商务交际英语[1] 开篇案例

商务交际英语［1］开篇案例

Chapter1 Sending the Wrong Message

Three months ago, Anna Washington graduated from Winston Business College. Upon graduation, she obtained her first full-time job with IBM. Needless to say, she was very excited about the opportunity.

As the receptionist in the foyer of a new building, Anna works in an attractive setting. She has the opportunity to greet most employees, including upper management, and customers as they enter

the building. She answers incoming calls and forwards them to app ropriate individuals. Anna’s computer is equipped with the usual software—word processing, spreadsheets, databases, presentation graphics, and games. She has email and Internet access as well. Anna sometimes uses her word processing software when the secretarial staff has too much work. While this opportunity doesn’t happen too often, she enjoys it when it does come.

After three months, Anna’s job has lost some of its appeal. She does not greet employees with the same enthusiasm as she did at first. Neither do her fellow employees respond as enthusiastically to her greetings. Her supervisor becomes irritated when she finds errors in the documents Anna has keyed. Answering incoming calls has become routine, almost boring.

Recently, Anna sent an e-mail to a friend about personal business and her supervisor caught her. Today, Anna was bored and decided to play Solitaire. She was in the middle of her first game when her supervisor became upset and lectured Anna as several people, including a member of upper management, walked by. Obviously, Anna was very embarrassed.

译文：

第一章错误信息的发送

三个月之前，Anna Washington 从Winston 商学院毕业了。一俟毕业，她就获得了在IBM公司的全日制工作。获得这个机会的她很兴奋。

Anna的工作是接待员，负责接待来访者，接听电话等。她的工作地点在一栋新楼的前厅，环境很吸引人。Anna有机会向大多数职员打招呼，其中包括上层管理人员，以及进入这栋楼的许多顾客。Anna接听打进来的电话并转给有关人员。Anna的计算机安装了几种

常见的软件——文字信息处理（word processing）, 空白表格程序（spreadsheets），数据库（databases＝databank）, 还有一些电脑游戏，如：纸牌(Solitaire)、红心大战(Hearts)、空档

接龙(FreeCell)和扫雷（Minesweeper）。Anna还可以收发电子邮件，上网。Anna有时会用

文字信息处理帮助工作太多的秘书。然而，这种机会不太多，不过Anna喜欢干这类工作。

三个月后，Anna的工作兴趣减退了。她与职员们打招呼时已经失去了刚来时的热情，回应Anna招呼的职员们也没有那么热情了。当上司在Anna录入的文件里发现错误时，她

的上司生气了。Anna接听打进来的电话也程式化得让人厌倦。

最近，Anna给朋友发去了一份电子邮件谈私事，她的上司发现了她的错误。她的上司当时没有说什么，但是Anna知道她不高兴。今天，Anna有点烦闷，决定玩电脑上的纸牌

游戏。她一局还没有玩完她的上司就带来一份文件让她录入。Anna的上司生气了，当着过往的人，其中还有上级管理层的一位成员，训斥了Anna。很明显，Anna非常尴尬。

Chapter 2 Communicating in a Diverse Workplace

A highly successful German auto company recently merged with a U.S.carmaker. Members of the German team met with American staff membersinDetroit.

Anita Boaz had been employed at the Detroit site for seven years, moving from administrative assistant to manager. As a result of the merger, Anita’s new supervisor would be a newly relocated German manager. She was very comfortable in the relaxed atmosphere of the American office but was a little nervous about meeting the German visitors. She worried that their English wouldn’t be good enough for her to understand easily.

Anita’s first meeting with Mr. Dortmann was set for a Friday—casual day at theDetroit office. Anita chose some nice slacks to wear, instead of jeans. Traffic was unusually heavy; Anita was a few minutes late for the meeting. The door was closed. She knocked once and went in. The Germans, all dressed in conservative business suits, were sitting at a conference table. Anita reached out her han d to Dortmann and said with a smile, ―Good morning, Hans. It’s good to meet you! I’m Anita Boaz.‖

Dortmann rose hesitantly, then responded with a brief greeting and sat down. Anita was baffled by his chilly reach. Then she decided maybe he wasn’t used to w orking with women at the management level. Anita was disappointed. She came away thinking Dortmann and the other Germans were rude and standoffish. At the same time, the Germans were put off by what they felt was rude behavior on her part.

