“Seinfeld”で笑いながらマンツーマン英会話 – 旅行英語 Rent-A-Car
海外旅行で苦労するのは、勉強した旅行英語通りに物事が進まないトラブルが発生した時。例えば、事前に予約したはずのレンタカーが予約されていなかったとしたら。そして、明らかにレンタル会社側のミスなのに、それを認めようとしなかったら。日本では考えられない対応ですが、海外では時々そんな場面に遭遇することがあります。さて、そんな場合にはどう言ったらよいのでしょうか。
ETCマンツーマン英会話のアメリタ先生(福生)お勧めのコメディドラマ”Seinfeld”に、こんなシーンがありました。動画の前半部分です。間違いなく車を予約した自分の権利を、Jerryはどんな風に主張しているでしょうか?
そして、Jerryはその車で事故を起こしてしまいます。保険をかけているはずなのですが、何か問題がありそうです。ここでは明らかにJerry側に非があるのですが、それでも屁理屈をこねて自己主張をしています。注意して聞いてみましょう。
Agent: Can I help you? Name please?
Jerry: Seinfeld. I made a reservation for a mid-size, and she’s a small. I’m
kidding around, of course.
Agent: Okay, let’s see here.
Jerry: Sixty-six years old?
Elaine: Yeah, well, he’s in perfect health. He works out, he’s vibrant. You’d
really like him.
Jerry: Why do people always say that? I hate everyone, why would I like him?
Elaine: What do you think, would you go out with a sixty-six year old woman?
Jerry: Well, I’ll tell you, she would have to be really vibrant. So vibrant,
she’d be spinning.
Agent: I’m sorry, we have no mid-size available at the moment.
Jerry: I don’t understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?
Agent: Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of cars.
Jerry: But the reservation keeps the car here. That’s why you have the
reservation.
Agent: I know why we have reservations.
Jerry: I don’t think you do. If you did, I’d have a car. See, you know how to
take the reservation, you just don’t know how to *hold* the reservation and
that’s really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody
can just take them.
Agent: Let me, uh, speak with my supervisor.
Jerry: Uh, here we go. The supervisor. You know what she’s saying over there?
Elaine: What?
Jerry: Hey Marge, you see those two people over there? They think I’m talking
to you, so you pretend like you’re talking to me, okay now you start talking.
Elaine: Oh, you mean like this? So it looks like I’m saying something but I’m
not really saying anything at all?
Jerry: Now you say something else and they won’t yell at me ‘cause they thought
I was checking with you.
Elaine: Okay, that’s it. I think that’s enough, see you later.
Agent: I’m sorry, my supervisor says there’s nothing we can do.
Jerry: Yeah, it looked as if you were in a real conversation over there.
Agent: But we do have a compact if you would like that.
Jerry: Fine.
Agent: Alright. We have a blue Ford Escort for you Mr. Seinfeld. Would you
like insurance?
Jerry: Yeah, you better give me the insurance, because I am gonna beat the hell
out of this car.
Agent: Please fill this out.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Jerry: Hi, I called before, uh, my car got smashed.
Elaine: So listen, what should I do? I mean if I break up with him now it’ll look like I’m abandoning him because of his condition, I’ll be ostracized from the community.
Jerry: What community? There’s a community?
Elaine: Of course there’s a community.
Jerry: All these years I’m living in a community, I had no idea.
Agent: Sir the estimate on the damage to your car is two thousand eight hundred
and sixty-six dollars.
Jerry: Hmm, well, I got the insurance and everything so…
Agent: Yes, now, uh, in your report you said that you were not the driver of
the car at the time of the accident.
Jerry: That is right, somebody else was driving.
Agent: Alright, well, sir, you’re only covered for when you’re driving the car.
Jerry: Uh huh, what’s that?
Agent: You’re not covered for other drivers.
Jerry: Other drivers?
Agent: Um hm.
Jerry: Your whole business is based on other drivers. It’s a rented car. That’s who’s driving it, other drivers. Doesn’t my credit card cover me or something?
Agent: Not that particular one.
Jerry: Well I got a hundred cards, here, pick a card, take a card, any card you want, go ahead, whichever one, I don’t care.
Agent: Sir, if you had read the rental agreement–
Jerry: Did you see the size of that document? It’s like the Declaration of Independence, who’s gonna read that?
Agent: Mr. Seinfeld, as it stands right now, you are not covered for that damage and there is absolutely nothing that can be done about that.
Jerry: These pretzels are making me thirsty.
最後にJerryが言った台詞“These pretzels are making me thirsty.”は、この番組がきっかけとなって流行したスラングで、このエピソードには何度も登場します。プレッツェルは塩味のスナック菓子。直訳すると、「このプレッツェルを食べると喉が渇く」ですが、このドラマの中では「イライラする」、「いらつく」という意味で使われています。 “this is making me angry”.と言い換えることができそうです。
(*)参照リンク
▽Urban Dictionaries These pretzels are making me thirsty
(*)関連リンク
▽script of “The Alternate Side”