Text 1

The All-American Slurp

by Lensey Namioka

    People in different places have different lifestyles and eating habits. Ignorance of the differences may sometimes lead to cultural shocks. Read the following story and see how the author feels towards her own culture and that of the West even over trivial matters such as table manners.

    The first time our family was invited out to dinner in America, we disgraced ourselves while eating celery. We had immigrated to this country from China, and during our early days here we had a hard time with American table manners.

    In China we never ate celery raw, or any other kind of vegetable raw. We always had to disinfect the vegetables in boiling water first. When we were presented with our first relish tray, the raw celery caught us unprepared.

    We had been invited to dinner by our neighbors, the Gleasons. After arriving at the house, we shook hands with our hosts and packed ourselves into a sofa. As our family of four sat stiffly in a row, my younger brother and I stole glances at our parents for a clue as to what to do next.

    Mrs. Gleason offered the relish tray to mother. The tray looked pretty, with its tiny red radishes, curly sticks of carrots, and long, slender stalks of pale green celery. "Do try some of the celery, Mrs. Lin," she said. "It's from a local farmer, and it's sweet."

    Mother picked up one of the green stalks, and Father followed suit. Then I picked up a stalk, and my brother did too. So there we sat, each with a stalk of celery in our right hand.

    Mrs. Gleason kept smiling. "Would you like to try some of the dip, Mrs. Lin? It's my own recipe: sour cream and onion flakes, with a dash of Tabasco sauce."

    Most Chinese don't care for dairy products, and in those days I wasn't even ready to drink fresh milk. Sour cream sounded perfectly revolting. Our family shook our head in unison.

    Mrs. Gleason went off with the relish tray to the other guests, and we carefully watched to see what they did. Everyone seems to eat the raw vegetables quite happily.

    Mother took a bite of her celery. Crunch. "It's not bad!" she whispered.

    Father took a bite of his celery. Crunch. "Yes, it is good," he said, looking surprised.

   I took a bite, and then my brother. Crunch, crunch. It was more than good; it was delicious. Raw celery has a slight sparkle, a zingy taste that you don't get in cooked celery. When Mrs. Gleason came around with the relish tray, we each took another stalk of celery, except my brother. He took two.

    There was only one problem: long strings ran through the length of the stalk, and they got caught in my teeth. When I help my mother in the kitchen, I always pull the strings out before slicing celery.

    I pulled the strings out of my stalk. Z-z-zip, z-z-zip. My brother followed suit. Z-z-zip, z-z-zip, z-z-zip. To my left, my parents were taking care of their own stalks. Z-z-zip, z-z-zip, z-z-zip.

    Suddenly I realized that there was dead silence except for our zipping. Looking up, I saw that the eyes of everyone in the room were on our family. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason, their daughter Meg, who was my friend, and their neighbors the Badels—they were all staring at us as we busily pulled the strings of our celery.

    That wasn't the end of it. Mrs. Gleason announced that dinner was served and invited us to the dining table. It was lavishly covered with platters of food, but we couldn't see any chairs around the table. So we helpfully carried over some dining chairs and sat down. All the other guests just stood there.

    Mrs. Gleason bent down and whispered to us, "This is a buffet dinner. You help yourselves to some food and eat it in the living room."

    Our family beat a retreat back to the sofa as if chased by enemy soldiers. For the rest of the evening, too mortified to go back to the dining table, I nursed a bit of potato salad on my plate.

    Next day Meg and I got on the school bus together. I wasn't sure how she would feel about me after the spectacle our family made at the party. But she was just the same as usual, and the only reference she made to the party was, "Hope you and your folks got enough to eat last night. You certainly didn't take very much. Mom never tries to figure out how much food to prepare. She just puts everything on the table and hopes for the best."

    I began to relax. The Gleasons' dinner party wasn't so different from a Chinese meal after all. My mother also puts everything on the table and hopes for the best.

    Meg was the first friend I had made after we came to America. I eventually got acquainted with a few other kids in school, but Meg was still the only real friend I had.

    My brother didn't have any problems making friends. He spent all his time with some boys who were teaching him baseball, and in no time he could speak English much faster than I could—not better, but faster.

    I worried more about making mistakes, and I spoke carefully, making sure I could say everything right before opening my mouth. At least I had a better accent than my parents, who never really got rid of their Chinese accent, even years later. My parents had both studied English in school before coming to America, but what they had studied was mostly written English, not spoken.

    Father's approach to English was a scientific one. Since Chinese verbs have no tense, he was fascinated by the way English verbs changed form according to whether they were in the present, past imperfect, perfect, pluperfect, future, or future perfect tense. He was always making diagrams of verbs and their inflections, and he looked for opportunities to show off his mastery of the pluperfect and future perfect tenses, his two favorites. "I shall have finished my project by Monday," he would say smugly.