A few weeks later, the company offered some sessions on cultural orientation. Anita learned the following about Germans businesspeople:

They have a high regard for authority and structure.

They greet each other formally, using titles such as ―doctor‖ or ―professor‖ when a ppropriate. They enjoy working with data and other concrete ―evidence‖.

They tend to separate business and pleasure, saving humor and social talk until after the business is done.

Over time, Anita and her colleagues in Detroit developed a friendlier relationship with the Germans. But first they had to establish respect for one another.

译文：

第二章在国际商务领域获得成功

一家非常成功的德国汽车公司最近与一个美国汽车公司并购。来自德国的队伍与美国雇员在底特律相会。

Anita Boaz女士受雇于底特律方面有7年了，在此期间，从管理助手晋升为经理。因为这次并购，Anita的新上司将是一位德国经理，名叫Hans Dortmann。Anita在并购前放松的美国办公环境里感觉一直很好，但是现在因为要会见德国来访者，她有点紧张。她担心的原因是德国人的英语会让她不太好懂。

Anita与她的新上司德国人Dortmann先生的第一次见面定在一个周五——底特律办公

室的休闲着装日。Anita选择了漂亮的宽松裤子，而非牛仔裤。那天，交通不同寻常的拥挤，所以Anita到会就晚了几分钟。当她到达会议室时，会议室的门关着。她敲了一下门，然

后就进去了。德国人，全部西装革履，围着一张会议桌正襟危坐。Anita对Dortmann伸出

手去，微笑着说：―Hans，早上好。很高兴见到您！我是Anita Boaz。‖

Dortmann犹豫着站了起来，简略地打了个招呼，然后坐了下来。Anita觉得有点受到

冷遇。这时她认定原因可能是Dortmann先生不习惯与女士一起在管理层工作。Anita感觉

失望。她离开时，认为Dortmann和其它德国人既粗鲁又不友好。与此同时，德国人也因为感觉到Anita的粗鲁行为而不高兴。

几星期后，公司开办了几堂文化导向课。Anita学到了有关德国商人的特点：

他们重视领导和组织机构

他们相互致意时很正式，适时使用―博士‖或―教授‖头衔

他们喜欢工作时用数据或其它实在的―证据‖

他们倾向于将公务与休闲分开，完成公务后再幽默，再闲聊。

许久以后，Anita与她的同事和德国人发展了友好交往。但是，首先他们应该相互尊重。

Chapter 3 Sending Written Messages That Work

Atlee Corporation is a consulting company with offices in several cities in theUnited States. An

old firm, it is considered conservative and somewhat elite. The company directors have finally bowed to pressure and agreed to institute a casual dress day for employees.

The directors issued the following memo.

TO: All employees of Atlee Corporation

FROM: Atlee board of directors

DATE: October 5, 2001

SUBJECT: Implementation of Casual Dress Day

After much consideration, we, the board of directors, agree that the implementation of a casual dress day will nether interrupt business nor damage our reputation. For that reason, employees

may participate by wearing less formal attire on the last first and third Friday of each month. Should any employee violate any of the rules stated herein, disciplinary action may be taken. If

this arrangement is to work in an acceptable manner, certain rules must be followed. First, employees who have contact with outside clients on the designated casual dress days may not participate in casual dress day under any circumstances. Women may not wear clothing that would be considered revealing. In addition, short (―mini‖) skirts, shorts, halter tops, tight jeans, and anything resembling swimwear is not allowed. Male employees should wear comfortable slacks and shirts or sweaters, depending on the season.

If you have questions or comments regarding any information in this memo, direct them to Susan

in the San Francisco office or to Mr. Alazar in the Boston office.

