Unit 3 Could you please tell me where the restrooms are?

Section B 1c Listen to the conversations and complete the sentences.

Conversation 1

Boy: Could you tell me where there’s a good place to eat?

Clerk: Of c ourse. There are a lot of good restaurants in Sunville. What kind of food are you looking for?

Boy: I’d like fresh vegetables.

Clerk: I’d try Green Land. They have delicious salads.

Conversation 2

Girl: Do you know if there are any public restrooms around here?

Clerk: Yes. You’ll find some at the corner of Market and Middle Streets.

Girl: Umm…are they clean?

Clerk: Oh, yes. They’re very clean.

Conversation 3

Mother: Could you tell me if there is a good museum in Sunville?

Clerk: Well, we have several. What kind of museums do you like—History? Science? A children’s museum?

Father: What about history? I like history museums. They’re fascinating.

Girl 1：Oh, Dad! History museums are boring. Let’s go to a science museum.

Boy: Science? We always go to science museums. I want to go to a children’s museum. They’re more fun.

Girl 2: Well, I’m too old for a children’s museum. Why don’t we go to an art museum?

Clerk: Why don’t you go to the computer museum? There are a lot of fun things for children there. You can learn all about the history of computers, as well as learn about science.

Mother: That’s a great idea! Let’s go to the computer museum.

听对话，并完成句子。

对话1

男孩：你能告诉我哪里有吃饭的好地方吗？

职员：当然。在太阳城有许多好饭馆。你在寻找哪种食物？

男孩：我想吃新鲜的蔬菜。

职员：我会尝试去绿土地。他们有美味的沙拉。

对话2

女孩：你知道这附近是否有公共厕所吗？

职员：是的。在市场大街和中心大街的拐角处，你会找到一些。

女孩：嗯……它们干净吗？

职员：噢，是的。它们很干净。

对话3

母亲：你能告诉我在太阳城是否有好的博物馆吗？

职员：哦，我们有几家。你们喜欢哪种博物馆——历史(博物馆)？科学(博物馆)？儿童博物馆？

父亲：历史博物馆怎么样？我喜欢历史博物馆。它们很迷人。

女孩1：噢，爸爸！历史博物馆没意思。咱们去科学博物馆吧。

男孩：科学(博物馆)？我们总是去科学博物馆。我想去儿童博物馆。它们更有趣。

女孩2：哦，我年龄太大了，不适合去儿童博物馆。我们为什么不去艺术博物馆呢？

职员：你们为什么不去计算机博物馆呢？那里有许多适合孩子们的有趣的东西。你们可以学习所有关于计算机的历史，还能了解科学知识。

母亲：那是个好主意！咱们去计算机博物馆吧。

1d Listen again. Check your answers in 1c.

Conversation 1

Boy: Could you tell me where there’s a good place to eat?

Clerk: Of course. There are a lot of good restaurants in Sunville. What kind of food are you looking for?

Boy: I’d like fresh vegetables.

Clerk: I’d try Green Land. They have delicious salads.

Conversation 2

Girl: Do you know if there are any public restrooms around here?

Clerk: Yes. You’ll find some at the corner of Market and Middle Streets.

Girl: Umm…are they clean?

Clerk: Oh, yes. They’re very clean.

Conversation 3

Mother: Could you tell me if there is a good museum in Sunville?

Clerk: Well, we have several. What kind of museums do you like—History? Science? A children’s museum?

Father: What about history? I like history museums. They’re fascinating.

Girl 1：Oh, Dad! History museums are boring. Let’s go to a science museum.

Boy: Science? We always go to science museums. I want to go to a children’s museum. They’re more fun.

Girl 2: Well, I’m too old for a children’s museum. Why don’t we go to an art museum?

Clerk: Why don’t you go to the computer museum? There are a lot of fun things for children there. You can learn all about the history of computers, as well as learn about science.

Mother: That’s a great idea! Let’s go to the computer museum.

2b Read the article and underline the topic sentence for each paragraph.

阅读短文，在每段的主题句下划上横线。

Could You Please…?请问您能……？

When you visit a foreign country, it is important to know how to ask for help politely. For example, you may ask “Where are the restrooms?” or “Could you please tell me where the restrooms are?” These are similar requests for directions. Both are correct, but the first one sounds less polite. That is because it is a very direct question. It is not enough to just ask a question correctly. We also need to learn how to be polite when we ask for help.

当你在外国旅游时，知道如何礼貌地寻求帮助很重要。例如，你可以问“洗手间在哪里？”或者“请问您能告诉我洗手间在哪里吗？”这些是询问方位的类似问法。两种说法都正确，但是第一种听起来没那么礼貌。这是因为这种问法太直接。只是正确地提问还不够。我们在寻求帮助时，还需要学会讲礼貌。

Good speakers change the way they speak in different situations. The expressions they use might depend on whom they are speaking to or how well they know each other. It is all right to ask direct questions to your classmates because you know them well. However, if you say to your teacher, “When is the school trip?”, this might sound impolite. But if you say, “Excuse me, Mr. West. Do you know when the school trip is?”, this will sound much more polite.

口齿伶俐者在不同场合往往改变说话方式。他们使用的表达可能取决于其说话对象或者彼此的了解程度。向你的同学可以直接提问，因为你们互相了解。但是，如果你对自己的老师说“学校郊游在什么时候？”，这听起来可能就不太礼貌了。但是如果你说“韦斯特先生，打扰一下，您知道学校郊游在什么时候吗？”，这样听起来就礼貌得多。

Usually polite questions are longer. They include expressions such as “Could you please…?” or “May I ask…?” It sounds more polite to say, “Peter, could you please tell me your e-mail address?” than “Peter, tell me your e-mail address.” Sometimes we even need to spend time leading in to a request. For example, we might first say to a stranger, “Excuse me, I wonder if you can help me” or “I’m sorry to trouble you, but …” before asking for help.

礼貌的问题通常比较长，往往含有诸如“请问您能……？”或“我可以问一下……？”之类的表达。“彼得，请问你能把你的电子邮件地址告诉我吗？”比“彼得，把你的电子邮件地址告诉我。”听起来更礼貌。有时候我们甚至需要花时间来引出请求。例如，向陌生人寻求帮助前，我们可能首先会说：“劳驾，我想知道您能否帮帮我”或者“很抱歉打扰你，但是……”。

It might seem more difficult to speak politely than directly. However, it is important to learn how to use the right language in different situations. This will help you communicate better with other people.

看起来说得客气委婉要比说得直白更难一点。但是，学会如何在不同场合使用得体的语言很重要。这将有有助于你改善与他人的交流。