    Mother's approach was to memorize lists of polite phrases that would cover all possible social situations. She was constantly muttering things like "I'm fine, thank you. And you?" Once she accidentally stepped on someone's foot, and hurriedly blurted, "Oh, that's quite all right!" Embarrassed by her slip, she resolved to do better next time. So when someone stepped on her foot, she cried, "You're welcome!"

    In our own different ways , we made progress in learning English.

    The day came when my parents announced that they wanted to give a dinner party. We had invited Chinese friends to eat with us before, but this dinner was going to be different. In addition, we were going to invite the Gleasons.

    "Gee, I can hardly wait to have dinner at your house," Meg said to me. "I just love Chinese food."

   That was a relief. Mother was a good cook, but I wasn't sure if people who ate sour cream would also eat chicken gizzards stewed in soy sauce.

    Mother decided not to take a chance with chicken gizzards. Since we had western guests, she set the table with large dinner plates, which we never used in Chinese meals. In fact we didn't use individual plates at all, but picked up food from the platters in the middle of the table and brought it directly to our rice bowls. Following the practice of Chinese-American restaurants, Mother also placed large serving spoons on the platters.

    The dinner started well. Mrs. Gleason exclaimed at the beautifully arranged dishes of food: the colorful candied fruit in the sweet-and-sour pork dish, the noodle-thin shreds of chicken meat stir-fried with tiny peas, and the glistening pink prawns in a ginger sauce.

    At first I was too busy enjoying my food to notice how the guests were doing. But soon I remembered my duties. Sometimes guests were too polite to help themselves and you had to serve them with more food.

    I glanced at Meg, to see if she needed more food, and my eyes nearly popped out at the sight of her plate. It was piled with food: the sweet-and-sour meat pushed right against the chicken shreds, and the chicken sauce ran into the prawns. She had been taking food from a second dish before she finished eating her helping from the first!

    Horrified, I turned to look at Mr. Gleason. He was chasing a pea around his plate. Several times he got it to the edge, but when he tried to pick it up with his chopsticks, it rolled back toward the center of the plate again. Finally he put down his chopsticks and picked up the pea with his fingers. He really did! A grown man!

    All of us, our family and the Chinese guests, stopped eating to watch the activities of the Gleasons. I wanted to giggle. Then I caught my mother's eyes on me. She frowned and shook her head slightly, and I understood the message: the Gleasons were not used to Chinese ways, and they were just coping the best they could. For some reason I thought of celery strings.

    When the main courses were finished, Mother brought out a platter of fruit. "I hope you weren't expecting a sweet dessert," she said. "Since the Chinese don't eat dessert, I didn't think to prepare any."

    "Oh, I couldn't possibly eat dessert!" cried Mrs. Gleason. "I'm simply stuffed!" Meg had different ideas. When the table was cleared, she announced that she and I were going for a walk. "I don't know about you, but I feel like dessert," she told me, when we were outside. "Come on, there's a Dairy Queen down the street. I could use a big chocolate milkshake!"

    Although I didn't really want anything more to eat, I insisted on paying for the milkshakes. After all I was still hostess.

    Meg got her large chocolate milkshake and I had a small one. Even so, she was finishing hers while I was only half done. Toward the end she pulled hard on her straws and went shloop, shloop.

    "Do you always slurp when you eat a milkshake?" I asked, before I could stop myself.

    Meg grinned. "Sure. All Americans slurp."

(1,685 words)       

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课文一

全美习俗

伦赛·娜米奥卡

    不同的地方有不同的生活方式和饮食习惯。不了解这些不同，有时会导致文化上的误会。读下面这则故事，了解一下作者在诸如餐桌礼仪这样的日常小事上对本国文化和西方文化的看法。

    到美国后，我们一家人第一次应邀出席晚宴，就在吃芹菜时出了洋相。我们是从中国移民到美国的，刚到这里的那段日子里，我们深感棘手的一个问题，便是美国的餐桌礼仪。

　　在中国，我们从不生吃芹菜，也不生吃其他任何蔬菜。我们总是先用沸水给蔬菜消毒。主人呈上第一道美味时，摆在我们面前的生芹菜着实让我们措手不及。

　　邀请我们共进晚餐的是我们的邻居，格林森一家。进门之后，我们先与主人握了手，然后便挤坐在一张沙发上。我们一家四口挤在一张沙发上，我和弟弟偷偷瞟着父母，想知道下一步该怎样做。

