商务英语写作教程：Unit8 Business Letters

PracticalEnglishWritingForBusinessCourse

UnitTen(1)

BusinessLetters

GeneralIntroduction

BusinessLettersforDifferentPurposesHowAreBusinessLettersLaidOut?I.TheEssentialPartsII.TheOptionalPartsIII.TwoStylesofLayoutI.TheEssentialParts1.TheHeadingorLetter-head信头2.TheDate日期3.TheInsideNameandAddress信内地址4.TheSalutation称呼敬语5.TheBody正文6.TheComplimentaryClose结束敬语7.TheSignature署名II.TheOptionalParts1．

The

attention

line

致收信人2.Thesubjectline主题3.Theidentifyinginitials经办人代号4.Theenclosure附件5.Thecopynotation抄送III.TwoStylesofLayout1.混合式（Theindentedstyle）2.平头式（Theblockstyle）混合式TheNileTradingCo.Ltd.161PyramidStreet,Alexandria,EgyptTel:(20-3)4900000Fax:(20-3)490000111thMay,2001TheExportManagerChinaMotorbikeCo.Ltd34FazhanStreetJinan,ShandongP.R.C.DearSirorMadam,Weareinterestedinimportingmopedsandwouldbegratefulifyouwouldsendusacopyofyourlatestcatalogue,yourpricelistandexportterms.CouldyoualsoletusknowthenameofyourimportagentinEgypt?Welookforwardtohearingfromyou.Yoursfainthfully,AbdulAzizMarketingManager back平头式H.

Woods

&

Co.

Ltd.Nesson

House,

Newell

StreetBirmingham

B15

3ELTel:

(44-121)

4560000

Fax:

(44-121)45600011

March,

2001The

ManagerShanghai

Textile

Trading

Co.

Ltd.72

Zhongshan

Rd.Shanghai

200001ChinaDear

Sir

or

Madam,We

are

interested

in

tweed

lengths

suitable

for

skirt-makingand

would

like

to

have

details

of

your

prices

and

terms.It

would

be

helpful

if

you

could

supply

samples.Yours

faithfully,Larry

CraneChina

Trade

ManagerBusinessLettersforDifferentPurposes1.Establishing

Business

Relationship2.MakingEnquiries3.MakingOffersandCounter-offersback1.Establishing

Business

Relationships1）What

are

letters

for

establishing

business

relations?

2）Howtowritealetterforestablishing

businessrelations?

3）WritingPracticeExercise1Exercise2在国际贸易中，要保持或扩大业务就必须巩固和发展已有的业务关系，并且不断物色新的贸易伙伴以建立新的业务关系。新的业务关系可以通过银行、报纸广告、因特网、驻外商务机构、国外商会、商品交易会等多种渠道建立。backTowritealetterforestablishingbusinessrelations,youhadbetterfollowthestepsbelow:

1.

to

inform

of

the

source

of

the

information

you

get

about

your

addressee;2.

to

state

your

intention

of

establishing

business

relations;3.

to

give

a

brief

introduction

of

your

business

scope,

products,

etc.4.

to

show

the

reference

as

to

your

firm’s

credit

standing;5.

to

express

your

expectation

for

cooperation

and

an

early

reply.backSample

1这是一家中国丝绸出口商向一家经营丝织品的英国公司发出的要求建立业务关系的信函。收信人首先说明了他们获得信息的来源――对方驻北京使馆商务处。接着提出要建立贸易关系的要求,然后用一句话介绍了自己公司的主要业务。并告知对方信函中附有一份公司出口项目单，请其阅读并尽快回函。Dear

Sirs,We

have

obtained

your

address

from

the

Commercial

Counselor

of

your

embassy1

in

Beijing

who

has

informed

us

that

you

are

in

the

market

for

silk

fabrics2.We

avail3

ourselves

of

this

opportunity

to

approach

you

for

the

establishment

of

trade

relations

with

you.We

specialize4

in

the

exportation

of

Chinese

silk

cloth,

which

has

enjoyed

great

popularity

in

world

market.

