寶貝兒子的畢業典禮
Dear Sally,
親愛的莎莉，
Sorry to send you an email about this, but I’m not sure whether or not I’ll be able to make it to Jim’s graduation ceremony this evening.
很抱歉給你發這封電子郵件，但我不確定我今晚能否到場參加吉姆的畢業典禮。
whether(conj.)是否=ifwhether當「無論」時，無法與if互換make it成功做到某事、取得成功ceremony(n.)儀式、典禮=service=ritual
The reason why I’m not calling you is that we’ve had an urgent issue come up at work this afternoon.
我沒有打電話給你的原因是今天下午我們工作遇到了一個緊急問題。
urgent(adj.)緊急的come up升起、被提起、發生
I’ve been in a meeting for the last few hours and accidentally left my phone in my office.
過去幾個小時我一直在開會，不小心把手機落在了辦公室。
accidentally(adv.)意外地、偶然地=by accidentintentionally(adv.)故意地=deliberatelydo sth. on purpose故意做～
Unfortunately, the problem needs to be solved before my team leaves work today as it affects one of our company’s biggest clients.
不幸的是，這個問題必須在我的團隊今天下班前解決，因為它影響到我們公司一位大客戶。
affect(v.)涉及=involveclient(n.)客戶
Therefore, unless we’re able to find a solution before 7 p.m., I don’t think I’ll be able to attend the graduation.
因此，除非我們能夠在晚上7點之前找到解決方案，否則我想我無法參加畢業典禮了。
therefore(adv.)因此=hence=consequentlyunless(conj.)除非=if…notsolution(n.)解決方法、解決方案
However, even if we are finished around that time, I may still be late to the ceremony because of traffic on the highway.
不過，即使我們在7點左右完成工作，我也可能會為高速公路的車況而遲到。
even if就算even though雖然=though=althougheven so但是because of因為=due to
I would hate to miss the graduation today because it’s such an important event for Jim, and for us as parents.
我不想錯過今天的畢業典禮，因為這對吉姆和我們做父母的來說都是一件重要的事。
would hate to不希望miss(v.)錯過、想念、未達到missing(adj.)缺掉的miss out失去獲得利益的機會
I don’t want him to be disappointed that I can’t be there, so I’ll do my best to make sure we solve this problem as soon as possible.
我不想讓他因為我不能到場而感到失望，所以我會盡力確保我們盡快解決這個問題。
disappointed(adj.)失望的
I just wanted to let you know about this urgent issue in case I’m late to the ceremony, or even worse, I can’t be there at all.
我只是想讓你知道這個緊急狀況，以防我在典禮上遲到，或者更糟的是，我根本無法到場。
inform(v.)通知in case以防、萬一～in case of萬一(後加n.或V-ing)
I’ll call you when I get a chance.
有機會我會給你打電話的。
Love,
愛你的
Peter
彼得