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| Ihre 10 Minuten Englisch pro Woche |
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Dear email,
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It’s that time of year again – the Oscars are just around the corner. When I was a kid, this was a big highlight for me, staying up late and watching until the end. Who was going to win? Would it be an underdog? Or a shoo-in? (What? You don’t know what that means? We tell you below, and I hope you’re curious now.) And while on the subject of the entertainment industry, I’ll also tell you that we have an article for you about why Broadway theater is so expensive – much more so than, say, theatre (notice my British spelling) in London’s West End.
Finally, you can read an article I find particularly interesting on why workers in Japan feel they need the help of professional agencies to quit their jobs.
Next week, my co-host Inez Sharp will have some more entertaining stories for you from around the English-speaking world.
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Judith Gilbert
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Editor-in-chief, Business Spotlight
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be around the corner: hier: kurz bevorstehen | kid (ifml.): Kind | underdog: Außenseiter(in) | quit one’s job: seine Stelle aufgeben, kündigen | co-host: Co-Moderator(in)
Note: Judith's editorial is written in US English.
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Word of the Week
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shoo-in
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Did you know...? A “shoo-in” is someone we expect to be given a coveted place, prize or promotion. A popular politician might be a “shoo-in” (Favorit) as party leader. An actor might be a “shoo-in” (heißer Anwärter) for an Oscar. We look at these people and think: “They’ll definitely get this!”
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coveted: begehrt
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© Illustration: Georg Lechner
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Ihr Gutschein für Business Spotlight
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Sie erhalten die erste Ausgabe unseres Abonnements gratis
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Culture
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Keanu Reeves: one of Hollywood’s nice guys
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Did you know that Keanu Reeves has never been nominated for an Oscar? He became a worldwide celebrity following movies such as Speed and The Matrix and in 2020, The New York Times ranked him as the fourth-greatest actor of the 21st century. In 2022, Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Reeves is one of Hollywood’s nice guys, and here, we look back at his long and lucrative career.
As a special gift, our newsletter subscribers can read the online version of the article for free – but only for a week!
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influential: einflussreich | subscriber: Abonnent(in)
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© Image: Nathaniel Goldberg / Trunk Archive
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Language
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Best of luck!
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Stars preparing for the Oscars might hear the words “fingers crossed” when headed to the awards ceremony this weekend. Others might win big and be on a “lucky streak”. Practise expressions related to luck in our useful exercises.
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fingers crossed: ich drücke dir/euch die Daumen! | lucky streak: Glückssträhne
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© Image: Shutterstock.com
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Verlagsangebot
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Gemischter Satz
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Unser Lesertipp für alle Österreich-Freunde! Im kostenlosen ZEIT Österreich-Newsletter „Gemischter Satz“ finden Sie Aktuelles, Bemerkenswertes oder Beiläufiges über die Kultur, die Politik, den Alltag und die Absurditäten des kleinen Landes da im Süden mit seinen Bergen und Weinhängen.
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© Image: Joss Woodhead / Unsplash.com
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Work Life
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Please, let me go!
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Whatever their job, every employee will leave one day. There are many reasons, both personal and professional, why people quit their jobs. There are also many ways to do it: from casually slipping it into conversation to marching into the boss’s office and shouting “I quit!” Every day is someone’s last day at their job.
In Japan, however, this is a little different. There, a “resignation agency” can quit your job for you. “We submit resignations on behalf of people who, for whatever reason, can’t do it themselves,” Shinji Tanimoto told The Guardian. His company owns the Tokyo-based resignation agency Momuri. “Sometimes, it’s just natural reluctance, but some might have experienced harassment, or even violence, from their employers.”
Work culture in Japan is not like it is in the West. Traditionally, many Japanese employees have spent their entire working lives at one company. They might even have lived in a house and sent their children to a school provided by their employer. Resigning may be considered a sign of disrespect or disloyalty. Some people report that their managers reacted aggressively to their attempts to quit, while others complain that confusing hierarchies made it difficult even to communicate their wish to resign.
