商業英語世界觀-世界公民文化中心

明天12/11(六)工商時報內專欄”世界公民weekly”精彩預告：
WikiLeaks' Disclosures: Right Or Wrong? 維基解密是與非
維基解密在網站上的爆料近來成了全世界新聞頭條，美國外交電報爆料也揭開時而混亂的外交內幕。美國白宮想要低調處理，於是稱這些是「田野調查」報告。新聞媒體可不這麼想了。

"Spillcam" and "vuvuzela" were the top words of 2010, reflecting the global impact of the months-long oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the noisy South African horns at the World Cup soccer tournament, according to a survey released on Sunday.
2010年最熱門詞彙是“漏油”和“嗚嗚茲拉”。可見為期數月的墨西哥灣漏油事件和南非世界杯足球賽中喧囂的喇叭在全球影響力。這項結果是根據全球語言監測近日發佈一項調查。
 

What if ...? 這樣的問題問得好，經常是讓對方解決問題或傷腦筋，會有不錯的互動效果。
結構︰What if＋主詞＋動詞
此句型意為"如果...的話怎麼辦呢。經常用在談判。
What if it is true?  如果這是真的又該如何呢？ 
What if he doesn't agree? 如果他不同意該怎麼辦呢？ 
What if I say no! 如果我說不呢?
What if we agree to a two-year contract? would you give us exclusive distribution rights?
如果我們簽兩年約，你會給我們獨家代理權嗎？ 

  
 
每個行業都有自己的行話，說了行話就像一種宣誓，嘿！我們是同一類人。外商企業有幾個字人人愛用，為什麼？你看了就知道。
 

英語的俚語或成語是日積月累，它們看起來很簡單，用順了就透露出我們對語言的熟稔和掌握度。每天記一個，一年也能記 365 個。
 

At odds, 意見分歧、不和

 
 

如果要列英文錯誤排行榜，"How to say?"這句話肯定列得上前十名。我們很不自覺地，每次不知道該說什麼時，就來一句“How to say?”（怎麼說）。基本上“How to say?”文法上就不對。當找不到合適的詞時，老外會怎麼說呢？
1. How do I put it? / What should I say?
這是最常用的兩句了。簡單明瞭，通俗易懂。
2. I don't know what to say.
過於激動、氣憤、惱怒、悲傷或者高興的時候，總會一時語塞、說不出話來。這時，你就可以說"I don't know what to say!"。比如：
You say you spent $100 on that car! I don't know what to say! I can't believe you did that!（你說你花了100美元買車！我真是不知道該說什麼好了，真是難以置信！）
3. Something like it/ whatever you call it
有時真的找不到合適的表達法。就可以說：
A: What do you think of the idea of permanent education? That is, letting people go on learning until they die?
B: Well, that sounds quite new to me. Do you mean evening schools, or something like it?
實在不知道permanent education是怎麼回事，於是就用and ... and something like it?來代替了。類似的說法還有whatever (you call it)。
4. A sort of ..., you know.
這個a sort of..., you know 最適合想了半天卻什麼也沒想出來的場合，讓對方從你說話的context中去判斷你要表達的意思。例如：
This man is so popular here. He is just a sort of ..., you know.
這個人在這裡真受歡迎。他真是…，你知道的。
5. You know what I mean.
前面說很多，不容易總結，便可以用You know what I mean。例如：
To be honest, this will be difficult. You know your application form will be read not just by me but by at least three members of the academic council, and it's no easy matter to have all of us agree on one thing... you know what I mean.
說實話，這很難。你知道不只一個人要看你的申請，學院委員會至少還有兩個人要看。要讓大家都同意可不是件容易的事……你知道我的意思。
6. 此外，你還可以用一些conversational fillers來爭取一些思考的時間。
常用的有：well then，now，actually，of course，in fact，I mean，you know，you see，as a matter of fact，shall I say...，sort of，kind of，like，and等等。
 

