Ann. 陈豪去年大学毕业以后,就到北京的美国ABC公司工作。今天他去出席了一个午餐会以后回到公司,还没有走进自己的办公室,就被同事Mary叫住了。 * o: L# o/ \ h0 j0 J
(Office ambience)
$ n$ ]8 s/ S; ~/ h! v; O6 N* b M:Hey, Chao Hao, I need to talk to you。
6 D7 w8 r! h- u( d' g+ q C:What's wrong?
* R- J/ @3 A7 g* ~# W& l M:Did you offer John in the Technology Department a ride to the lunch today? ' C7 |: N" \4 h4 X& ~
C:(恍然大悟) 哎哟,我忘得一干二净了。
& d: s3 Y* |1 C' ^; ` M:He waited a long time for you today! 0 l4 y" v: P4 T1 t7 [+ n
C:啊呀,害他等我半天。Oh dear, what should I do? ! l$ O/ f# C& X" _/ q3 p
M:Find him immediately and apologize!
4 n+ w- Z9 Z" K5 @ K C:你说什么?Apologize? # r- k' n* m6 M# N2 k( o( [& F l
M:Apologize, A-P-O-L-O-G-I-Z-E, 就是道歉! . D2 ~8 J( a: K" y Z* [3 \
C:我可不能对他说我忘了,总得找个理由吧!
& {0 g k4 I! b5 @2 X' c M:不要找出种种理由来解释。 It's always best to be truthful and sincere when you apologize。
7 u! r" v: ]6 c8 j4 w) W C:也是。要道歉嘛还是老老实实,找借口让人听起来不诚恳。好,我这就去找John。 $ O+ t3 m4 s3 S, f' N5 u* M
****** . ^1 M. q$ P5 Q* O
C:行了,没事了。 % e8 ]6 u# r: N( r3 n0 o& Z' H# {8 a
M:你跟他道歉了?
0 h$ w" R( w6 Y, l) M% {9 V C:不,John已经走了,我给他写个email就行了。 ! |7 P+ b d. A' i+ {8 }, I0 P& e
M:写email 不太好。Email is too impersonal when you need to ask forgiveness。你要道歉最好还是当面说好,更正式一些。
; z4 _# ^! D( D) _- M8 C ^5 C" U C:那,我给John的手机打个电话,好吗?这样不是又快,又能直接讲话嘛! 2 R% j; ?6 F, R8 q
M:That's a good idea。
* q" [; {) s5 X. U' s: `: F* Q0 ^ (Making cell phone call)% z3 F$ W# R5 P0 ?
C:Mary, John没接电话,所以我给他留了言,说今天忘了带他去午餐会,我感到很抱歉。这下总算结束了这件事。I'm glad that's over。 1 F3 A' n) y1 D* q3 i
M: Over? No way! 留个言就算完啦?不行, 你得做得更慎重一些。
_! }6 X. i! `) b% X C:哎,我去找他,他不在。我打手机,他不接。我留了言,道了歉。这还不行呀?
" Y& ]- g* z7 k9 T9 w% } M:你最好今天在他桌上留个条。亲自写个条表示道歉会让他感到你很有诚意。要更地道的话,你还可以给他留个小礼物。A small gift as a sign of your sincerity。
- v' G4 v! f7 L- v9 G( S C:我哪知道他喜欢什么呀? + C% |$ x" ]& [: i
M:他喜欢看篮球。 # i) u+ H; R/ K( A
C:OK, I have an idea! 我去买两张篮球比赛的票。我跟他一起去.....当然,要是他不再生我气的话。
7 O2 x! j( y: Z4 `* q. x M:Great! So remember: when you make mistakes, the best thing is to apologize immediately. When a verbal apology is not enough, write a note and give a small gift.
t2 D6 k+ ~6 ?1 R% S: P C: 知道了,知道了。我这就去买票。谢谢Mary. 4 f' B& {. {! N' i1 I9 U% n
M:You're welcome! |