三大关键词
下面这三个词是口语里最常用来表达“麻烦”“打扰”的。
Bother
Bug
Trouble
用bother提要求
I'm so sorry to bother you: 特别不好意思,能打扰你一下吗?
Sorry to bother you during your time off: 不好意思你休假时打扰你。
怎么回答?
It's no bother: 不麻烦。
It's no bother at all: 一点都不麻烦。
You're not bothering me at all: 你完全没有打扰我。
用bug提要求
Sorry to bug you so late at night: 不好意思那么晚麻烦你。
So sorry to keep bugging you about this: 不好意思,同一个事儿一直麻烦你。
怎么回答?
You are not bugging me at all: 你一点都没麻烦我。
虽然No bug at all在语法上并没有错误,但实际口语里基本不会这样表达!
用trouble提要求
Could I trouble you for some suggestions? 能麻烦你给我一些建议吗?
Can I trouble you for a cup of water? 能麻烦你给我倒杯水吗?
怎么回答?
It's no trouble (at all): 一点儿都不麻烦、完全没问题。
You're not troubling me at all: 你一点都没麻烦我。
但是,如果确实有点麻烦怎么办?
我们来学一些直接明确的回答,虽然是拒绝,但建议还是加一些软化预期的缓冲词:
Actually
Actually, it is a bit of a bother: 其实,是有点麻烦。
Actually, it is a lot of trouble: 其实,是很麻烦。
如果真的达到忍耐极限,还能更直接地回复:
Actually, could you stop bothering/bugging me with work on weekends? 你周末能别再麻烦我处理工作上的事了吗?
我们很常说的一个人或一件事很麻烦,英语可以说someone or something is a lot of trouble,但英语不太用troublesome形容词来表达。
寻求中间地带
现实生活中,更多地还是找到折中解法:
It's no bother, but I'm in the middle of something right now: 不麻烦,但是我现在正忙(稍后帮你)。
Happy to help, but there's a lot on my plate: 我很乐意帮你,但我最近事情特别多。
It's no bother. But do you mind if I help you later? 不麻烦,但是我能晚点再帮你吗?
You're not bothering me. But do you mind if I think about it first? 你没麻烦我,但是我能先想一下吗?
关注公众号【开言英语OpenLanguage】,可获得每期精美笔记。