Hiroko-san's Monday Morning English [Week 31]

A recent survey of 500 second-year workers in Japan found that the worst phrase workers could hear from their bosses is the phrase "Do you understand what I'm saying?" The second most feared phrase of sophomore employees was "Don't you understand these things?" followed by "I expect much from you" and "What happened with that?"

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Hiroko's Memory Tips:

Look over the phrases for 5 minutes.
Say them to yourself without looking at the screen.
At lunchtime, say them to yourself again. Can you remember all three phrases?

Achilles' Heel

Michelle: Don't you think it's a good idea to go to Nepal before you start your new job?

Roy: Yes, I know that I'll be too busy to travel next year, but I'm just not convinced that we should go to Nepal. Can't we go someplace closer?

Explanation: Saying that you are not convinced is a way of saying that you do not completely agree with the other person's ideas.

Prescription drug abuse

Patient: Do I need to take any medicine before I travel?

Doctor: I don't think you really need any medicine, but we can give you some injections just as a preventive measure.

Explanation: A preventive measure is something that we do in order to be safe from future danger.

phase in (phase out)

Dear Roy:

The taxi engines that we have are using expensive gasoline. We want to phase out the gasoline engines by next year and slowly phase in engines that use LPG.

Explanation: To phase something in (or out) means to slowly move from one system to another system.

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