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| INTRODUCTION |
| Natsuko: 夏子です。 |
| Sachiko: Sachiko here. APB on Kinoshita, part 2. |
| Natsuko: Part 2? |
| Sachiko: Yes here we are. |
| Natsuko: So APB on Kinoshita. He was missing in China and now he is missing where? |
| Sachiko: We don’t know yet right? |
| Natsuko: Right that’s what it means to be missing. |
| Sachiko: Well let’s take a look and see where he is at. |
| DIALOGUE |
| (再びオフィスにて) |
| 部下2: 社長、木ノ下がまだ中国にいるかどうかはわかりません。 |
| 社長: さっき中国にいると言ったじゃないか。 |
| 部下1: 実は、木ノ下には放浪癖があるんです。アジアの国にいるかどうかすら、我々にははっきりとわからないのです。彼が行くと言った場所に本当に行くかどうかは誰にもわかりません。気まぐれな男なんです。 |
| 社長: この仕事は木ノ下じゃないと無理なんだ!なんとしても見つけだすんだ。確か・・・木ノ下は大のチベット仏教好きだったな。よし!チベット支局のテンバにつないでくれ。木ノ下の行方を追うんだ。 |
| もう一度、お願いします。ゆっくり、お願いします。 |
| 部下2: 社長、木ノ下がまだ中国にいるかどうかはわかりません。 |
| 社長: さっき中国にいると言ったじゃないか。 |
| 部下1: 実は、木ノ下には放浪癖があるんです。アジアの国にいるかどうかすら、我々にははっきりとわからないのです。彼が行くと言った場所に本当に行くかどうかは誰にもわかりません。気まぐれな男なんです。 |
| 社長: この仕事は木ノ下じゃないと無理なんだ!なんとしても見つけだすんだ。確か・・・木ノ下は大のチベット仏教好きだったな。よし!チベット支局のテンバにつないでくれ。木ノ下の行方を追うんだ。 |
| 次は、ピーターさんの英語が入ります。 |
| (再びオフィスにて) |
| (At the office again) |
| 部下2: 社長、木ノ下がまだ中国にいるかどうかはわかりません。 |
| SUBORDINATE2: Boss, I'm not sure if Kinoshita is still in China. |
| 社長: さっき中国にいると言ったじゃないか。 |
| BOSS: Just a second ago you said he was in China, didn't you? |
| 部下1: 実は、木ノ下には放浪癖があるんです。アジアの国にいるかどうかすら、我々にははっきりとわからないのです。彼が行くと言った場所に本当に行くかどうかは誰にもわかりません。気まぐれな男なんです。 |
| SUBORDINATE1: To tell the truth, Kinoshita has a habit of wandering about. We don't know for sure if he's even in an Asia country. Nobody knows if he is actually where he said he'd go. He's an unpredictable guy. |
| 社長: この仕事は木ノ下じゃないと無理なんだ!なんとしても見つけだすんだ。確か・・・木ノ下は大のチベット仏教好きだったな。よし!チベット支局のテンバにつないでくれ。木ノ下の行方を追うんだ。 |
| BOSS: This work can't be done by anyone else but him. We have to find him, no matter what it takes. If I remember right, he's a lover of Tibetan Buddhism. I've got it! Call Temba at the Tibetan branch. Let's track down Kinoshita's whereabouts. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sachiko: So Natsuko san, what do you think? |
| Natsuko: This Company seems to have a quite large network of branches. |
| Sachiko: It does. There is a branch office in Tibet. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. |
| Sachiko: I wonder what this company does. |
| Natsuko: Yeah me too. |
| Sachiko: Like selling electronics or something, cellphones in Tibet? I have no idea. |
| Natsuko: No idea. |
| Sachiko: And what do you think about Kinoshita san. Is he really that good a worker do you think? |
| Natsuko: Umm. |
| Sachiko: Umm.. |
| Natsuko: He seems to be quite a strange person. |
| Sachiko: Exactly. |
| Natsuko: But the 社長 the President seems to have a lot of faith in him. |
| Sachiko: Uhoo.. |
| Natsuko: I wonder why. |
| Sachiko: I wonder why too. Well let’s look at today’s vocabulary. There are quite a few. Natsuko san, can you run us through them? |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Natsuko: 放浪癖 |
| Sachiko: Vagrant habits, wanderlust. So Natsuko san, 放浪癖 can you break this word down into two sections? |
| Natsuko: Yes the first part is 放浪 which means kind of wandering around. |
| Sachiko: Yes. |
| Natsuko: And the second part 癖 this is the same kanji as クセ which means habit. |
| Sachiko: Yes. |
| Natsuko: So in other words, it’s a habit of wandering around. |
| Sachiko: Umm troublesome isn’t it. |
| Natsuko: Yes. Thank god, this Kinoshita san isn’t two years old or 85 years old. It would be very problematic. |
| Sachiko: Uhoo sure. |
| Natsuko: Yeah. Now can the word 癖 be stuck on other words as well? |
| Sachiko: Yes I think so. |
| Natsuko: What other examples are there? |
