P22 2b

Could You Please ...?

When you visit a foreign country, it is important to know how to ask for help politely. For example, “Where are the restrooms?” or “Could you please tell me where the restrooms are?” are similar requests for directions to a place. Both are correct English, but the first one sounds less polite. That is because it is a very direct question. It is not enough to just ask a question correctly. We also need to learn how to be polite by being less direct — or more indirect — when we ask for help.

In English, as in Chinese, we change the way we speak when we talk with different people. The expressions you use might depend on whom you are speaking to or how well you know them. If you say to your teacher, “When is the school trip.’’, this might sound impolite. But if you say, “Excuse me, Mr. West. Do you know when the school trip is?’’, this will sound much more polite. However, it is all right to ask direct questions in some situations, like with your classmates.

Usually polite questions are longer and include more language such as “Could you please ...?” or “Can I ask ...?” It sounds more polite to say, “Peter, could you please tell me your e-mail address?” than “Peter, tell me your e-mail address.” Sometimes we even need to spend time leading in to a request. For example, with a stranger on the street, we might first say, “Excuse me, I wonder if you can help me” or “I’m sorry to trouble you, but ...” before asking for help.

It might seem more difficult to speak politely than be direct. However, it is important to learn how to use proper language. This will also help you become better at English, or any other language you wish to speak.

Section B 2b

请问，你可以…..吗？

当你到外国游玩，了解如何礼貌地请求帮助十分重要。例如，例如，你可能会问Where are the resrooms ?( 卫生间在哪里？)和Could you please tell me where the restrooms ?( 你能告诉我卫生间在那里吗？)这些均是对问路去某处近似于请求的问句。两者都是正确的英语，但第一句听着并不那么礼貌，这是因为他提问过于直接。当我们求助的时候，仅仅正确地问问题是不够的，还要学习如何表达才有礼貌。

优秀的说话者在不同情境会改变自己说话的方式。他们所使用的表述或许取决于他们与谁交谈，以及与谈话者之间的熟悉程度。你对你的同学问话直接是完全得当的，原因是你很熟悉你的同学。然而，你对老师说What is the school trip？(学校郊游在什么时候？)，这也许会听着不够礼貌；但要是你说Excuse me，Mr.West.Do you know when the school trip is？（请问韦斯特老师，您知道学校什么时候郊游吗？）,这听起来就要礼貌得多。

通常礼貌的问题要长一些，并且包含诸如Could you please …?或Can I ask…?这样的语言内容。说Peter,could you please tell me your e-mail address?(彼得，麻烦你给我说一下你的电邮地址好吗？)就比说Peter,tell me your e-mail address.（彼得，把你的电邮地址告诉我。）听上去更有礼貌。有时我们甚至需要花些时间来导入我们的请求。例如面对陌生人，我们或许先说：Excuse me,I wonder if you can help me (劳驾，我想您是否能帮我一下)或I’m sorry yo trouble you,but…（十分抱歉打扰您，可是……）之后才说出所请求帮助的内容。

礼貌措辞比起直白说话似乎要难一些，但学习如何使用得当的语言是很重要的。这会帮助你与他人更好地进行交流。