Practical English Writings 实用英语应用文写作 Invitation

Letters of Invitation 邀请信

1.Introduction 邀请信在日常生活和外事活动中使用广泛，一般分为两种：一种为正式邀请（invitation card）；因为其结构非一般信函，在此不作讲述。本章只讲非正式请帖，即邀请信( letters of invitation)。 邀请信形式上不如请帖那样正规，但也很考究。书写时应注意一下两点：

（1）邀请信一定要将邀请的时间（年、月、日、钟点）、地点、场合写清楚，不能让收信人有任何的疑虑。例如 “ I’d like you and Tom to come to dinner next Monday” 这句话中指的是哪个星期并不明确，所以要加上具体日期，“I’d like you and Tom to come to dinner next Monday, May the fifth at 6 o’clock. P.m., at the Locus Hotel”。 （2）邀请信的特点是简短热情，形式较为灵活，一般为两小段，将意思表达清楚即可。

在盛大的场合，请帖应提前三星期发 出，一般场合书写邀请信，应在预定时间的 前几天发出，一边收信人及早考虑和安排。 收到请帖或信后，通常应立即答复，表 明接受谢绝，以示礼貌。 2.Commonly-Used Sentences I’d like you to come to our dinner this evening. 2) Request the pleasure of … 恭请… 3) The favor of a reply is requested.敬赐复函。

4) May I have the honor of your company at dinner?敬备菲酌，恭请光临。 5) Thank you for inviting us to dinner. 6) We are delighted to accept your invitation. 7) I wish I could be there, but I expect to be away on vacation at that time. 8) Please reply to Thirty-five Park Avenue. 9) We’ll be awaiting your arrival on the twelfth. 10) I hope you are not too busy to come期望你在百忙中光临。 11. I’m looking forward to seeing you.

12) We thought it would be pleasant to have some of our friends to celebrate it. 13) The reception will be held in …, on…招待会定于……在……举行。 14) We sincerely hope you can attend. 15) We have decided to have a party in honor of the occasion.为此我们决定举行举行一次晚会。 16) Please let me know as soon as possible if you can come and tell me when you will be able to do so.如能来的话，早日告我，何时为宜。 17)Please confirm your participation at your earliest convenience. 是否参加，请早日告之。

1. How to start your letter? You are invited to attend our annual company open house. We invite you to join us in thanking David Lee for his 25 years of leadership. It would be a great pleasure to meet you on _______ [date] at the ____________ [trade fair] in _______ [city]. TCCS Inc. invites you to an exclusive showing of its latest computing and telecommunications products. The pleasure of your company is cordially requested at the ITA anniversary celebration. Would you be interested in sharing your experience with the members of our association at their monthly dinner meeting? Would you be willing to share with us the techniques that have earned you the reputation of a top salesman?

How to offer details about your arrangement? We are giving a luncheon at ________ [place] at ______ [time] on _________ [date] to introduce ____________ [product]. The company will host a celebration in honor of David's retirement at Nelson Tech, on December 10, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served from _____ p.m. to _____ p.m. The presentation will take place at _______ [place] at _______[time] on _________[date].

How to end your letter? We are sure you will find the presentation interesting. We hope you will be able to attend. We are all looking forward to hearing your views. We are looking forward to seeing you. I will call you again Friday morning to make sure everything is in order. Just call our office at 000-0000 and we will be glad to secure a place for you. Please let me know as soon as possible.

3. Specimen 1.Invitation to a Formal Dinner（宴会） 1) A letter of invitation Dear Mrs. Benton, John and I would be very happy if you and Mr. Benton could come to dinner with us on Monday, May the second at six o’clock. We do hope you can Join us. Sincerely yours Ellen Smith

2) A letter of Accepting an Invitation Dear Mrs. Smith, Thank you for inviting us to dinner on Monday, May the second. We are delighted to accept your invitation. Sincerely yours, Lucie Benton

3. A letter of Declining an Invitation Dear Mrs. Smith, Thank you for inviting us to dinner on Monday, May the second. I wish I could be there, but I regret to inform you that owing to being away on vacation, we shall not be able to come. Sincerely yours, Lucie Benton

