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以前就想说说写邮件的事，略犹豫是因为其实对商务信函和电邮往来并不熟悉，不过其实写电邮给非商业伙伴的情况也很普遍，写电邮主要依靠的也是普遍适用的沟通能力，某些特殊类型电邮的特定规矩学起来应该很快。
我刚开始用英语写电邮的时候，主要是给美国教授和同学等人员发信，当时就觉得很烦恼，翻来覆去就几句话，句式和用词都容易重复，但其实通过长期积累还是可以拓宽自己表达方式的。
还是分不同情境和需要来讨论吧。
I thought I should write to follow up on our conversation last week. I have given more thought to the plan we tentatively discussed. 假如以前有人说可以给你写推荐信，你到了需要信的时候去询问他们的意向，可以说：  I would like to take you up on your earlier offer to write me a letter for my applications to graduate school. Thanks for being so generous with your time! I'm writing to express my gratitude for the hospitality I received over. I'm writing to say how much I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me yesterday. It was great/a pleasure meeting you yesterday. Your advice is very well taken. 昨天遇到您很荣幸，您的建议我都会采纳。 Congratulations on the position! It's certainly well earned/deserved! 祝贺拿到职位，名至实归！ 如果已经有很多人祝贺，你再加入，可以说： I'd like to join the chorus of welcome. Look forward to meeting you this fall! 我也想随众人欢迎你的到来！期待秋季相见！ 最常见的方式是说： I’m wondering if you would be willing to/you would be amenable to meeting with me sometime next week. “amenable to” 这个词组很有用。 I’m wondering if it would be possible for you to meet with me sometime next week. I’d appreciate being able to consult you on graduate school applications. 请求后面也可以加一句说明即使对方没有时间，自己也不会太介意 (这部分还是留给尊敬的前辈吧，一般人也未必要说)：  But I understand if you don't have time for this. The beginning/middle/end of a semester is always a hectic time! 您没有时间我也理解，开学期间总是异常忙乱。 通气就是touch base with someone about sth., 所以可以说: I'm writing to touch base with you about my plans for the dissertation. I'm writing to touch base with you about our progress in. 或者也可以说：  I'm writing to send you a few updates about my current project. Apologies for this late/tardy reply. I've been swamped with work for the past week and I find myself falling behind on all deadlines. 我忙疯了，所有期限都赶不上。 以上这种说法在朋友之间比较合适，如果是工作邮件就最好不要拖延。实在不小心回晚了，那么就说： Apologies for the tardy reply. It's not an excuse, but I've been struggling with a severe flu over the past week. 我上周一直重感冒缠身，但当然这不是理由。 表示初步约定，可能有变: pencil in 是很好的词组，用铅笔填进去，就表示不一定是最终决定。 如：
表示完全确定： I would like to confirm that the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 16, at 1pm.
给期刊投稿的时候，有时候要cover letter，提供自己文章的标题和大意。现在要求投纸质稿件的期刊已经比较少了，一般杂志都接受电子投稿，所以cover letter 其实也就是投稿是时要写的邮件。
以下这样就差不多了： Dear
I’m writing to submit an essay titled “Gender and Marriage in Clarissa: Toward a Literary Approach to Emotion Studies.”
The essay situates Clarissa (1748), a novel of extraordinary length by Samuel Richardson, in the context of the history of emotions in 18th-century England. The mid-eighteenth-century inaugurates the “Age of Sensibility,” with its impasses and contradictions that are encoded in the novel as formal excessiveness. The essay argues that the character of Clarissa inflects a genealogy of female images and the invention of gender differences in 18th- and 19th-century England. Her interactions with the rake Lovelace inscribe changes in conceptions of marriage and female friendship during this era. Through an analysis of the ways in which central topoi, tropes, scenes in the novel resonate with and intervene in the cultural discourses on love and marriage, this essay reflects on how the evolution of the novel form relates to the evolution of “private feelings” in modern England.
Thank you for reviewing my work. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely, Wen Jin 大家在电邮写作中遇到过什么情况也欢迎留言提问!
（金雯，复旦大学外文学院副教授，美国西北大学博士，2006-2013年在哥伦比亚大学教授核心课程“西方文学史”，“美国文学史”和“亚裔美国文学史”。也可关注金教授的微博或豆瓣（莫水田）获得更多的信息。） YOUKU：说客坊PointerHouse |
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