英語提問小技巧

Asking clerks or at help desks

在服務(wù)臺進行咨詢時

(Hello.) Can / Could I have…please? (Falling intonation[降調(diào)])

(Good morning.) Can / Could you give / get me…please?

(Good evening.) A table for two， please.

Interrupting people to ask them for something

打斷對方作詢問時

Excuse me…

…Do you know if…?

…Do you have…?

…Do you accept…(credit cards)?

…Is this the right way to…(the Post Office)?

...Could you tell me if…(there’s a Post Office near here)?

In more formal situations

Excuse me…

…Would you mind…(keeping an eye on my luggage?)

…I wonder if you could…(move your suitcase a little.)

Responding to questions

對問題作出回答時

You ask for something， then the person you have asked needs more information. He or she asks you a question. If you haven’t expected this， you can “play for time”—say something to give you time to think. Say something like “Oh”， “Ah”， “Um”， or “Er” to give you a second or two to formulate an answer. Remember， complete silence makes the other person feel uneasy!

當你提出問題后，對方需要知道更多信息才能幫助你。此時，他（她）會問你問題。如果你沒有準備好，可以用“噢、啊、嗯、呃”等一些語氣詞來拖延一兩秒，好讓自己組織語言作答。切忌沉默不語，這會令對方很不自在。

You: Two tickets to London， please.

Clerk: Single or return?

You: Um， return please. We’re coming back tomorrow.

Waiter: How would you like your steak?

You: Oh， er， medium rare， please.

Tips

小技巧

When you ask someone for something， or you ask them to do something for you， it is essential to be as polite as possible. Here are some ways that you can be polite.

當你請求別人幫忙時，要盡量保持有禮貌，這很重要。例如：

Say hello

A “hello” and a smile go a long way! Say “hello” at the beginning of your request.

#61557; “Hello. (I’d like) a travel card， please.”

In more formal situations， you can say “Good morning”， “Good afternoon” or “Good evening”. (Remember， we only say “Good night” if we’re saying “Good bye” at the end of the day.)

#61557;“Good evening. We’ve booked a table for four.”

Remember “please” and “thank you”

“Please” normally goes at the end of the sentence:

#61557; “Two tickets please.”

#61557; “Can you give me directions to Oxford Street， please.”

Say “thank you” after you have received something:

—Here’s your change.

—Thank you.

You can use “Yes， please” or “No， thank you” in response to a question:

—Would you like salad with your pizza?

—Yes， please. / No， thank you.

Say “excuse me”

If you ask someone who is doing something else， remember to say “excuse me”:

#61557; “Excuse me， do you have this dress in a smaller size?” (In a shop)

#61557; “Excuse me， do you know where the nearest bank is?” (On the street)

Structure of an example conversation

對話結(jié)構(gòu)參考例子

1. Clerk greets you:

(Good morning.) How can I help you?

What can I do for you?

2. You ask for something:

Hello. I’d like some information about…

Can I have…?

Three stamps for Europe， please.

3. Clerk asks you a question:

Single or return?

Air-mail or surface mail?

4. You answer:

Oh， er， single thanks.

Um， let me see. Air-mail please.

5. Clerk asks you if you need anything else:

Will that be all?

(Is there) anything else?

6. You answer:

Ah， actually I’d also like…

No， that’s it. Thanks. / Thank you.