英語日常口語 Unit85:Talking to the police警察詢問

英語日常口語 Unit85:Talking to the police警察詢問

本單元是關於警察詢問的對話

Police 1: So sir: a number of fake watches have been handed in to us over the last few months, and almost all of them have been traced to this establishment. Can you explain this?
Tim: Err, I'm not sure. We do use a reputable supplier.
Police 1: Indeed. Your supplier wrote to you to tell you that some of the broken watches that you returned to them were fakes, didn't they?
Tim: Well yes, they did, but... look officer, I'm only the assistant manager.
Police 1: And your point is?
Tim: Well, like I said, I think you need to speak to my boss.
Police 2: And like I said sir, we have talked to your boss. Apparently, you are in charge of all the watches that come through this department.
Tim: Well, technically, yes, that's true.
Police 2: So, enlighten me: where did all these fake watches come from?


Vocabulary 詞彙

traced 蹤跡,去向
discovered where something originally came from, or discovered the course of events which caused something to be in its present state or location

establishment 機構
place of business

reputable 有信譽的
with a good reputation; reliable and trustworthy

supplier 供應商
a person or business which provides or supplies goods or services

indeed 確實(加強語氣)
'indeed' is used here as an interjection which expresses disbelief, scepticism, irony or doubt

apparently (adv) 很顯然
according to the information which is available

technically (adv) 從技術上說
according to strict obedience to laws, rules, or principles

本單元的語言點是關於評論和觀點的副詞，有些副詞告訴我們事情是怎麼發生的。請看下面的解釋和例句。

Comment and viewpoint adverbs

Adverbs (副詞) - background (表達背景)
Adverbs are often used to give more information about verbs. In other words, adverbs often tell us how things happen.

Examples:
He swims fast. How does he swim? -fast
She sings beautifully. How does she sing? -beautifully
I opened the door wide. How did I open the door? -wide
She quickly finished her dinner. How did she finish? –quickly


Comment & viewpoint adverbs (表達評論及觀點的副詞)
Comment and viewpoint adverbs add information about the speaker's opinion of events. They do not usually give information about how something happened. Comment & viewpoint adverbs often modify the complete sentence, not just the verb.

Compare these sentences:
1. She started singing happily. (adverb of manner)
2. Happily, she started singing. (comment adverb)

In sentence 1, the adverb - happily - gives more information about how she was singing. In sentence 2, the adverb - happily -gives the speaker's comment/opinion of the event. In this case, the speaker thinks that her starting to sing was a happy event.

Comment and viewpoint adverbs - position (表達評論及觀點的副詞 - 句中的位置)
Comment adverbs usually go at the beginning of a sentence or clause. They can also be placed after the subject, or at the end of the sentence/clause.

Clearly, Paul had no idea what he was doing.
Paul had no idea what he was doing, clearly.
Paul clearly had no idea what he was doing.

When the comment adverb is placed after the subject, commas are often used around the adverb:

Paul, clearly, had no idea what he was doing.

Common comment & viewpoint adverbs (常用的表達評論及觀點的副詞)