再說一遍提供幫助 Offering to Help
RUTH: Hello, and welcome to another programme in our series 'Say It Again'. My name is Ruth Lowton and with me this week, I have my friend Aries. Last week, Grace was here with me and she was talking about the Tower of London. This week is different. Our English Language lesson is about offering to do something. There'll be a chance to practice some ways of offering to do something, and you can also practice ways of accepting those offers. We also have another in our series of true stories. So Aries, welcome to today's 'Say It Again.'
ARIES: Hello Ruth. Would you like me to introduce the true story for you?
RUTH: That's very kind of you, thank you. Who's the story about this week?
ARIES: It's about a Chinese girl whose mother was healed. The old lady had TB.
RUTH: TB...is that Tuberculosis?
ARIES: Yes, this is a disease that affects the lungs. It can be a serious disease. Praying to Jesus Christ seemed the last hope to them, but it was from that point on that the mother began to be healed. Ruth Mark is reading the story.
Story Testimony
My mother was dying. As my father told me this, fear seized my heart. 'Why must my mother die?' I cried. For many years, my mother had suffered from Tuberculosis and suddenly she became very ill. Her doctor told us that she'd die very soon. Was there nothing we could do?
My mother and father prayed to Buddha. 'Help us,' they cried. I also did the same, but praying to Buddha did nothing for my mother, she only got worse. One day a friend of my mother came to visit us. She suggested that we ask Jesus Christ to help us. She told us how he'd healed many people. I realized that it was our last hope. My mother prayed, 'God, please help us, I believe your Son Jesus Christ died to be a helper of all those people who put their trust in Him'.
From that moment my mother's health improved. Every day she became stronger. Then one day, we decided that we must find a Christian Church and tell them what had happened. They showed us how to pray and have a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
After some months my mother decided to go and visit her doctor again. When they took an X-ray, they couldn't believe what they saw - she was completely healed! The hole in her lung from the Tuberculosis was completely healed. God had worked a miracle, not only in healing my mother, but also in bringing all my family to a living relationship with him.
RUTH: Later in today's programme, there is a passage from the Holy Bible where Jesus Christ healed a blind man. In it, Jesus asked the blind man a question. He offered the blind man healing. Listen later for the reply the blind man gave.
RUTH: Today, we are going to think about polite ways to accept help and also how to refuse help politely. Then we shall look at how to offer help to someone. In English, we always use the words 'thank you' when we accept help or when we have to refuse it from someone. I wonder if you remember an earlier programme when we talked about using the words 'thank you' and 'please'? When you're using the English language, these words are used when a gift is given. That can happen for a birthday or an anniversary. Sometimes, I'm given a gift just because my husband or friend knows I like that special thing.
ARIES: What kind of presents do you get given?
RUTH: Well, I've sometimes being given pretty scarves to wear around my neck or books or flowers. What about you Aries? What kind of gifts would you like to take home to your family in Singapore?
ARIES: I can't think of anything in particular. Maybe some souvenirs, tea towels or maybe some local delicacies - things that you can't really find in Singapore.
RUTH: Don't forget to use 'thank you!' or 'thanks!' in English, will you? It's important in accepting or refusing something.
ARIES: Thank you, Ruth. I'll remember that.
RUTH: Now, let's suppose your friend's book is on a high book shelf. You can offer to help her and say, 'May I get that book for you?' Why don't you say that question again with Aries?
ARIES: 'May I get that book for you?'
RUTH: Your friend may answer in two different ways. She can accept your offer of help politely and say, 'That's very kind of you, thanks!' Say that sentence with Aries again.
ARIES: 'That's very kind of you, thanks.'
RUTH: Or she can refuse your help politely. 'No, it's alright, thank you.' Say that sentence again with Aries.
ARIES: 'No, it's alright, thanks.'
RUTH: Aries, can you think of how you can offer to help someone?
ARIES: Well, if my friend cannot understand her lecture notes, I can say 'May I help you with that?'
RUTH: Good, there are two ways of answering this. Let me say them first, then you can say them again after me with Aries. If your friend accepts your help, she can say, 'That's very kind of you, thanks.'
ARIES: 'That's very kind of you, thanks.'
RUTH: If your friend doesn't want any help, she will perhaps say, 'No it's alright, thank you.' Say that again with Aries. I'll repeat it once more. 'No it's alright, thank you.'
ARIES: 'No it's alright, thank you.'
RUTH: So, can you remember how to offer help to someone, Aries?
ARIES: 'May I help you?'
RUTH: Good! And how do you accept and refuse?
ARIES: If I need help, I will say, 'That's very kind of you, thanks.' If I don't need any help I'll say, 'No, it's alright thanks.'
RUTH: I told you earlier that there is a true story from the Holy Bible in which Jesus Christ asked a blind man 'What do you want me to do for you?' Listen out for the question and the blind man's answer. The Bible passage is being read by Grace.
Bible Passage
RUTH: Aries, did you hear the question Jesus asked the blind man?
ARIES: Yes, he asked him 'What do you want me to do for you?'
RUTH: I think the blind man's response was great. 'Teacher, I want to see.' Aries, can you remember what the people told him to do?
ARIES: They told him to be quiet. I wonder why?
RUTH: I think it was because the people in the crowd thought that Jesus Christ wouldn't be interested in a blind beggar. That is one of the most fascinating things about Jesus Christ. He's the Son of the Living God, but he's interested in everybody. If you want to read for yourself this story, then it's in the second half of the Holy Bible in the New Testament. It is found in the book of Mark, chapter 10 and its verses 46 to 52.
RUTH: In today's 'Say It Again', we have been talking about offering to do something. I'll say the sentences first, and you can repeat them with Aries. 'Can I help you with that?'
ARIES: 'Can I help you with that?'
RUTH: 'That's very kind of you, thanks.'
ARIES: 'That's very kind of you, thanks.'
RUTH: 'No, it's alright, thanks!'
ARIES: 'No, it's alright, thanks!'
RUTH: Aries and I will leave you to think of ways that you could use each of these sentences. We are coming now to the end of another 'Say It Again' programme. Aries and I would love you to join us again next week. In that programme, we'll be asking and giving permission. You'll even have the opportunity to refuse permission. So until then, goodbye from us both.
BOTH: Goodbye.
