The airline lost your baggage. The hotel laundry(洗衣房) ruined your favorite shirt. The taxi driver overcharged you. When you're abroad, sometimes things go wrong. Now you can do something about it! Use these tips when you want to express an effective complaint in English.
No matter how unfair the situation, it's best to phrase your complaint politely. In English, you'll sound more polite if you use indirect language. Here are some examples:
“I'm sorry to bother you...” Starting a complaint like this puts the listener who may have heard many complaints that day at ease. Use this phrase if the situation isn't that serious. For example, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I wanted a baked potato, not fries."
“Can you help me with this?” Everyone would much rather be asked to do something than told! So try phrasing your complaint as a request for help: "Can you help me with this? My shirt came back from the laundry without buttons."
“I'm afraid there may be a misunderstanding.” This is a polite way of saying, "Your information is wrong. Please fix it now." You'll most likely use this phrase if you made reservations(预定) for a flight, hotel or restaurant, and when you arrive, it's not what you expected. For example, "I'm afraid there may be a misunderstanding. I requested a non-smoking room."
“I understand it's not your fault...” Often when you make a complaint, you deal with a person who was not directly responsible for the problem. But the problem isn't your fault, either! This phrase is helpful when you need swift action. Tell the person you're dealing with you understand they're not at fault and then directly state the problem: "I understand it's not your fault, but the airline promised they would deliver my baggage yesterday."
“Excuse me, but I understood that...” Using this phrase lets the person know you're well-informed and are suspicious they might be trying to take advantage of you. Don't say, "Hey! You're trying to cheat me!" Instead, start indirectly by stating what you know to be true: "I understood that the taxi ride to the airport was only 25 dollars." Then give them an opportunity to do the right thing.
1.What’s the purpose of this passage?
A. To give an introduction of life abroad.
B. To give suggestions on how to learn English.
C. To offer advice on giving complaints in English.
D. To offer guides to those who travel around the world.
2.According to the passage, if we meet an unfair situation, we’d better .
A. state our complaints politely
B. go for the police immediately
C. use indirect language to hurt people
D. fight against the one who is responsible
3.Why should we start a complaint with polite phrases?
A. Because the situation is never serious.
B. Because the listener may not speak English.
C. Because it can help solve the problem more easily.
D. Because we should be always in good manners abroad.
4.Several effective complaints in English are mentioned above EXCEPT .
A. “Can you help me with this?”
B. “I understand it’s not your fault.”
C. “Hey! You’re trying to cheat me!”
D. “I’m afraid there may be a misunderstanding.”
Nelson Mandela was a figure of international fame, and many details of his life and career were public knowledge. But here are four things you may not have known about the late South African leader.
1. He was a boxing fan.
In his youth, Nelson Mandela enjoyed boxing and long-distance running. Even during the 27 years he spent in prison, he would exercise every morning. "I did not enjoy the violence of boxing so much as the science of it. I was curious by how one moved one's body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat, how one paced oneself over a match," he wrote in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.
2. His original name was not Nelson.
Rolihlahla Mandela was nine years old when a teacher at the primary Methodist school where he was studying in Qunu, South Africa, gave him an English name “Nelson” in accordance with the custom to give all school children Christian names.
3. He forgot his glasses when he was released from prison.
Mr. Mandela's release on 11 February 1990 followed years of political pressure against apartheid(种族隔离). Mr. Mandela's reading glasses stayed behind in prison Mr. Mandela and his then-wife Winnie were taken to the centre of Cape Town to address a huge and exciting crowd. But when he pulled out the text of his speech, he realized he had forgotten his glasses and had to borrow Winnie's.
4. He had his own law firm, but it took him years to get a law degree.
Mr. Mandela studied law on and off for 50 years from 1939, failing about half the courses he took. A two-year diploma(学位证书) in law on top of his university degree allowed him to practice, and in August 1952, he and Oliver Tambo set up South Africa's first black law firm, Mandela and Tambo, in Johannesburg. He kept on studying hard to finally secure a law degree while in prison in 1989.
1.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Nelson Mandela’s life in the prison.
B. The achievements of Nelson Mandela.
C. Nelson Mandela’s hobbies and career.
D. Unknown things about Nelson Mandela.
2. Why did Nelson Mandela love boxing?
A. Because he wanted to be a boxer.
B. Because he enjoyed the violence of boxing.
C. Because he appreciated the strategy in boxing.
D. Because he had nothing else to do in the prison.
3.What happened to Mandela when he was about to give the speech?
