LESSON 45: HOW TO ACCEPT AN INVITATION?--怎样接受邀请？

CONTENTS

I. USEFUL EXPRESSIONS 常用语

II. SAMPLE 范文

III. TIPS 掌握写作要领

IV. EXERCISE: WORDS, PHRASES AND SENTENCE PATTERNS 精通常用词组和句型

V. UPGRADING YOUR ENGLISH 英语升级

VI. GOODIES & GIFTS 实用小礼物

I. USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
常用语

1. How to start your letter?

Thanks for the invitation, and I am delighted to take part in the discussion on Web security.

I gladly accept your invitation to speak at the upcoming Health Care Seminar.

I appreciate your invitation to the product presentation on December 15.

Our firm is very interested in equipment for wireless communications, and I would like to see what you have to offer.

2. How to end your letter?

Thank you again for the invitation. See you on the 15th!

Thanks again for the invitation, and I look forward to meeting you at the auto exhibition.



II. SAMPLE
范文

Sample 1.

Dear ___________:

Thank you for your invitation to the presentation of your new digital audio-visual systems. Our firm is very interested in your new models, and I would like to see how the new features work.

I look forward to meeting you at the ________ Exhibition Center on ___________[date]. Thanks again for inviting us.

Sincerely yours,



____________[name]
____________[title]



Sample 2.

Dear ____________:

Thank you for your invitation. I am delighted to participate in your seminar on June 10.

Could you please make arrangements for a projector and a video machine? I will also prepare some handouts and will send them to your attention by May 31.

I look forward to seeing you at the seminar.

Sincerely yours,



____________[name]
____________[title]



III. TIPS
掌握写作要领

1. Thank the recipient for inviting you.
2. Say that you are delighted to accept the invitation.
3. Confirm the date and other details about the meeting or visit.
4. Ask for more information if you need.
5. Express your appreciation again at the end of the letter.



IV. EXERCISE: WORDS, PHRASES AND SENTENCE PATTERNS
精通常用词组和句型

Fill in the blanks with words chosen from the list below. Add capitalization when necessary:

distinguished, highlight, delighted, then, for, from, seeing, on, understand, opportunity

Dear ___________:

Thank you for your invitation to speak at the Seminar of Quality Control in Software Industry. I am (1) to have an (2) to speak to such a (3) audience.

I (4) my speech will be at 2:30 p.m. on October 2. I will speak (5) the topic "The Internet and the Open Source Movement." I will speak (6) 45 minutes and (7) answer questions (8) the audience. There will also be handouts and slides to (9) the major points.

I look forward to (10) you at the seminar! Thanks again for invitation.

Yours sincerely,



___________[name]
___________[title]



V. UPGRADING YOUR ENGLISH
英语升级


Here are some simple exercises that help you practice with authentic "online" English.
1. Click on a word or phrase that fits the sentence:

  1. The company is considering selling its Internet-access business to CSP Corp. ______ $1 billion in CSP stock.
    (A) for exchange with
    (B) in exchange with
    (C) for exchange to
    (D) in exchange for

  2. Unidentified hackers corrupted a widely used program at a major software distribution center ______ gaining entry to computer systems around the world.
    (A) hoping to
    (B) hoping of
    (C) in hopes of
    (D) with hopes at

  3. More than $211 million -- the largest amount of funding issued _____ -- will go to schools and libraries to help pay for connections to the Internet.
    (A) to now
    (B) to present
    (C) to day
    (D) to date

  4. High-tech leaders reported better than expected profits yesterday -- a clear sign of the industry's ______ well-being.
    (A) sustained
    (B) reserved
    (C) lengthened
    (D) preserved

  5. When I'm travelling abroad on business, I often look for a hotel with excellent facilities. But I don't want to look like a _____ snob.
    (A) pretended
    (B) pretentious
    (C) potential
    (D) portentous

  6. Consumer privacy advocates will announce a _____ of all products from the company until it agrees to disable new technology in its computer chips that helps identify consumers across the Internet.
    (A) ban
    (B) prohibition
    (C) boycott
    (D) crackdown