译文

第三章发送有用的书面信息

Atlee Corporation 是一家咨询公司，其办公室遍布于美国各主要城市。这是一家老公司，被认为是一家保守公司，在某种程度上还算一家有实力的公司。公司董事们最终屈服于压力，同意为雇员们设立休闲着装日。董事们发布了以下备忘录：

主题：休闲着装日的实行

经过慎重考虑，我们，董事们，同意实施休闲着装日，因为这样做，既不会冲击业务，也

不会损害我们的声誉。所以，雇员们可以在每个月的第一和第三个周五穿较休闲的服装。

如果任何人违反了此处标明的规矩，那么将会采取相应的纪律行动。首先，如果在休闲着

装日那天已经与公司客户有了预约，那么，在任何情况下，不能穿休闲装。女士不能穿被

认为是袒露的服装。此外，超短裙、短裤、背心、紧身裤和任何象泳装的服装皆被认为是

不允许穿的。男性雇员可以穿舒服的便裤和衬衣或套衫，取决于季节。

如果对此备忘录有任何问题或建议，请直接与San Francisco 办公室的Susan女士（电话转237）或Boston办公室的Alazar先生（电话转526）联络。

Chapter 4 Writing Memos and E-mail

Nancy DiMelio has earned a glowing reputation as manager of the Computer-Aided Design (CAD) department at Lloyd Engineering. Her four busy computer operators use expensive state-of-the-art computer hardware and software. Others within the company are curious about the hardware and software the CAD department uses, but because of her department’s workload, Nancy must limit the time her staff can spend demonstrating or explaining CAD.

Recently, as Nancy read the more than forth e-mail messages she receives each day, she discovered an e-mail from Lance Chow, her most senior worker. Lance reported that Connie Reyes, a member of the Mainframe Support department, had asked to ―borrow‖ a copy of the new CAD software. Borrowing violated Lloyd Engineerin g’s strict rules about software licenses.

Nancy composed an e-mail message to her supervisor. In part, she wrote, ―Connie Ryes is a CAD artist wannabee. Instead of breaking company rules and asking to borrow $970-worth of software, Connie should pay more a ttention to her own work.‖ Nancy also mentioned that Lance did exactly what he was supposed to do by forwarding the problem to her. Nancy sent the e-mail message to her supervisor and a ―bcc‖ to Lance.

Nancy began receiving angry e-mail messages from the Mainframe Support department. They were angry that she would criticize one of their workers.Nancy’s reputation with the Mainframe Support department had just suffered major damage.

Later，Lance sheepishly appeared in Nancy’s office and told her he had accide ntally forwarded her e-mail to Connie.

译文：

第四章交流速度太快

Nancy DiMelio作为Lloyd Engineering公司计算机辅助设计（CAD）部门的一位经理

已经取得了持续上升的好口碑。她的四名计算机操作员使用的是昂贵的、达到最新水平的

计算机软、硬件。公司里其它部门的人员对CAD部门使用的软、硬件很是好奇，但是由

于Nancy部门的工作量，她必须限制她的职员，让他们不要花时间在说明或解释CAD上。

最近，正当Nancy阅读她每天得到的40多份电子邮件时，她发现了来自她的高级雇员Lance Chow的报告。Lance 报告，来自―主机维护部‖的Connie Reyes―借‖了新的CAD软件

拷贝。这一借用破坏了Lloyd Engineering公司严格的软件执照规章。

Nancy给她的上司写了一份电子邮件。她写道：―Connie Reyes是一名对自己希望过高

的CAD艺术家。Connie应该多关心她自己的工作，而不是要求借这价值970美元的软件

而破坏公司的法规。‖Nancy同时还提到了Lance，认为他做了应该做的事，把这件事报告

了自己。Nancy把这份电子邮件发给了她的上司，同时作为附件，发给了Lance。

Nancy开始接到来自主机维护部的愤怒的电子邮件。他们对于Nancy批评自己的雇员

之一很愤怒。Nancy的声誉由于主机维护部而受到了很大损害。后来，Lance困窘地到Nancy的办公室，告诉Nancy他不小心把Nancy的电子邮件发给了Connie。Lance 道歉了，Nancy使Lance安心道：―这个错误，也是我的。‖

Chapter 5 Maria’s Reactions to Letters

Recently Maria Gonzalez changed jobs. After completing her business technology degree, she left her position as a checkout clerk at a local supermarket. Now she works in the secretarial pool at a financial services office inYuma, Arizona.

