陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作,他到美國同事Amy的辦公室去找她。
(Office ambience)
C:Amy, 你有時間嗎?
A:I can always make time for you, Chen Hao. What's the matter?
C:我有個客戶,聽說我搬家,專門送了我一幅畫兒。
A:That doesn't sound like a problem. It sounds more like a nice gesture.
C:可是那畫的顏色和風格跟我的公寓格格不入。
A:That's too bad. He probably chose something he would like to have and didn't consider your taste. I hope you thanked him for it anyway.
C:我覺得也是,給別人買東西,應該買別人喜歡的才對。不過我還是打算發(fā)個電子郵件,謝謝他,但是不知道怎么寫,所以來請教你。
A:Well, first of all, you shouldn't use e-mail to thank someone for a gift. A proper note of gratitude should be handwritten.
C:什么是 gra--ti--tude?
A:Gratitude is the same as thanks or appreciation.
C:那一定要手寫嗎?
A:E-mail is impersonal and lacks warmth. The effort you make to show your gratitude should match the effort that your client expended in sending you the gift.
C:我能不能買張現(xiàn)成的感謝卡,在上面加上一句,然后簽個字呢?
A:I'm sorry, but that won't do either. You need to demonstrate your good manners by composing a personal note in your own words on the appropriate stationery.
C:你能陪我去買合適的卡片嗎?
A:I don't have time now. But let's meet at the stationery store at noon.
******
MC:中午,陳豪和Amy一起到卡片專賣店。
C:Amy, 這種可以折疊的感謝卡挺大方的。
A:They are acceptable, but not as classy as these correspondence cards that are made of heavier stock paper.
C:噢,correspondence cards,就是回復卡。
A:You should order some with your name engraved across the top for future use.
C:我說有時候收到別人的卡片,上面還有名字的縮寫,原來是可以訂做的呀。好,就買這個。不過我還是不知道怎么寫。
A:It's not so hard, and you don't have to be dishonest.
C:你啟發(fā)啟發(fā)我。
A:You can tell your client how much you appreciate his thoughtfulness and generosity in sending you a painting by this artist.
C:有了。我就說“你怎么知道我家到處都是白墻的?畫兒是我最需要的。”這樣寫,他也不知道我是不是喜歡那幅畫。
A:And you have all the elements of a proper thank you note.
C:Amy, 你能再重復一下寫感謝卡的注意事項嗎?
A:A note of thanks is hand written on quality notepaper. It begins with a specific reference to the gift, remarks about its quality, why you appreciate it and how you will use it.
C:這么說,其實也不難嘛。謝謝你,Amy.