やさしい英語会話 (224) Girl-Boy Relations and the Cuban Missile Crisis

突然ですが、今週の会話を落語家の謎かけ風に表現してみましょう。

「男女関係とかけて、冷戦時代の'キューバ危機'と解く。その心は…？」



何とも物騒な謎かけで失礼しましたが、核戦争の危機が高まったあのキューバ危機の教訓から、米国-ソ連の間に設けられたあるシステムが、この謎掛けを解くカギのようです。今回のエピソードは、冷戦の歴史と平和について勉強しながら、異性と仲良くなる方法もわかる、そんなおトクな会話かも知れません…!?



Image credit: Adapted from RyanMcGuire via Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain.



※パソコンのブラウザでお聞きの方は、下に表示されている緑色のプレーヤーで、セクション単位での頭出し・巻き戻しができます。

（オープニング→スロースピードの会話→解説→ナチュラルスピードの会話→エンディング）



Download MP3



スマートフォン用



（20:41　10.1MB　初級〜中級）*** It's a Good Expression ***

（今回の重要表現）



to have a crush on

一目惚れする



to act weird

奇妙に振る舞う



the most complex creatures that ever existed

この世に存在した中で最も複雑な生き物



you could spend a lifetime

※ここでのcouldはif節の省略された仮定法過去。「（女性について知ろうと思ったら）一生かかるかもしれないだろう」



to know next to nothing about

ほとんどわからない



to giggle

くすくす笑い



to offer

= to give

※offerもgiveと同じく、SVOOの第４文型。



invisible

目に見えない



act like they don't care so much

さりげなくふるまう



a nerd

おたく



though

だけど、そうは言っても

※接続詞としても副詞としても用いられ、相手の言うことへの反対意見や不平を述べるのに使われる丁寧な表現。

このthoughを効果的に使えるようになれば、英語を使い慣れている感じが出る。



to have bad breath

口臭がする



to make fun of

をからかう、冷やかす



eventually

そのうち、きっと





*** Script ***





Girl-Boy Relations and the Cuban Missile Crisis



M: Hey Rachel, can I ask you something real quick?



W: Sure, Kento, what is it?



M: Well, there's this girl I have a crush on… and I think she likes me, but I'm not sure because sometimes she acts so weird!



W: OK, what makes you think she likes you? And what do you mean by "weird"? Remember, girls are the most complex creatures that ever existed! You could spend a lifetime studying their ways and still know next to nothing.



M: I mean, the way she looks at me sometimes, and how she giggles at what I say, and sometimes she offers me gum!... And, I mean, weird because sometimes she'll act like I'm invisible to her! It's the most stressful thing to have happened since the Cuban Missile Crisis…



W: I'm pretty sure the Cuban Missile Crisis was WAY more stressful than not knowing whether a girl likes you or not! Ha ha! But, don't worry about it too much. Girls like guys who act like they don't care… like they're “too cool”.



M: But I'm NOT cool. I'm a nerd! I own every gaming console that ever was!



W: Some girls like nerdy guys. But really, though, the fact that she giggles and offers you gum doesn't mean she likes you! Is it possible at all she just thinks you have bad breath…?



M: Ah! I wish I could set up a direct line between us, like Kennedy and Khrushchev did in the crisis.



W: It would be too funny if you two had a red phone that flashes in lights when you call it.



M: Hey, that would be pretty cool…



W: Oh Kento, you ARE a nerd.



M: Hey, are you going to help me, or are you just going to make fun of me!



W: Oh, don't worry! It's not so hard. Like I told you: just be cool, act like you don't care, and maybe, eventually, you can install a pretty red, flashing phone between the two of you! Haha!      



(Written by Humberto)