關於 circumstances意思 ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

用字遣詞的敏感度

快來看Presentality的最新英語寫作分析~

特別敏感的時刻，我們的用字遣詞也要特別小心。今天的「閱讀筆記」，我們來看前一陣子轟動矽谷的事件：知名軟體公司老闆在部落格的一篇 po 文，讓三分之一員工離職。他到底寫了什麼？

📌 總結幾個重點：

1. 在敏感時刻，用字跟語氣，甚至可能比內容還要重要。

2. 用簡短無修飾的句子，會顯得比較強硬，較長而且有修飾的句子，反而比較溫和。

3. 主詞非常，非常重要。你用的是 I, us vs them，還是 "we" and "our"?

如果以後你在情緒高漲的時刻寫文，也不妨寄給英文好而且中立的朋友，請他們評估文字所帶著的情緒，會很有幫助。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

📌 前一陣子，Basecamp 事件震驚美國科技/新創圈。

Basecamp 是一家團隊協作軟體公司，創辦人 Jason Fried 跟 David Heinemeier Hansson 一直都很願意為自己的理想及理念說話。他們寫的 Rework 一書影響了非常多的人，我在台灣認識的好幾位創業家都曾經跟我分享這本書。

但他們四月底在部落格上公告 Basecamp 一系列政策改變之後，引來非常大的反彈。

我第一時間就有去他們的部落格看他們寫的文章，覺得文筆非常好，而且是用說道理的語氣，很 reasonable。但發布不久，公司超過30%的員工，決定離職，其中包括好幾位高階主管！

What happened? 那篇文章，很顯然觸發了一個危機。我回去再把文章看了一次，發現天啊... 那篇文章的語氣，根本沒有我第一次看感覺的溫和。

Changes at Basecamp: https://bit.ly/2SNN6Kr

很多魔鬼都藏在細節裡。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

📌 主要的改變 = 工作時別討論政治或社會議題

讓大家最氣憤的政策改變，其實就只有一個：

No more societal and political discussions on our company Basecamp account.

在這個時空背景下，美國社會立場分歧這麼深，從左右派政治議題，到種族歧視問題，Basecamp 領導人大膽決定，禁止員工在公司內部的線上溝通頻道，討論社會及政治議題。

要去弄社會政治議題，可以，但請別在公司內。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

📌 開頭還算溫和：說服大家把公司當產品看待

一開頭，Fried 就寫：

At Basecamp, we treat our company as a product. It's not a rigid thing that exists, it's a flexible, malleable idea that evolves. We aren't stuck with what we have, we can create what we want. Just as we improve products through iteration, we iterate on our company too.

Hmmm，為什麼要這樣開頭？為什麼要把「公司」跟「產品」劃上等號？

我們可以想像，Fried 肯定為了這篇文煩惱了一陣子。很多想法不斷的在他腦中盤旋，不同的開場，不同的句子...

但這個開頭，是一個很不錯的 framing：因為 Basecamp 的員工肯定很多 product fanatics - 就是最在乎產品好不好的 "builders"。Product lovers 的一個共同點，就是了解產品是會不斷改變的東西。如果說公司也是，就可以理解，公司也會改變。
然後，他非常小心的挑選最正面的說法。每一字每一句都是 product lovers 會認同的：

•flexible
•malleable
•evolve
•we can create what we want
•improve products
•iterate

用了一連串正面的同義字，就是要塑造 change = positive 的氣氛。

★★★★★★★★★★★★

📌 連大改變，都用「改版」來形容

下一步，就是用一個大家理解的方式，來描述「非常大的改變」：

Recently, we've made some internal company changes, which, taken in total, collectively feel like a full version change. It deserves an announcement.

什麼是大的改變？就有點像「改版」的意思。而且注意到，他不是寫 "We're making a full version change" 喔，而是說："changes... taken in total, collectively feel like a full version change."
也就是說，在中間加了很多緩衝的字眼，淡化 "full version change"。

就像你如果要跟一個人說他是混蛋，哪一種說法比較直接：

The way you act sometimes, when people don't know you yet, can feel like you're a bit of an asshole. 或是 You're an asshole.

