外贸口语一点通第140期:海关检查之说明解释

 　　Explanation 说明解释

　　A: Jack¹, can I have a word?

　　杰克，我能和你说句话吗？

　　B: Well, yes, as long as it is a word. I've got a meeting in three minutes.

　　嗯，可以，只要是一句话就行，三分钟以后我要开会。

　　A: We are all busy people, Jack.

　　杰克，我们都是大忙人啊。

　　B: Yes, well, what can I do for you?

　　是啊，那找我有什么事啊？

　　A: It's about those GW35s for CNOC.

　　是有关于卖给CNCC公司那批GW35s的问题。

　　B: Mark was asking about them yesterday. No problem. It's all sorted out.

　　昨天马克也问起这件事情。没问题，一切都已经解决了。

　　A: It may be sorted out now, Mike, but it put us in a very embarrassing situation. We told Roman he'd have complete order by the end of the month.

　　也许眼下问题解决了，杰克。可是这件事情使我们处于非常被动的局面。我们原来通知罗曼，全部订货于本月底之前交付。

　　B: We had delivery problems ourselves. I've already explained all that.

　　我们自己也遇到了交货问题。我原来都解释清楚了。

　　A: Frankly², I'm not interested in explanations. I'm more interested in being able to deliver goods on time.

　　坦率地说，我对解释不感兴趣。我所感兴趣的是能不能按时交货。

　　B: Oh, come on, Jane—be resonable. How can my people produce the units if we're missing a vital component³?

　　啊，好了，杰尼，你要通情达理。如果我们缺少一种关键的元件，我们的工人怎么能生产出设备呢？

　　A: It shouldn't have been missing. It's not good enough, Jack. My team is out there in a very competitive market, fighting for orders. When we get customers, they're entitled to good service. They want deliveries too. If we weren't selling the units, would you be interested in my excuses?

　　这种元件本来就不该缺的。杰克，你的理由不充分。我的人马在竞争非常激烈的市场上正在为争取订单而拼命。我们一旦找到客户，就应该给他们提供优质的服务。他们需要的是按时交货，而不是借口。对于我们来说也是如此。如果我们卖不掉这些设备，你对我的借口感兴趣吗？

　　B: OK, point taken.

　　好，我明白你的意思了。

　　“put somebody in a very embarrassing situation”意思是“使某人处于尴尬不利境地”； “be entitled to something”意思是“理应当有什么东西，有权利享有什么东西”； “it shouldn't have been missing”意思是“这种东西本来是不该缺的”（暗指这种东西已经没有了。）

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

3 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。