Could you please lend me your pen?
[00:07.30]Section 1 Before You Read
[00:11.38]GROUPWORK
[00:13.63]1a If you need help with your homework,
[00:19.26]how would you ask these people?
[00:23.55]1b Discuss the language you used to
[00:27.71]make this request.
[00:29.82]Was it the same each time?
[00:32.34]If not,discuss why not.
[00:35.70]Section 2 While You Read
[00:39.37]Could you please lend me your pen?
[00:42.01]Asking for information or help is a very common
[00:45.07]and necessary activity,
[00:46.94]especially when we visit a foreign country.
[00:50.16]So knowing how to ask for information
[00:52.54]politely is important.
[00:54.97]In English,"Where are the restrooms?"
[00:57.88]and "Could you please tell me
[00:59.68]where the restrooms are?"
[01:01.35]are similar requests
[01:03.34]both are correct English,
[01:05.17]but the first could sound rude.
[01:08.20]It's important to use correct language,
[01:10.66]but sometimes this alone is not enough
[01:13.77]we need to learn how to be polite
[01:16.03]when we make requests.
[01:18.97]In English,just like in Chinese,
[01:21.52]we change the way we speak
[01:23.06]when talking with different people.
[01:25.94]The expressions you use might depend on
[01:28.35]whom you are speaking to
[01:30.00]or how well you know them.
[01:32.82]If you say to your teacher,"Where is my book?"
[01:36.09]this will sound rude.
[01:38.17]But if you say,"Excuse me,Mr West.
[01:41.21]Do you know where my book is?"
[01:43.60]Your quesiton will sound much more polite.
[01:46.61]On the other hand,
[01:47.88]it might be alright to say "Where is my book?"
[01:51.30]in some situations,
[01:53.40]perhaps with people you know well.
[01:56.31]And you would not usually say,
[01:58.40]"Peter,lend me your pen."
[02:00.73]A very direct order like this
[02:02.30]can sound rude in English.
[02:05.06]Usually in English polite questions are longer
[02:08.40]and include extra language
[02:11.00]such as"Could you please.,.."or "Can I ask..."
[02:15.52]It sounds more polite to say,
[02:17.57]"Peter,could you please lend me you pen?"
[02:21.17]Sometimes,we might even need to spend some time
[02:23.66]leading into a question or request.
[02:27.89]For example,
[02:29.41]if you stop a stranger in the street,
[02:31.69]we might first say,
[02:33.65]"Excuse me.I wonder if you can help me?"
[02:36.56]or "I'm sorry to trouble you but,"
[02:40.02]before asking them for help.
[02:42.87]It might seem that speaking politely
[02:45.23]is more difficult than being direct,
[02:47.51]and in a way this may be true.
[02:50.39]However,in order not to offend people,
[02:53.61]learning about language etiquette is just
[02:55.80]as important as learning grammar or vocabulary.
[02:59.80]And doing this will also help you
[03:02.11]become better at English,
[03:03.50]or any other language you wish to speak.
[03:07.38]Section 3 After You Read
[03:11.56]3a Look at the requests in the lefe-hand column,
[03:17.31]then
[03:18.84]a) describe a situation when the request
[03:22.64]would be suitable as it is,
[03:25.18]b) make the request more polite.
[03:30.22]3b Read the article again.
[03:34.65]Match each paragraph with its main idea.
[03:39.12]Section 4 Go For It!
[03:43.34]Role play the following situations.
[03:46.51]Think about the relationship between the speaker
[03:49.72]and the listener.
[03:51.33]Decide how to make the request.
[03:54.80]1.A teenager wants to stay out later
[03:59.01]and asks a parent about it.
[04:02.40]2. A foreign friend is interested in your new
[04:06.24]dictionary and asks about it.
[04:09.87]3.Some students want to hand in their homework
[04:14.52]later than the teacher asked for it.
[04:18.80]4.You want to change the time you asked
[04:22.13]a friend to come for a meal at your house.
[04:25.68]If you have time!
[04:27.79]Find more examples of language etiquette
[04:31.70]from watching movies or reading books.
[04:35.70]Share them with your partner.
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