do if someone says something to you and you can't hear them properly, or it's not very

當別人對你說了一些話，但你沒聽清楚或是沒聽懂的時候，

clear what they say, and you need to ask them to repeat what it was they said. And this

你需要請他們重複先前說的話。

could happen anywhere, anywhere in the world, but especially if you're in maybe a big city

這種情況在世界上任何地方都可能發生，但特別常見於

where there are people of many different nationalities; cities like London, Toronto, New York, anywhere

有多種不同國籍的人聚集的大城市裡，像是倫敦、多倫多、紐約等等

really in the world. So people with different accents, either because they're from other

世界上任何城市都可能有這種情況。 有著不同口音的人可能來自

countries and English is not their first language, or even within one country, like within the

其他非英語母語的國家，也可能是國內同胞，像英國人，

UK, we have many different accents from different parts of the country, from different cities,

我們的口音因地而異，不同地區或是城市都會影響口音，

from Scotland, Wales, Ireland. There are all different accents. And if someone has a strong

像蘇格蘭、威爾斯、愛爾蘭等等。各地都有不同的口音。如果說話的人帶有很重的

accent, it's more difficult to understand them. So this lesson is about asking people

口音，我們就更難聽懂他們說的話。所以我們在這一課討論的是如何請他人

to say again what they said. I have to do it even if someone says something in English,

重複先前說的話。即使有人用英語說話，我可能也需要請他重複。

which is my first language, I sometimes have to ask people to say something again. So it

而英語是我的母語，我有時仍需麻煩別人再說一次。所以

happens to everybody.

每個人都會遇到這種狀況。

Okay, so let's have a look at some of the words you can use to deal with this situation.

好的，我們來看看面對這種狀況的時候可以用到的單字。

All right? So, a very useful single word is just to say: "Sorry?" with a sort of rising

好嗎？我們有一個非常實用的單字可以用：「Sorry(抱歉)？」記得說的時候聲音有點上揚。

in the voice. Question: "Sorry? Sorry?" And also, I've put body language at the bottom

問題：「抱歉？抱歉？」雖然我把肢體語言這一項列在最下方，

here, but it's quite important. You can sort of go like this, and say: "Sorry?" and lean

但一樣很重要。你說「Sorry？」的同時可以加上相這樣的肢體動作，

towards them a little bit with your hand by your ear. So especially if they also are not

上半身微向前傾並把手舉到耳邊。特別是對方不是英語母語者的時候

English... If their first language is not English, they will understand from this that

如果他們的母語不是英文，他們就能夠從你的肢體語言

you didn't understand what they said. So a little bit of body language helps as well.

得知你沒聽懂他們說什麼。所以配上一點肢體語言會有幫助。

So: "Sorry?" is very useful and polite, because we need it to be polite as well. So, polite.

所以，「Sorry？」既實用又合宜，我們當然希望用禮貌的方式去請對方重複先前的話。所以，務必注意禮貌。

So: "Sorry?" is a polite way of asking someone to repeat.

說「Sorry？」來請對方重複先前的話是有禮貌的方式。

At one time, there was also the word: "Pardon?" which is a little bit old fashioned now. So,

「Pardon？」曾經也代表一樣的意思，不過現在這個詞顯得比較老派了。

to say: "Pardon?" it's a little... It used to be very polite, and children were taught

所以，說「Pardon？」就有點...這個詞在過去是非常有禮貌的用語，大人教導孩子們

to say: "Pardon?" but now it's a little bit old fashioned, and people might laugh at you

使用這個詞，但現在顯得有點不合時宜，如果你說「Pardon？」人們甚至可能會笑你

if you use: "Pardon?" So, see what other people say to you, and then you can follow what they

所以，你可以先觀察其他人怎麼說，然後你再模仿他們的說法

say, but "Pardon?" is a little bit old now.

但是「Pardon？」對現在而言的確有點老了。

Okay, now things not to say which are not polite. You don't just say: "What?" because

那麼，不能說的不合宜的字句。你不能直接說：「What(什麼)？」因為

that is rather rude. So, don't say: "What? What?" Very rude, especially with a loud voice

這非常沒禮貌。所以，不要說：「What？What?」非常沒禮貌，特別是配上很大的音量

and making a funny face. "What?" Not very nice at all, so don't say: "What?" And don't

還有搞笑的臉的時候。「What?」完全不友善，所以不要說「What?」此外，不要

say things like: "Eh? Eh?" A lot of English people might say: "Eh?" but that's not polite

說：「Eh?Eh?」很多英國人可能會這樣但這也不合宜。

either. So... Or: "Uh?" that's not polite either, just to say: "Uh? Uh?" No.