講完這個，他就要給大家打預防針了。

而且又是從「產品」開始：

In the product world, not all changes are enjoyed by all customers. Some changes are immediately appreciated. Some changes take time to steep, settle in, and get acquainted with. And to some, some changes never feel quite right — they may even be deal breakers.

哇噻，好幾劑預防針啊！

而且他用了三個意思差不多的字，鼓勵大家「耐心的習慣新的改變」：Some changes take time to steep, settle in, and get acquainted with。

Again 他的用字很細心。"Get acquainted with" 就好像跟我們說，

改變其實是我們的朋友，只要我們願意好好認識它。

但他們其實知道，有些改變是一些人完全，完全無法接受的。
所以才有最後一句："They may even be deal breakers"。
They totally knew what was coming...

★★★★★★★★★★★★

📌 溫和就到這裡... 語氣開始轉變

接下來，他選擇美國人非常愛用的寫法，就是引用一位大家尊敬的人的話，來幫自己助陣：

As Huxley offers in The Doors of Perception, "We live together, we act on, and react to, one another; but always and in all circumstances we are by ourselves. The martyrs go hand in hand into the arena; they are crucified alone. Embraced, the lovers desperately try to fuse their insulated ecstasies into a single self-transcendence; in vain. By its very nature every embodied spirit is doomed to suffer and enjoy in solitude."

這裡藏了點玄機。

如果他的目的是說服大家接受這些改變，那為什麼要引用這一段！？

讀起來，這段話反應了他的心情：在做困難決定時的「孤獨」。如果是這樣，那這段話的用途就是「療癒」而不是「說服」。

因為如果目的是說服，為何不引用某個你的員工/讀者都非常敬佩的人的故事，這個人做了一個不受歡迎，但大部分讀者都會認同是正確的決定？

個人猜測：他上面好話已經寫完了。真正的意涵是：We're going forward, alone if necessary。

而且，他們還把自己的決定，frame 成 navigating somewhere，同時把另一邊寫成 circling nowhere

We all want different somethings. Some slightly different, some substantially. Companies, however, must settle the collective difference, pick a point, and navigate towards somewhere, lest they get stuck circling nowhere.

★★★★★★★★★★★★

📌 語氣變的很硬：No More

然後他就開始寫改革本身。

如果把所有改變的第一句話看過去，會發現全部都是 "No more..." 開頭。這個硬到不行了。

完整文章: https://bit.ly/3wT6x3z

圖片出處: https://bit.ly/34wWkO5

★★★★★★★★★★★★

Presentality每天都在追蹤與分析跟英文溝通/寫作有關的文章，如果想要透過我們這些「閱讀筆記」一起學習，可在 FB 追蹤我們：https://www.facebook.com/presentality/

📌 Presentality系列文章:

