THAT'S ENGLISH
POLITENESS AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS
- EMAIL FROM ROBERT TO SUZY
“Maybe you didn't receive my e-mail,
so here it is again:
Suzanne, I'm emailing you so you'll
stop calling me. You've really annoyed me. I told you that Saturday
and Sunday were two days that were simply impossible for us to meet.
I have very little time with my friends, and it is sacred. Sunday
with my family even more so.
I skipped my friend's engagement party
to be with you on Friday and I thought that we could have a dignified
farewell on Saturday morning.
For you to even suggest that we meet
after all that I confided in you was wrong. You were putting me under
a pressure I didn't deserve. It's a pity, because I thought we had
had a nice few days.
Such is life! Please respect my
request. I wish you well.
You have no idea what I'm going through
with my family right now. Have you no dignity? Please, leave me
alone!!”
Robert
- Read the text and translate it into Spanish.
- Describe the kind of man and woman reflected in the text.
- What might have happened before this email, in your opinion?
- What is the problem with the man's family?
- Underline polite and impolite expressions.
- What would you tell him if you were Suzy and wrote an e-mail back to him?
- EMAIL FROM SUZY TO ROBERT
“You can be absolutely calm that I'm
not going to call again, of course, to be true, it is you who are
being too strong on your words. If I have something, it is dignity. I
was trying to know from you; in fact, I was very worried about your
family, since you had told me about the seriousness of your father,
and in fact, since I hadn't heard from you, I thought that perhaps
things were wrong. THAT WAS THE ONLY REASON WHY I HAD BEEN INSISTING,
just worry about your father, and his not feeling worse.
With respect to your weekend, I didn't
have the intention to disturb you or cause any inconvenience. I have
never disturbed anyone in my life, not even you. I thought that, if
there was no problem, it would not have been a remote or weird idea
to meet, but of course, with any intention, I insist, to disturb you.
With respect to Sunday, I thought the
same, again. I thought, if your family commitments didn't absorb you
so long, we could have met. My insistence was just for suggesting,
and in fact, once you wrote “I'll call you later” I didn't call
again in the rest of the day, as you could see.
You should remember that I insisted to
accompany you to your friends' party, and it was you who decided to
put it off, so please don't blame on me for not going. Perhaps the
best would have been just to put off our meeting, and perhaps now you
wouldn't blame so much on me. Since you don't know me, my family and
friends are also very important for me, and I also care for them too
much, like you.
The last thing that I'm going to tell
your is that if perhaps you just had answered a single sms, just to
say that everything so ok, buy forever, forgive me, everything would
have just been different. It is just a question of politeness and
correctness to answer to a person who is showing true interest in
you. In this case, it was precisely worry about your father. But
instead, you have just piled lots of messages of mine, and after that
you have the courage to insult me and talk to me in such an agressive
tone, which is unacceptable by me. You should know that, perhaps, and
unlike you, those days were very important for me and that is why
seeing you again had been so important for me.
Let me tell you that you may think of
me that I have no dignity, but I will tell you that you have no idea
the kind of sensitive person that I am, because while you were
avoiding my calls, and insulting me mentally, I was just worried
about you and your father.
I advise to learn how to treat a
sensitive woman, and you should talk to her in a kinder, softer way.
Let me tell you that you have hurt me, disappointed me and shown me
things that I hadn't expected from you at all”.