或者「Uh?」這樣也不合宜，直接說「Uh?Uh?」千萬不要。

Okay, so the polite way, really, as one word is just to say: "Sorry?" and then the person

所以，想要合宜的用一個字去表達，只要說：「Sorry?」就可以了，那麼對方

will probably understand you need them to say it again. But there are longer sentences

大概就會知道你需要他們重複先前的話。不過也可以用更長的句子表達

you can use as well, in addition to: "Sorry?" just to give you a wider range of options.

除了「Sorry?」之外，讓你有更多的選擇

And the three main things about what... The way we all speak is clarity: what we say should

三個我們說話主要的重點是要「清楚」：我們說的話應該要

be clear. I hope I'm being clear in this lesson. So, that's the adjective "clear", and the

清晰。我希望我在這堂課說得夠清楚。那是形容詞「Clear」，而它的

noun is "clarity". Clarity of speech. Okay? So it must be clear. The pace of the speed.

名詞形式是「Clarity」。說話的清晰度。所以說話必須清楚。接下來是語速。

If people speak very quickly, it's difficult to follow what they're saying; to understand

如果說得太快，就很難聽清楚或聽懂

what they're saying. So the pace should be fairly slow and regular. Okay. And the volume,

所以語速應該要相當地從容而規則。那麼音量，

how loud or quiet somebody is. If someone speaks very quietly... You probably can't

也就是說話的大小聲。如果說得非常小聲...你現在應該沒辦法

hear me at the moment. So some people are a bit shy, and they don't speak very loud,

聽到我在說話。有些害羞的人，他們說話就不大聲。

loudly. So the volume, how loud people are is important. So sometimes you need to ask

所以音量，說話多大聲同樣重要。有時候你會需要請

somebody to speak more loudly, so we have different sentences for these.

對方講大聲一點，所以我們也有表達這個意思的一些句子。

Okay, so the first thing you can say if someone says something and you missed a few words,

那麼，當他人跟你說話但你有些部分沒聽清楚，導致你不確定他們在說什麼的時候，

and you're not sure what they're saying, you... Again: "Sorry", is always a useful word to

你的優先選擇便是：「抱歉（Sorry）」這個詞是個很好的開頭

begin with. Like we had "Sorry?" as the single word. "Sorry" is always useful to begin with.

就像我們在說話前總會說句「抱歉（Sorry）」一樣，是個實用的開場白。

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch what you said." Now, the "quite" is optional. You can say:

「抱歉，我剛剛沒聽清楚。」不一定要用「quite」這個字．你可以直接說：

"I didn't catch what you said." or: "I didn't hear what you said.", "I didn't quite hear

「我沒聽清楚你說什麼」或是「我沒聽到你說什麼」、「我剛剛沒聽清楚你說什麼」

what you said." The "quite" just adds a little bit more politeness. I didn't quite hear.

加上「quite」這個字會顯得比較有禮貌。我沒有聽得很清楚。

I nearly heard everything that you said, but not quite, and that suggests that there was

我大概聽到你說了什麼，但沒有完全聽見，這代表

just one word that you didn't get. So: "Sorry, I didn't quite catch what you said." To catch

你只有一個字沒聽到。所以我們可以說：「抱歉，我剛剛沒有聽得很清楚。」「To catch

something is to... Like catching a ball or something. "I didn't catch what you said",

something」意思是 接到球或是東西。「我剛剛沒聽清楚」

or: "I didn't hear what you said", and then the person will repeat, hopefully. All right.

或者「我剛剛沒聽到你說什麼」，那麼對方大概就會再重複一次。好的

Or, again, to ask them to repeat, you can say: "Sorry, could you say that again, please?"

或者，如果你想請對方重複一次，你可以說：「抱歉，可以麻煩你再說一次嗎？」

or: "Sorry, could you repeat that, please?" Okay? To say again or to repeat. So: "Could

或者說：「抱歉，可以請你重複剛剛的話嗎？」好嗎？這都是用來請對方再說一次或者重複的用語。

you say that again, please?", "Could you repeat that, please?" Okay? So: "Sorry" at the beginning,

「抱歉，可以麻煩你再說一次嗎？」「抱歉，可以請你重複剛剛的話嗎？」所以，說這些話的時候前面加上「抱歉」

"please" at the end is always a good idea to make it polite.

