(道歉与感激)

　　人犯了错误以后道歉不仅是有礼貌、有教养的体现，而且还具有维护和谐的人际关系的功能。另外，英美人很讲究礼貌，常“谢”不离口。对他人给予的帮助要表示感谢；对举手之劳的小事(如指路、找零钱、回答询问、传递东西等)也要表示感谢；对他人的称赞要致谢…… 真可谓“感谢的话儿说不完”。

　　I. Extremely short dialogues(超短对话)

　　1. —Why were you so rude to me at lunch? 吃午饭时你为什么对我那么粗鲁？

　　—Sorry, I didn't mean to be. I do apologise. 对不起，我不是故意的。我真的很抱歉。

　　2. —You're busy now. I'm sorry to interrupt you. 你现在很忙。很抱歉打扰你了。

　　—That's all right / OK. I've almost finished. 没什么。我快忙完了。

　　3. —Excuse me for taking your time. 请原谅我耽搁你时间了。

　　—Oh, it's nothing, Tom. 哦，没什么，汤姆。

　　4. —What? How could you forget to bring my dictionary? 什么？你怎么能忘了把我的词典带来呢？

　　—I'm sorry. I forgot all about it. 对不起，我忘得一干二净。

　　5. —Sorry to have lost your calling card. 对不起，把你的名片丢了。

　　—Don't worry. I'll let you have another one. 别担心，我再给您一张。

　　6. —I'm so sorry, Helen. I forgot to bring you the MP3. 海伦，真的对不起，我忘记给你带MP3了。

　　—Never mind. I won't use it until tomorrow. 没关系。我明天才用呢。

　　7. —I'm sorry I have broken your ruler. 对不起，我把你的尺子弄断了。

　　—Forget it. That could happen to the best of us. 别放在心上。这种事谁都难免。

　　8. —Excuse me for a while. I've got to go out for a telephone. 对不起，我出去一会儿接个电话。

　　—All right. I'll be waiting for you here. 好的。我在这儿等你。

　　9. —I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long. 真抱歉让你久等了。

　　—That's not your fault. The bus broke down on the way. 这不是你的错。是汽车在路上坏了。

　　10. —I apologise for having taken too much of your time. 我为占用你很多时间而表示歉意。

　　—It doesn't matter. I'm not busy anyway. 没关系。反正我不忙。

　　11. —Thank you very much for your dinner. 非常感谢您的宴请。

　　—I'm very glad you enjoyed it. 你喜欢我非常高兴。

　　12. —Thank you for taking my mother to the hospital. 谢谢你把我的母亲送到医院。

　　—It's a pleasure. / My pleasure. 不用客气。

　　13. —It's very kind of you to show me the way. 谢谢你为我带路。

　　—Not at all. / Don't mention it. / You are welcome. / That's all right / OK. 不用谢。

　　14. —Here's a present for you from me. 这是我送给你的礼物。

　　—Oh, thank you. It's so beautiful. 噢，谢谢你。真漂亮。

　　15. —Can I help you carry the box? 我帮你提箱子好吗？

　　—I can do it myself, but thank you all the same. 我自己能行，但尽管如此，还是要谢谢你。

　　16. —I really can't thank you enough. 太感谢您了。

　　—It was the least I could do. 我不过是尽力而已。

　　II. Cultural Information(文化背景)

　　There is one word that is on the lips of Americans day and night—“Sorry.” If you go to the movies and the tickets happen to be sold out, the ticket seller will say “Sorry, the tickets are sold out.” If a manager is very busy, the secretary will say “Sorry.” In a word, whenever one of your hopes goes unfulfilled, an American will say “sorry” as a sign of regrets and sympathies(同情).

　　(文/孙锦玲； 英语辅导报高一版 04~05学年度第7期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)