商务礼节美语第139期:总裁的母亲去世了(上)

　　公司开会前，经理Jeff说，总裁John Henderson的母亲去世了。
Jeff (manager): Folks...before we begin our workday, I'm afraid I have some sad news. Our CEO John Henderson's mother passed away late last night. As you can imagine, this is a difficult time for the Henderson family.
Frank¹: Oh, that is sad news. I met his mother once...she was a very nice woman.
Penny: Was she sick?
J: Yes, I believe she was suffering from some illnesses; but she was also 91 years old.
F: Wow! Ninety-one years old! That's a pretty good run.
P: Yeah...very impressive².
Frank说，他见过Henderson的母亲，老太太人很好。She was a very nice woman. Penny问，她是不是病死的。得知老太太91岁高龄后，Frank说，That's a pretty good run，意思是“够长寿的”。
George: You know, I'm from China and in some places in my homeland if you live past 80, they used to celebrate your death instead of mourning.
J: That's kind of a nice tradition. A long, full life is something to celebrate.
G: Um, seeing as I'm not that familiar with Western culture, I'm wondering...what's the protocol³ here? What can we do for the Henderson family? What should I say?
George是从中国来的。他说，在中国年过八旬就是喜丧，是值得庆祝的。他想知道，西方有些什么习俗，能为死者家属做些什么。
J: In the West, people usually just say something like, "I'm sorry."
G: Yeah...I've heard people say "sorry" before and I always wondered why.
P: I guess it's because we mean that we feel sorry that they must endure⁴ this difficult time of sorrow. Or maybe we mean we are sorry the person died.
J: I think Penny's first guess is right. People mean to say, "I sympathize⁵ with or am sorry for, the pain you and your family are feeling." But somehow along the way it just sort of got shortened⁶ to, "I'm sorry."
Penny解释说，一种可能是说，对你悲恸的心情深表同情。另外一种可能是对此人去世感到惋惜。Jeff认为，第一种解释最说得通，说sorry是对死者家属的悲伤表示同情。
F: But George makes a good point. I think we do struggle to find the right words to say when someone dies. I mean, what can you say that's really going to be helpful?
P: That's true. It's always a bit hard to know what to say. But usually the person understands that we're just trying to offer condolences. I think they still appreciate the effort.
Frank承认，George makes a good point. George的话有道理，面对死者亲属，人们往往不知道说些什么好。但是Penny认为，死者亲属其实明白，别人就是在向他们表示慰问。

1 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。

2 impressive   

adj.给人深刻印象的，感人的

参考例句：

• This cinema is so impressive that we can't help crying.这影片如此感人以至我们禁不住流下泪来。
• The suit made him look especially impressive.他穿上这套衣服真精神。

3 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

4 endure   

vt.忍受(痛苦、困难等)，耐住

参考例句：

• If other people can endure hardship,why can't I? 人家能吃苦，我就不能？
• You can only guess at what mental suffering they endure.你只能猜测他们忍受着多大的精神痛苦。

5 sympathize   

v.(sympathise)(with)同情，怜悯；共鸣，同感

参考例句：

• Don't always rely on others to understand and sympathize.不要老是指望别人的理解和同情。
• I heartily sympathize with you.我很同情你。

6 shortened   

v.弄短，缩短( shorten的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shortened the skirt by an inch. 她把裙子缩短了一英寸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Vacations have lengthened and the work week has shortened. 假期延长，工作周就缩短了。 来自辞典例句