Common Courtesies in the Office 办公室常见礼节

陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作，他的美国同事Amy好像显得不太高兴。

(Office ambience)

CH：Hi Amy, how are you?

A：I'm fine.

C：听上去你好像不太高兴？出什么事了吗？

A：As a matter of fact there is. I consider you a good friend as well as colleague. You know I have tried to help you as much as I can since you came to work at ABC.

C：是啊。这几个月来，你确实帮了我很多忙，我特别感激。

A：Unfortunately we have a problem right now. As we say in the United States, "I have a bone to pick with you".

C："A bone to pick with me?" 这是什么意思啊？

A：It means that I have a complaint about something that involves you.

C：我什么地方得罪你了吗？

A：Forgive me—I may be wrong, but I think you used my office while I was away last week.

C：没错，你出差的时候。我以为你不会介意呢。

A：I would not have minded if you had asked me first.

C：你走后我才想起来的。正好有个项目快到期了，我需要个安静的地方工作，所以就借用了你的宝地。

A：I understand, but you need to be aware that you shouldn't make yourself at home in someone else's office without first asking permission.

C：对不起，可你是怎么知道的呢？

A：We will have to continue this later. I have a meeting in five minutes.

当天下午陈豪和Amy又碰面了。

A：Chen Hao, you deserve to know what bothered me about your using my office without asking me first. You were not very considerate in some of the things you did.

C：你能说具体点儿吗？

A：It appears that you ate your lunch in my office.

C：你怎么知道的？

A：There were crumbs all over my desk.

C：那是我不对，应该打扫干净。

A：And how do you explain the missing paper clips? I was down to my last few, and when I came back, there weren't any left.

C：对不起，最后几个回形针用了。

A：And that means that you went through my desk to find them.

C：可大家不都这样吗？我以为可以这样做呢。

A：Well, it's not. Even with good friends. Just because people are not at their desk, doesn't mean that you can make your self at home when they are not there.

C：你说得没错。不过我确实不是有意得罪你。

A：I accept your apology. In the future remember to ask permission before you use a coworker's desk, office equipment or supplies. When you do receive permission, leave everything as you found it.

C：我以后知道了，谢谢你告诉我。