How to answer this?

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jasonlulu_2000

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— Honey, the cat's stuck in the tree. Can you turn off the radio and get a ladder…?
—Oh, it jumped off. _______ .
A.All right B. Take care C. Never mind D. No problem

I came across such a puzzling conversation.
Is it naturally made from a native's point of view?
Which reply is socially fit for this situation?

Thanks!

Jason
 
Yes, it sounds like a perfectly plausible, fairly informal conversation. Which answer do you think fits? Or which definitely don't fit?
 
Frankly speaking, I got confused over it.

So I NEED your help and explanation!

Thanks
 
jasonlulu_2000 said:
Frankly speaking, I got confused over it.

So I NEED your help and explanation!

Thanks
Click to expand...

Confusion is a common and standard expectation but we still don't like to simply give you the answer. Let us take one of the choices as an example: B. Take care.

What does that phrase mean? Does it fit with the rest of the conversation?
 
OK. I got your point.

"Take care" means "be careful"
"Never mind", in my opinion, is used after replying to "sorry" in order to comfort others.
"All right" and "No problem" seem to have the same meaning.

Therefore, I don't know which one to choose from, since none within my knowledge fits in with the situation.

Maybe "never mind" is closest to the answer, that's also what I want to confirm with you.

So can you give an answer to me now?

Thanks anyway!
 
jasonlulu_2000 said:
OK. I got your point.

"Take care" means "be careful"
"Never mind", in my opinion, is used after replying to "sorry" in order to comfort others.
"All right" and "No problem" seem to have the same meaning.

Therefore, I don't know which one to choose from, since none within my knowledge fits in with the situation.

Maybe "never mind" is closest to the answer, that's also what I want to confirm with you.

So can you give an answer to me now?

Thanks anyway!
Click to expand...

"Never mind" is the only one that fits.
 
"Never mind" is the correct answer, but your confusion comes from your misunderstanding of how it's used.

If I apologize to you for, say, bumping into you, I would not expect "Never mind" as a response.
A: I'm sorry about that.
B: Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about it.
B: It's quite all right
B: It's okay.
B: It's no problem - really.
B: Thank you. I appreciate your apology
but not: Never mind (At least, not in American use.)

"Never mind" means "you don't have to do anything."

A: Have you seen my glasses? Oh... never mind. They are on top of m head.
A: Please take out the garbage. Oh, never mind. I see John did it before he left for school.
A: Get cat - he's stuck in the tree. Oh... never mind. He's jumped down.
Even: A: Would you please [do X]. After no response: Oh never MIND! I"ll do it myself! (Annoyed)
 
Barb_D said:
"Never mind" is the correct answer, but your confusion comes from your misunderstanding of how it's used.

If I apologize to you for, say, bumping into you, I would not expect "Never mind" as a response.
A: I'm sorry about that.
B: Oh, it's nothing, don't worry about it.
B: It's quite all right
B: It's okay.
B: It's no problem - really.
B: Thank you. I appreciate your apology
but not: Never mind (At least, not in American use.)

"Never mind" means "you don't have to do anything."

A: Have you seen my glasses? Oh... never mind. They are on top of m head.
A: Please take out the garbage. Oh, never mind. I see John did it before he left for school.
A: Get cat - he's stuck in the tree. Oh... never mind. He's jumped down.
Even: A: Would you please [do X]. After no response: Oh never MIND! I"ll do it myself! (Annoyed)
Click to expand...

Dear Barb_D,

Thanks for your detailed instructions, which I have kept in mind.

The only problem is that this conversation is between two people.

In your example, it seems that there is one person in it, that is, Speaker A who says Never Mind after getting no response.

So if Speaker A originally wants Speaker B to help, can Speaker B say "Never mind" since the situation has been sorted out before he acts?

Just want to confirm!

Thanks anyway!

Jason
 
What happens in the original example is this:

Speaker A - There is a cat stuck in a tree. Please get a ladder.
Person B - (does not have time to reply before ...)
Speaker A - Oh, it's OK. The cat is not in the tree any more. You don't need to get a ladder. ( = Never mind)

If Person B had spotted the cat getting down from the tree, he/she would have said something like "The cat is no longer in the tree so I won't bother getting the ladder. It's no longer required". However, it was Person A who both asked for the ladder and, very shortly afterwards, realised that it was no longer needed so said "Never mind".
 
It would be the person who made the request who says "never mind." So you're right -- "never mind" is an odd thing for the second person to say. It's a poor question. You could argue that "No problem" works because he's saying "No problem remains" or "There's no longer any problem."
 
Barb_D said:
It would be the person who made the request who says "never mind." So you're right -- "never mind" is an odd thing for the second person to say. It's a poor question. You could argue that "No problem" works because he's saying "No problem remains" or "There's no longer any problem."
Click to expand...

I didn't assume there actually were 2 speakers in the original. I think 2 people were present but I think both lines were spoken by the same person, perhaps with a break in between while the second (silent) person went to turn off the radio and get the ladder.
 
However, I still can't figure why the radio must be turned off before getting the ladder :-?. Maybe whoever was listening to it may want to resume listening after rescuing the cat. And anyway, I don't see why a radio turned on would pose a difficulty for the rescue (unless hte listener answered somthing like: "Wait a minute, I'm listening to a very interesting interview" and it took about forever for him/her to go get the d*** ladder!;-))
 
I couldn't fathom any reason for the radio to be turned off so I chose to ignore it and concentrate on the rest!! Maybe the speaker is one of those people who can't do something important (like rescuing a cat) while distracted by a radio or TV etc.

I heard a comedian once make a very funny observation - when we are driving and we realise we are lost, or we are looking for a specific address when in a car, why do we turn the radio down? We do! No-one can explain why but we do it!
 
I'm easily distracted and frustrated by noise. I turn off the radio when I'm lost so I can concentrate more on what my eyes are seeing and my brain doesn't have to divide attention between eyes and ears. I can play my music freely when I already know where I'm going, because I'm not depending on sensory signals to the same degree.

I interpreted the "turn off the radio line" as "Get off your butt and stop doing what you're doing."
 
Barb_D said:
I'm easily distracted and frustrated by noise. I turn off the radio when I'm lost so I can concentrate more on what my eyes are seeing and my brain doesn't have to divide attention between eyes and ears. I can play my music freely when I already know where I'm going, because I'm not depending on sensory signals to the same degree.

But you're a woman - you can multi-task! ;-)

I interpreted the "turn off the radio line" as "Get off your butt and stop doing what you're doing."
Click to expand...

Yes, I suppose if the speaker knew that the other person was simply lounging around listening to the radio, they might well have meant that!
 
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