1. 看貝佐斯致亞馬遜股東的最後一封信，學一些英文寫作小撇步
https://bit.ly/3xCN1cC

2. 英文演講實用的結構與技巧
https://bit.ly/2PHu3Ax

3. 在演講中的四種敘述角度
https://bit.ly/39tNUtv

4. 詩人Amanda Gorman的英文演講技巧
https://bit.ly/39sI3on

5. 從 Most Dangerous Place 文章，看經濟學人寫作邏輯
https://bit.ly/3htqJEs

6. 寫作的終極目標是「提供價值」
https://bit.ly/3yA3gYe

7. 看 Bloomberg學資深記者如何寫文章
https://bit.ly/3i3am1P

【我親愛的Zoom視訊客人們】
To My Dear Zoom Clients

我忍了真的⋯⋯真的⋯⋯很久，今天過後實在忍無可忍，一定要叮嚀所有過去和未來的客人們。

我年紀很大了，受不了太大的刺激。

拜託，你們可以Zoom好來嗎？😓😑

一、Zoom視訊的視角 = 拍護照照的視角

護照自2020年起就已成為古董，但大家這一生應該有拍過證件照吧！

對了，就是要頭髮整齊，讓我看到你的雙耳、雙眼、鼻子、嘴巴、頸項和肩膀，到胸部。

我批八字時，需要看整個面相。不要讓你一半的臉掉出鏡頭外，這樣很像鍾無艷，也不要嘴巴不見掉，這樣我很像在跟一條羅漢魚視訊。

我看面相包括看你的嘴巴、牙齒和說話時的嘴形。是的，看相就是需要那麼仔細。

如果你的螢幕太低，那就找書本或舊報紙，把螢幕墊高一點。別讓我整一個小時半只看到你的雙下巴，會把你的面相比例給看錯。

不要一直告訴我不好意思，方法是人想出來的。

•

二、光線

太暗，我看你如見鬼。
太亮，我會看不清你的膚色。
拉開窗簾，不要背向陽光。
有必要的話，就直接開燈！

•

三、勿放什麼椰樹沙灘/金門大橋的虛擬背景圖

什麼虛擬背景圖都不要放啦～

我的家美最重要，我不在乎你的家美不美，我只是來看命的。

如果你的Wi-Fi不是很強，電腦功能不是很厲害，這類的虛擬背景圖會讓你的視訊畫面卡卡的。

有時你轉個身，整個右邊不見了，或部份的頭髮少了，讓我覺得我好像在看恐怖片，嚇人啊～

•

四、環境和聲音

有些海外客人其實非常用心。為了與我視訊，特別去買有麥克風的耳機🎧，讓我能更清楚的聽到他們的聲音。😍

沒有使用耳機和麥克風的客人，往往他們的聲音會有種空氣般的回音，如果他們本身講話又小聲，我的耳機聲量開滿，我還是聽得滿辛苦的

也有香港和馬來西亞客人租過會議室、鐘點房間或單人工作室，就是為了不受家人的干擾，能安心的與我視訊。😍

最有趣的是，去年新加坡阻斷措施時，有位男客人跑到屋外的走廊坐在地上與我視訊。只是外頭風聲有點大，我好幾次都聽不清楚他的聲音。

曾有客人在咖啡廳與我視訊。咖啡廳裡的高談闊論聲和器皿的敲擊聲，頻頻從我的耳機闖進我的耳朵，哇～我的耳朵那時真的是活受罪，還要裝一副氣定神閒的樣子。

天啊，兩次過後，我寧願退錢，也不再見這樣的客人了。耳朵只有一對，我要保護好啊！

在這裡聲明：一般我們買手機時的那種有麥克風的耳機，就已能視訊。沒有戴耳機和麥克風的客人，我一概會拒絕諮詢，把費用原銀奉還。

五、孩子

曾試過諮詢的前20分鐘，一直被女客人的小孩打擾，進來哭著要媽媽主持公道。

如果你家中有六歲以下的兒童，會時不時來敲你的門，我建議你還是先別約我。你這樣會分心，無法聽好我交代的事，而我也得一直等你去安撫你的孩子，就無法在限定時間內看完你的八字，這樣對誰都不公平。

