Sometimes, I forget to thank the people who make my life so happy in so many ways. Sometimes, I forget to tell them how much I really do appreciate them for being an important part of my life. Today is just another day, nothing special going on. So thank you, all of you, just for being here for me!
1. I’m afraid I can’t give you a definite reply now. 恐怕我現在無法給你一個明確的答覆。 2. I can’t make a decision right now. 我現在無法作出一個決定。 3. I just need some time to think it over. 我需要些時間去考慮。 4. It’s hard to say…I have to think about it. 這很難說定，我需要些時間去考慮。 5. It’s not clear. ／It’s up in the air. 事情還未明朗。 6. It all depends. 這要看情況而定。 7. There is a 50/50 chance. 有50%的可能。 8. At this moment, I’m still not quite sure yet. 在這刻，我仍然不太肯定。 9. Possibly, time will tell. 有可能，時間會證明的。 10. We’re still a little skeptical about the prospect though. 但是，我們對於前景還是有點懷疑。 11. There’re certain points that I’ll have to consider very carefully. 有些問題我需要慎重考慮。 12. That may well be so. But I’m not sure yet. 很可能是這樣的，但我還不敢肯定。
<情景對話> A:What about the price? Is this phone very expensive? B:Could you tell me your order quantity? A:It’s hard to say…I have to think about it. B:You know, you can’t buy them from other manufacturers. A:Actually, our GM was hoping for something a bit more substantial… B:We’re already stretching ourselves to the limit. If I were you, I’d consider the quality first. A:Well, I’d have to get back to our GM to confirm that. 當然，對方有可能是談判的老手，這些技巧說不定早已瞭如指掌。因此，我們也應預防對方使用這些戰術。當對手就某個問題說 “I’ll find some detailed information for you when I return to my office.”（當我回辦公室時，會為你找出詳細資料），他可能只是為了回避你的問題而敷衍你；同時，他也有可能會把問題認真地記在手提電腦裏，但這並不代表他下次一定會給你所需的資料與答案。 因此，不要因為他裝出一副十分願意向你提供資料的模樣，就以為他是真心，會這樣行事。在還沒有弄清楚事情前，還是不能掉以輕心。
1. 使用有效的詢問方式 毫無疑問，有效的詢問方式是成功商談的支柱，因為這能給予雙方各自衡量對於核心問題的態度、目標與期望的機會。如在談判的初段使用自由開放的問題方式，可以給予雙方收集以上重要訊息的機會，例如可以一開始問“What’re you hoping to achieve today?”（你希望今天能達到甚麼？）。
2. 表示謙卑 商業談判是雙向的交流，如果我們能避免困在一連串的“I’m right. You’re wrong.”的局面，會使談判過程更加順利。我們應對正在談判的人表現謙恭和尊重，不要總是假裝自己持有所有答案。有時不妨讓對方控制一些問題的決定權，例如：“That’s more of your area of expertise than mine. Actually, I’d like to hear more from you.”（這範疇是你的專業領域，多於我的。其實，我希望你能告訴我更多。） 3. 從得罪別人恢復過來 在談判過程中，難免會引起一些不同的衝突。因此，如要在面紅耳熱後，能繼續有效地商談，我們必須懂得如何從衝突中恢復友好關係。其中一種方式，就是將那些引起衝突的說話，轉化成較積極的語氣。例如：“If I seemed a bit sharp a few minutes ago, please be assured that it was only due to my determination to make this work.”（如果我在幾分鐘之前顯得有點尖銳，請放心，這只是因為我希望這件事情能成功的決心。） 4. 應付不道德的對手 在爾虞我詐的商場上，有時難免會遇到一些使用各種醜陋險惡商談手段的人。而應付這些不道德表現的方法，不是正面衝突，而是要顯示個人品格。譬如在談判過程中，你感到別人一直在說謊，或是在欺騙你，你可以說“I’ve come to trust you completely, but on this issue, I sense some holding back.”（我現在完全信任你，但在這問題上，我感覺到你有些保留。） 5. 從談判破裂中恢復過來 如果不幸地談判破裂，導致任何一方憤怒、怨恨或是拒絕繼續交流，那麼便要設法讓有效的對話重返談判桌上。我們不妨先承認錯誤，並表示仍然願意繼續商談，這樣將有助談判重新獲得和諧平和的氣氛，例如可以說“What
happened yesterday was unacceptable but it was totally unintentional.
