Dear Anne,
Thank you for your invitation to dinner at your home tomorrow evening. Unfortunately, it is much to my regret that I cannot join you and your family, because I will be fully occupied then for an important exam coming the day after tomorrow. I feel terribly sorry for missing the chance of such a happy get-together, and I hope that all of you enjoy a good time. Is it possible for you and me to have a private meeting afterward? If so, please don't hesitate to drop me a line about your preferable date. I do long for a pleasant chat with you.
Please allow me to say sorry again.
Regards,
Li Ming
dear david:
i am afraid that you will think me unpardonably negligent in not havinganswered your letter dated 7, december sooner, but when i have told you thereason, i trust you will be convinced that the neglect was excusable. when yourletter arrived, i was just in hong kong. as my family could not forward it to meduring my absence, it has been, therefore, lying on my desk until the momentwhen i took it up. now the first thing i have to hasten to do is to write to youthese few lines to express my deep regret.
i enjoyed many pleasant sights during my trip. i shall be pleased to giveyou an account to of them when i see you next.
sincerely yours,
tom
亲爱的戴维：
请原谅我收到您12月7日的来信后迟迟未复，现将原因告诉您，相信您一定会谅解的。您的来信到来时，我正巧在香港，家人无法及时转递。你的信一直放在我写字台上，直到我回到才看见，拖至今天才回信，深表歉意。
I am afraid that you will think me unpardonably negligent in not havinganswered your letter dated 7, December sooner, but when I have told you thereason, I trust you will be convinced that the neglect was excusable. When yourletter arrived, I was just in Hong Kong. As my family could not forward it to meduring my absence, it has been, therefore, lying on my desk until the momentwhen I took it up. Now the first thing I have to hasten to do is to write to youthese few lines to express my deep regret.
I enjoyed many pleasant sights during my trip. I shall be pleased to giveyou an account to of them when I see you next.
Sincerely yours,