轻松日记商务职场篇156:马上说定

 　　核心句型：

　　I can't say for certain off-hand.

　　我还不能马上说定。

　　off-hand直译过来就是：“不在手掌控制范围之内”，这个短语的正确意思是：“当即，立即”。因此，当美国人说"I can't say for certain off-hand."时，他/她要表达的意思就是:"I can't decide now."、"I can't make sure of it right now." 。

　　情景对白：

　　Shirley: Excuse me, have you decided¹ who will be sent to attend the meeting?

　　雪莉：抱歉，您确定派谁参加会议了吗？

　　Boss: I can't say for certain off-hand. I will let you know when I have the decision.

　　老板：我还不能马上说定。等我有决定了就会通知你。

　　搭配句积累：

　　①When shall we start off?

　　我们什么时候出发？

　　②Shall we make it a deal now?

　　我们现在就成交？

　　③Will our meeting be put off?

　　我们的会议要推迟吗？

　　④Sir, when will you return? You need to sign some important documents.

　　老板，你什么时候回来？有些重要的文件需要你签字。

　　单词：

　　put off 推迟

　　The Association² has put the event off until October.

　　协会已把这次活动推迟至10月。

　　If it should snow tomorrow, the meeting would be put off.

　　如果明天下雪的话，运动会就会推迟。

　　I always seem to put things off till the last minute.

　　我似乎总是把事情拖到最后一刻。

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。