用礼貌的方式提出要求

 　　Feifei: Hello and welcome to another episode¹ of 6 Minute English with me Feifei,

　　Neil: And me Neil.

　　Feifei: And how are you today Neil?

　　Neil: It's all good today thank you! I've got a really good question for you today…

　　Feifei: Ooh a question - ask away!

　　Neil: Which do you prefer Feifei: Open-plan offices or small private offices?

　　Feifei: Open-plan offices or small private offices? Ooh, I much prefer open-plan offices - much friendlier.

　　Neil: Yes of course because you're a very friendly person... let's hear from some of our friends and colleagues² to find out what kind of office they prefer…

　　Insert³

　　Vox 1: In my opinion as a Brazilian⁴, open-plan offices can be very good and effective because it's easy for people to communicate and put ideas across; but at times we need some quiet space to concentrate⁵ and get the job done.

　　Vox 2: In China, people would love to have their own private offices because we are very noisy and people arguing quite a lot sometimes, there is a lot of noise. So to have your own private space would be great, but unfortunately nowadays what we get is open-plan offices.

　　Vox 3: In Indonesia⁶, there are more open-plan offices these days, the good thing is that we can improve collaborations with other teams or departments. However, we sometimes face problems, for instance⁷, as it's really hot in Indonesia lots of people prefer to have air conditioning be set really cold whereas⁸ there are also people who can't really stand cold air like me. So this can create a tension⁹ among staff.

　　Feifei: Air conditioning! It drives me crazy! Actually it isn't the air conditioning that drives me crazy Neil, it's you: I keep asking you to turn it down and 2 minutes later you turn it back up again!

　　Neil: Feifei you always turn it too low. And you drive me crazy because you never ask me if you can turn it down. You just do it without saying anything. It really annoys me. It's so rude!!

　　Feifei: Rude? Do you think so? I think this is a case for Business Betty…

　　Neil / FF: It's Business Betty!!!

　　BB: Hello! Is everything alright?

　　Feifei: We need your help Betty. Neil and I keep arguing about the A/C. He says I'm rude!

　　Neil: A/C meaning air conditioning. She is rude!

　　BB: Calm down both of you and let me help. If you're working in an open-plan office, it's really important to consider the needs and feelings of the people working around you. If you want to ask someone to do something, it's always a good idea to use a very polite request. Start with the phrase¹⁰ 'Would you mind…' and follow it with an -ing verb¹¹. Can you give us an example Feifei?

　　Feifei: Would you mind turning off the air conditioning?

　　BB: Very good. Neil?

　　Neil: Would you mind opening a window?

　　BB: Lovely. If you want someone to stop doing something, use the word 'not' before the -ing verb. Neil?

　　Neil: Would you mind not smoking¹² in the kitchen please?

　　BB: Excellent. Feifei?

　　Feifei: Would you mind not using my computer?

　　Neil: Would you mind not leaving the door open?

　　BB: If you want your co-workers' permission to do something, say 'Is it ok if I…' and then say what you want to do. Examples please?

　　Feifei: Is it ok if I turn the air conditioning on?

　　Neil: Is it ok if I use your phone?

　　Feifei: Is it ok if we have a meeting in here?

　　BB: If someone asks your permission, you can say yes. Neil, how would you do that?

　　Neil: Sure, no problem, go ahead.

　　BB: Very good. Of course, you might decide to say no, Feifei:

　　Feifei: I'd rather you didn't, if you don't mind.

　　BB: And remember, the English words please, thank you and sorry always make a big difference! Both together now:

　　Neil / FF: Please, thank you, sorry.

　　BB: Very polite. Well done. Now: Is it ok if I leave?

　　Neil: Yes of course, go ahead.

　　FF: Thanks Betty!

　　BB: Goodbye.

　　Neil: There she goes. Radiant¹³ as ever! Do you think she was a bit angry with us?

　　Feifei: Noooo…. So Neil. Do you think it's about time we did a role-play?

