John and Marie had agreed to meet at The Dandelion, a British pub on 18th Street, at 6pm on Friday. John arrives first, at about 5:45. He finds an empty table, and sits down. A waitress comes over and gives him a menu.
Waitress: Hi, how are you this evening?
John: I'm good. I'll have a Guinness.
The waitress arrives with a big mug of dark beer with a smile. John nervously takes a sip. Ah, nice. He's not had a Guinness in a long time.
Meanwhile, Marie is right outside the bar, and before she opens the door, she pauses and sighs. She has a queasy feeling as she readies to open the door. I wonder if this was a good idea, she asks herself. Oh well, nothing to lose, I guess. Try to keep an open mind, Marie.
John looks up to see Marie come through the entrance, and waves her over.
Marie: Hey, how are you doing, John?
John: I'm doing fine. How about you, Marie?
Marie: I'm fine. Well, mostly I guess. I have so much going on at work, it is crazy. I snuck out of the office early today, I'll have you know!
John Chuckles. The waitress comes over and asks what Marie would like. She orders a glass of white wine.
John: Thanks for popping out with me! And sorry to hear that you are under a lot of pressure. Too much stress is not a good thing.
Marie: Yeah, no question about it. But I have a couple of cases that are coming to trial soon. The preparation is the most important part. I have a little defense team for each case, and sometimes it's like herding cats.
John: I can imagine. Are you allowed to talk about any of the trial details? I guess that stuff is confidential...?
Marie: Yes, it is confidential until after the trial. But I will give you a hint about one of my cases. Remember that bar fight in south Philly that involved a major leaguer?
John: Sure, I saw that on the news. Brian Carter, right?
Marie: Yup. That's my case. Unfortunately, that's all I can say about it now.
John: Understood. It sounds like you actually enjoy being a lawyer, despite all the stress. Am I right?
Marie: Yes, I guess you can say that. I've been doing it for 5 years now, and I think I'm in line for a promotion soon. Depending on how my cases go, of course. Once I get some seniority at the firm, I can pause and catch my breath. But enough about me. Tell me what you do, John.
John: I work at Comcast, as you know. Harry and I work in engineering. We work mostly in R&D, but we do occasionally get involved in troubleshooting problems that are reported by our clients, especially for new features that we developed.
Marie: I have Comcast cable TV at home. What kind of features have you developed? Would I recognize any of them?
John: I think you might. You know the voice search feature? The blue button on the remote? Marie nods. We worked on that feature from the beginning. I hear it's pretty popular.
Marie: Sure, I use that a lot. Very cool! You are quite the super geek! You must have been a nerd in high school. Anyway, it sounds like you are fairly happy in what you are doing too.
John: Yeah, I am. I like technology. Always have, really. But, it's an interesting situation right now. My boss told me she is leaving, and she said I should apply for her job. So, I am mulling that over now.
Marie: Wow, that sounds great. I can understand that it would be an adjustment to become a manager, though. That's something I think I'd like to try someday, but not right now.
John and Marie ordered some appetizers and continued to get to know each other for another 2 hours. As they got ready to go their separate ways, Marie gave John a little hug and a kiss on the cheek. John blushed.
単語
フラッシュカードドリル-
I used to drink Guinness all the time, but as I got older it seems a bit too heavy now.昔はいつもギネスを飲んでいましたが、年を重ねるごとに少し重くなりました。
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Every time I think about the presidential election I get a queasy feeling in my stomach.大統領選挙のことを考えるたびに、お腹が気持悪くなる。
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I felt so much stress in my last job that I had to quit.前回の仕事では非常なストレスを感じて辞めなければなりませんでした。
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In preparation for the final exam, Joan studied 7 hours every day.ジョアンは最終試験の準備として、毎日7時間勉強しました。
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Getting people to do the right thing is like herding cats. Everybody wants to do it their way.人々に正しいことをさせることは、とても難しい事です。誰もが自分のやり方でやりたいと思っています。
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Well, that information is confidential, so I can't share it with you yet. Maybe next week.さて、その情報は機密情報なので、まだあなたと共有することはできません。多分来週にはできるでしょう。
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A bar fight broke out at O'Leary's last night. They had to call the police.昨夜、オレアリーのバーで喧嘩が起こった。警察を呼ばなければなりませんでした。
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I have seniority at the company, so I am not in jeopardy of getting laid off.私は会社では古参なので、解雇される危険はありません。
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Once I get some seniority at the firm, I can pause and catch my breath.会社の年功序列で古参になれたら、ちょっとお休みして一息できます。
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The R&D efforts at Apple in 1984 eventually delivered the first iPhone to the world.1984年のAppleでの研究開発努力は、最終的に最初のiPhoneを世界に送り出しました。
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At the committee meeting, the chairman recognized that he will have to give enough time for both parties to make their points.委員会の会合で、議長は、両当事者が意見を述べるのに十分な時間を与える必要があることを認識した。
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I keep forgetting where I put the TV remote. It's so frustrating!テレビのリモコンをどこに置いたかいつも忘れてしまいます。とてもイライラします！
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My brother is a real geek. He knows all about the space program and its technology.私の兄は本当のオタクです。彼は宇宙計画とその技術についてすべて知っています。
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James was a nerd in high school, and so he bullied a lot.ジェームズは高校時代勉強熱心であまり社会性がなく、いじめをたくさんしました。
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Advances in technology allow the space program to send robots to Mars.技術の進歩により、宇宙計画では火星にロボットを送ることができます。
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I can understand that it would be an adjustment to become a manager though.でも、マネージャーになるのには調整が必要になると理解してます。
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Mr. Jones was promoted to branch manager at the bank yesterday.ジョーンズ氏は昨日銀行の支店長に昇進した。
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He blushed when she asked him about his awkward date last night.彼女が昨夜の彼のぎこちないデートについて彼に尋ねたとき、彼は赤面した。