| Sachiko: But it’s usually used in big words. |
| Natsuko: Oh that’s true. Yeah, a little bit too high level. |
| Sachiko: Yes maybe more like yeah well it sort of sounds like terminology used specifically in psychology. |
| Natsuko: Umm |
| Sachiko: Ah that’s true, little bit too much information here. |
| Natsuko: Let’s go on to the next vocabulary. すら |
| Sachiko: Even, if only, if just, as long as. Natsuko san, can we use this in a sentence please? |
| Natsuko: コンビニすら無い町。 |
| Sachiko: A town that doesn’t even have a convenient store. That’s pretty bad, isn’t it? |
| Natsuko: Sounds pretty rude. |
| Sachiko: Yeah convenient stores are a must have for Japanese society right now. So yeah that will be pretty inconvenient. |
| Natsuko: Sure. |
| Sachiko: Yeah. Okay next word please. |
| Natsuko: 気まぐれ |
| Sachiko: Whim, caprice, whimsy, fickle, moody, uneven temper. Umm. Now is this word used to describe a person’s personality? |
| Natsuko: Yes usually. |
| Sachiko: So if you wanted to say that he was moody, how would you say that? |
| Natsuko: 彼は気まぐれです。 He is 彼は which is moody followed by this the copula, pretty simple. |
| Sachiko: Yes. Next word please. |
| Natsuko: 何としても |
| Sachiko: Whatever it takes. Now that sounds like a pretty strong word. |
| Natsuko: It is. |
| Sachiko: In what kind of situation would you use this? |
| Natsuko: For example, it was a pretty desperate situation in the conversation right? |
| Sachiko: Yeah it sounded like it. |
| Natsuko: 何としても見つけだすんだ。 |
| Sachiko: Do whatever you can to find him. So in other words, it means use whatever tactic necessary. |
| Natsuko: Yes definitely. |
| Sachiko: Uhh pretty scary ちょっと。 Watch out Kinoshita, somebody is watching you. Okay next word please. |
| Natsuko: 大のなになに好き |
| Sachiko: Great lover of blah, blah, blah. Now between the two words 大の and 好き is I guess the noun describing what this person likes. |
| Natsuko: Yes exactly. |
| Sachiko: So if you were to describe a person who loves movies, how would you say that? |
| Natsuko: 大の映画好き |
| Sachiko: 映画 for movies. |
| Natsuko: Yes. 大の映画好き |
| Sachiko: He is a great lover of movies or just a great movie fan. Now is this used in a causal way or a formal way? |
| Natsuko: Well I think it’s a little casual. |
| Sachiko: Okay. |
| Natsuko: But it is used in formal situations as well I think. |
| Sachiko: And in Kinoshita’s case, it’s a Tibetan Buddhist lover right? |
| Natsuko: Umm seems so. |
| Sachiko: Yeah. |
| Natsuko: Very interesting. |
| Sachiko: Interesting. So Natsuko san, what are you 大のなになに好き of |
| Natsuko: Maybe horse racing 大の競馬好き。 |
| Sachiko: Oh really? |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Do you do betting as well? |
| Natsuko: Ah..Yes occasionally. |
| Sachiko: Oh, oh..wow, that’s really unique. You don’t look that type. |
| Natsuko: Yes but it’s not the gamble that I like. I like the horses. |
| Sachiko: Oh. |
| Natsuko: And how about you Sachiko san? |
| Sachiko: This is a big secret. So don’t tell anybody that I am a huge star wars fan. Wow! |
| Natsuko: Wow! |
| Sachiko: Yeah. I was one of those people that lined up in front of the movie theaters for three weeks before Episode 3 came out and dressed up as Darth Vader. |
| Natsuko: Wow! So that makes you 大のスターウォーズ好き You got it. |
| Sachiko: Wow! |
| Natsuko: So anyone out there who is a huge fan of Star Wars. |
| Sachiko: Write in. |
| Natsuko: Yeah just leave a post to Sachiko. |
| Sachiko: Yeah and we can chat about Star Wars all day long. Okay last word please. |
| Natsuko: 行方 |
| Sachiko: One’s whereabouts. Now when you say that one’s whereabouts are unknown, how can you say that? Natsuko san, can you give us a sample sentence? |