　　Neil: Only if I'm the boss!

　　Feifei: Sorry, there's no boss this week.

　　Neil: What do you mean there's no boss? There's always a boss…

　　Feifei: We're co-workers in an open-plan office. You want to open the windows and use my computer and -

　　Neil: - and things like that. So I have to make some polite requests, right?

　　Feifei: That's right! Ready?

　　Neil: Bring it on!

　　Role-play

　　Neil: Hello, Feifei. How are you today?

　　Feifei: Fine thanks, just finishing this report. What can I do for you?

　　Neil: I just wanted to ask: Would you mind turning off the air conditioning?

　　Feifei: Oh, ok, sure.

　　Neil: It's just a bit cold in here, thanks.

　　Feifei: Oh, sorry, of course, no problem.

　　Neil: And I wanted to say, we've got some visitors coming over this afternoon, so is it ok if we have a meeting in here?

　　Feifei: Yes that's ok with me, but would you mind keeping the noise down please?

　　Neil: Yes, of course.

　　Feifei: And would you mind tidying up after the meeting? It was left in a bit of a mess last time.

　　Neil: Sure, I'm busy all afternoon though, so I'll have to leave it until the evening.

　　Feifei: I'd rather you didn't, if you don't mind. We need to use the room again at 4pm.

　　Neil: Oh, ok, I'll do it sooner then.

　　Feifei: Thanks.

　　Feifei: And that's the end of today's role-play! How was it for you?

　　Neil: It was very, very polite!

　　Feifei: That's British culture for you!

　　Neil: And that's all we've got time for today. Feifei, would you mind joining me soon for another episode of 6 Minute English?

　　Feifei: Of course! See you next time.

　　Neil: Join us again, wherever you're working.

　　Feifei: Bye!

1 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

2 colleagues   

n.同事，同僚( colleague的名词复数 )；同人

参考例句：

• He wanted to confer with his colleagues before reaching a decision. 他想与他的同事先商议一下再作出决定。
• She is held in high esteem by her colleagues. 她深受同事的敬重。

3 insert   

vt.插入，镶补；vi.附着；n.插入，插入物

参考例句：

• I wish to insert an advertisement in your newspaper.我想在贵报上登一则广告。
• The newspaper had an insert of pages of pictures.该报带有数页插图。

4 Brazilian   

n. 巴西人;a. 巴西的, 巴西人的

参考例句：

• It was a great showing by the Brazilian team.这场比赛成了巴西队的表演赛。
• Why don't we try some Brazilian food? 我们为什么不吃巴西人的食物呢？

5 concentrate   

vt.集中；聚集；浓缩；vi.集中；全神贯注

参考例句：

• You should concentrate on the road when you're driving.开车时注意力应集中在路上。
• Concentrate your mind on study,Don't look around.专心学习，别东张西望的。

6 Indonesia   

n.印度尼西亚

参考例句：

• You see,I stayed in Indonesia for eight years.你知道，我在印度尼西亚呆了8年。
• Indonesia has more active volcanoes than any other country.印尼是世界上活火山最多的国家。

7 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

8 whereas   

conj.而，却，反之

参考例句：

• They want a house,whereas we would rather live in a flat.他们想要一座房子，而我们宁愿住在一套房间里。
• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。

9 tension   

n.(紧张)状态；拉(绷)紧；张力，拉力

参考例句：

• I could feel the tension in the room. 我可以感觉到房间里的紧张气氛。
• Relaxaion is better than tension. 缓和比紧张好。

10 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

11 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

12 smoking   

n.吸烟，抽烟；冒烟

参考例句：

• He was wise to give up smoking.他戒烟是明智的。
• He has decided to cut out smoking and drinking.他已决心戒烟、戒酒。

13 radiant   

adj.容光焕发的，光芒四射的，辐射的

参考例句：

• He gave a radiant smile when he heard the news.他听到这个消息后露出欣喜的微笑。
• She was radiant with joy.她高兴得容光焕发。