外贸口语一点通第248期:预约客户之不能赴约

 　　Unable to keep appointment

　　不能赴约

　　A:Hello, Mark Owen speaking. Can I help you?

　　您好，我是马克·欧文。有什么事吗？

　　B:Hello, Mr. Owen. This is David Smith of International Trading Co. I'm sorry you missed me when you called my office this morning. My secretary said you called concerning our meeting next Wednesday?

　　您好，我是国际贸易公司的大卫·史密斯。很抱歉，您今天上午给我办公室打电话时候我不在。我的秘书说您打电话问我们下周三见面的事，是吗？

　　A:Yes, Mr. Smith, thank you for returning my call. I'm glad to finally get a hold of you. I wanted to let you know I will not be able to keep our appointment next Wednesday. I will be in Shanghai that day. Is there any possiblity we can move the meeting to Tuesday?

　　是的，史密斯先生，谢谢您给我回电话。很高兴终于联系到您了。我想告诉您我下周三不能去赴约了。那天我要去上海办事。有没有可能把见面时间改到周二？

　　B:I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm completely booked on Tuesday. Would it be possible to postpone¹ until you return?

　　对不起，我周二的日程已经排得满满的了。能否延后，等您回来再说？

　　A:Well, I was counting on taking care of our meeting before I leave, but I suppose I could shuffle² a few things. Yes, I'll be back Friday morning. What about Friday afternoon? Would that will be convenient for you?

　　哦，我原来打算在离开之前处理好见面事宜，不过我想我可以重新安排一下。是的，周五早上回来。那周五下午怎么样？那个时候您方便吗？

　　B:That should be fine. Say about 2 o'clock. OK?

　　应该没有问题。下午2点钟如何？

　　A:See you.

　　再见。

　　“take care of sb/sth”有“照看，照料，照顾；负责某人/某事，处理某人/某事”的意思。

　　在这里的意思是“处理某事”。

　　Eg. Mr. Smith takes care of marketing³ and publicity⁴.

　　史密斯先生负责产品的销售和推广。

　　Her secretary took care of all her appointments.

　　他的秘书处理她的一切约会。

1 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

2 shuffle   

n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走

参考例句：

• I wish you'd remember to shuffle before you deal.我希望在你发牌前记得洗牌。
• Don't shuffle your feet along.别拖着脚步走。

3 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

4 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。