商務禮節美語第171期:總裁的母親去世了(下)

公司開會前，經理Jeff說，總裁John Henderson的母親去世了。大家問George, 遇到這種情況，中國人一般會怎樣處理。

J: What do they say in China?

G: A sentence with four Chinese characters that roughly means: "May your pain be lessened and may you get through this bad time quickly."

P: As far as what we can do, should we send flowers?

J: Actually, I spoke with Mr. Henderson earlier and he asked that no flowers be sent. Instead of spending money on flowers, the Henderson family is suggesting people make a contribution to their favorite charity in Mrs. Henderson's name.

P: That's so generous of them.

George說，在中國一種很常見的說法是“節哀順便”。Penny問，需不需要送花。Jeff回答說，總裁Henderson說，不要送花，如果願意表示心意，可以用Henderson老夫人的名義，給他們的慈善機構捐款。"make a contribution to their favorite charity in Mrs. Henderson's name."

G: In China, people give the family white envelopes with cash in them. But I'm assuming they don't do that here.

J: No, that probably wouldn't be appropriate. The tradition used to be that you sent flowers when a person passed away.

Recently though, many people have begun to believe that spending money on flowers is a waste. Some families now prefer that friends plant a tree or make a donation to a charity group instead.

G: That's quite a meaningful gesture.

George說，在中國，人們會給死者家屬包個白包。Jeff說，西方不興這個。西方以前的習俗是送花，但是後來，有人覺得花錢買花太浪費，所以很多家庭更願意別人以死者的名義種一棵樹或是向慈善機構捐錢。

J: But I can see why the Chinese might give money. The family could use the funds to help take care of a lot of things.

G: Yeah, I think that's the general idea.

F: We should still send a card, right?

J: Yes, I think that would be good. We can just get one card and everyone can sign it.

他們決定買張卡片，讓大家在上面簽字。

P: Sounds good. What about the funeral service? Should we attend?

J: From what I understand, the service will be held this coming Sunday and will be for family members only. Also, as you can imagine, Mr. Henderson will be taking some time off from the office. He won't come in for around two weeks.

P: Next time you speak with Mr. Henderson, please tell him his family is in our thoughts.

F & G: Yes.

J: I certainly will. Thanks, guys.

Penny 問要不要去參加葬禮，the funeral service. Jeff回答說，葬禮沒有邀請外人。It will be for family members only. 大家要Jeff下次有機會，向Henderson表示問候。Tell him his family is in our thoughts.