作者：刘旭志
在生活中，人们有时难免会有这样或那样的小过失。如不小心碰翻了什么东西或无意中踩了别人的脚，拨错了电话号码或耽误了约会时间等等。在这种情况下，我们应当向对方说一声"对不起"(Sorry)或者"请原谅"(Excuse me)之类表示歉意的话。这不但能给对方以感情上的补偿，也是有教养的人应具有的文明意识。瞧，今天Jim赴约就迟到了。
Jim: Excuse me of being late, Mr Baker. The traffic is heavy.
Mr Baker: That's perfectly all right. Jim. Come in and join us.
(While eating, Jim upsets his glass of wine on the table. 在吃东西时，吉姆打翻了杯子，把酒洒在桌子上。)
Jim: Oh, how clumsy of me!
Tom: It doesn't matter. I'll wipe it up.
Jim: I am sorry to give you so much trouble.
Mr Baker: Don't worry about it.
注释: traffic 交通； perfectly 完全地，完美地；wipe up 擦去; clumsy笨拙的
【经典套餐】
1. -Excuse me of being late. 请原谅，我迟到了。
-That's perfectly all right. 没关系。
2. -Oh, how clumsy of me!啊，我多么笨手笨脚啊!
-It doesn't matter. 不要紧，没关系。
3. -I am sorry to give you so much trouble. 真抱歉给你添这么多麻烦。
-Don't worry about it. 别放在心上。