As expected, Mari a’s company uses letters for external messages. Most of the recipients of these letters are in the United States. However, some recipients are in Mexico. Maria keys letters written in English only. Because she keys documents for many workers at the office, Maria has noticed many inconsistencies. Maria has also noticed that many letters contain specific formatting instructions, which often vary.

Because of her Mexican heritage, Maria feels comfortable with most of the long letters sent

to Mexico. Nevertheless, at times, she feels that a letter she has keyed for a recipient in Mexico is somewhat short and not very well written.

The letters dictated by some of the executives in Maria’s office are always short and sometimes seem a little blunt and tactless. Othe r people’s letters are always long and wordy, sometimes running to two and three pages. She has also noticed that some people dictate letters with varying lengths.

Maria has noticed one other thing – that most authors of the letters she keys are white Americans. Most of the time Maria feels these letters are too short and a little blunt. She wonders if this concern is the result of her having a different heritage.

译文：

第五章 Maria对信函的反应

最近Maria Gonzalez新换了工作。她完成了商务技术学位后，辞掉了超市收银员的职位，现在，Maria 在位于美国西南部的亚利桑那州Yuma的一个金融服务办公室做秘书工作。

正如所预料的，Maria所在的公司使用信函作为外部交流手段。这些信函的接收者大

都在美国；然而，有一些收件者却在墨西哥。Maria仅用英语录入信件。因为Maria在办公

室里为许多工人们录入文件，所以她注意到了许多矛盾之处。Maria还注意到许多信件通

常都含有具体的、各不相同的格式说明。

由于Maria的墨西哥遗传，她对大多数发送到墨西哥的长信感觉很好。然而，有时候，她会认为她录入的某一封发给墨西哥收信人的信有点短而且写得不太好。

Maria办公室有些由助理们口述的信件通常很短、较生硬和不老练。另外一些人的信

件通常较长且废话多，有时候长达2－3页。她还注意到有些人口述的信件长短不一。

Maria还注意到了另一件事——她所录入的信件的大多数作者是美国白人。大多数时

候她会觉得这些信件太短或有点生硬。Maria不知道这是否因为她有不同的遗传。

Chapter 6 Reports and Peter’s New Job

Peter Chang is an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the northern section of

the San Joaquin Valley in California – one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. Recently, Peter was promoted to the position of agricultural loan clerk.

In his new position, he has many reports to read – reports from farmers who are applying for loans; status reports from farmers who have received loans; and reports from his employer, the federal government, on new loan programs.

After reading so many reports, Peter wonders, ―Why are reports so different?‖ Some are lo ng, some are short. Some are simple, some are complex. Some are easy to read, some are difficult to read. Some are coherent, some are not. Some make recommendations, some do not. Why are reports so different?

Peter also has reports to write. For example, each month, he must send his office manager a memo report informing her of the content of loan reports submitted by recipients and the content of reports from loan applicants. Several times a month, Peter also has to send short, informal manuscript reports to the office manager.

译文：

第六章皮特的新工作和报告

Peter Chang是美国加利福利亚州San Joaquin Valley北部农业部的一名雇员。最近，Peter被提升为农业贷款员。在他的新位置上，他要阅读很多报告，这些报告或来自那些申

请贷款的农民，或是已经接到了贷款的农民的现状报告，或来自他的雇主——联邦政府关

于新的贷款项目的报告。

阅读了许多报告后，Peter想知道：―为什么报告如此不同？‖有的报告长，有的则短；

有的简单，有的复杂；有的易读，有的难读；有的条理清楚，有的相反；有的提出了建议，有的则不。为什么报告如此不同？

Peter同时还要写报告。比如：每个月，他都要写一份备忘录报告送交他的办公室经理，通知她接受了贷款者的贷款报告的内容，和申请贷款者的报告内容。Peter每月还得给办公

室经理交几份短的、非正式的手稿报告。