We

enclose

a

copy

of

our

export

list

covering

the

main

items

suppliable5

at

present

and

hope

that

you

would

contact

us

if

any

item

is

of

interest

to

you.We

look

forward

to

receiving

your

reply

soon.Yours

faithfully,Encl.

Export

ListSample2这是一家南京电器用品进口商向波士顿电子公司提出进口业务要求的信函。收信人首先说明他们从因特网上得知对方的业务范围碰巧和自己公司相同，因此写信想要建立合作关系。接着简单介绍了其公司的业务状况及给对方提供了资信调查途径。最后提及对对方无绳电话的兴趣及对回复的期待。1.Fillintheblankwiththeproperformsofthegivenexpressions.(1)Wearepleasedtofindthatthearticlesyourequire__fall

within__ourlines.(2)Wehavebeen_in

the

line

of_chemicalsformorethantenyearsandnowoneofthelargestexportersinChina.(3)

Shouldanyoftheitems_be

of

interest___toyou,pleaseletusknow.(4)Wedesireto__enter

into_mutuallybeneficialbusinessrelationswithyou.(5)The__enclosed__isacopyofourlatestcatalogue.(6)Astoourcreditstanding,youcan_refer

to___theIndustrialandCommercialBankofChinaGuangzhouBranch.II.TranslatethefollowingsentencesintoEnglish

1.我们从我方在荷兰代理人处得悉你们的地址，现特去函希望能与贵公司发展合作关系。2.我们公司专营各种家用电器的进口业务。3.信内附有我公司最新的带插图商品目录。如有兴趣，请立即与我公司联系。4.我们的开户银行是中国银行南京分行，该行可向贵公司提供我们公司的资信情况。2.MakingEnquiries1)Whatarelettersformakingenquiries?2)Howtowritealetterformakingenquiries?

3)Notes&Analysis4)WritingPracticesample1sample2sample31)Whatarelettersformakingenquiries?

询盘亦称询价或索盘，是买卖双方交易磋商的开始。按询问的内容划分，询盘有一般询盘和具体询盘。前者是指关于商品目录、价格单和样品的一般询问；而后者则是买方在有了比较明确的意向后关于某种具体商品的价格、包装、交货期、付款方式等的询问。按询盘双方的交易历史划分，询盘有首次询盘和非首次询盘。顾名思义，首次询盘信的写信方和收信方之前没有交易历史；而非首次询盘发生在有交易历史的买卖双方之间。询盘信的写信人有时将询盘信抄送给多个收信人，目的在于比较各收信人的报盘，以选择其中最优惠的报盘。

Sincelettersformakingenquiriesfallintotwocategories,theprocedurestowritethemaresomewhatdifferent.Whenwritingalettertoapotentialsellerformakingageneralenquiry,youfollowthesimilarstepstothoseinwritingaletterforestablishingbusinessrelations,thatis,firstyouhavetostatehowyoucametoknowaboutthecompany,andprovidesomebriefinformationaboutyourfirm,andthenyouexpressyourdesiretoestablishtraderelationsandenquireaboutthecatalogues,pricelistandsoon.2)Howtowritealetterformakingenquiries?However,ifthereceiverofyourletterisalreadyoneofyourestablishedbusinesspartners,youcanstartdirectlywiththespecificinformationyouwouldlikeyoursellertosendyou.Forexample,youmaywanttoknowaboutthediscountsyoursellercanofferregardingaparticulargood,methodofpayments,deliverytimes,etc.Andwhenstatingyourenquiries,makesurethattheyareeasyandcleartoread.Besides,thelanguageyouuseinwritingsuchaletteriscomparativelyinformalandcasualthoughpolitealso.Sample1这是一封一般询盘信函。信中买方向卖方提出进口塑料玩具的意向，要求其提供产品范围特别是一些尚未进入中国市场的新产品信息。DearSirorMadam,WelearnfromtheWebthatyouarealeadingmanufacturer。

andsalesagent2ofplasticproductsinHongKong.WearemuchinterestedinimportingplastictoysfromHongKong.Weshouldbeobligedifyouwillletushavedetailedinformationaboutthetoyrangeyouproduce3.PleaseindicateanynewitemsnotyetintroducedinChinaandsendsomesamplesifpossible.Weawaityourearlyreply.Thankyou.Yoursfaithfully,

