リーダーズダイジェストにNury Vittachiという方が毎月書いているUnbelievableと言うコラムがあり、話しぶりがいつも大げさで冗談と本当の区別が付きにくい（恐らく大半が冗談）内容です。その１月の記事はスピーカーを紹介するThe Art of Introductionについてで、その中に次ぎの文がありました。
This time, I asked to read the moderator's introduction before I got up on stage. My ego, which is so big I often have to enter rooms on my knees, snapped into action. I told her: "Your introduction says 'He has sold more than 90,000 books.' That's grossly out of date. It would be more accurate to say several hundred thousand books." 60 seconds later, she was up on stage. "I am delighted to introduce our speaker to you," she said. "This man has sold several hundred books." Serves me right.
最後の表現 "Serves me right." は前置きにエゴ云々があるので売れた本の数が減ってしまったのは当然の報い、と言う事だと思いますが、この様な慣用句的な表現は教科書では余り習わないので急に言われても直ぐには分かりません。 辞書にこの表現があるか確認します。
・Dictionary.com: Idiom: to treat one as one deserves, esp. to punish justly: It will serve you right if she never speaks to you again.
・UltraLingua English Dictionary: To treat, or cause to befall one, according to his deserts: “it serves the scoundrel right.”
この "deserts" は: 1.Often, deserts. reward or punishment that is deserved: to get one's just deserts. 2.the state or fact of deserving reward or punishment. の意味だと言う事も分かりました。 先日激痛があった事を書きましたが、その後マンションで漏水事故があったり（プライベートの事なので余り書きたくなかったのですが）良くない事が続いています。 何か私の日頃の行いが悪く、その報い、"Serve me right." でしょうか？
This time, I asked to read the moderator's introduction before I got up on stage. My ego, which is so big I often have to enter rooms on my knees, snapped into action. I told her: "Your introduction says 'He has sold more than 90,000 books.' That's grossly out of date. It would be more accurate to say several hundred thousand books." 60 seconds later, she was up on stage. "I am delighted to introduce our speaker to you," she said. "This man has sold several hundred books." Serves me right.
最後の表現 "Serves me right." は前置きにエゴ云々があるので売れた本の数が減ってしまったのは当然の報い、と言う事だと思いますが、この様な慣用句的な表現は教科書では余り習わないので急に言われても直ぐには分かりません。 辞書にこの表現があるか確認します。
・Dictionary.com: Idiom: to treat one as one deserves, esp. to punish justly: It will serve you right if she never speaks to you again.
・UltraLingua English Dictionary: To treat, or cause to befall one, according to his deserts: “it serves the scoundrel right.”
この "deserts" は: 1.Often, deserts. reward or punishment that is deserved: to get one's just deserts. 2.the state or fact of deserving reward or punishment. の意味だと言う事も分かりました。 先日激痛があった事を書きましたが、その後マンションで漏水事故があったり（プライベートの事なので余り書きたくなかったのですが）良くない事が続いています。 何か私の日頃の行いが悪く、その報い、"Serve me right." でしょうか？
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