邀請賓客參加公司活動
Cindy:Natalie, let’s go over the protocol one more time. I’ve got to get the invitation text to the printers by 4 today.
Natalie:We’d better get cracking then. Show me what you have so far.
Cindy:OK. T.J. wants this to be pretty formal, so it’s optional black tie. We’ll shut down early on the day of the dinner, so we can set up. With the foreign and local VIPs, T.J.’s investors, Taipei and Kaohsiung staff, I think we’ll be sending out about 150 invitations.
Natalie:Will they all RSVP, do you think?
Cindy:Maybe. Maybe not. I’m assuming a ballpark 130 people show up to eat. We’re catering the meal, so our chefs can have a breather, for once.
Natalie:That’s good—I mean, the party is for them. And when do we serve the Strawberry Bandit cocktails?
Cindy:That’s the champagne-tequila cocktails, right? Cocktails are at 6. Cocktail time will be noted on the invitation.
Natalie:It’s been so crazy around here, I could use a Strawberry Bandit myself— right now. OK, these invitations. Do you have a draft for me to look at?
Cindy:Yeah, take a look at what I’ve got.
Natalie:[reading out loud] “We honorably invite you to our banquet...[smiling and pausing] Cindy, uh...
Cindy:What’s wrong? Is it Chinese- English?
Natalie:We aren’t the honorable ones—the guests are. So it would be, “We are honored to invite you... But no one actually says that in invitations, usually.
Cindy:Can you help me write this? I can fill in the Chinese when you’re done.
Natalie:No problem. For a formal event, the standard wording is some variation of “We cordially invite you to... There are lots of different ways to extend an invitation.
Cindy:Great. Now that we have the invitations under control, I’ll just type up the protocol in both languages, and email it over to New York, so they’ll know what to expect, when the awards will be given out, stuff like that. That way, they’ll get both the invitation and a write-up of what to expect.
Natalie:Perfect!
邀請賓客參加公司活動
〔一年即將結束。T. J.看了響尾蛇餐廳這一年的表現，他非常高興：業績表現非常好。T. J.決定舉辦一場慶功宴，慶祝台北餐廳的好成績，同時謝謝所有參與的人員。辛蒂以及海外中國顧問納塔莉被指派負責宴會的細部規劃。〕
辛蒂：納塔莉，我們再檢查一次宴會的細部規劃。我必須在今天4點以前把邀請函列印出來。
納塔莉：我們最好趕快把該做的事情做完。讓我看看你寫了什麼。
辛蒂：好的，T. J.希望是比較正式的餐會，所以必須穿著一般正式服裝。慶功宴當天餐廳會提早關門，方便布置場地。包括國外以及地方上的重要來賓、T. J.的股東、台北以及高雄的工作人員，我想大概要發出150份邀請函。
納塔莉：你覺得他們都會回覆嗎？
辛蒂：可能會，可能不會。我想大約會有130人出席餐會。餐點的部份我們請外燴，好讓廚師們休息一下。
納塔莉：這樣很好，我的意思是，這場慶功宴本來就是為他們而辦的。草莓盜匪雞尾酒會什麼時候開始？
辛蒂：這是香檳龍舌蘭雞尾酒，對吧？雞尾酒會時間從6點開始。我會在邀請函上註明雞尾酒會時間。
納塔莉：工作一團混亂，我應該現在就來一杯草莓盜匪雞尾酒。好吧，開始處理邀請函的事。你有草稿可以給我看嗎？
辛蒂：有啊，你看一下我寫的內容。
納塔莉：（大聲朗讀）「我們尊貴地邀請您參加我們的宴會......」（笑了一下，停頓）辛蒂，嗯......
辛蒂：有問題嗎？感覺像中式英文嗎？
納塔莉：真正尊貴的人不是我們，是客人。所以應該寫成：「我們很光榮地邀請您......」。但是寫邀請函時，通常沒有人這樣寫。