POLOGY
道歉信
November 30, 1998
Dear Mr. Smith:
尊敬的Smith先生:
There are secretaries who always know the right things to say. There are secretaries who always say the right things at the right time. This letter does not come from one of them. It comes from one who has made a serious mistake due to inexperience and who is deeply embarrassed by her bad judgment.
有些秘书总是知道什么话该说,什么话不该说。有些秘书总是知道什么时候说话才恰如其分。但这封信不是出自这样的秘书。这封信来自一位由于缺少经验而犯了个很严重错误的人。她为她的错误判断感到惭愧。
Last week while you were on a business trip to Guangzhou, I received a call from a certain1 Mr. Swinehart asking your whereabouts2. I shared the information with him as well as you business schedule immediately following your Guangzhou trip. It was after the fact3 that I realized you had sent us a note asking us specifically not to reveal your itinerary4 to strangers. If I had had that note in mind, I would never have said what I said to Mr. Swinehart. That's not an excuse, and it's not an explanation either. I am sorry I blundered5.
上周,当您去广州出差时,我接到Swinehart先生的电话,询问您的去向。我告诉了他您去广州的商务时间表。后来我才意识到您曾留短信,要求我们不要将您的行程安排告诉陌生人。如果我还记着那条短信,我是不会告诉Swinehart先生那些事的。这不是找借口,也不是想解释什么。我对自己所犯的错误表示抱歉。
From now on, I will pay more attention to what I do and, particularly, to what I say to strangers. Please do forgive me for the damage my words may have caused you.
从今以后,我将更加注重我所做的每一件事,特别是对陌生人说的话。请原谅由于我说的话而可能给您带来的麻烦。