  7. The country has lifted its state monopoly on Internet services, but there are still many _____ preventing an immediate explosion of cyber activity.
    (A) barricades
    (B) blocks
    (C) obstacles
    (D) options

  8. The company will ______ 10,000 jobs over the next two years, due to rapid technological developments and to new ways of working.
    (A) dismiss
    (B) demobilize
    (C) liquidate
    (D) eliminate




2. Click on a choice that best explains the highlighted word or phrase in the sentence:

  1. The company announced a joint venture with a European partner. It may go public later this year.
    The phrase "go public" means:
    (A) be announced to the public
    (B) become a public company
    (C) be approved by the government
    (D) be widely known

  2. An American music publishers' group has filed a criminal complaint against the proprietor of a Swiss Web site that boasts the world's biggest collection of pop-music lyrics.
    The word "boasts" means:
    (A) expands
    (B) talks proudly about
    (C) has
    (D) lies about

  3. The community-based Web development firm hit the jackpot after signing a deal with SYS Inc. to collaborate on a web site for fans of SYS properties.
    The phrase "hit the jackpot" means:
    (A) faced a big obstacle
    (B) had a big success
    (C) won big fame
    (D) was greatly disappointed

  4. The computer scientist is building a millennium clock -- a monumental device that ticks annually, chimes every thousand years and keeps accurate time for 10,000 years.
    The phrase "a monumental device" means:
    (A) a device that is unusually big
    (B) a clock of excellent quality
    (C) a clock that is very advanced in technology
    (D) a device that is exceptional as a clock

  5. The world's biggest chip-maker declared a 2-for-1 stock split in a move expected to ignite a fresh rally among technology stocks.
    The phrase "ignite a fresh rally" means:
    (A) start a renewal of strength
    (B) produce an explosive response
    (C) caused a great amount of hustle
    (D) start another chaotic period

  6. Temporary workers claimed victory as the company backed off a controversial contract that gave temporary workers a tough choice: waive rights to benefits or lose their jobs.
    The phrase "backed off" means:
    (A) gave strong support to
    (B) gave up its original position in
    (C) desperately attempt to defend
    (D) stubbornly refused to abandon

  7. Workers at all eight assembly lines walked off the job Tuesday in protest against the pending acquisition of the company by Hyundai Electronics Industries.
    The phrase "pending acquisition" means:
    (A) acquisition that had already begun
    (B) acquisition that had been postponed
    (C) acquisition that people were talking about
    (D) acquisition that was about to take place

  8. To create a successful Web site, we need strong content, regular turnover of information, snappy design that loads quickly.
    The phrase "snappy design" means:
    (A) powerful
    (B) quick in action
    (C) easy to use
    (D) very convenient

  9. The government predicts that rapid growth in computer-related businesses should keep the U.S. economic expansion alive despite spillover from far-flung slumps in Asia.
    The phrase "far-flung" means:
    (A) whose influence will last for a long time
    (B) having continued for a long time
    (C) spreading out over a very large area
    (D) started in a place far away

  10. A global hacking assault on the company's InfoService Web Site has forced the company to pull the plug on the Web server which supported it.
    The phrase "pull the plug on ..." means:
    (A) to stop the project
    (B) to approve the project
    (C) to continue the project
    (D) to start the project



VI. SOMETHING FOR NOTHING
GOODIES & GIFTS （实惠小礼物）

A Ready-Made Letter for You

The following Letter of Introduction will be useful to you when you need to send one of your managers to visit a company or organization:

Dear ___________:

The bearer of this letter is Mr./Ms. ___________, our Sales Manager, who is visiting ______[city] on our behalf to investigate possibilities of exporting our products to _________[country].

I am grateful for your letter of _________[date] in which you offered to help our sales manager. I will appreciate any assistance you can give during his visit to your city.

Yours sincerely,



____________[name]
____________[title]