Разговорные фразы. А О Иванов. Англ. разговорные формулы. (Восстановлен). Английские разговорные формулы допущено Государственным комитетом ссср по народному образованию в качестве учебного пособия для студентов педагогических институтов по специальности Иностранные языки москва
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Sorry, but... could you...?—formal, semi-formal eg Sorry, but that radio is terribly loud. Could you turn it down a bit? Do you think you could...?— formal or semi-formal, depending on the tone of voice eg Do you think you could shut the window? It’s getting rather cold in here. Other complaints: I wish you wouldn’t...— grumbling Do you have to...? — sarcastic It’s/That’s a bit much/thick. ) It’s a bit much/thick if... I grumbling, semi-formal, It’s/That’s a bit steep.— j informal about prices, etc eg Two pounds for a cup of coffee and a sandwich! That’s a bit steep! ;fc ifc Possible replies are: 0'n, I’m (very) sorry (Sir/Madam).   I’ll in response to complaints about services see that everything is put right, see to it at once, ask/tell the... to... , send for the... eg a. Oh, I’m sorry, Sir. I’ll tell the porter to take your cases up at once. b. Sorry, Sir. I’ll send for the mechanic.  in response to complaints about another person’s actions Sorry, Is it bothering you? Sorry, 1 thought you didn’t mind. Sorry, 1 didn’t realize you felt so strongly about it. eg — Do you think you could use your own pen to write letters with? — Sorry, I didn’t realize you felt so strongly about it. In some cases, when a person is not really complaining, but grumbling (eg What is this world coming to, if a man can’t say what he likes in his own house?), a sympathetic question tag would be the best response: Yes, it is a bit thick/much, isn’t it? If the complaint is considered to be unjustified, one may tactfully say, for example: Yes, I know, but... I’m (very) sorry, but... eg — I don’t like to complain, but my room is very cold. I’m sorry, but the temperature in the rooms is controlled automatically. It is the same in every room — 18 °C. So it can’t be very cold. I’m (very) sorry, but there’s nothing we can do about it (I’m afraid). Well, Sir/Madam, you... eg — I bought this watch here only yesterday. I want you to replace it, as there’s a scratch on the glass. I didn’t notice it yesterday. Well, Sir, you can’t really expect me to, can you? You might have scratched it after you’d bought it. And besides we check every watch very carefully before we sell it. Illustrative Dialogues In a Radio Shop Salesman: Yes, Sir? What can I do for you? Customer: Oh, it’s about the radio I bought yesterday. I’m sorry to complain, but it doesn’t work. Salesman: And what’s wrong with it? Customer: I don’t know'. There’s no sound when you switch it on and I want it replaced. Salesman: Let me see it, please. Did you try it on batteries or off the mains? Customer: Batteries. Salesman: Then the power switch should have been in position for “DC” (direct current) and it is on “AC” (alternating current). Now, let’s switch it over. Yes, the radio is in perfect order. Customer: Oh,... yes... I’m sorry. I must have changed its position accidentally. Salesman: It’s all right, Sir. At a Travel Agency Customer: Good afternoon. Clerk: Good afternoon, Sir. Customer: Well, it’s about this tour to the Lake District I booked from you last month. Clerk: Anything wrong with it, Sir? Customer: As a matter of fact, yes. 1 hate to complain, but you say in your booklet that you guarantee there will be no changes in the time of departure and the standard of accommodation. But in fact you’ve broken both promises. The coach started two hours late, and instead of a single room I had to share with another man. Clerk: I’m very sorry, Sir, but we’re not responsible for hoteliers, and accordingly for their faults and omissions. Customer: Well, anyway I think it’s a clear case of breach of contract and I’m entitled to a refund. Clerk: I do apologize for the coach and the inconvenience, but there’s no question of a refund. It is clearly stated in the guarantee that this doesn’t apply to coach tours. But if it will make you feel better, we’ll refund you the difference in the price of the rooms.. Customer: That is the least you can do. Here’s my card with my name and address. Clerk: We’ll send you a cheque tomorrow. Customer: All right. Good-bye. Clerk: Good-bye, Sir. Exercises Exercise I. Read the dialogues in parts, noting how the complaint is made and dealt with. Then learn one of them and reproduce it with another student in class.   