並且，在句尾加上「請（please）」都能讓你顯得有禮貌。

Now, if someone wasn't very loud and you want them to say it again with more volume, turning

那麼，如果對方講話太小聲，你想要請他們大聲一點再說一次，請他們大聲一點，

up the volume, you can say: "Sorry, could you speak up, please?" To speak up means to

你可以說：「不好意思，可以請你大聲一點嗎？」To speak up意思是大聲一點。

be louder. So, louder. Okay, so: "Sorry, could you speak up, please?" Again, it's a bit...

所以，請大聲一點。好的，所以「不好意思，可以請你大聲一點嗎？」一樣的，這有點...

It's not very polite to say: "Sorry, you were too quiet, I didn't hear you. You were too

「抱歉，你太小聲了，我沒聽到你說什麼。你聲音太小了。」這句話不太有禮貌。

quiet." That sounds a bit like a criticism, so to avoid sounding as if you're criticizing

這樣的話感覺比較像是在批評他人，所以為了避免讓自己像是在批評他人...

the person... "Oh, your voice is very quiet", it's not a very nice thing to say. So just

「噢，你的聲音好小。」這句話並不得體。所以，你只要說：

to say: "Sorry, could you speak up, please?" And maybe they'll think you can't hear very

「不好意思，可以請你大聲一點嗎？」那麼他們可能會認為你沒聽清楚，

well, and they think it's your fault and not theirs. You're being polite. Okay.

錯在你而非他們。這樣一來，顯得你有禮貌。好的。

If the person uses a word that you don't know, you can just actually say: "Sorry, I don't

如果對方用了你不懂的字詞，你其實可以直接說：「抱歉，我不知道

know that word", and you can ask them: "What does it mean?" What is the meaning of the

那個字是什麼意思。」然後你可以問他們：「這個字代表什麼意思呢？」「這個字是什麼意思？」

word? Or: "Could you tell me what it means, please?" Okay, so: "could", not "can", "Can

或者說：「可以請你告訴我這個字的意思嗎？」好的，所以要用「could」而不是「can」

you tell me?" That's less polite. "Could you tell me"-is more polite-"what it means, please?"

「你可以告訴我嗎？」這句話比較不禮貌。「可以請你告訴我嗎？」比「請問這是什麼意思？」更有禮貌。

Again, "please" at the end. And if you're having a conversation, then it helps to keep

我在強調一次，要在句尾加上「請」。在對話中，這樣做能讓你們聊得更愉快

the conversation going if you ask somebody: "Oh, I don't know that word. What does it

如果你問對方：「噢，我不知道那個字是什麼意思，它是什麼意思呢？可以...

mean? Can...? Could you tell me what that word means?" And, you know, it helps you to

可以請你告訴我這個字是什麼意思嗎？」請他們解釋一些東西給你聽能幫助你

get to know the person a little bit better if you're asking them to explain something.

更加了解對方。

So don't be afraid of asking for the explanation of a word. Okay.

所以不要怕請對方解釋字詞。好的。

And then if someone speaks very quickly and all the words run together in one single sound,

如果對方講得很快，全部的字都黏在一起了

and you want them to say it again... Again, don't say... It's not very polite to say:

你想要請他們再說一次...我再次強調，不要說...這樣說不是很有禮貌：

"Sorry, you said that too quickly", because again, it sounds like a criticism. But if

「抱歉，你剛剛講的太快了」因為這樣聽起來像是批評。但是如果

you say: "Sorry, could you speak more slowly, please?" that's less... It sounds less like

你說：「抱歉，可以麻煩你說慢一點嗎？」這樣聽起來比較不像

a criticism. Okay? So: "Could you speak more slowly, please?" So: "Sorry", "please" at

批評。好嗎？所以，要說:「可以麻煩你說慢一點嗎？」那麼在句尾加上「抱歉」跟「請」

the end, at the beginning and at the end. Okay? And then as I said before, body language

在句首跟句尾都可以加。好嗎？接下來，就像我剛剛說的，肢體語言

is always helpful.

會很有幫助。

So, I hope that's been useful to help you solve the problem of not understanding when

所以我希望當你聽不懂別人說的話的時候，今天講的這些句子對你有幫助。

somebody speaks. And if you'd like to test your knowledge, please go to the website:

如果你想要做個小測驗，請到以下網址：

www.engvid.com where there is a quiz that you can answer.

www.engvid.com 那裏有你可以練習的題目。

And I hope to see you again soon. Okay? Thank you. Bye.

還有，我希望我們很快就可以再見面，好嗎？謝謝你，再見。