X：How can you not tell me such an important matter?
O：How can you keep such an important matter from me?
分析：
我們用tell sb. sth.表示“告訴某人某事”，比如：She told me a secret. 我們將其翻譯為：“她告訴我一個秘密。”
但是“不告訴某人”並不能準確的表達出“瞞著某人”這個概念，後者有故意不告訴某人的內涵，所以在這裡，用not tell me such an important matter並不是很準確。但是keep sth. from sb.則表示“不把某事告訴某人，瞞著某人”，例如：他有一個秘密瞞著我。我們就可以說成為：He is keeping a secret from me.
除此之外，還可以用hide這個詞來表示“隱瞞”，例如：You're hiding some important facts. 你在隱瞞某些重要事實。
 

文/Wendy周
（閱讀一個有趣的城市，讓你以英文暢遊全世界）
一個在我的travel list上倒數的城市，它的拘謹，讓我一直對於這個城市文化卻步，先入為主認為自己也許不大適合這樣一個嚴謹的文化，但它的精彩卻讓每個踏上那塊土地的人都讚嘆不絕，我決定，給它一次機會，拉著我的行李，炎炎夏日中，踏上了我的東京之旅。
I didn’t want to go. But I heard stories. I heard about its glories. I heard about its greatness. I heard about how unforgettable a city it is. I decided to give this city a chance.
對不起，我錯了。原來，我誤會東京了。原來它是一個充滿衝突的文化，強烈的外表拘謹和內心的熱情澎湃，這衝突的美創造出東京人的獨特。早上整個城市充斥著穿戴整齊的上班族，搭著電車，人人手裡拿著一本書，沉靜心情為接下來的一天工作做好準備。夜晚，開始著居酒文化，卸下白天的面具，輕鬆做回自己，明天，又是新的一天。白天與夜晚，我似乎來到不同的地方。
一個人，走在東京街頭，靠著足夠的肢體語言、一點點的日文、漢字、和偶而夾雜的英文，帶著我看到了新宿的大樓聳立，逛到渉谷109的女人天堂，到青山的表參道，通至原宿。坐著電車到淺草觀音寺，走進旁邊的串燒店，學著日本人喝起水果莎瓦酒，吃起眼前的美食，對我而言，這一幕幕都像五顏六色的顏料，在我腦海裡盡情揮灑著。晚上去六本木見識東京人的炫麗夜生活，在東京，它的精彩就像煙火大會上那一幕幕點燃天空的璀璨。這趟短暫旅途，在我心中留下許多伏筆，東京的白天與黑夜，我著迷了。
In Tokyo, a city that is described as one of the three "command centers" for the world economy, along with New York City and London. I watched people change from day to night. In the day, it’s as though they’re wearing a mask. A mask that is created by its cultural background. At night, it’s as though they shed their mask. They free themselves from the invisible stress coming from their cultural background. I feel for those people. I feel the pressure its culture has put on them. But I know that although they feel the pressure from the society itself, they’re born to live with it. It’s their destiny. It’s what creates their greatness. And they’re proud of it, which they should be.
As I walked along this metropolitan land, I feel like I can be a part of it. The great buildings in Shinjuku, the shopping malls in Shibuya, the delicious traditional dishes in Asakusa, and the trendy bars in Roppongi. Everything just kept on wooing me into liking this place a little more. My mouth’s still watering from the ramen I had in that tiny restaurant in a small alley located in Shinjuku. My head is still spinning from all the shopping in Shibuya 109 mall. My feet are still aching from the all night dancing and bar hopping in Roppongi. I think it’s not hard to guess that I want to go back again and enjoy more of that fascinating yet contradictory culture.
Woo：原本的意思是在形容一個人在討另一個人的歡心，為求得他的喜愛，通常用於男生在追求女生時，而在這邊用woo來比喻東京的一切好像在讓我更加愛上這塊土地。Example: Girls are often wooed by chocolates and flowers.
My Special Tokyo Experience
Tokyu Stay Hotel- “Home away from home”