　　格林森夫人把盘子端给了母亲。盘子非常漂亮，上面摆着红红的小萝卜，弯弯的胡萝卜，还有那细细长长的淡绿色芹菜。“一定要尝尝芹菜，林太太，”她说：“这是从当地一个农场主那里来，味道很不错。”

　　妈妈拿起一根，爸爸随即效仿，然后我和弟弟也都拿起一根来。就这样，我们全家人坐在沙发上，每个人右手都拿着一根芹菜。

 　　格林森夫人一直满面笑容:“林太太，你想尝尝蘸料吗？这是我自己设计的配方：酸奶油和洋葱片，加了一点塔巴斯可酱油。”　

　　大多数中国人是不喜欢吃奶制品的，而且当时我连鲜牛奶都不爱喝。酸奶油听上去很让人反胃，所以我们一家人一致摇了摇头。

　　格林森夫人端着餐盘向其他客人走去，我们仔细地看别人怎样做，可每个人似乎都在津津有味地享用着这些生蔬菜。

　　妈妈咬了一口芹菜，咯吱一声，“还可以，”她低声说。　

　　爸爸也咬了一口，咯吱，“是不错，”他说，满脸惊奇。

　　我和弟弟咯吱咯吱地咬着，味道不仅不错，简直是美味可口。生芹菜微微发亮，味道与熟芹菜截然不同。格林森夫人端着餐盘走过来，我们每个人又都要了一根芹菜，弟弟除外——他要了两根。

　　只有一个问题需要解决：芹菜里面有长长的细丝，塞在我的牙缝里。以前在家帮妈妈做饭时，我总是在切芹菜前把里面的丝抽掉。

　　我把丝从芹菜里抽掉，嗤，嗤，弟弟也学我一样，嗤，嗤，嗤。在我的左首，我的父母也在忙乎着，嗤，嗤，嗤。

　　突然间，我意识到周围一片静寂，只有我们发出的嗤嗤声。我抬起头，看见屋子里每个人都在盯着我们一家人。格林森夫妇，他们的女儿麦格，也就是我的朋友，还有他们的邻居巴戴尔一家——他们都盯着我们一家四口忙着给芹菜抽丝。

　　可这还不算完。格林森夫人说晚餐准备好了，请我们到餐桌旁去。桌子上摆满了一盘又一盘的丰盛食品，但桌子旁没摆椅子。于是我们主动帮忙，搬来了几把椅子，然后坐了下来。这时其他的客人们仍然站在那里。

　　格林森夫人俯下身来，对我们低声说：“今晚是自助晚餐，你们可以随便选，然后到客厅去吃。”

　　象被敌兵追赶似的，我们一家人又撤回到了沙发上。剩下的时间里，由于羞于再回到餐桌旁，我整晚都只守着盘子里那一点点土豆沙拉。

　　第二天，我和麦格一同乘校车去学校。我们一家人在晚宴上洋相百出，我不知道她现在会怎样看我。可是她和往常完全一样，唯一提到晚餐的话是：“我希望你们昨晚都吃饱了，你吃的真是不多。妈妈从来不注意该准备多少吃的，她只是把东西都摆在桌子上，然后就万事大吉了。”

　　我松了一口气，其实格林森家的晚宴与中国的无甚区别。我妈妈也总是把所有菜都摆在桌上，然后万事大吉。

　　麦格是我在美国交的第一个朋友，后来我与学校里其他的孩子也熟识了起来，但是麦格一直是我唯一的真朋友。

　　弟弟在交朋友方面很顺利。他整天与那些教他打棒球的孩子们呆在一起。很快，他的英语说得比我快多了，不过只是比我快，并不比我好。

　　我说英语时很怕出错，因此总是小心翼翼，确信无误后才张嘴。至少我的发音比父母要强，他们的中国口音甚至多年后也没有改掉。父母在来美国之前，都在学校里学过英语，可是他们学的多是书面语，而不是口语。

　
　　爸爸学习英语颇具科学性。汉语中动词没有时态，因此他对英语动词的种种时态转换形式大为着迷：现在式、过去进行式、完成式、过去完成式、将来式及将来完成式。他总是把动词及其变化绘制成表，然后便寻找机会炫耀他的两个最爱——过去完成时和将来完成时。他会自鸣得意地说：“到下星期一我将完成我的计划 。”

　　妈妈学英语的方法是把成串的礼貌用语背下来以应对各种社交场合。她嘴里总是在念叨“我很好，谢谢，你呢？”这类的短语。有一回，她不小心踩了别人的脚，马上脱口而出道：“噢，没什么！”这次口误让她狼狈不堪，她决心下次一定不再犯同类错误，因此当别人踩了她的脚时，她叫道：“不客气！”