| Natsuko: 娘の行方がわからなくなった。 |
| Sachiko: I don’t know my daughter’s whereabouts. That sounds pretty serious. |
| Natsuko: We come with the similar expression in the previous lesson right? |
| Sachiko: Right. And that word was |
| Natsuko: 行方不明 |
| Sachiko: which is just another way of saying one’s whereabouts are unknown. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: 行方不明 is often used in the news to refer to how many people are missing after a natural disaster. |
| Natsuko: Sure. |
| Sachiko: Or some kind of terrorist attack or… |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Yeah 行方不明何名 The number of people that are missing would follow that phrase. |
| Natsuko: Okay great. Well let’s look at today’s grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Natsuko: Today’s grammar is なになにかどうか. |
| Sachiko: This means whether or not right? |
| Natsuko: Huh. |
| Sachiko: So whatever word is preceding かどうか is the topic at question. |
| Natsuko: Yes and the speaker doesn’t know whether it is or it is not. |
| Sachiko: Ah right, right. So in the conversation, we have いるかどうか which means いる is just existence. So the person who is speaking this doesn’t know whether 木下 is in China or not. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: So he says |
| Natsuko: いるかどうか、わからない。 |
| Sachiko: Okay. So what kind of words come before かどうか |
| Natsuko: It can be a verb. |
| Sachiko: Okay. |
| Natsuko: An adjective or maybe a noun. |
| Sachiko: So it’s really pretty versatile. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Umm let’s look at a sample sentence for a noun. |
| Natsuko: その人が日本人かどうか知っていますか？ |
| Sachiko: Do you know if this person is Japanese or not? So the word 日本人 comes before かどうか |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: So whether or not this person is Japanese is the topic and the person speaking it isn’t sure. Let’s look at some other examples using verbs. |
| Natsuko: 昨日の試合に勝ったかどうか知らせてください。 |
| Sachiko: Please let me know whether you won yesterdays’ game. So in this case, the verb 勝った, the past tense of 勝つ comes before かどうか. So whether you won the game or not. |
| Natsuko: Ah interesting. |
| Sachiko: What about an example using adjectives? |
| Natsuko: Okay the first one い adjective. |
| Sachiko: Okay. |
| Natsuko: 彼の方が背が高いかどうか比べてみましょう。 |
| Sachiko: Let’s compare whether he is taller or not. So in this case, 背が高い is the adjective that means tall. That comes before かどうか and this means whether he is tall or not. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: Yeah pretty simple. Let’s look at a sample sentence using the other adjective. |
| Natsuko: Okay. The Na adjective. |
| Sachiko: Okay. |
| Natsuko: あのレストランは高級かどうか知っていますか？ |
| Sachiko: Do you know if that restaurant is expensive or not. So in this case, the adjective 高級な which means expensive is used but in the sentence, the last letter な gets dropped. So it’s simply 高級どうか. So with the な adjective, drop the な. |
| Natsuko: Yes. |
| Sachiko: You don’t say 高級なかどうか。 So Natsuko san, I am looking forward to the APB on Kinoshita, part 3. |
| Natsuko: Yes sure of course. We have to find him. |
| Sachiko: Where do you think he is? |
| Natsuko: Hmm but they say that he has 放浪癖。 |
| Sachiko: Aaha. |
| Natsuko: So maybe we can’t find him in Tibet. |
| Sachiko: Yeah well he could be in Africa for all we know. We will just have to keep calling the branch offices worldwide. |
| Natsuko: Wow! |
| Sachiko: Because this company has it. |
| Natsuko: Sure definitely. |
Outro |
| Sachiko: Okay. |
| Natsuko: それじゃあ、また次回。 |
| Sachiko: See you next week. |
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