Lesson 10 A Dinner Party with Strangers (6)
「見知らぬ人たちとディナーパーティ」（6）
Talk the Talk
Sugita: Now, in our current vignette, Ueda Shota describes a dinner party he recently attended with four strangers. Have you ever done anything like that, Heather?
Heather: No, though I'd like to try it. There'll certainly be a lot to talk about at a party like that since the participants would know next to nothing about each other at the start. Though certain topics should definitely be off-limits like politics that could ruin a nice evening with angry words, uncomfortable silences, or both. I've been arranging some dinners myself lately, though, ah, not with strangers.
※know next to nothing about ～「についてほとんど何も知らない」
※off-limit 立ち入り禁止の、踏み込んではいけない、聖域の
・Nothing is off-limits for reform. : 改革に聖域はない。
・Kitchen was off-limits to me when I was a kid; I always tried to get a drink by myself and spilled all over. : 私が子どもの頃は台所に入れなかったんだ。だっていつも自分で何か飲み物取ろうとしてこぼしてたから。（英辞郎on the WEB）
※though（副）〈話〉ではあるけどね◆【用法】すでに文を言い出してから「これは前の文に対する補足ね」と軽く付け加える。文末か、文中の切れ目に挿入。althoughではこの使い方はない
・Sure it is wrong, but it is too late to fix. Like Bob says, though, we can fix for the next version. : 確かに間違ってるけど、もう手遅れだよ。ボブが言ってるように、まあ次のバージョンでは修正が利くけど。（英辞郎on the WEB）
Sugita: What kind of dinners?
Heather: I've been setting up some parties for the people in my office to go out and inter act in fun settings. My favorite was the movie party we did recently—about 15 of us rented a karaoke room that also had a DVD player. We ordered a course meal with an all-you-can-drink option and watched a classic whodunit from the 70s. We took a few breaks along the way, and people exchanged opinions on what they thought were vital clues and who was the likely culprit.
※whodunit: [huːdʌ́nit] フーダニット◆主に犯人探しを楽しむミステリー作品◆【語源】Who （had） done it.◆【参考】howdunit ; whydunit （英辞郎on the WEB）
※along the way: 途中で、道中（で）、ここに至るまでに、これまでに、進行中に
・She addressed the criticism she had faced along the way. : 彼女はこれまでに［ここに至るまでに］直面してきた［立ち向かってきた］批判について語った。
※culprit: 犯人
Sugita: One of the participants in Ueda's dinner is a librarian who told them about the new roles being taken on by libraries.
Heather: I'm so glad to hear that they're finding new ways to survive and adapt. I love libraries, always have. That's one of the things I miss most about college, all the time I got to spend in the libraries. My university has quite a few, and student would get there early in the morning to secure the best seats. Some of the most coveted place were these little nooks in a beautiful old building overlooking a hill. In four years of college, I don't think I ever managed to snag one of those spots just as well as, though, I might have spent too much time to gazing out the window.
※I love you. I always have and I always will. 過去分詞、動詞の省略
愛の告白 「あなたを愛しているわ。今までずっとそうだったし、これからもずっとよ。」
※quite a few: 相当数の
※coveted: 誰もが欲しがる
※covet [kʌ́vət] 〔他人が持っている物を〕むやみに欲しがる◆やや否定的な意味で使う～を切望する、～を待ち望む（英辞郎on the WEB）
※nook 人目に付かない所、隠れ場所、避難所。部屋の片隅、
※snag〈米話〉～をさっとつかむ［捕らえる］（英辞郎on the WEB）
※just as well かえって幸いな
That reminds me I should give my daughter a card at the library in our neighborhood .That could be a fun thing to do on our days off together go get her books. And it could help us connect even more with the community. I know they host various events there on a regular basis. As a foreigner, it's particularly easy to get isolated. I wanna make sure my daughter doesn't feel like an outsider in her own neighborhood.
※on a regular basis: 定期的に
Sugita: Another person at the dinner was an event coordinator, which was described as a stressful job.
Heather: From what I've heard of it, absolutely. A person I know in the States used to be a wedding coordinator. And they were always talking about the crazy clients they had to deal with. Once, I remember, my friend said a client called up the night before wedding. They were concerned about how much they were spending—though, of course, my friend kept them aware of the bill whole way through. Long story short, my friend had bought a number of antique candleholders to put on the tables at the reception. My friend did this at the clients' request, but the night before, the client says, "I want to reduce the bill, so don't use the candleholders, okay?" My friend has to tell them, "No, it's not OK. They're going to be on the bill because I already paid for them. And if you reread the contract, you'll see that there's a deadline for changes. And it's not the night before the wedding."
I've heard ～ 不確かだけど聞いたことがある
I've heard of it 聞いたことがあります。
From what I've heard... 聞くところによると～
(From what I hear...; From what I heard...)
