How to turn down an invitation
如何拒绝邀请

Oh no!
噢，不！

What is it?
怎么了？

“Josh and Henrietta would like to have the pleasure of your company at a drinks party, next Saturday evening...”
 “乔希和汉丽埃塔想邀请你下周六晚上参加酒会……”

Oh no, Josh and Henrietta... they’re not that couple who...?
噢，不，乔希和汉丽埃塔……不就是那对……夫妻吗？

Yeah exactly! And it gets worse...
是，就是他们！还有更糟的……

How?
什么？

“Formal dress...”
“请着正装……”

Argh.... it means you’ve got to wear a suit....
啊……这就意味着你要穿西装……

At the bottom it says “RSVP”. What does it mean?
最后还说“敬请赐复”。是什么意思？

You’ve got to reply.
就是要你回复。

But I don’t want to go, so what can I say?
可我不想去，那我该怎么答复？

Tell them you’ve got a dentist’s appointment.
告诉他们你已经约了牙医。

Josh is my dentist!
乔希就是我的牙医！

Tell them it’s your grandmother’s 100th birthday party.
告诉他们你要去参加你外婆的百岁生日宴会。

But they know my granny died ages ago.
可他们知道我外婆几年前已经去世了。

Tell them your dog’s sick and you’ve got to take him to see the vet.
告诉他们你的狗病了，你要带它去看兽医。

It’s no use – I’m just going to have to tell them the truth...
这也没用– 我要跟他们实话实说……

The truth? “I’m not coming to your birthday party because I think you’re boring and stupid?”
实话实说？“我不来参加你们的生日派对，是因为你们很傻很无聊？”

Maybe not then...
也许不太合适……

Tell them this: “I’m unable to attend because I have a prior engagement.”
这样跟他们说：“我已经有约了，所以没法参加。”

“Prior engagement”?! And… they won’t be offended?
“已经有约了”？！可……可是这样难道不会冒犯他们吗？

Absolutely not.
肯定不会。

Perfect!
好极了！