Hi,
1. 今の消費者は大きく二つに分かれる。高級ブランド品を 求める人がいる一方で、どこよりも安いものを求める人 がいる。だから、何も特徴がなく、中途半端な店が一番厳しい状況にある。
a) Does どこよりも mean "from anywhere" (i.e. customers buy cheap goods from any store or manufacturer), or does it mean "more than anything" (i.e. they are concerned about cheapness above anything else)? I would guess the former but I am not 100% sure.
b) I understand 何も特徴がなく、中途半端な店 to mean something like "anonymous no-frills shops", but I don't get 一番厳しい状況にある. What does that part mean?
2. It's been said that there is great rivalry among company employees to gain promotion. Then:
しかし、その一方で、出世のためには手段を選ばないこ とを悲しく思うことがある。
To me this looks like "However, in contrast, (someone) sometimes thinks sadly of the fact that (someone) cannot choose the means of getting on in life". Unfortunately this is not really coherent. What does it actually mean?
3. 木村医師は様々な機会を通じて、伝統的な食事の良さを 訴えてきた。
a) Does 様々な機会を通じて mean "through a series of chance happenings"?
b) In what sense is 訴える meant?
4. 取材はすべて事務所を通してください。直接はお答えで きません。
I thought the first sentence meant something like "Please ensure that the report/survey covers the whole office" and the second "I can't answer personally", but I'm sure I have something wrong since the two do not seem to fit together properly.
1. 今の消費者は大きく二つに分かれる。高級ブランド品を 求める人がいる一方で、どこよりも安いものを求める人 がいる。だから、何も特徴がなく、中途半端な店が一番厳しい状況にある。
a) Does どこよりも mean "from anywhere" (i.e. customers buy cheap goods from any store or manufacturer), or does it mean "more than anything" (i.e. they are concerned about cheapness above anything else)? I would guess the former but I am not 100% sure.
b) I understand 何も特徴がなく、中途半端な店 to mean something like "anonymous no-frills shops", but I don't get 一番厳しい状況にある. What does that part mean?
2. It's been said that there is great rivalry among company employees to gain promotion. Then:
しかし、その一方で、出世のためには手段を選ばないこ とを悲しく思うことがある。
To me this looks like "However, in contrast, (someone) sometimes thinks sadly of the fact that (someone) cannot choose the means of getting on in life". Unfortunately this is not really coherent. What does it actually mean?
3. 木村医師は様々な機会を通じて、伝統的な食事の良さを 訴えてきた。
a) Does 様々な機会を通じて mean "through a series of chance happenings"?
b) In what sense is 訴える meant?
4. 取材はすべて事務所を通してください。直接はお答えで きません。
I thought the first sentence meant something like "Please ensure that the report/survey covers the whole office" and the second "I can't answer personally", but I'm sure I have something wrong since the two do not seem to fit together properly.