2.Invitation to a Wedding Dear Aunt Kate, David and I are to be married at the Community Church (区教堂)on Thursday, June the twelfth, at noon. We want you come to the ceremony, and also to the wedding breakfast(喜宴) afterward at home. We’ll be awaiting your arrival, Aunt Kate, on the twelfth! With love Helen

3.Invitation to a Dance Dear Martha, Next Friday October the first is our national Day, and we thought it would be pleasant to have some of our friends here to celebrate it. Will you and Tom come? We’ll have dancing from seven until twelve. we are all looking forward to seeing you. Students of International business School

7.Invitation to an Anniversary Celebration of the founding of a School(校庆) Dear prof. Smith, On Monday， September the tenth all the faculty members of Hu Nan University will celebrate the Seventieth Anniversary of the School Founding. We have decided to have a party in honor of the occasion. The place is Teachers’ Reception Hall(教师会客厅), and the time is Friday evening, September the tenth, at six o’clock. Come and bring your wife or other guest. We look forward to seeing you.

In order to make proper reservations, will you send your acceptance to the attention of Professor Chen no later than a week before that day.(为了便于安排，务请您与宴会举行一周以前将您的接受邀请的回执寄到陈教授处。) Cordially,（您真诚的) Wang Hua

8. Invitation to Giving Lectures (邀请来校讲学) 1) A letter of invitation Dear Prof. Green, I was told by our mutual friend Mr. Wilson that you would visit China next month this year. May I take the opportunity to invite you to come to our college to give the students of our English Department some lectures on “Modern American Literature”?

Please let me know as soon as possible if you can come and tell me when you will be able to do so. With warm personal regards, I am,(我个人谨向您致以热烈的问候。) Your sincerely, Yan Hai

2）A letter of Accepting an Invitation Dear Prof. Yang, I accept with pleasure your kind invitation to come to your college and give some lectures on “Modern American Literature” to the students of your English Department. I shall arrive at Changsha on 12th October, and will stay at your college for two weeks, giving lectures 3 times a week. Looking forward to meeting you and your students and with best wishes. Yours sincerely, Green

9.Invitation to Attending the Academic conference(学术会议) 1) A letter of invitation Dear Professor Parley, It would give us great pleasure to have your presence at a meeting of English language teaching scheduled for September the sixth,1998 at the English Department of Beijing University. Your thinking on the subject would contribute greatly to the success of the conference. Do let us know if you can make it. Cordially,(您诚挚的) Xia Kai

2）A letter of Accepting an Invitation Dear Professor Xia, Thank you very much for your invitation to join the meeting of English language teaching at Department of Beijing University on September the sixth, 1998. I will be happy to be there at two o’clock that afternoon to take part in the meeting, and look forward to it with pleasure. Cordially, William Parley

TIPS 1. Highlight the purpose of the gathering (meeting, conference, party, etc.). 2. Make the reader feel his/her attendance is truly expected. 3. Provide all the details that the recipient needs in order to attend: date, time, location, etc. 4. Ask for a response, by a specific date if necessary.

Invitation Card The invitation card is a most formal invitation letter, though very short in length, usually less than 14 lines. It pays great emphasis on choice of words and the setup of letter paper. Due to its formality, the card would involve complete names instead of abbreviations, and salutation is very formal, for which Mr. and Mrs. are most preferred. In addition, the card is written in third person so that we do not use “I” or “we” in invitation cards. It follows that it is challenging for a beginner to write an invitation card, in which he/she must very politely deal with people, time, place, and event in such a short length.

A Marriage Invitation Card from the Bride’s Parents Mr. and Mrs. John James Miller request the honour of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Tiffany Lynn to Mr. Jason Andrew Smith on Saturday, the fifth of July two thousand and three at half after seven o’clock in the evening Saint Stephen Catholic Church Four North Center Street Saint Louis, Missouri Note: Unless their parents have passed away, the card will be in the name of their parents.