Sample2这是一封具体询盘信函。询盘信的发信人向收信人询问了若干事项，如货样的发货期、FOB报价、织物面料、最小订货数量等。发信人将询问事项逐条列出，显得条理清晰，一目了然。DearLinda,CouldyoupleasetakesometimetoreadthisemailverycarefullyandanswerthefollowingquestionsASAP？1.Pleaseadviseifthereareanymoresalessamplestobesent?Ifso，whenwillyousendthesamples？2.PleasecompletetheattachmentandreturnbyFridaythisweek.Ineedthefollowinginformationcompletedonmyspreadsheetandthenreturntome.A.FOBCOST(Wewillsupplyalllabelsandtickets.)B.FABRICUSAGE.(Thiscanbeapproximate.2)C.FABRICGROUPMINIMUM.(Pleaseberealistic.Ourordersneververylargebutwewilldoourbesttogiveyougoodordersallthetime.)D.MINIMUMQUANTITYPERSTYLE.(Ineedtoknowwhatisthesmallestquantityyoucanmakeinastyle,forexample,wemayhavethreestylesinafabricgroup,onehassoldverywellsoweorder1,000units,thesecondstylehassoldaveragesowewillorder500unitsandthelasthassoldpoorlysowewanttoknowwhatthesmallestqtythatyouarehappytomakeforexample200units.)3.FollowingisalistofinformationIneedforeachfabricgroup.Pleasestudyeachgroupcarefullyandsendthefabricinformationinthesameformatastheexamplebelow.FabricGroup:COTTONSPANDEXTWILLStylesNumbers:T5W2244102/T5W2457102/T5W2726102Construction:WOVEN125X5020X20+40DComposition98%COTTON2%SPANDEXFinish:REACTIVEDYEDANDPRINTEDWidth:48/50"Weight(g/m2):210Weight(oz/yd2):5.2

Ilookforwardtoyourreply.Bestregards.GeorgePetheriotisProduction&LogisticsManagerSample3这封询盘信的写信人从《新千年贸易指南》得知，英国全球贸易有限公司是经营办公用品的出口大户。由于希望与该公司建立贸易往来，现发函询问该公司出口行情，索要其经营出口的产品目录与价目表，并简要介绍了自己的业务范围。DearSirs,Weareatradecompanyspecializinginimportandexportofvariouscommodities.WelearnedfromTradeGuidefortheNewMillenniumthatyouarealeadingexporterofofficeequipment2,andarenowwritingtoseekmoreinformationaboutthetypesofequipmentthatyoucanoffer.Wouldyoupleasesendusyourlatestcatalogueandprice-list3?Wehopethatthiswillbeagoodstartforalongandprofitablerelation4betweenus.Yoursfaithfully,3）Notes&Analysis:1.

非首次询盘信的买卖双方由于之前有一定交易历史，相互间已经比较熟悉，信函的语气相对比较随意。如例2中信函开头发信人直接提出“CouldyoupleasetakesometimetoreadthisemailverycarefullyandanswerthefollowingquestionsASAP”，少了客套和拘谨。而且，非首次询盘信的发信人和收信人不再是泛指的Dearsirs和Yoursfaithfully，而是具体的DearLinda和GeorgePetheriotis。

2．首次询盘信的买卖双方由于是初次联系，目的在于建立起贸易关系，因此信函语气更为礼貌和正式。如例3既是一封一般询盘信函，也可看作是一封要求建立商业联系的信函。另外，这封信充分体现了商业信函的效率原则。4)WritingPractice

TranslatethefollowingexpressionsintoEnglish.