六、我只見客人一人

這個規矩，從我一出道就定下來，也清楚的寫在網站上，根本不用一而再的來試探水溫。

但這兩個星期，還是有客人硬闖關，事先安排自己的配偶/孩子坐在電腦的另一面，要他們聽我講他的八字。

我從不改我的規矩，也沒有八字或風水是我非看不可的。

讀書這麼高，連自己的命都不能自己負責，這已經不是能改到命的人了。

你一定要你的配偶陪你聽，那你需要的不是我來教你改命，是你的配偶來安你的心。

將來若還有這樣的事，我會直接中斷視訊，把錢退回去。

七、「我第一次用Zoom！」

可是從報名那天到今天的諮詢，你有兩個月的時間去摸索。

兩個月，怎麼還是錯誤百出？因為客人根本沒有事先準備和練習。

結果我就這樣等了20分鐘，還得等對方下載軟件。

Zoom不難使用，但如果是你沒有花時間去摸索，就不要撒謊，直接說，我就直接退現錢。

品德是改命的資糧，不要為了自己能脫身就隨便編一個漏洞百出的謊，還說自己是好人。這...不會臉皮太厚了嗎？

小事都不願做好，絕對不會成大器。

八、暈車

有些客人用Ipad或手機來視訊。

重點是，他一支手拿著手機，一支手拿筆寫筆記。他一邊寫，另一支手就一邊搖晃。他做在床上，移動一下，手機就彷彿大海嘯幾下🌊

我一天如果見三個這樣客人，我的視線就搖晃了5個小時。工作完畢後，頭也會痛得厲害，無法完成晚上製片的工作。

沒有自拍器三腳架，也應該有些書本或東西來頂著手機。

各位，多點善心，為我著想一下吧⋯⋯

__________________________

To My Dear Zoom Clients

I have been enduring it for a really really long time. That's it! I am gonna put a stop to this after today and send out this reminder to all my past and future clients.

I am getting on in years, and cannot stand too much stimulation.

Please.... can you guys do a proper Zoom?

Number 1: Going on screen in Zoom = Taking a photograph for your passport.

Since 2020, the passport has become something of an antique but I believe everyone has taken some kind of ID photos! Yes, the ones with your neatly combed trusses where I can see both your ears, nose, mouth, neck, shoulder all the way to your chest.

I would like to see your full face during the Bazi Consultation. Please don't allow half your face to fall off the screen and you end up looking like Zhong Wu Yan! Please also don't hide your mouth making me feel like I am talking to a Arrowana.

When I analyze your facial features, it includes your mouth, teeth and the shape of your mouth while you are talking. Yes, it is down to such level of details.

If your PC / Laptop monitor is too low, please find a book or old newspapers and stack it on top. Please don't let me only see your double chin for that 1.5 hours, as I would probably get the proportion of your face wrong.

Don't keep telling me you are apologetic. Think of a way out.

Number 2: The background lighting.

Too dark, you risk looking like a ghost.

Too bright, I cannot figure out your skin color.

Draw open the curtains, but don't face your back to the sunlight.

If necessary, just turn on the lights!

Number 3: Background images of coconut trees on sandy beaches or the Golden Gate Bridge.

There is no need to put on a virtual background. I only care about how my hone looks, I am not bothered by yours. I am only here to see your Bazi.

If your WIFI signal or your PC / Laptop performance is poor, using the virtual background can often make your Zoom video choppy. Sometimes when you turn your body, one side of your body or some part of your hair will disappear. It's really like one of those spooky movies scaring the wits out of me.

•

Number 4: Background environment and noise.

Some of my overseas clients really put in effort for our Zoom sessions. They bought a headset with a mic so that I can hear them properly and vice versa.

Those that did not use a earphone or a headset often sounded echo-ish, and if they spoke softly, I would have to turn on the volume on my side full throttle and still have a hard time trying to hear them.

There are some clients from Hong Kong and Malaysia who would rent meeting rooms, hotel rooms or private work spaces by the hour so as to reduce any disturbance from others and better focus on the Zoom session with me.

I recalled an interesting incident during the Circuit Breaker last year. A client from Singapore Zoom-ed with me along the corridor outside his house. Most of the time, I was hearing the howling of the winds rather than his voice.

Some clients sat themselves in coffee places for our session. These places are often filled with loud chatters and the clanging of cups and plates, and my ears suffered terribly. Yet, I have to continue to be seen as composed and attentive.

Goodness me, after 2 of such experiences, I decided that I rather refund these clients and never see them again. I have only 1 pair of ears and I want to protect them at all costs!

A normal earpiece that comes with the purchase of a handphone is good enough for Zoom video calls. For clients who do not have a earpiece/headset and a mic, I would end the consultation and refund the monies.

•

Number 5: Children

There was once where a session with a female client was repeatedly disrupted by her kids, running in crying for their mother to settle their quarrels. If you have children below 6 years of age, and likely to interrupt our session, I suggest you don't book a consultation with me.

You will be distracted, unable to focus on my advice and I have to wait for you to clear up the situation with your children, eating into the allowable time for me to complete the consultation. This is unfair to both you and me.

•

Number 6: I only meet one person, that is the Client.

I have set this requirement the day I stepped into this line of work, and it is clearly written in my booking form. There is no need to try your luck under any circumstances.

