I asked her gently, and as non-judgmentally as I could, whether she wanted to kill me because I was a foreigner.

我尽量保持客观，温和地问她是否会因为我是一名外国人而想要杀了我。

youdao

So, I pulled her into the hallway and gently asked her to take a few minutes to compose herself in a nearby conference room.

FORBES: Tears and Fears: Dealing With a Crying Colleague