I don’t like to make a fuss about it there are no hangers in my room the TV set in my room is out of order the window in my room won’t open the waiter who served me at breakfast was rude to me the clerk at the counter overcharged me £ 10 the watch you sold me last week has stopped your son has broken a window in our classroom one of your officers wrongly fined me for speeding the wash-basin in my room is cracked there’s a hole in the carpet I bought from you Exercise 2. Complain about the following, using one item from each column. Let another student reply appropriately. Exercise 3. Read the following complaints and let another student answer them with suitable apologies: I wish you wouldn’t smoke here. I’ve got a terrible headache. Do you have to have that radio on quite so loud? It’s a bit thick! First you take my pen -and now you are using my dictionary! 4’m- sorry to-complain, but The TV in my room is out-of order. Look, I don’t want to make a fuss, but you’ve included in my bill (you’ve charged me for) a telephone call to Paris which I never had. Sorry, do you think you two could talk not quite so loud? Sorry to complain, but it’s very cold in my room. I’m sorry to complain, but the tape-recorder I bought from you last week is damaged. I want it replaced. I don’t want to make a fuss about it, but would you mind knocking on the door next time you come to my room-. Exercise 4. Complain about the following to another student, who takes the part of the person (s) indicated in brackets. Let him respond. slow room service in a hotel: you had to wait an hour for your • order from the hotel restaurant (to the hotel manager); inferior quality of a pullover you bought from a shop last week. A few days ago you washed it according to the instruction on the label and it shrank (to the shop assistant); high price of a colour TV set you were going to buy. Now you’ve thought better of it (to the shop assistant whom you asked about the price); your neighbour’s son teasing your dog (to his mother); your friend’s smoking in the room you are sharing with him (to the friend himself, asking him to stop it); the noise from your neighbour in the flat above after midnight (to the neighbour over the phone); the noise from the two people talking in a whisper at the table next to you in the public library (to those people); your brother’s switching the TV set over to another channel without asking your permission (to the brother himself)? a mistake in your hotel bill: you have been charged £ 5 for a telephone call you’ve not made (to the hotel manager). Exercise 5. Choose a situation from those suggested in Exercise 4 for a dialogue with another student. PART TWO Opinion An opinion may be expressed simply as an assertion, without any introductory words. eg a. He’s a very good novelist. b. Anne spends too much money on clothes. с. АП children should have the opportunity of going on to higher education. Sometimes, however, such statements may sound too dogmatic, and to avoid this effect one of the following phrases should be used: 1 think (that)...— the most common eg a. I think (that) he’s a very good novelist. I think (that) Anne spends too much money on clothes. I think (that) all children should have the opportunity of going on to higher education. I thought is often used to express an opinion about something experienced in the past, for example, a film seen, a book read. eg d. I thought the choir sang very well. I think may also be used in sentences about verifiable facts, meaning It seems to me. eg e. I think he’s an American writer. I believe (that)... Note: This is sometimes but not always an alternative to / think. For example, it could be used in sentences (c) and (e) above, but not in sentences (a) or (b), which express value judgements. Thus it is confined to sentences expressing a belief or conviction (sentence (c)), in which case it is stronger than / think, or to those concerned with verifiable facts (sentence (e)), in which case it is more forma! than I think. IF there is any doubt about the choice between / think and / believe, it is usuaiiy best to choose I think, which will never be wrong. Both / think and / believe can be made more emphatic by stressing /. I feel (that)... This may be used instead of I think or / believe to express a belief or conviction. eg a. I feel that all children should have the opportunity of going- on to higher education, b. I feel that the decision was a mistake. I consider (that)...— formal, semi-formal. Also more intellectual than / feel, which is more emotional. eg a. I consider that all children should have the opportunity of going on to higher education, b. I consider that the decision was a mistake. I consider is often used with an objective-with-the-infinitive construction. eg с. I consider him to be a very good novelist. in my opinion) emphatic. In mu opinion is slightly more formal. To my mind i F y h 57 eg d. in my opinion (To my mind) Andrew is too young for the job. Note: Be careful not to overuse To my mind, treating it as an equivalent of по-моему..It is used only to express a belief or convietion, not simply an opinion about a matter of fact (as in sentence (e) above). I think is the best translation of по-моему in such cases. If you ask me,...— colloquial eg if you ask me, it’s a waste of time. It’s a waste of time, if you ask me. * * * The following phrases are used to ask someone’s opinion: What do you think of/about...? eg What do you think of their new flat? What did you think of/about...? — with reference to some past experience eg What did you think of the concert? What do you feel about...? eg What do you feel about boarding schools? What’s your opinion of/about...? — formal, semi-formal eg What’s your opinion of the present economic situation? Note: To avoid being dogmatic and/or abrupt you may express your opinion (especially when asked) beginning your phrase with Well', eg a. — What do you think of his speech? Well, I rather liked it. And you? b. — What do you think about the present industrial situation? Well, I believe it will get back to normal before not very long. Illustrative Dialogues Note: The expressions of agreement and disagreement used in the dialogues are discussed in the next chapter (p. 76). A film (semi-formal, informal) Timothy: I thought the film was very good, didn’t you? Caroline: Well, the acting was certainly good, brilliant, in fact, but I didn’t think much of the film itself. Timothy: Really? I found it very interesting. What didn’t you like about it? Caroline: Well, the subject was treated in a very superficial way, and it was obvious about half way through how it was going to end. Timothy: It wasn’t obvious to me! Caroline: In any case, it was so sentimental. Timothy: Yes, it was rather sentimental, but I thoroughly enjoyed it ail the same. Caroline: Oh well, tastes differ. Esperanto as a world language Adrian: What do you think about Esperanto? Philip: I don’t believe it will ever become a world language. Adrian: Why? Lots of people are learning it. Philip: Not compared with those who are learning ‘real’ languages. It’s too artificial. Adrian: You’ve got a point there. But on the other hand, it’s much easier to learn than other languages, much more systematic. Philip: That’s certainly an advantage, of course, but there’s no incentive to learn it as long as so few people speak it. You can’t use it at international conferences, for example. Adrian: I think it should be taught in schools. Philip: Do you really? To my mind there are quite enough subjects on the school curriculum already. A Conversation Alan: I think Iris Murdoch is one of the best modern English novelists. Bob: So do I. Her books are really fascinating. Joy: They’re certainly clever, but I find them too far-fetched. I mean the plots. Bob: But she doesn’t try to be realistic. In my opinion the plots are brilliantly constructed. And the characters are always interesting. Alan: I agree. Joy: But they’re all so strange, not at all like real people. Bob: They aren’t supposed to be realistic. Besides, there’s a lot of symbolism in her books. Joy: If you ask me, most of it is just pretentious rubbish. Alan: Well, you’re quite entitled to your own opinion, but I still think she’s a very good writer. Exercises |