【英会話】海外ドラマHouse of cardsの内容を相手に説明する

DMM英会話では頻繁に自己紹介の機会がある。
そのときは大体、

  1. 「名前は~」とかの基本的な情報
  2. 仕事
  3. 休日の日にしてること
    1. 「海外ドラマ観るの趣味」
      1. 「House of cardsを最近観終えた」
      2. 「House of cards知ってる?アメリカの政治ドラマで~云々」

こんな感じの流れで自分を紹介することが多い。

相手は大体House of cardsを知ってるのだが、
たまにタイトルだけ知ってるだけだったり、聞いたこともない、という人もいたりする。
そういう時に、簡単にあらすじを説明しようとするのだが、思った以上にうまく説明できない。

大体いつも、
It is an american political drama.
くらいしか言えてない。

一度整理して、そらで言えるようにする。というのが本記事の目的。

紹介文を参考にする

ネイティブじゃない日本人にとって、英語は借りてくるのが鉄則。
googleを使った英借文のスキルはぶっちゃけ今の英語学習で必須だ。

wikipedia

House of Cards (U.S. TV series) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

House of Cards is an American political drama web television series created by Beau Willimon.

~中略~

Set in present-day Washington, D.C., House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), a Democrat from South Carolina's 5th congressional district and House Majority Whip who, after being passed over for appointment as Secretary of State, initiates an elaborate plan to get himself into a position of greater power, aided by his wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright).

The series deals primarily with themes of ruthless pragmatism, manipulation, and power.

う~ん参考になる。
特に、House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood, a Democratのくだりと、
(He) initiates an elaborate plan to get himself into a position of greater powerのところは素晴らしい。

IMDb

House of Cards (TV Series 2013– ) - IMDb
IMDbではどうか

A Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him.

Majority House Whip Francis Underwood takes you on a long journey as he exacts his vengeance on those he feels wronged him - that is, his own cabinet members including the President of the United States himself.
Dashing, cunning, methodical and vicious, Frank Underwood along with his equally manipulative yet ambiguous wife, Claire take Washington by storm through climbing the hierarchical ladder to power in this Americanized recreation of the BBC series of the same name.

これまた参考になる。
一行目からそのまま使える。
Underwood takes you on a long journey as he exacts his vengeance on those he feels wronged him.
次の行も相当参考になる。
Dashing, cunning, methodical and vicious, Frank Underwood along with his equally manipulative yet ambiguous wife, Claire take Washington by storm through climbing the hierarchical ladder to power

Netflix

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search
本丸Netflixの単文紹介

A ruthless politician will stop at nothing to conquer Washington, D.C., in this Emmy and Golden Globe-winning political drama.

もう少し長い紹介文がありそう。

Rotten tomatoes

House of Cards - Rotten Tomatoes

A drama about a ruthless congressman and his equally ambitious wife who navigate the corridors of power in Washington, D.C.

わかりやすい。

紹介文を作ってみる

上記を参考にして、紹介文を作ってみた。
House of Cards is an American political drama.
It is the story of Frank Underwood, a ruthless congressman.
He carries out the plan to get them into a position of greater power, along with his equally manipulative yet ambiguous wife.
The series deals primarily with themes of ruthless pragmatism, manipulation, and power.