Shall we move on so that we can achieve our common goal?”（昨天發生的事情是不可接受的，但它完全是無意的。我們不如繼續，已達致我們的共同目標吧！）
"A wide-ranging look at the interaction of Chinese food and
American society and a fascinating mélange of gastronomic tidbits and
historical nuggets."--Wall Street Journal
"An enlightening study of America's fascination with Chinese
food, from our first epicurean envoys in 1748 to the plethora of
Chinese restaurants of every caliber that dot the landscape today."--Barnes & Noble Review
"If my family's knowledge of real Chinese food was stunted-- and we weren't alone--Andrew Coe's engaging history tells why."--Seattle Times
"Coe's delightful book is a bit of 'odds and ends' itself,
with pages on the use of pidgin, Chinese-kosher cuisine, the new look of
San Francisco's Chinatown after the earthquake, the connection of
Chinatowns with white slavery, and the Kon-Tiki craze for Cantonese
food. The Chinese food we get is mostly a hybrid; Coe has documented a
cuisine that may not always be authentic Chinese, but is a genuine
American success story."--Columbus Dispatch
"According to food writer Coe, America's taste for Chinese
tea goes back more than two centuries, and so does our confusion about
the use of chopsticks. In this brief but ambitious volume, he chronicles
the back-and-forth story of our relationship to the Middle Kingdom, its
people and, above all, its food...Like its subject, the book is a
little bit of a lot of different things at once--a solid and
comprehensive sampling of a much larger topic."--Publishers Weekly
"Coe's ever-surprising history brims with plenty of enchanting anecdotes. "--Booklist
"Andrew Coe draws on the history, politics and cuisine of
two hungry nations to tell one of the most fascinating stories in
east-west cultural history: how Americans learned to stop worrying and
love Chinese food."--Laura Shapiro, author of Something From the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America
"This book will take an important place on a growing shelf
of works that seriously tackles the conjunctions of food, migration, and
ethnicity in America."--Hasia R. Diner, author, Hungering for America: Italian, Irish and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration
"Chop Suey is a dish with crispy vegetables, crunchy
noodles, and leftover meat or poultry which balances texture and flavor.
It was created in the early 20th century with good reason-most
Americans were not as sophisticated about food as they are today. In his
immensely likable and detailed history, Andrew Coe tells us why early
generations of Chinese restaurant owners like my mother and
father-in-law served the food that they believed Americans liked instead
of cooking the food that they themselves loved to eat."--Susanna Foo,
two-time James Beard Award winner, and recipient of the Robert Mondavi
Culinary Award of Excellence
"I always wondered how it was that the rich variety,
delicacy, and refinement of Chinese cuisines got translated into Chinese
takeout from restaurants in every town in America. Coe tells riveting
stories of the ups and downs of American-Chinese relations in both
countries through our cross-cultural exchange of food. I couldn't put
this marvelous book down, but now it's time to eat--Chinese, of
course."--Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of
Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University
"If you know what people eat, why they eat it, and how they eat it, you know a lot about the people. In Chop Suey,
Andrew Coe's meticulous scholarship and engaging story telling combine
for a page-turning, mouth-watering tale of two cultures and how they
relate. I recommend it to all world leaders, diplomats, and everyone who
loves Chinese food. No joke!"--Arthur Schwartz, author of Jewish Home Cooking: Yiddish Recipes Revisited
"The story of America's love-hate relationship with Chinese
food ... is told in this well-researched, lively and digestible book.
Some of its tales of misconceptions of the Chinese and their food are
hilarious, some are shocking."--Financial Times
"Andrew Coe is a very fine writer indeed ... [He] takes
deeply researched historical information and presents them smoothly,
telling stories that are packed with fascinating details to bring a
subject we think we know into much clearer
perspective."--WritersCast.com
