Question

It is impossible not to make a mistake at some points in your life. We may as well accept that something will go wrong and we will be to blame. It is therefore sensible to work out some strategies for apologizing, and the best way to apologize is by letter. This way you can take care over every work you write— which you can’t do if you say sorry to someone in person.

We all say or do something that we wish we hadn’t said or done. You may say something that accidentally hurts someone, or you may provide a service which doesn’t come up to the standards that a client or customer expected.

You may feel that it was a genuine mistake which couldn’t be avoided. Rather than dwell on the mistake, you should quickly try to remedy（修补）the problem. An effective letter of apology is an important part of that process.

For the contents of the letter, just remember TABS—Timing, Action, Brevity, Sincerity.

The timing of a letter of apology is essential—it must be sent as soon as possible. Any delay in our sending the letter will only compound the problem. In this case “Better late than never” is not the best motto! The longer you wait before you wait before writing a letter of apology, the more it will seem that you have been coerced（被迫）into writing it.

Although it is important to recognize what has gone before, it is also essential to detail the action you plan to take to rectify whatever it was you did wrong. Research has shown that some indication that you have thought about what future action you plan to take is always well received.

A letter of apology should be brief and the word “sorry” should appear no more than twice. Indicate that you are aware using it a second time—“once again, I am so sorry for…” or “as I said earlier, I am really sorry about…”. Finally, the tone of the letter has to be sincere. In fact, the combination of all the above factors will help in this respect.

And don’t think that letters are out of date in the email—oriented 21st century. An apology email can be worse than no apology at all!

What kind of advice does the text suggest about apologizing?

A. It’s a good idea to write a letter of apology as soon as something has gone wrong.     

B. It’s a good idea to send several emails to apologize.

C. Write a long letter apologizing several times to make your point. 

D. Wait to see how they react to your letter before planning to do anything.

What kind of things do you NOT apologize for?

A. A service that is not as good as it should be.

B. Genuine mistakes.

C. Car accidents.

D. Causing offence or hurt.

The underlined expression “Rather than dwell on the mistake” in the third paragraph means you _____.

A. should not waste time worrying about what happened.  

B. should consider the problem

C. should forget about what happened.

D. should analyse who was at fault.

How can timing compound problems?

A. If you write immediately, they will be suspicious. 

B. If you leave it for a few days, they will know it is your idea to write.

C. Waiting for a few days before you write will show your sincerity.       

D. Waiting too long will make it worse because they won’t believe you mean it.

Answer 1

【小题1】A

【小题2】C

【小题3】A

【小题4】D

解析:

人无完人，大家都会犯错误，勇敢地承认错误，如果你认为是你的错,那你为什么不去勇敢的承认错误啊! ...主动去道歉,越早越好,真诚的表白，道歉是越早越好。

【小题1】 细节理解题。根据第一段第三句可以得出答案。其它答案都是文中提到的细节问题。

【小题2】 C项文中未提到。A在第二段第二句…or you may provide a service which doesn’t come up to the standards….；B在第三段首句；D在第二段第二句You may say something that accidentally hurts someone,…。

【小题3】 句意理解题。根据后面you should quickly try to remedy（修补）the problem.可以判断出犯了错以后，对发生的事情着急是浪费时间，你应该立刻设法弥补。

【小题4】 判断理解题。根据第三段Any delay in our sending the letter will only compound the problem.得出答案。本句意思为：（拖延）时间会更会增加你的困难（使问题复杂化），会使对方觉得你不够诚意。compound  v. 混合, 配合。如：If you take this action, it will only compound your problems.如果你这么做，只能徒然增加你的困难。