But in the space of 2 weeks, there were some clients who rode their luck and got their spouse / child to sit on the other side of the screen to listen in on our consultation.

I never change my stance, and there is no single client that I cannot afford to lose.

If you insist to have your spouse sit in, it is apparent that you do not need me to help transform your destiny. Rather you really need your spouse to put your heart at ease.

If such things happen the next time, I will end the session immediately and refund the fees.

•

Number 7: "My first time using Zoom"

But you have 2 full months to prepare before our actual consultation. You did not end up wasting time exploring the software and I wasted 20 mins waiting for you to download the software.

Zoom is an easy software to use but if you did not spend the time to familiarize yourself with it, please quit the lies and tell me directly. I will refund the consultation fees on the spot.

Our moral ethics serve as the foundation for our transformation. Stop weaving web of lies to get out of sticky situations, and still claim that you are a good person. Isn't this too thick-skinned?

•

Number 8: Giddy spells

Some clients use Ipad or their handphones for the Zoom session. Crucially, they hold the device with one hand, and take notes with the other. As they write, the other hand holding the phone becomes shaky. If he is doing that on his bed, his handphone would shake like a tsunami wave every time he changes his position.

If I see 3 such clients within a day, it would be 5 hours of shaking visuals for me. That would mean a splitting headache at the end of my work day, and not being able to work on my videos at night.

Even if you don't have a tripod stand, at least prop up the device with a book or something.

Please everyone, please be kind and have mercy on me......

＃期待新課上架 ＃NOV26
【condition、situation、circumstances 都背「狀況」，是要怎麼用勒？】

✅ 課程 8 折卷最後倒數，已有近 2000 名學生填寫問卷領取，不要錯過喔～https://bit.ly/34Ow5Cc（會寄 email 統一發放 8 折卷）

大概不會有人反對，「背單字」是在學任何語言當中，極為重要的一環。但有越來越多人發現，「背了英文單字，講得出中文意思、在選擇題中也選得出來」不等於「在口說、寫作當中能正確用出來」。

在學習時，我們應該要將單字分 2 大類。

第 1️⃣ 類：「大概講得出來高頻定義」就好的單字
這樣的單字，延伸相關的「用法」其實也不多。例子像是：ambiguous (模稜兩可的)、complacent (自滿的)。可能發音也知道怎麼發、有一點英文基礎，就能講出：

The rule is ambiguous.（這個規則很不清楚）
Don’t be complacent.（不要自滿）

背這類單字，不會讓你感覺口說、寫作有很大的突破。

第 2️⃣ 類：沒記好用法的「高頻」單字，也是母語人士每天都在用的單字。你可能早知道意思，但不見得會正確使用。

根據牛津大學應用語言學研究以及眾多的 Podcasts 語料分析，母語人士在口說、寫作時，有近 7 成的內容，都可被分類成 8 種模組化的表達。

如果真是這樣，應該怎麼重新看待英文學習呢？給你兩個簡單的例子！

【Example 1】

學 face 的定義是「臉」完全不夠。因為你還要知道：
in the face of setbacks 在面對挫敗時（句中慣用）

如此一來要表達「在面對挫敗時不要放棄」，你才能輕鬆拼湊：
Don’t quit in the face of setbacks.

【Example 2】

在口說當中常出現的一種公式叫「慣用句頭」。這些句頭，能讓我們輕鬆開口，不用每次開口前都要先「中翻英」、「卡東卡西」。

與其學「worth (a.) 值得的」，你倒不如記憶
It is worth mentioning / noting / pointing out that…（值得提及的是）

與其學「downside (n.) 缺點」，你倒不如學習
What’s the downside to N…（～的缺點是什麼？）

與其學「circumstances (n.) 情況」，你倒不如學習
There are some circumstances where S + V（會有些時候～）

與其學「odds (n.) 機率」，你倒不如學習
The odds are that S + V（很有可能～）

在這兩個例子中，你是否也窺見了模組化表達的力量呢？

在我這次與好學校 (Hahow) 合作的線上課程，我會教你如何整理出 #3D英文筆記，用 #模組化 的方式分析各式各樣的 #語料、也帶你實際用語料在各式場景（conference call、 email、日常生活聊天）中，用 8 種模組快速組裝出連老外都覺得道地的英文喔！

