两封信告诉你 正式与非正式英文有何不同

 　　下面有2封英文书信，你能分辨哪封是正式信件，哪封是非正式的吗？

　　信件1：

　　Dear Sir or Madam,

　　I am writing with regard to a ?ight that I missed due to a mistake by one of your employees.

　　Two weeks ago I was due to catch a ?ight to Rome, where I intended to spend four days on holiday. Unfortunately, the attendant¹ at the check-in desk gave me a boarding card for a different ?ight, and I did not notice the mistake until I arrived at the departure² gate and it was too late.

　　As a result of the error, I was not allowed to board the ?ight to Rome, and this caused me great inconvenience. I had to book a new ?ight two days later, which meant that I missed two days of my holiday and I spent an extra ?200.

　　As the mistake was caused by your company, I hope that you will compensate³ me for the cost of the additional⁴ ?ight, as well as for my taxi fares to and from the airport.

　　I look forward to receiving your response.

　　Yours faithfully,

　　Paul Jones

　　信件2：

　　Dear John,

　　I’m just writing to let you know that I’ve moved house.

　　As you know, I went for an interview for a job here in London. Well, they gave me the position! It would have been impractical⁵ to travel down from Manchester every day, so we’ve found a house here, in a nice part of London called Greenwich.

　　Our new house isn't ideal⁶. London prices are crazy, and we were only able to afford a one-bedroom ?at. But on the bright side, it’s on the ground ?oor, it’s got nice big windows, and a lovely view out onto the garden.

　　If you ever fancy⁷ a trip to London, you’re more than welcome to come and stay. It would be great to see you. From where we live, it’s only a quick ride on the underground into the city centre, so we could do some sight-seeing together.

　　Keep in touch!

　　All the best

　　Mike

　　答案是第一封正式，第二封非正式。理由如下：

　　Formal letter

　　正式信件

　　Beginning: Dear Sir or Madam

　　用Dear Sir or Madam开头

　　Stating the purpose: I am writing with regard to

　　用“I am writing with regard to”说明目的

　　Formal choice of language: due to, I intended, as a result of, caused me great inconvenience, compensate me, the additional flight

　　使用以下正式词汇：due to, I intended, as a result of, caused me great inconvenience, compensate me, the additional flight

　　No contractions⁸: I am (not "I'm")

　　不使用缩写：写成I am而不是I'm

　　Ending: I look forward to receiving your response. Yours faithfully,

　　结尾： I look forward to receiving your response. Yours faithfully,

　　Informal letter

　　非正式信件

　　Beginning: Dear John

　　用Dear John开头

　　Stating the purpose: I'm just writing to let you know that

　　用“ I'm just writing to let you know that”说明目的

　　Informal choice of language: As you know, Well, prices are crazy, on the bright side, it's got nice big windows, a lovely view, if you ever fancy, great to see you

　　使用以下非正式词汇：As you know, Well, prices are crazy, on the bright side, it's got nice big windows, a lovely view, if you ever fancy, great to see you

　　Use of contractions: I'm, we've, isn't, it's

　　使用缩写：I'm, we've, isn't, it's

　　Ending: Keep in touch! All the best

　　结尾：Keep in touch! All the best

1 attendant   

n.随从，跟班，出席者，服务员；adj.伴随的，出席的，注意的，在场的

参考例句：

• She was interrupted by the entrance of an attendant.服务员进来，打断了她的话。
• We met the officer attendant on the general.我们见到了随从将军的副官。

2 departure   

n.离开，起程；背离，违反

参考例句：

• Do you know what lies behind her sudden departure for London?你知道她突然去伦敦的原因吗？
• She took over his work after his departure.他离开以后，她接替了他的工作。

3 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

4 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

5 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

6 ideal   

adj.理想的，完美的；空想的，观念的；n.理想

参考例句：

• The weather at the seaside was ideal—bright and breezy.海边的天气最宜人，风和日丽的。
• They promised to be faithful to their ideal for ever. 他们保证永远忠于自己的理想。

7 fancy   

n.想像力，幻想；喜好，爱；adj.想像的，时髦的，华丽装饰的，奢侈的；技巧的；vt.想象，自认为，喜好

参考例句：

• He seemed to have taken quite a fancy to her.他似乎相当喜欢她。
• I have a fancy that it's going to rain.我想大概要下雨。

8 contractions   

n.收缩( contraction的名词复数 )；缩减；缩略词；（分娩时）子宫收缩

参考例句：

• Contractions are much more common in speech than in writing. 缩略词在口语里比在书写中常见得多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Muscle contractions are powered by the chemical adenosine triphosphate(ATP ). 肌肉收缩是由化学物质三磷酸腺苷(ATP)提供动力的。 来自辞典例句