新概念英语口语宝典第一册第68课:日本人的习惯

Lesson 60 Possibility and Uncertainty

第60课 可能性和不确定性

A:How is your new job, Peter?

A:彼得,新工作还好吗?

B:Oh, working in international business is great. I meet and work with people from all over the world. It can be a bit frustrating at times,though.

B:哦,做国际贸易棒极了,能和来自世界各地的人们结交共事。不过有时候也会让人有点挫折感。

C:How's that?

C:此话怎讲?

B:For example, when we work with Japanese businesses. It seems that they are very polite and friendly, but then they delay signing a contract for weeks.

B:比方和日商做生意吧。他们好像非常有礼貌,很友好,但又拖着几个星期不签合同。

A:Maybe they're trying to trick you.

A:他们可能耍什么伎俩吧。

B:I don't think so; they are very kind and honest.

B:我不这么想。他们很和气也很诚恳。

A:It could be that they just don't understand English very well.

A:或许他们听不大懂英语。

C:I worked in Japan for two years and I think I know what the problem is.

c:我在日本工作过两年,我想我知道是怎么回事。

B:Really? What is it?

B:是吗?怎么回事呢?

C:Well, Japanese people don't like to say "no". In their culture, it's considered very impolite. So they will try to agree to things, but then they must figure out a way to change things so that it can be acceptable to all involved. If you try to change the way you ask them questions, I'm certain you'll be able to communicate more effectively.

C:是这样,日本人不喜欢说“不”字。他们的文化认为说“不”很不礼貌,所以他们会尽量取得一致,但同时为了让大家都接受,他们得想办法做一些修改。如果你试着改变一下你问他们问题的角度,我肯定你们的沟通会更有效率。

B:Wow! I didn't know that. I understand now. Thank you. You two sure know a lot about this kind of thing. Maybe I'm not cut out for this job. Do you think I'll do alright?

B:哇!我从来不知道这些。现在我明白了。谢谢。你们在这方面懂得真多。也许我并不适合干这行。你们觉得我能干好吗?

C:I'm certain you will.

C:我确信你能干好。

A:I know you will too.

A:我也知道你能行。