A2-23 / CEFR A2 / EPISODE 23

Asking Neighbors

Asking a neighbor about building rules

SceneIn the corridor of a building Frank has just moved into.

Frank holds a rulebook and talks to a neighbor in an apartment hallway, with Tina beside him. — Select the illustration to view it at full size in a new tab.

Narrator

Frank has just moved into a new building. He meets a neighbor in the hallway and checks the recycling rules with her.

フランクは新しい建物に引っ越してきたばかりだ。廊下で隣人に会い、リサイクルのルールを確認する。

Frank01

Hi, I just moved in. The recycling area is in the basement, right?

こんにちは、引っ越してきたばかりです。リサイクル置き場は地下で合っていますか？

Neighbor02

Oh, welcome! Yes, that's right.

あら、ようこそ！ええ、そうですよ。

Frank03

And I should rinse glass bottles before leaving them there?

ガラス瓶は、すすいでからそこに出すんですよね？

Neighbor04

Yes, exactly.

ええ、そのとおりです。

Frank05

Understood. And paper goes in the blue bin by the front door?

わかりました。紙は正面玄関の青い箱ですか？

Neighbor06

...Yes. How'd you know that already?

…ええ。もう知ってるなんて、どうして？

Frank07

I read the building handbook last night. All forty pages.

昨夜、建物の手引きを読みました。40ページ全部。

Neighbor08

Forty pages? I've lived here six years and never opened it.

40ページ？私は6年住んでて、一度も開いたことないわ。

Frank09

Then perhaps I can help you. Page nine has pictures and instructions for the heaters.

では、お役に立てるかもしれません。9ページには暖房の図と説明があります。

Neighbor10

My heater! It bangs all night.

うちの暖房！一晩中ガンガン鳴るのよ。

Frank11

First, find the picture that matches your heater. Then read the instructions below it. Does that make sense?

まず、お使いの暖房と同じ型の図を探します。それから、その下の説明を読みます。わかりますか？

Neighbor12

Not really. Could you just come over?

あんまり。うちに来てもらえない？

Frank13

Of course. We'll start from page one.

もちろんです。では、1ページ目から始めましょう。

WORDS & CONTEXT

Words & context

“I just moved in.”

Move in means to begin living in a place; the opposite is move out. Adding just indicates that the move happened very recently.

“It bangs all night.”

Here bang is a verb meaning to make loud banging or knocking noises. The heater makes noise all night. This is a different use from bangs (the hair over the forehead) in A2-10.

“Does that make sense?”

Literally "Does that make sense?", this is a standard way to check, right after an explanation, whether the other person followed it. Here Frank checks whether his method came across: find the picture in the handbook that matches your heater, then read the instructions below it. Answers include Yes, that makes sense. and Not really.

“Could you just come over?”

Come over means to visit the other person's location, especially their home. Unable to follow the explanation, Tina asks for someone to come and look in person.

“We'll start from page one.”

Start from ... means to begin at a certain point. The neighbor just wants Frank to look at her heater, but having heard she has never opened the handbook, Frank plans to explain it from page one, not from the heater page, page nine. The punchline is that he is so eager to help that he wants to start the explanation from the very beginning.

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