1.

询盘 2.价目单3.供应商4.付款条件5.大宗折扣6.运费7.订货

8.不可撤销信用证

9.报伦敦成本、保险加运费价

10.佣金II.Arrangethefollowingsentencesintothecoherentbodyofaletterformakingenquiries.

1Besides,wehaveconfidenceinthequalityofChineseProducts.

2Itwouldalsobeappreciatedifsamplesorbrochurecouldbeforwardedtous.

3WeareinterestedtobylargequantitiesofIronNailsofallsizesandshouldbeobligedifyouwouldgiveusaquotationpermetrictonC.F.R.Lagos,Nigeria.4Welookforwardtohearingfromyoubyreturn.

5Weusedtopurchasethisarticlefromothersourcesbutwenowprefertobuyfromyourcorporationbecausewearegiventounderstandyouareabletosupplylargequantitiesatmoreattractiveprices.III.Composethebodyoflettersformakingenquiriesaccordingtothesituationsbelow.你公司拟进口4500支“好朋友”牌铅笔，得知对方是文具经销大户，故致函询问FOB上海到岸价并索要具体目录及样品。

（2）你公司经营各种纺织品进口业务，最近接到不少顾客关于全棉床单的询盘，因此致函供应商，希望对方提供有关全棉床单产品系列的详细情况，包括可供应的产品花色、尺寸及包装与装运计内的价格，并索要产品彩色图示（如目录或手册等）。3.MakingOffersandCounter-offers1)Whatarelettersformakingoffersandcounter-offers?2)Howtowritealetterformakingoffersandcounter-offers?

3)Notes&Analysis4)WritingPractice报盘函(offers)是指卖方在接到买方询价函后，向买方报价、介绍商品情况、提出交易条件（如商品数量、价格、付款方式、交货日期等）时所写的一种商务书信。根据报盘时有无规定期限来分，报盘有实盘（firmoffer）和虚盘(non-firmoffer)。Sample1

这是一封还盘函，买方在接到卖方报盘后，对童装夹克和裤子的报价感到不能接受，要求对方给出10％的折扣。DearStephen,WethankyouforyourofferofMarch26andforthesamplesyoukindlysendus.Weappreciatetheremarkabledesignsandthegoodqualityofyourproducts,butthepricesyouquoteaboutkidsjacket(USD10.80/pc)andkidspants(USD8.00/pc)istoohighandwilldepriveusofanyprofit.Sowesuggestthatyoumakesomeallowance,say10%onyourquotedprices2.Webelieveyourallowancewouldhelptointroduceyourgoodstoourcustomers.Hopetohearfromyousoon.Yourssincerely,CherryWangSample2

这封报盘函是一封实盘函，发盘人除了具体规定了此项交易商品真空吸尘器的牌号、数量、单价、发货期、付款方式，也规定了报盘的有效期，即对方收到报盘后的五天内。最后，发盘人告知对方所报价格为最优惠价格，不再接受任何还盘。Dearsirs,ReferringtoyourletterofSeptember12enquiringforourvacuumcleaner,weareofferingyou32,000“BrightMoon”Brandvacuumcleaners,atUSD22perpieceCIFVancouverforshipmentinNovember,2003.PaymentistobemadebyD/Patsightandwehopethatitwillbeacceptabletoyou2.Theofferisfirm,subjecttoyourreplytouswithin5days3.Theillustratedcataloguesenclosedwillshowyouexactlysizesanddesignsofourgoods.Inviewofourlongandfriendlyrelations,thepricewehavequotedyouisalreadythemostfavorablepriceandnocounter-offerwillbeentertained.Yourimmediateconfirmationofourofferisanticipated.Yoursfaithfully,back1.准确的信息是报盘函的最重要特征。在进行报价时，要保证所报商品价格、品名、数量等条款的准确性，因为一个小错误很可能酿成大损失。如所报的商品价格单位是美元，报盘人往往应注明是美国美元还是加拿大美元，因为这两者