社会の窓から英会話Social / Business

Scene 6-1 上級 The Trouble with Max

A Mover and A Shaker

Max gets a call from his girlfriend, Brenda. When she suggests doing something romantic, Max doesn't like it and decides to call the whole thing off.

Dialog

繰り返し聴いて英語の自然なリズムを身につけましょう。

Brenda: Hi, Maxie. It’s Brenda.

Max: Oh yeah, hey, how’s it going?

Brenda: Sorry to bother you at work, but I was thinking –

Max: Can you hold on there a sec, babe? (Max talks to an intern) I told you I wanted these printed in high definition colour, and put into plastic folders, not stapled. You have to do it again…I know it’s Friday. Life’s a bitch. Sorry there, babe.

Brenda: Well, this weekend is our two month anniversary and I thought we might do something special.

Max: What for two months? Don’t people usually do this kind of thing on a yearly basis?

Brenda: I…I guess. I was just thinking…

Max: You know, babe, I don’t know about this anniversary stuff. It’s like we’re heading down the commitment trail.

Brenda: Huh!?

Max: I’m a mover and a shaker. I can’t be tied down by all this. I’ll see you around. Later, babe. (hangs up)

Brenda: You’ll what ?! Arggh! Asshole!

Explanations

ポイントとなる内容を確認してより理解を深めましょう。

Although this is just the first dialogue of the series, we shall soon see that this kind of behaviour has been typical of our main character, Max's disposition of late. This is not the first time that Max has blown off a girlfriend. However, unbeknownst to Max, he is about to enter into a major turning point in his life. He will soon get a visit from someone very special, and after their meeting his life will never be the same again. The title of this first part of the series is "a mover and a shaker." The same expression also appears later on in the dialogue. This expression refers to a person who makes things happen. It suggests an active personality with a high degree of motivation and ambition. It is very often used to describe successful or ambitious people in the business world. In this case, Max is using it to refer more to his personal life style. He sees himself as a player with no time to waste on any kind of serious relationship. He's always got to keep his options open.

Translation

英文と比較して内容をしっかり確認しましょう。

やり手

Brenda: マキシー。ブレンダだけど。

Max: おお、やあ、元気かい?

Brenda: 仕事中悪いんだけど、わたし考えていたことがあって・・・

Max: ちょっと待っててくれるかい?(マックスは研修生に話しかけて)言ったじゃないか、これらの書類は高解像度でプリントして、ホッチキスでとめずにプラスチックのフォルダーに入れろって。やり直しなさい・・・。今日は金曜日だってことくらい知ってるよ。人生はつらい。ごめんな、ブレンダ。

Brenda: 今週末はわたし達の2ヶ月記念だから、なにか特別なことをしたいなあって思ったんだけど。

Max: なにが2ヶ月なの? こういうのはふつう1年単位でやるもんじゃないか?

Brenda: そ、そうだけど、ふと思ったの・・・。

Max: なあ、オレは記念日のことなんか知ったこっちゃないんだよ。まるでウチらの関係がマジメになってきているみたいじゃないか。

Brenda: え!?

Max: オレはやり手なの。こんなことに束縛されてる場合じゃないんだよ。またな。じゃ。(電話を切る)

Brenda: またって?! あー! ムカツク!