文档介绍：外贸英语函电
电子课件
Unit 1 Modern Business Letters
Text A
All business letters have two main functions:
A) To ask for and give a reply to an enquiry, offer, order plaint.
B)  To keep a record of all the important facts for ready reference.
The language of old-style business letters is often long plicated. Such letters are liable to confuse the reader. A confused and over long letter may be put aside until someone explains its meaning, and this may mean delays.
Nowadays, more and more people like to do business through a fax machine by sending faxes or even on the Web by sending e-mails. The former is the abbreviation of facsimile, which is actually an exact copy of a document, a picture or a piece of writing sent or received by an electronic system using telephone lines.
The latter is correspondence sent or received on the Web. At the moment, the -commerce involves offering, ordering, enquiring, payment plaint etc. But all these are still based on the business letters.
Here are two letters. One is an old-fashioned, pompous style of English, which is too long plicates the message. The other is in a simple and clear style.
Old-fashioned Style
Dear Sir,
I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 15th inst. in connection with our not clearing our account which was outstanding as at the end of June.
Please accept our profuse apologies. We were unable to settle this matter due to the sudden demise of Mr Noel, our accountant, and as a result were unaware of those accounts which were to be cleared.