【英语多益通】6种开头法，礼貌回复客户追踪信
▲ 职场待人处事有许多应注意事项。（图／取自免费图库Startup Stock Photos）
文／Buffy Kao
在国际职场上，我们很可能会收到客户寄来的追踪信，该如何回复追踪信，并透过信件确实掌握重要事项的安排呢？以下就透过回复追踪信的范例，举出六大英文句型开头，帮你掌握回复追踪信的英文用语，有礼貌地提出建议给客户，协助客户解决问题。
回复追踪信范例：
From: s.arthur@sunshinehotels.co.tw To: jasson.gavin@sanso.com Date: January 14 Subject: ①Re: Sanso event on May 4
Dear Jasson,
Thanks for your email and your requests. I have put my answer after your questions:
1. Would you mind arranging a visit for my manager, Dana Smith, to see your conference facilities at the hotel? →Not at all. ②If you like, we could give Ms. Smith a tour of the facilities and offer her lunch.
2. Secondly, could you arrange a gift for each guest at the event? →Yes, no problem. ③What about including a personal card from you or Ms. Smith with the gift?
3. Are you able to do this for less than $100 per guest? →Of course. ④Why don't you look at the attached list of possible gifts and tell me what you think is best?
4. If that is ok, then could you send a new offer with the total price? →Yes. I haven’t finished the new offer yet, but I will do it tomorrow. ⑤Would you like me to send it to Ms. Smith as well?
5. I can’t open the pictures of the conference rooms you sent. →⑥Have you tried opening the pictures in Microsoft PowerPoint? Or should I send you the photos in the post?
I hope these suggestions help. Let me know if you need anything else.
Best wishes, Sarah
回复追踪信六大开头
一、Re
为了更清楚回应客户需求，通常会直接在客户寄来的信件回复，而Re则有reply（回复）之意。另外，回信时直接在对方的问题下回答对方的问题，可以让对方更容易阅信，还可以省去对方理解信件和整理思绪的时间。
二、If you like, we could...
想要提出建议却不失礼貌，建议可以用if you like, we could...的说法，意思为「如果你愿意的话，我们可以……」。前面的条件句给了对方选择的空间，让人感觉受到尊重，而不是被迫接受。另外提醒读者，在不完全清楚语意下直接中翻英，很可能会冒犯到外国客户，觉得不受到尊重，因此要特别注意。
三、What about… 和how about...
两者都是常见于提出建议的用语，属于较为简短，语气也没那么正式的用语。如果想用What about……和how about...，记得要在介系词about后面直接加动名词Ving，不需要像if you like, we could...要加上完整的语句（有主词和动词）。范例中的What about…用法，是个问句的表达方式，有点像「我们何不……」或「不如……吧」之意。
四、Why don’t you...
同样是个问句，有「你（们）何不……」的意思，和What about…不同的是，在Why don’t you...的用法上，做动作的人只能是对方。透过两者之间的切换，我们可以针对动作者的差异性，采用不同的说法，让信件的语句更多变化，展现出更多的语言掌握度，吸引对方的注意。
五、Would you like me to...
通常在提出建议的文章中，Would you like me to...可以做为提出解决方案时的语句，意思为「你是否需要我……」。同时，该语句也有委婉表达「我可以……服务你，不知道你是否接受」的意思。
六、Have you tried... 和Or should I...
在范例信中，寄信者用完成式Have you tried...「你是否试过……方法？」来协助对方解决问题，而后面则用or should I ...「或者我可以……」来提出另一个解决方案，由对方决定符合他需求的方法，而不是只给对方一个选择并要他接受。但是请注意，在Have you tried...的用法上，try后面接上Ving会更好，可以表达出是否已经尝试过这个方法了，而should因为是助动词，后面只能接原型动词。
看完文章后，来试试看回答几个关于信件内容的问题吧！
1. When Ms. Smith visits the Sunshine Hotel in Taipei, what will Sarah offer her?2. What does Sarah suggest including with the guests’ gifts?3. Why does Jasson ask for a new offer?4. What does Sarah offer to send Jasson in the post?
解答：
1. She will offer her a free tour of the facilities and free lunch.2. She suggests including a personal card from either Jasson or Ms. Smith. 3. Because he wants one with the total price including the gifts for the guests of the event. 4. She offers to send him the photos of the conference rooms.
【多益模拟试题】
Mrs. Tanya Harding,7 Upper Pembroke Street,New Malden,London SW 28.
Dear Mrs. Harding,
I wish to confirm ___(1)___ received your test results from our laboratory and I am pleased to advise you that the growth is not malignant, but quite benign. I hope this news ___(2)___ as a great relief to you and your family, and that you may now put your mind at rest.
I must recommend, however, that you monitor the cyst carefully and notify me immediately should there be any change in color or size. In fact, I strongly ___(3)___ you to visit my office annually for a precautionary check-up.
You are, for all intents and purposes, being given a clean bill of health today. But please be vigilant, and try not to leave it so long to visit your local GP in future, should you ever again notice anything untoward.
Today, I am a very happy and relieved consultant. It is not often we get to tell our patients such good news.
Sincerely,Dr. Michael A. Walsh
1. (A) to have(B) having(C) to having(D) to being
2. (A) would come(B) is(C) will be(D) will come
3. (A) suggest(B) alert(C) appeal(D) advise
解析：
1. 正解为(B)。这题考的是动词confirm的用法，分别有接名词的用法（Please confirm your reservation by mail），或是接子句的用法（We would like to confirm that you have been informed of all the possible risks）。但这题则是接Ving动名词的用法，confirm后面接上Ving动名词，表示「我们（已经）收到你的检验报告」的意思，因此答案应该选(B) having。和Have you tried Ving……的意思有异曲同工之意。
2. 正解为(D)。这题考的是hope的用法，和wish不同，不属于假设语法。写信者真心希望这个消息能为对方带来安慰，因此答案选(D) will come，并且以未来式表达。另外，come as的片语用法，有表达「对某人代表……意义」的概念。此题不能选(C) will be，因为会影响到后面的as介系词用法，
3. 正解为(D)。这题考的是suggest和advise的用法，基本上suggest表达建议的用法为接Ving动名词（I suggest drinking water every morning before breakfast）。另外，suggest也可以接子句，但要注意后面的用法为命令式的语气，因为会有一个should的助动词（I suggest (that) you (should) drink water every morning before breakfast），句子中的that和should皆可省略。而advise的用法稍有不同，除了可以接名词外，常见的还有后面接受词（通常为人）to V原型动词的用法，如题目中的I strongly advise you to visit my office annually （我建议你每年定期回诊），因此答案应该选(D) advise。