FrankenDojoFrankenDojoby KataSpeakApp availability
Menu

B2-10 / CEFR B2 / EPISODE 10

Apartment Dispute

Checking complaint records and next steps

SceneTina's neighbor has been making noise late at night for weeks. Talking to him directly hasn't worked. Today she's meeting the building manager.

Tina reviewing documents with a building manager.
Select the illustration to view it at full size in a new tab.

STORY English with optional Japanese translations

Narrator

Tina's neighbor has been making noise late at night for weeks. Talking to him directly hasn't worked. Today she's meeting the building manager.

ティナの隣人が数週間、夜遅くに騒音を立てている。直接話しても効果がなかった。今日、彼女は建物の管理人と面談している。

Manager01

You're the fifth-floor tenant who reported the noise?

騒音を報告された5階の入居者の方ですね？

Tina02

Yes. 5B. Midnight to two a.m., every night: thock. Thock. Thock.

はい。5Bです。深夜0時から2時まで、毎晩。コツン。コツン。コツン。

Manager03

The other two complaints just say "clicking."

ほかの2件の苦情には「カチカチ音」としか書かれていませんが。

Tina04

It's golf. He told me he's practicing his putting. The balls keep hitting the wall between our apartments.

ゴルフなんです。本人がパターの練習をしていると言っていました。ボールが何度も、うちとの境の壁に当たるんです。

Manager05

Please put the dates and times on a complaint form. We need a written record to follow up formally.

苦情申立書に日時を記入してください。正式に対応を進めるには、書面での記録が必要です。

Tina06

I'd rather skip the paperwork. Where I'm from, neighbors just synchronize their sleep schedules. But I can't keep losing sleep over indoor golf.

書類は省きたいんです。私の故郷では、隣人同士は眠る時間をそろえるだけなので。でも、室内ゴルフのために眠れない日を続けるわけにもいかなくて。

Manager07

Understood. What have you tried so far?

ごもっともです。これまでに何を試されましたか？

Tina08

Talking to him. Twice. He couldn't have been nicer about it. He said I should try putting and gave me a golf ball. Nothing changed.

直接話しました。2回。これ以上ないほど感じよく応じてくれました。私にもパターをやってみたらと、ゴルフボールをくれたんですよ。何も変わりませんでしたけど。

Manager09

"Gift: one golf ball." Noted. Once you submit the complaint, we'll notify him and send a formal warning.

「進呈品、ゴルフボール1個」と。記録しました。苦情を提出いただければ、本人に通知し、正式な警告を送ります。

Tina10

And if the warning doesn't work — what's the next step?

それで警告が効かなかったら、次の段階は？

Manager11

We escalate. I'll send the owner the records and ask them to review a possible lease violation.

対応を一段上げます。記録をオーナーに送り、契約違反に当たるか検討してもらいます。

Manager12

Here's the form. Start with the dates you remember. Keep a log if it happens again.

こちらが用紙です。まず、覚えている日付から書いてください。また起きたら、その都度記録してください。

Tina13

I'll start now. And if he plays again tonight, every thock gets a timestamp.

今から書きます。今夜も練習するなら、コツンごとに時刻を記録します。

WORDS & CONTEXT

Words & context

“to follow up formally”

Follow up means to pursue the next steps after an earlier contact, complaint, or inquiry. Formally means through an official process. The manager needs a written record of dates and times, rather than only a spoken complaint, before proceeding officially.

“He couldn't have been nicer about it”

Couldn't have been plus a comparative expresses an emphatic positive: it could not have been any more so. Compare It couldn't have gone better. Although grammatically negative, the phrase praises. Tina says her neighbor responded as pleasantly as possible, even though the noise continued.

“We escalate.”

Escalate generally means to increase or intensify. In complaints and customer support, it often means to move an issue to a higher level or authority. Here, if the warning fails, the record goes to the owner to consider whether the lease has been violated.

Browse all 60 B2 episodes