陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。他在走廊上远远地看到美国同事Amy，连忙赶了过去。
) P$ K7 B" h3 ?4 ]) r" u（Office ambience）
+ |$ t. P4 e+ T- H2 N) |C：Amy, 我有点儿急事想请教你。) R" t4 Z7 X! M
A：OK, What is it?" j- L- U/ t% j! y+ _
C：跟我一个办公室的Todd, 他妈妈在美国去世了。
" j% I1 ?; n9 {) w ?4 `A：I don't know Todd, but I am sorry to hear that.
: K% ^6 g+ r$ q& N( NC：他要回美国奔丧。我想为他做点儿什么，但又不知道怎样做才符合西方的礼节，所以今天早上我一直在躲着他。
$ \, k4 U( h8 cA：That's a perfectly natural response. May I suggest a few things?0 |8 H$ j8 v* i- k6 B, t
C：太好了，你快告诉我。
+ z! u* c% ~: q" qA：First of all, don't avoid him. Make a point of going to him immediately and offering your condolences.
1 g: L0 O* y9 C4 M; X0 KC：什么是condolences?
4 v. @( t/ J5 MA：Condolences就是表示同情、慰问。7 N6 S' ~2 Y' X! O$ v3 w' _% Y
C：我唯一能想到的就是 "I'm sorry to hear about your loss." 就这么一句好像不太够吧？
* d9 A0 V, O5 ^A：Sometimes that's all you can say. If you try to say more, it may be the wrong thing.
. d: [, N! v% I5 |7 FC：是呀，我也是怕说多了反而坏事。6 u, k) c* _/ H% z! _1 ?! j4 P
A：If you can, follow your statement of condolence with an offer to help.
7 i! \) b( p0 l* {, aC：帮忙， 可我能帮什么忙呢？2 x4 b7 z$ l$ C2 h; }5 t
A：Think of what he may need that you can do. You might offer to take him to the airport.
; f5 x1 {( V# p5 \. u) rC：开车送他去机场确实是个好主意，可惜我没车。
, l0 t& p) f3 G( x6 h6 S/ rA：What about work issues? Are there things you can help him with while he is away?+ m9 u( m* Y% z5 i. _
C：对呀，我们是一个组的，他请假，我可以承担一部分他的工作。我这就去跟他说。谢谢你，Amy.
5 s5 B: t8 n& s******- o% t: |5 e/ p% D
MC：午饭时陈豪又看见了Amy.
( k4 w: M" }( @4 JA：Chen Hao, How did things go with Todd?
- y. _4 I- v9 [' qC：你说得没错。我说可以承担他的工作，Todd显得如释重负。另外，我还想到了其它可以出力的地方。( X- Q! }( T+ w! U* c* ~7 z
A：What was that?
& S' W6 R+ h2 PC：Todd是我的邻居，他养了一只猫，叫Fluffy. 我告诉他说，他离开这段时间，我可以照顾Fluffy, 他听了以后特别高兴。
: }3 G# e/ A8 T! ^ \4 I; O5 RA：It is important to be specific at times like these. So often people simply say, "Let me know if there is anything I can do to help."- Z% @! _( w( A: w, t
C：Amy, 你觉得我还需要送花和卡片吗？
$ }! a8 P( P- w+ O( W& n5 oA：You can, but that's not necessary since you are expressing your sympathy in a concrete way.
A! Y; ]; _. a- x) L1 ?C：Todd还让我帮他取信。我有他公寓的钥匙。他回来之前，我还可以帮他买点儿新鲜蔬菜和水果。
4 d( v; { l0 ]2 lA：You see how easy it is to think of acts of service for people who are grieving?
; Z& h2 _9 v5 E% e" r6 W" hC：是啊，我们总是不好意思求别人办事，要是能主动提出来，那是再好不过的了。
; ~9 O( ~- d Q8 SA：That's right. Too often when people don't know what to do at a time of loss, they end up not doing anything.: A* w+ ^9 ~6 M* D
C：幸亏有你，Amy. |
发表于 2012-8-14 19:12:39
