「My personality is very active.」「I go off work at…」面試中常見的「中式英語」

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年後又迎來一波轉職潮。我們幫助過許多爲了轉職外商來進修英文的專業人士,其中Michael想要從本土科技業轉戰外商。之前面試了幾家外商都沒有下文。跟老師做了精準模擬面試後才發現,原來Michael每次interview英文有很多錯誤,這些錯誤雖然不大,但會讓人覺得不專業。來看看一些例子。

1.我的個性很活潑。

(X) My personality is very active.

(O)I am an outgoing person. / I have an energetic personality.

問題:

"Active" 主要指「行動活躍」,用來形容個性外向時用 "outgoing" 或 "energetic"。

Outgoing是指外向,善於結交朋友,Energetic是很有活動,正能量。

例如:

I am outgoing and makes friends easily.

(我很外向,容易交朋友。)

He's very energetic, isn't he, for a man of his age?

(就這個年齡的人來說,他算很有活力了。)

2.我每天早上會「開」手機來查看郵件。

(X) I will open my mobile phone to check emails every morning.

(O) I turn on my mobile phone to check emails every morning.

問題:

"打開"電器,用”turn on”或”power on”。開門、開窗、開帳戶…才用open。

例句:

I'm going to open an account with another bank.

(我打算在另一家銀行開一個帳戶。)

Who turned the TV on?

(誰開了電視?)

3.我有很多工作經驗。

(X) I have many work experience.

(O) I have a lot of work experience.

(O) I have extensive experience in my field.

問題:

"Experience" 是不可數名詞,不能說 "many experience",應該使用 "a lot of" 或 "extensive" 來修飾。

例句:

•"I have a lot of work experience in project management."

(我在專案管理方面有豐富的工作經驗。)

•"I have extensive experience in customer service."

(我在客戶服務方面有豐富的經驗。)

4.我9點下班。

(X) I go off work at 9 PM.

(O) I get off work at 9 PM.

問題:

"Go off" 這個片語通常指「爆炸」或「響起」,所以說 "I will go off work" 會讓人誤會你要「爆炸下班」? 正確的說法是 "get off work"。

5.我習慣在壓力下工作。

(X) I am used to work under pressure.

(O) I am used to working under pressure.

問題:

"Used to" + 動詞應該用 動名詞 (V-ing),而不能直接接原形動詞。

例句:

•"I thrive in high-pressure environments."

6.我從 2019 年開始加入這家公司。

(X)I joined this company since 2019.

(O)I have been working at this company since 2019.

問題:

"Since" 不能直接和 "joined" 搭配,因爲 "join" 是一個瞬間動作,應該用現在完成進行式來表示持續的狀態。

例句:

•"I have been with this company since 2019."

7.我 3 點見面很方便。

(X)I am convenient to meet at 3 PM.

(O)3 PM works for me. / I am available at 3 PM.

問題:

"Convenient" 不能用來形容「人」,應該說 "available" 或 "works for me"。