(Office ambience)

 

C：Amy, 我有点儿急事想请教你。

 

A：OK, What is it?

 

C：跟我一个办公室的Todd, 他妈妈在美国去世了。

 

A：I don't know Todd, but I am sorry to hear that.

 

C：他要回美国奔丧。我想为他做点儿什么，但又不知道怎样做才符合西方的礼节，所以今天早上我一直在躲着他。

 

A：That's a perfectly natural response. May I suggest a few things?

 

C：太好了，你快告诉我。

 

A：First of all, don't avoid him. Make a point of going to him immediately and offering your condolences.

 

C：什么是condolences?

 

A：Condolences就是表示同情、慰问。

 

C：我唯一能想到的就是 "I'm sorry to hear about your loss." 就这么一句好像不太够吧？

 

A：Sometimes that's all you can say. If you try to say more, it may be the wrong thing.

 

C：是呀，我也是怕说多了反而坏事。

 

A：If you can, follow your statement of condolence with an offer to help.

 

C：帮忙， 可我能帮什么忙呢？

 

A：Think of what he may need that you can do. You might offer to take him to the airport.

 

C：开车送他去机场确实是个好主意，可惜我没车。

 

A：What about work issues? Are there things you can help him with while he is away?

 

C：对呀，我们是一个组的，他请假，我可以承担一部分他的工作。我这就去跟他说。谢谢你，Amy.

 

******

 

MC：午饭时陈豪又看见了Amy.

 

A：Chen Hao, How did things go with Todd?

 

C：你说得没错。我说可以承担他的工作，Todd显得如释重负。另外，我还想到了其它可以出力的地方。

 

A：What was that?

 

C：Todd是我的邻居，他养了一只猫，叫Fluffy. 我告诉他说，他离开这段时间，我可以照顾Fluffy, 他听了以后特别高兴。

 

A：It is important to be specific at times like these. So often people simply say, "Let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

 

C：Amy, 你觉得我还需要送花和卡片吗？

 

A：You can, but that's not necessary since you are expressing your sympathy in a concrete way.

 

C：Todd还让我帮他取信。我有他公寓的钥匙。他回来之前，我还可以帮他买点儿新鲜蔬菜和水果。

 

A：You see how easy it is to think of acts of service for people who are grieving?

 

C：是啊，我们总是不好意思求别人办事，要是能主动提出来，那是再好不过的了。

 

A：That's right. Too often when people don't know what to do at a time of loss, they end up not doing anything.

 

C：幸亏有你，Amy.