美国人都这么说--会议惯用语

　　在会议中说英文是否常感觉卡卡的呢？本期英文教室为您带来课本里学不到、学校不会教的母语人士惯用语，适时的加入会议讨论中，一定能让你的英文听起来超有感！

　　Do you often feel stuck when speaking English in meetings? This issue of English classroom for you to learn from the textbook, the school will not teach the idioms of native speakers, timely participation in the meeting discussion, will make your English sound super sense!

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会议惯用语补给站　Supply station

1. the whole nine yards（全部／全力以赴）

If you want to manage this project, I’ll be with you the whole nine yards.（若你负责管理这个专案，我将全程陪你一起完成。）

The market is very competitive. To win the bid, we need to go the whole nine yards.（这个市场很竞争。我们要全力以赴才能赢得标案。）

2. lay all the cards on the table（打开天窗说亮话）

Let’s lay all our cards on the table. We accept this price, as long as you are willing to offer a 5-year warranty. It’s beneficial for both parties.（打开天窗说亮话吧，我们愿意接受此报价，但请提供5年保固。这是我们双方最大的利益。）

3. from scratch（从无到有）

We started our business in 1937. Almost everything in this company was built from scratch.（我们集团成立于1937年，公司的一切都是从无到有。）

4. in the interests of time（基于时间上的考量／为了节省时间）

In the interests of time, I’d like to briefly highlight a few things in order to move on to the next item.（为了节省时间，我想简短强调几个重点，以利进行下一个讨论。）

5. cut to the chase （切入主题）

I know you’re busy and can’t talk right now, therefore I’ll cut to the chase. （我知道你现在很忙无法多谈，我会马上切入主题。）

6. work hand in hand （携手合作）

We will work hand in hand on this important project. （我们将携手合作完成专案。）

情境范例　Sample Dialogue

公司内部会议正在进行中…...

Sabrina: Let’s cut to the chase. Further to the conversation from our last meeting; if you’d like to manage this project from your end, we will be glad to assist you whenever needed.（我们马上进入主题。延续上次会议的结论，若你们单位开始着手管理此专案，我们很愿意随时提供协助。）

Mark: We appreciate it! Just a quick side note here regarding the meeting we had with the clients last Friday. They weren’t convinced at first, but they have laid all their cards on the table and are willing to lower the price after we offered a 5-year warranty for free. There’s big chance that we’ll get a contract.（谢谢你！快速跟大家说明一下，我们上周五拜访客户时，他们本来并没有被说服，但当我们愿意提供5年免费保固，他们也诚意回应，愿意调降价格。我们有很大的机会赢得合约。）

Sabrina: Great news! Following up from here; we’ll start the 2^nd stage of the proposal from scratch and get it done by the end of this week.（真是个好消息！接下来，我们会从头开始整理第二阶段的提案，预计在本周五前完成。）

Mark: We should celebrate our achievement.（我们应该一起去庆功。）

Sabrina: We’re not there yet, but getting there. We’ll work hand in hand and go the whole nine yards. In the interests of time, do you mind getting the contract ready while we’re working on the proposal?（我们还没达成目标，但相距不远了。大家一起携手并进，全力以赴。基于时间考量，当我们在处理第二阶 段提案的同时，你们单位是否能将合约准备好？）

Mark: You’re absolutely right. We’re on it.（完全同意，我们马上着手进行。）

註：以上英文教学由EIE美语提供，英文课程谘询请洽：EIE Institute Belle Yin（Tel: (02) 8773-6828 Ext. 368；Email: belle@eie.com.tw）#