nemesis

今日から仕事始めです。 通勤途中と昼休みにしか英語の本を読む時間が作れないので、英語の勉強とブログも今日からです。
さて、Reader's Digesの定番記事の一つはMovie Digestでその１1月号のSPECTREについての記事からの抜粋です。
In an attempt to thwart SPECTRE's evil plan, Bond covertly enlists the help of Moneypenny and Q to find Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux), the daughter of his old nemesis Mr. White and Bond's one hope for victory.
"nemesis" はこの手の映画でよく耳にする言葉ですが、今まで辞書で意味を調べた事がない気がする（あるいは忘れた）ので、今日は辞書を見ます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: The inescapable agent of someone’s or something’s downfall: the balance beam was the team’s nemesis, as two gymnasts fell from the apparatus
・Vocabulary.com: Use the word nemesis to describe someone or something that always causes you major problems, like the runner on another school's track team who, for years, has been beating your time by a fraction of a second.
The word nemesis describes a rival who just somehow seems able to get the best of you. It can be someone you compete against, someone whose skills are nearly identical to yours and yet, your nemesis always seems to finish ahead of you, get a higher grade, and generally make you feel flustered. Nemesis can also refer to something that always causes you problems, like public speaking, the nemesis of those who get tongue-tied when nervous.
そうなると私の "nemesis" は英語かな？ 何年経ってもまだまだ敵わない。しかし、こちらもまだまだへこたれない。挑戦は続く。