrases]
-[quell]抑える/鎮める
-[quite a project]大がかりな事業計画
-[convert]改装/改造/転換する
-[every so often]時々/時折
-[let off steam]ストレスを発散/解消する、鬱憤を晴らす
-[be reinforced and soundproofed]補強と防音が施されている
-[address a need]必要性に応える
-[pop up]出現する
-[also know as-]=[a.k.a.]…としても知られる/またの名を…と言う
-[Let me get this straight.]話を整理させてください。
-[starter session]初回コース
-[lay on-]…を用意する
-[remind someone to-](人)に…するのを思い出させる
-[keep someone away from-](人)を…に近づけない
-[work station]1人分の作業空間
-[vent one's spleen]怒りをぶつける/鬱憤を晴らす=[let off steam]
-[inanimate object]無生物
-[forget about-]…について諦める/忘れる/やめておく
-[in a nutshell]簡単に/手っ取り早く言えば/要するに
⇒[in a word/to sum up/to make a long story short]
-[in visibly intoxicated]見るからに酔っ払っている
-[pent-up stress]鬱積したストレス
-[be through-]…を経験する
-[traumatic experience]心に傷を残す/辛い経験
-[be passed over for promotion]昇進を見送られる
-[lash out]暴言を吐く/殴りかかる
-[give someone back one's edge](人)に優位性を回復させる
-[weak and diminished]弱って威信が衰えた
-[patronize](店などを)贔屓にする/しばしば訪れる、⇒[patronizing]恩着せがましい
-[mannequin]マネキン
-[therapeutic]治療の/健康維持に役立つ
-[turn away]…を断る/追い返す
⇒[turn-away crowd](満員などの理由で)入場を拒否されて会場に入れなかった人たち
