You are the future now, so make the most of it.
(あなたたちは今、未来を担っているのだ。だから、最大限にその立場を活かして欲しい。)
先週土曜日の「NIKKEIプラス1」で紹介されていた英ブレア首相の演説より。
- "make the most of it"=「最大限に活かす」は知っている表現だったが、ここで目をひいたのは同時に"make the best of"という表現が紹介されていたこと。make the most of には「機会を最大限に活かす」意味がこめられているのに対し、make the best of は「不満足な状況をできるだけいいように使う/不満足な状況の中で最善を尽くす」という意味に。
- 英英での違いをチェック。"make the most of"="to take full advantage of something because it may not last long." /"make the best of"="to try to think and act in a positive way when you have to accept a situation which you do not like but cannot change."
- 例文をいくつか。*Make the most of the good weather because rain is forecast for tomorrow. *There'll be a lot of travelling involved in my new job and I plan to make the most of it. *The room they've given us is too small really, but we'll just have to make the best of it. *It was a difficult speech to give, but I think she made the best of a bad job.