BBC 6分钟英语学习 道歉的正确方式

6 min English from BBC learning english dot com.

Hello. This is Minute English from BBC Learning English.

I'm Neil, and I'm Beth. There are many ways of saying sorry in English, and they all have a slightly different meaning.

If you tell me you're ill, and I say, oh, I'm sorry, that

means I sympathize, and I hope you get a better soon.

If you step on my toes by mistake and say, I'm so sorry, you mean, oops, that was my fault, and I didn't mean to do it.

And if you don't really feel sorry, you might be sarcastic, oh, I'm so sorry, meaning exactly the opposite that you're not sorry at all.

Saying sorry for something you've done in English can be quite confusing, and to make things worse, the British are world champions at apologizing.

In this program, will discuss ways of saying sorry, and as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

Sorry. But I'm going to have to stop you their best because 1st, I have a question to ask.

We know that the British love to say sorry.

In fact, a recent survey found that some Brits apologized up to 20 times a day.

So according to the same survey, how many times per day does the average Brit say sorry?

Is it A, four times a day?

B six times a day, or C eight times a day?

Hmm, I'm gonna guess it Six times a day.

OK, beth, I'll reveal the answer later in the program.

Since the British are famous for apologizing, it's no surprise that Louise Malaney started researching the language of apologizing in Britain at the University of Nottingham.

Now, a professor of social linguistics, louise spoke with the BBC radio for program Word of Mouth.

And I was really interested in looking at how people apologize, particularly public figures.

So I did a lot of research in the workplace, and looking at the media, and looking at politicians in particular.

And one of the things that really interested me at the time was a lot of writers were talking about this entering an age of an apology.

And there's a real sense that public figures, in particular, called upon to apologize for multiple different things, and if they don't apologize, then that's a big fay.

Par Saying sorry is especially important in politics, and Professor Milani studied the apologies of public figures, famous people, including politicians, who are often discussed in newspapers and seen on radio and television.

When politicians make mistakes, they are expected to apologize, and failing to say sorry is a foe, par a remark made in a social situation that causes embarrassments or offense.

Most politicians hate apologizing, and with good reason.

Saying sorry means taking responsibility, and the apology needs to be sincere.

A good example of this is the apology Boris Johnson made to the House of Commons during the Party gate scandal in the UK, when he broke covied lockdown rules and had to pay a fine.

That's a sum of money paid as a punishment for breaking the rules.

Here, professor Louise Milani analyzes the apology for BBC radio program Word of mouth.

It's very unusual in a political apology, because he comes out and says, I am responsible.

But there is the caveat that he wasn't certain that he was breaking the rules.

He didn't realize, which he continues to say in his apology that came out after the fine.

So he repeats the apology, and he caviats it around other political events.

And he uses humility. When he was in the house the day after he paid his fine, and was very quick to say, I've paid the fine, I've given the reparation, I've paid the money.

Let's draw a line under the whole business.

Now, boris Johnson claimed he didn't know he was breaking the rules.

His apology contained a caveat a warning that what he said was limited or not completely true.

Eventually, boris Johnson did apologize, but many people didn't trust him, and he couldn't draw a line under the party gate scandal.

If you draw a line under something, you try to move on from a bad situation and make a fresh start apologising his hard work, the apology must be sincere, and often the person does something to show they mean it, which reminds me that it's time to reveal the answer to my question.

Beth Yes, you asked me how many times a day the average would say sorry, and I guessed it was six.

Was I right? Well, I'm very sorry.

But that was the wrong answer.

The average Brit says sorry around eight times a day, making it probably the most overused word in the English language.

Sorry about that, right? Let's recap the vocabulary we've learned from this program about saying sorry, starting with sarcastic, doing, or saying the opposite of what you really mean, e.g.

saying, I'm really sorry when you aren't.

A public figure is a famous person whose life and behavior is often discussed in the media and in public.

FOPA is a socially

embarrassing remark or action. A fine is a sum of money paid as a punishment for doing something illegal or breaking a rule.

If you say something with a caveat, it contains a warning that what you have said may

not be completely true or is limited in some way.

And finally, if you draw a line under something, you consider it finished in order to move on and make a fresh start.

I am sorry to say that once again, our 6 min are up, and it's time to draw a line under this program.

Good Bye for now. Bye. Sorry, everyone.

We haven't finished yet. Oh yeah.

Sorry. We want to tell you about some of our other podcasts.

Actually, we shouldn't have to apologize, because the other podcasts are brilliant true.

You can learn vocabulary from news headlines in News Review.

Impress your friends with idiomatic expressions in the English we speak.

And we have even more. Go to BBC learning english dot com and download them for free.

6 min English from BBC. Learning english dot com.

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