這個散布於東京不同角落的連鎖飯店，是一間所謂的apartment hotel，不同於一般飯店在於它裡面每間房間均附有洗衣機和微波爐，是一間適合除了短期旅行的遊客外，需要較長期暫留的旅客也可以考慮，我選擇了他們位於西新宿的分館。在走過這麼多城市中，我想這是我的top list之一，因為它的交通便利，旁邊佈滿小餐廳和便利商店，飯店房間裡設備齊全又新，麻雀雖小五臟俱全，泡澡浴缸非常乾淨又舒服，lobby裡有供遊客使用的電腦及印表機，重點是它是一間平價飯店，對於travelling on a budget的人來說，簡直就是物超所值。
I know that going to one of the most expensive cities to live in, the accommodation cost wouldn’t be cheap. And I had my heart set on staying in Shinjuku area, which is not a cheap area to begin with. I found an apartment hotel, which is located in very close by a subway station. I loved it for its location, its friendliness, its cleanness, its convenience, and its comfort. At the end of a tiring day out going around the city, it felt great to know I was going back to a “home away from home.” And I might add that, this “home away from home” is even very affordable for most people.
Had my heart set on:意思為我的心意已定。
Home away from home:意思為好像回到家一般，在這裡提到旅館像是home away from home，意思可解釋為那家旅館舒服的跟回到家一樣。
Hanabi隅田川煙火大會

每年夏天舉行好幾場的煙火大會，在日本是他們的年度大事之一，而隅田川煙火大會又是今年最大的一場，家家戶戶都出動，許多女生穿著日式浴衣，附近店家紛紛賣起飲料、章魚燒、串燒、鯛魚燒、甜點，應有盡有。我在那兩萬發煙火下震撼了，感受到天空燦爛無比，大人小孩都盡情享受著這一個耀眼的夜晚。
The Hanabi, one of the most exciting and most important events for people in Tokyo. The word Hanabi means firework show in Japanese. Most people attending the event dress up in traditional Japanese clothing. I’ve never seen a more crowded subway before. The Hanabi I attended was the biggest one in Tokyo, which explained the crowd. The spectacular fireworks went on for ninety minutes. I was awed.
(本文同步刊於99/9/11工商時報"世界公民weekly"單元)

1. Can you pass me...? vs. Give me...
大家都不喜歡被人使喚、支配的感覺，換掉那些聽起來是命令的語句，例如"Give me the newspaper"，而使用"Can you pass me the newspaper?"

2. Could you give me five minutes? vs. Go away...

你工作非常的忙，但是你的同事卻請你幫忙...當你工作非常緊張而不能做其他的事情的時候，只說"Go away"肯定是不合適的。取而代之，說Could you give me five minutes?就能讓每個人都覺得愉快了

歡迎閱讀明天11/27(六)工商時報裡的"世界公民weekly"專欄
內容搶先看：
2010年年度熱門名英文字："漏油"、"胡錦濤"居首
"怎麼說"比"說什麼"更重要
文法講座：用主動形式表示被動意義
Debug：找出英文錯誤，像擦掉眼鏡上的一層霧水！
千萬別錯過～

這裡面的字句，你都認得吧！但如果你自己用英文說，也許不會那麼順暢，特別是畫線的部份，你可能不會說得那樣道地，原因不是英文單字記得不夠，而是記了沒有用出來。學英文如果沒分辨出問題在哪裡，就算記得再多，還是說不出來。
Word of mouth（口碑）
I heard this product by word-of-mouth.
這產品我從朋友那兒聽來的。
Word of mouth is a great vehicle for advertising.
口碑行銷是很好的廣告工具。 
Pay on time（分期付款）
Do we need to pay the entire amount now or may we pay one time? 我們必須現在一次付清還是可以分期支付?
  “To pay on time" 原意是到期支付。分期的意思也就是時間到了要付錢，對方到底是什麼意思，要看上下文情境。
Realize a profit (獲利)
We hope to realize a profit in just a few months. 我們希望在幾周內能獲利。
Realize a profit意思是創造利潤，也可以用show a profit。
Run with it (實施)
I like your idea for the new product.  I'd like you to run with it. 我認為你對新產品的想法不錯，我們就這樣做吧！　
Run with it也說成"take the ball and run with it"，這用法從橄欖球賽中而來，在賽局中，持球隊員必須設法避免給對方截停，才可以跑到得分的距離。
What someone is into (在幹些什麼)
You always seem so busy.  What are you into?　你看起來總是那麼忙，忙什麼呢？
You look guilty.  What are you into? 你看起好像很內疚，搞什麼呢？