范文一：

　　Dear Kate:

　　Excuse me for my long delaying in returning to you your “Robinson Crusoe” which I read through with great interest. I had finished reading the book and was about to return it when my cousin came to see me. Never having seen the book, She was so interested in it that I had to retain it longer. However, I hope that in view of the additional delight thus afforded by your book, you will overlook my negligence in not returning it sooner.

　　Thanking you again for the loan.

　　Sincerely yours,

　　Tom

　　譯文：

　　親愛(ài)的凱特：

　　我遲遲未能歸還您的那本《魯濱遜飄流記》，請(qǐng)?jiān)彙Ｔ摃易x得津津有味。讀完后，正預(yù)備歸還您時(shí)，我的表妹來(lái)訪，見(jiàn)這本書也感興趣，定要借去一讀。為了讓別人也能分享您那本書所給予的樂(lè)趣，我不能及時(shí)歸還。我想再延遲些日子奉還，諒您不會(huì)介意的。

　　再次感謝您的慷慨。

范文二：

　　Dear Frank:

　　I am terribly sorry to tell you that I have lost the valuable book you were so kind to lend me last week. I read it everyday and intended to finish it next month. Last night when I came to my room, it was nowhere to be found. I will try to recover it as soon as possible. If I fail to find it, I will get a new book for you.

　　But I am afraid it can never take the place of the old one. Old books are like old friends. Once lost, they can never be replaced. They are connected with cherished associations which the new ones can never have. And for this irrecoverable loss, I am to blame. I was so careless with my things. This is a warning to me to be more careful in the future.

　　Yours truly,

　　Tom

　　譯文：

　　親愛(ài)的弗蘭克：

　　很抱歉，上星期您借給我的那本書竟遺失了。我每天都在看，準(zhǔn)備下個(gè)月看完。昨晚我回到我的臥室，到處也找不到那本書。我將盡力找到它。萬(wàn)一找不到，我只好買一本新的還您。

　　但是，新書恐怕不能代替那本舊書吧!舊書跟舊友一樣，一旦失去就不能再得。舊書與往事相連，這種不可彌補(bǔ)的損失，皆由我起。我對(duì)待一切太大意了，這次給我一個(gè)警告，叫我以后要小心。