A. He broke his glasses into pieces.
B. He had to use his wife’s glasses.
C. He left his own glasses at home.
D. His wife wanted to borrow his glasses.
4.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Nelson Mandela was not his original name.
B. Nelson Mandela was the name given by his teacher.
C. Nelson Mandela had been studying the law nonstop for 50 years.
D. Nelson Mandela had started his own law firm before he got a law degree.
My father was a St. Bernard (圣伯纳犬), and my mother was a collie (科利牧羊犬). This was what my mother had told me. I did not know these nice differences myself. My mother like to say them and see other dogs look surprised and jealous(嫉妒的), wondering how she got so much education. But, indeed, it was not real education.
She got the words by listening in the dining room and the sitting room when there were people talking, and by going with the children to school and listening there. Whenever she heard a word showing great knowledge, she said it to herself many times so that she could keep it until there was a meeting in the neighbourhood. Then, she would show off her knowledge and surprise them all, from small-sized dogs to large-sized dogs.
If there was a stranger being doubtful and getting his breath to ask her what it meant, she always explained to him in detail. He had never expected this but thought he would make fool of her. However, in the end, he was the one who was fooled. The others knew what was going to happen, because they had experienced that. When she explained the meaning of a big world, no dogs doubted if it was right. It was natural, because, for one thing, she answered very quickly and confidently, and for another, there were no knowledgeable dogs pointing out the answer was wrong.
When I was older, she brought home the word, “unintellectual”, and worked on it very hard all the week at different meetings. It was at this time that I realized she made up a fresh meaning of the same word every time. It showed that she was more calm than knowledgeable.
(From A Dog’s Tale, by Mark Twain)
1.Why were other dogs jealous of “my” mother?
A. Because her child was not a dog.
B. Because “my” mother knew everything.
C. Because they knew nothing about “me”.
D. Because they thought “my” mother was educated.
2.Where did “my” mother learn the words?
A. She made up the words by herself.
B. She learnt the words studying at school.
C. She listened and memorized when others were talking.
D. She attended meetings to learnt the words from other dogs.
3.How could “my” mother always fool other dogs?
A. Other dogs all liked to be fooled.
B. She could explain anything in detail correctly.
C. She learnt a lot of tricks to make fool of others.
D. Other dogs were not knowledgeable enough to find out her mistakes.
4.What words can be used to describe “my” mother?
A. friendly and cleverB. calm and confident
C. quick and experiencedD. devoted and knowledgeable
One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town claiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered, and they all his heart for it was perfect.
Suddenly, an old man appeared and said, "Why, your heart is not as beautiful as mine!" The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was full of . It had places where pieces had been and other pieces put in, but they didn't quite right. In fact, in some places whole pieces were .
The young man laughed, "Compared with your heart, mine is perfect and yours is a ." "Yes," said the old man, "Yours looks perfect but I would never swap with you. You see, every scar(伤疤) represents a person to whom I have given my . I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, often they give me a piece of their heart that fits into the place in my heart. So the scars have me remember the love we . Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't a piece of his or her heart to me. These are the empty — giving love is taking a chance. Although , they stay open. So now do you see what true is?"
The young man walked up to the old man, his perfect heart, and tore a piece out. He it to the old man. The old man placed it in his , then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the young man's heart. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart into his.
How sad it must be to go through life with a whole untouched heart!
1.A. appreciated B. dislikedC. hatedD. broke
2.A. nearly B. hardlyC. honestlyD. widely
3.A. items B. scarsC. detailsD. tips
4.A. formed B. addedC. designedD. removed
5.A. feel B.fitC. sinkD. calm
6.A. amazing B. willingC. missingD. boiling
7.A. joke B. trapC. successD. goal
8.A. opinion B. powerC. voteD. love
9.A. so B. butC. orD. and
10.A. perfect B. emptyC. entireD. equal
11.A. wanted B. spentC. sharedD. ignored
12.A. lent B. returnedC. expressedD. left
13.A. holes B. boxesC. roomsD. seats
14.A. hopeful B. gratefulC. painfulD. peaceful
15.A. beauty B. angerC. mercyD. surprise
16.A. went through B. reached into C. gave upD. watched over
17.A. employed B. packedC. rewardedD. offered
18.A. pocket B. heartC. bagD. mind
19.A. over B. onceC. anymoreD. apart
20.A. flowed B. bentC. escapedD. burst
Although Diane survived the car crash, her arms and legs were badly injured and ______, her car was destroyed.
A.in all B. in return C.in relief D. in addition
A good friend is like a mirror. Don’t let a little agreement_____ a great friendship.
A.add up B.blow up C.take up D.break up
