High 1 · Reading series
Lesson 41 · The Phrase That Sounded Too Direct
Audio track 41
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
I was writing to a student at our partner school overseas. We were making a joint photo project, and I needed her to send two pictures by Friday. My first message said, “Send the photos by Friday.” It was clear, but when I read it aloud, it sounded more like an order than a request.
My teacher asked what relationship I wanted to build. I did not want to hide the deadline; the pictures were needed for our display. I rewrote the sentence: “Could you send the two photos by Friday? We need time to print them for the display.”
The student replied that Friday would be difficult but Saturday morning was possible. We changed our printing plan. A more careful message had not guaranteed an easy answer. It had made room for a real one.
I learned that clarity and politeness were not opposite goals. A useful request can explain the reason, state the time, and still leave space for the other person's situation.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
-
I was writing to a student at our partner school overseas.
-
We were making a joint photo project, and I needed her to send two pictures by Friday.
-
My first message said, “Send the photos by Friday.”
-
It was clear, but when I read it aloud, it sounded more like an order than a request.
-
My teacher asked what relationship I wanted to build.
-
I did not want to hide the deadline; the pictures were needed for our display.
-
I rewrote the sentence: “Could you send the two photos by Friday?
-
We need time to print them for the display.”
-
The student replied that Friday would be difficult but Saturday morning was possible.
-
We changed our printing plan.
-
A more careful message had not guaranteed an easy answer.
-
It had made room for a real one.
-
I learned that clarity and politeness were not opposite goals.
-
A useful request can explain the reason, state the time, and still leave space for the other person's situation.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
我正给海外合作学校的一位学生写信。我们在共同制作摄影项目，我需要她星期五前发来两张照片。最初我写的是‘星期五前把照片发来。’意思虽清楚，念出声来却更像命令，不像请求。
老师问我希望建立怎样的合作关系。我不想隐去截止日期，因为展览要用这些照片。我于是改写成：‘能请你在星期五前发来那两张照片吗？我们还需要时间把它们印出来参展。’
对方回复说，星期五有困难，但星期六上午可以。我们调整了印刷计划。更用心的措辞并没有保证收到一个方便的答复，却让对方有空间说出真实情况。
我明白了，清楚与礼貌并不相互排斥。有用的请求可以解释理由、说明时间，同时顾及对方的处境。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- partner school
- 合作学校；海外项目的另一方。
- joint
- 共同的；双方一起做摄影项目。
- deadline
- 截止日期；需要照片用于展览。
- order
- 命令；第一条消息听起来如此。
- request
- 请求；改写后仍说明时间。
- relationship
- 关系；老师请他思考合作方式。
- rewrite
- 改写；把生硬句子重新表达。
- guarantee
- 保证；礼貌不保证答复方便。
- make room for
- 留出空间；让对方说明实际困难。
- situation
- 处境；请求要考虑收件人情况。
Background notes (Chinese)
跨校合作中，截止时间需要说清，也应给对方表达困难的空间。主人公补充了印刷原因，用提问语气提出请求，最终得以根据真实答复调整计划。