Resignation firms like Momuri have seen demand for their services grow in recent years, especially since the pandemic. One in six Japanese workers used a resignation agency to change jobs in the year to June 2024, according to survey data. Young workers in particular are increasingly dissatisfied with the long hours and autocratic leadership style that are common in Japan. About 60 per cent of Momuri’s customers are people in their 20s. “Japanese people are generally reluctant to rock the boat,” Tanimoto says. “Resigning is seen as escaping and evading your responsibilities. But that is changing.”
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quit one’s job (ifml.): seine Stelle aufgeben | casually: beiläufig | slip sth. into sth.: hier: etw. in etw. einfließen lassen | march: marschieren | resignation agency: etwa: Firma für professionelle Kündigungen | submit sth.: etw. einreichen, übergeben | on behalf of: im Namen von | reluctance: Widerstreben | harassment: Schikane | survey: Umfrage | reluctant: be ~ to do sth.: etw. nur widerwillig tun | rock the boat: für Unruhe sorgen, Ärger machen | evade sth.: etw. aus dem Weg gehen
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© Image: iStock.com
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Quiz
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Japan
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1. What is true about Japan?
A. it has the greatest density of vending machines per person
B. it has highest density of snails per square metre of woodland
C. it has the lowest rate of literacy in Asia
2. Japan traditionally has three writing systems.
A. True
B. False
3. Hello Kitty appears on which Japanese banknote?
A. 10,000 yen
B. 5,000 yen
C. Neither, it appears on a coin
D. None
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density: Dichte | vending machine: Verkaufsautomat | snail: Schnecke | rate of literacy: Alphabetisierungsrate
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© Illustration: Georg Lechner
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| Answers: 1. A. There is approximately one machine per 32 people; 2. True; 3.D.
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Entertainment
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Money for musicals
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In recent years, the costs of putting on a show in a theatre have risen dramatically (no pun intended). According to The Economist, a production of the musical Hadestown, about the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, in 2019 required an upfront investment of $11.5 million. It’s estimated that putting on the same show today would cost $18 million. In New York City, the home of the modern musical, theatre productions are now so expensive that producers and investors have grown very cautious about what kinds of shows make it to the stage.
Cost is the main reason why musicals and plays are migrating to London’s West End, which, by comparison, is dirt cheap. A revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, in 2024, needed an investment of $13.5 million on Broadway but just £2.3 million (or $3 million) in London. The running costs of shows are also much lower in London and other cities.
How has New York become so much more expensive? The cost of energy and raw materials has risen fast over the past few years, but that is true everywhere. The main difference is the cost of labour – specifically, the power of US unions to raise wages in America’s entertainment industry. As a result, riskier, experimental theatre productions are now more likely to happen in London and elsewhere, while only guaranteed moneymakers go to New York.
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put on a show: ein Stück auf die Bühne bringen | no pun intended: kein Wortspiel beabsichtigt | ancient: alt, antik | myth: Sage | upfront: Voraus- | cautious: vorsichtig | dirt cheap (ifml.): spottbillig | running costs: Betriebskosten | labour: hier: Arbeitskräfte | union: hier: Gewerkschaft | moneymaker: hier: Erfolgsproduktion
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© Image: Alamy Stock Photo
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Im aktuellen Magazin
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Will AI change the way we speak?
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English on the phone | Corporate activism | Tanzania: conservation crimes
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Quiz
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Oscars
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Test your knowledge of Hollywood’s biggest night of the year in our fun quiz. Do you know who won the most Oscars in history? Which films have won the most? Find out below!
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© Image: GR Stocks / Unsplash.com
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From the ZEIT Sprachen App
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Be a movie star!
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The 97th Academy Awards will be presented in Los Angeles on Sunday. 🎬 How good is your film set vocabulary? 🎥 Look at the pictures and find the correct words!
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© Image: Pia Spieler
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Mitarbeit: Dennis Draber, Judith Gilbert, Susanne Krause, Nadia Lawrence, Mae McCreary, Richard Mote, Rachel Preece, Inez Sharp
Folgen Sie Spotlight und Business Spotlight auf Instagram.
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