A Dinner Invitation Card MR. AND MRS. ROBERT STANLEY REQUEST THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY AT DINNER THURSDAY, THE EIGHTH OF OCTOMBER AT THRITY AFTER SIX SEMI-ISLAND HOTEL SHAOGUAN

Formats of the English Envelope Question 1: Have you seen or received letters from abroad? Question 2: What do you think of the formats of the English envelope? You might not have seen or received letters from abroad, you will. As an English major, we may have to write abroad sooner or later. Perhaps you might have just written for others but after graduation you may have more chances to deal with different English letters. Then does the English envelope have any standard format?

Envelope format：Two Main Styles Full Block (齐头式) The address of the recipient is in the middle of the envelope, beginning approximately halfway down. (Be sure it is mostly below the stamp, or it may get covered over by the cancellation.) Indented Form (缩进式) The indented form asks each new line should leave certain more blank spaces. The indented form is a traditional form of envelopes, preferred by the British. But full block is preferred in U.S.A..

The return address is in the upper left hand corner The return address is in the upper left hand corner. This is not necessary to type in if the stationery is preprinted with the return address. If you are using business envelopes with a window, fold the letter so that the inside address shows through the window. Use the Business Letter Styles if the envelope has a double window. This will make the return address appear in the upper window of the envelope. Due to variations in stationery size, it may be necessary to fold a personal letter differently to fit in the envelope that matches the stationery. If the personal letter is in a small envelope, the return address may be written on the envelope flap after the envelope is sealed

Guo Qiang (Stamp) Foreign Languages Department Shaoguan University Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, 512005 P.R.China Prof. Chongmin Wong c/o Department of Applied Linguistics Southern Rhode Island University Besachpoint, RI 12901 U.S.A.

Guo Qiang (Stamp) Foreign Languages Department Shaoguan University Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, 512005 P.R.China Prof. Chongmin Wong Department of Applied Linguistics Southern Rhode Island University Besachpoint, RI 12901 U.S.A.

. Addressing an Envelope (信封的写法) 平头式 和缩进式 平头式 和缩进式 Qiang Xie College of Foreign Languages Hunan University 410000 Changsha, Hunan, China (收信人姓名等在中央或稍右) Prof. John Wise London Economics School 56 Wood Street London, E.C.4, England (无标点)

Zhejiang Machinery Imp. &Exp. Cop. 102 Fengqi Road Hangzhou 310000 P. R . China (收信人姓名等在中央或稍右) Wariwang Pte Ltd. 402 Orchard Road # 08-06 Singapore 0923

2) 信封格式的一般规则 收信人名称和地址应信函封内名称和地址完全一致，封内地址的每一部分(尊称、头衔、工作部门、姓名、地址、邮编) 应写在信封上。但信封上的写信人姓名前无需加头衔或者职称。 寄信人与收信人的姓名和地址必须完整。 给女士的信函，信封上其姓名前宜用Mrs. 或Miss。若其本人有职称或头衔时，则无需同时用Mrs.或Miss。写给夫妇俩同时收的信函，信封上应写成：Mr.and Mrs.xxx。

3) 几种特殊信封格式的写法 当信函需要第三者收转时，则需在收信人的姓名下方写上收转人的姓名并在其姓名前面写上c/o (care of 的缩写，相当于请转收)，如： Mr. Matthew Fox c/o Mrs. Olga E. Cintron 82 Fifth Street New York, NY 10012 U. S. A.

(2) 托人面呈第三者的信，只需在收信人的姓名下方注明带信人的姓名并在其前加上 “Politeness of”、“ By Politeness of ”、“kindness of”、“Per Kindness of ”、“Courtesy of ”、“ By Courtesy of”、“ Forward by ”、“Per/ By/ With Favor of” (上述各短语均相当于“敬请某人转交”) 即可。如： Mr. John Anderson Politeness of Dr. Henry Smith 有时不必写带信人的姓名，只需在收信人姓名前写“Please Forward”, 如：

Please Forward Mr. Jonathan Claiborne (3) 为了说明所发信函或邮件的类别，写信人往往在信封左下方附上 Air Mail or Par Avion (航空)、Air Mail Registered (航空挂号)、Express、Printed Matter (印刷品)、Photo Enclosed (内附照片)、Immediate (急件)、Secret、Private 等必要的说明。