2016.04.11
Tip 193 ”a needle in a haystack.”無料ビジネス英語学習
無料ビジネス英語学習 Words & Phrases 第193弾は、”a needle in a haystack” です。
「無駄骨を折る」と言う言葉がありますが、
本日は、望みのないない探し物をしたりする時に使える表現をご紹介します。
ヒカは同僚のタロウに言いました。
“You know, there’s something wrong with the code in this program.”
「このプログラム、コードがおかしいな。」
でも間違いを見つけるにはすべてのページを確認しなければならず、
相当な時間がかかります。
「見つけるの不可能だよ」
と言いたい場合、あなたがタロウなら英語で何と言いますか？
“It’s impossible to find.”
これでも伝わりますが、こんな時、よりインパクトのある言い方があるんです。
そこで
“That’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
と言ってみましょう！ 「至難の業」「針の穴に糸を通すよう」といった意味の、とても自然な表現です。
※まるでhaystack(干し草の山）の中からneedle(縫い針）を探すようなもの
という例えです。
発音もビデオでチェック！
ぜひこの表現を使ってみて下さい。
Hello and welcome to this Bizmates
words and phrases video series
and today's idiom is
a needle -- like a sewing needle -- in a haystack.
What does this mean?
We will find out, but first let's do our test.
OK, so let's imagine that we are colleagues
I'm in a hurry and I say:
Can you be ready in 20 minutes?
We have to be there at 1 pm.
And you say...
That's right.
I'm ready. I can leave at the drop of a hat.
You could say that with confidence.
I can leave now. I'm ready. I'm waiting for you.
Let's remember that. Lets go on to
today's idiom "a needle in a haystack."
OK, here's what I sometimes hear --
so imagine Taro and I are colleagues
and I say:
You know, there's something wrong with
the code in this program.
You know, I have to look through all these pages
to find the right code.
It's going to take a really long time.
And Taro says:
It will be almost impossible to find.
And he's right. You know, I have to find
this code in all these pages.
It's impossible to find.
But what's a sentence that has more impact?
OK, "it will be almost impossible to find"
is okay. But this idiom has more impact.
OK, like this -- so if I say:
There's something wrong with the code.
I have to look through all the pages
to find the right code. And he says:
That's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
OK very natural, and has big impact.
You could imagine a little needle --
like a little sewing needle --
and trying to find that
needle in a big pile of hay. Hay is dried
grass, like if you go to a farm, you know
You could see dry grass that
horses and cows eat.
Try finding a little needle in that haystack.
It's impossible, right? It'll take forever.
So, when you try to find something that
takes a long time where it's impossible to
find, we say "a needle in a haystack."
That's like looking for a needle in a
haystack. OK, let's look at pronunciation.
So, it's
That's like lookin'... not "ghhh" but lookin'
fora needle ina haystack... ina haystack.
That's like lookin' fora needle ina haystack.
You try...
Good. OK, with my sentence:
There's something wrong with the code
I have to look through all these pages.
Yeah, I know, it'll take forever.
OK, so for homework next time I will say:
There's something wrong with the code.
I have to look through all these pages.
And you just say...
That's right.
That's looking for a needle in a haystack.
Please remember this
and we'll see you next time.
Thank you.
words and phrases video series
and today's idiom is
a needle -- like a sewing needle -- in a haystack.
What does this mean?
We will find out, but first let's do our test.
OK, so let's imagine that we are colleagues
I'm in a hurry and I say:
Can you be ready in 20 minutes?
We have to be there at 1 pm.
And you say...
That's right.
I'm ready. I can leave at the drop of a hat.
You could say that with confidence.
I can leave now. I'm ready. I'm waiting for you.
Let's remember that. Lets go on to
today's idiom "a needle in a haystack."
OK, here's what I sometimes hear --
so imagine Taro and I are colleagues
and I say:
You know, there's something wrong with
the code in this program.
You know, I have to look through all these pages
to find the right code.
It's going to take a really long time.
And Taro says:
It will be almost impossible to find.
And he's right. You know, I have to find
this code in all these pages.
It's impossible to find.
But what's a sentence that has more impact?
OK, "it will be almost impossible to find"
is okay. But this idiom has more impact.
OK, like this -- so if I say:
There's something wrong with the code.
I have to look through all the pages
to find the right code. And he says:
That's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
OK very natural, and has big impact.
You could imagine a little needle --
like a little sewing needle --
and trying to find that
needle in a big pile of hay. Hay is dried
grass, like if you go to a farm, you know
You could see dry grass that
horses and cows eat.
Try finding a little needle in that haystack.
It's impossible, right? It'll take forever.
So, when you try to find something that
takes a long time where it's impossible to
find, we say "a needle in a haystack."
That's like looking for a needle in a
haystack. OK, let's look at pronunciation.
So, it's
That's like lookin'... not "ghhh" but lookin'
fora needle ina haystack... ina haystack.
That's like lookin' fora needle ina haystack.
You try...
Good. OK, with my sentence:
There's something wrong with the code
I have to look through all these pages.
Yeah, I know, it'll take forever.
OK, so for homework next time I will say:
There's something wrong with the code.
I have to look through all these pages.
And you just say...
That's right.
That's looking for a needle in a haystack.
Please remember this
and we'll see you next time.
Thank you.