✅ 現在填課程問卷，還來得及拿到 8 折優惠卷
https://bit.ly/34Ow5Cc

【明報專訊】繼金庸同羅貫中後，蕭叔叔最愛的小說作家就是維多利亞時期的英國人Charles Dickens，中文一般譯為狄更斯。狄更斯最出名的，是他風趣幽默的文筆。別看他的Great Expectations成本字典咁厚，字句咁長就以為好悶，蕭叔叔讀佢時，成日都笑到收唔到聲。可是本文主旨不是Dickens的英式幽默，今天找來的一段文字，背了會有三大功效（哎，蕭叔叔愈來愈像個cheap cheap salesman）：

一、學懂何謂工整的英文。

二、吸收英文的文氣、節奏。

三、學會巧妙運用動詞。

試問又怎能不背？看文章前，當然要了解背景。文章取自Dickens名作Great Expectations，故事講主角窮小孩Pip無意中救了逃犯Magwitch，後來又唔知點解有人畀筆錢佢去倫敦學做紳士。下面一段，是chapter 1裏小Pip碰見逃犯的情景。這段文字，一定要大聲朗讀，否則無意思。要聽蕭叔叔不太完美的聲演，當然要看短片（english.mingpao.com/siu.htm）。

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped, and shivered, and glared, and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the chin.

如果你覺得深字多，唔緊要，唔使怕，因為每個字都要查。蕭叔叔學英文，分精讀（是用盡所有精力去讀，唔係補習社精讀班的精讀）同hea讀。Hea讀唔使點查字典，get個大意即可。精讀嘛，當然要每個字都查，否則浪費了大好文字，對不住好作家。

蕭叔叔最想大家看的是這句：

A man who'd been

soaked in water,

and smothered in mud,

and lamed by stones,

and cut by flints,

and stung by nettles,

and torn by briars;

此所謂工整。每個item都是一個被動動詞加preposition加名詞，而且每個item都是兩個重音，讀起來節奏鏗鏘，頗像詩詞。中文當然也有類似修辭手法，好像三國演義中曹軍謀臣孔融同荀彧在曹操面前，辯論袁紹是否可怕的敵人，荀彧說：「紹兵多而不整。田豐剛而犯上，許攸貪而不智，審配專而無謀，逢紀果而無用：此數人者，勢不相容，必生內變，顏良、文醜，匹夫之勇，一戰可擒。其餘碌碌等輩，縱有百萬，何足道哉！」其中一系列排比句：

田豐剛而犯上，

許攸貪而不智，

審配專而無謀，

逢紀果而無用。

兩字的人名，然後一個單字形容詞，配上「而」，再來一個意思相對的形容詞。效果同樣是工整非常，讀起來甚有氣勢。

你可能會說：下下咁寫，會唔會好作狀？這是蕭叔叔給所有writing學生的warning：學任何東西，都要留意場合是否適合，context是否需要某些寫法。排比句，當然不能句句用，否則聽起來像sing song，一點本來intended的效用都沒有。要多想whether the background and circumstances of your writing warrant the use of the pounding rhythm and perfect symmetry of the parallel structure.

也講講句子後半部：who limped, and shivered, and glared and growled，都是簡短的一至兩個音節的動詞。留意整段文字的動詞，都很能draw pictures：soaked、smothered、lamed、cut、stung、torn、limped、shivered、glared、growled，全部都非常生動，同學不妨學習這種寫法，善用多變的動詞，文章會生色不少。

作者簡介

蕭愷一，aka蕭叔叔。夢想做男神、現實是大叔的英文教學狂熱分子，law grad，哲學碩士dropout，語言學愛好者，以speak English like an educated native為教與學的終極目標。（facebook.com/siuhoiyat）

文︰蕭愷一

■教學短片

english.mingpao.com/siu.htm Http://www.facebook.com/siuhoiyat