　　尽管学英语的方式各不相同，但我们都取得了一定的进步。
　　那一天终于到来了——父母宣布他们要举办一个晚宴。我们以前曾经邀请过中国朋友来吃饭，但这一次却大不相同。另外我们还要邀请格林森一家。

　　“哎呀，我已经迫不及待要去你家吃饭了，”麦格对我说：“我就是爱吃中国菜。”
　　这么说我就放心了，妈妈可是个烹调高手。不过，那些吃酸奶油的人是不是也吃得惯酱爆鸡肫，我也没有把握。

　　妈妈决定不做酱爆鸡肫，那有一点冒险。因为我们请的都是西方客人，她把大盘子摆在桌子上，这是我们吃中餐时从来不用的。实际上我们根本不分餐，而是把吃的从桌子中间的盘子里直接弄到我们的饭碗里。按照美国中餐馆的做法，妈妈还在大盘子上放上了一些大餐勺。

　　晚宴顺利开始。格林森夫人看到那些摆放精美的一盘盘的菜肴时，不由得惊呼起来。有点缀着五颜六色甜水果的糖醋肉，有鸡丝烧豌豆，还有亮晶晶的、粉红的姜汁龙虾。


　　起初我只顾自己大吃，无暇顾及客人们。但很快我便想起了自己的责任。有时候客人们太客气了，不肯多吃，你只好亲自为他们添菜。

　　我瞟了一眼麦格，想看看她是否要再吃些什么，可是我一看到她的盘子，眼球差点突了出来。她的盘子上堆得尖尖的：糖醋肉与鸡丝挤在了一起，龙虾泡在了鸡丝酱汤里。原来她从一个盘子里弄的菜还没吃完，便又从另一个盘子里弄吃的了。

　　我震惊之余，又转脸看了看格林森先生。他正忙着对付盘子里的一颗豌豆。好几次他把豆子弄到了盘子边，可用筷子夹时，豆子骨碌一下又滚回盘子中央。最后他索性放下筷子，用手把它拿起来，他真的用手拿了！他可是个成年人哪！


　　我们一家人，还有其他的中国客人，都停箸看格林森一家人吃饭。我真想笑出声来，可是我发现妈妈在看我。她眉头一皱，轻轻摇了一下头。我明白了：格林森一家是不习惯中国的餐桌风格，他们已经竭尽全力了！不知怎么地，我想起了抽芹菜丝的事来。

　　吃过主菜后，妈妈端来了一盘水果。“希望你们不是在等甜点，”她说：“中国人不吃甜点，我也没想起准备。”


　　“噢，有甜点我也吃不动了，”格林森夫人大声说：“我吃的太饱了！”可麦格却不这么想。桌子收拾完之后，她大声说要和我一道去散散步。到了街上，她对我说：“我不知道你怎么样，我可是真想来点甜点。走吧，那边有一家奶品之王，我可以到那儿喝一大杯奶昔。”

　　尽管我没想再吃东西，我还是坚持由我来请客。毕竟我是东道主呀。

　　麦格要了一大杯奶昔，我只要了一小杯。尽管如此，我只喝到一半时，她便把自己的那份儿喝光了。喝到底儿时，她就使劲用管子吱溜、吱溜地吸。

　　“你总是这样啧啧喝牛奶吗？”我忍不住问道。

　　麦格咧嘴一笑：“当然，美国人都这样。”

　　（张春芳译）          返回

Text 2

How Do You Do?

How do you do? If you can speak English, you know a lot of English words. You can read, speak and understand. But there is another kind of language you need to know, the language of the body.

    All over the world, people "talk" with their hands, with their heads, and with their eyes. When Japanese people meet, they bow. When Indians meet, they put their hands together. What do American and British people do?

    Americans are more informal than the British. They like to be friendly. They use first names, they ask questions, and they talk easily about themselves. When they sit down, they like to relax in their chairs, and make themselves comfortable.

    British people are more reserved. They take more time to make friends. They like to know you before they ask you home.

    When British and American people meet someone for the first time, they shake hands. They do not usually shake hands with people they know well. Women sometimes kiss their women friends, and men kiss women friends (on one cheek only). When a man meets a male friend, he just smiles, and says "Hello". Men do not kiss each other.

Clothes These days, most people in Britain and the USA do not wear very formal clothes. But sometimes it is important to wear the right thing.

    Many British people don't think about clothes very much. They just like to be comfortable.
    When they go out to enjoy themselves,they can wear almost anything. At thetres, cinemas and concerts you can put on what you like—from elegant suits and dresses to jeans and sweaters. Anything goes, as long as you look clean and tidy.

    But in Britain, as well as the USA, men in offices usually wear suits and ties,and women wear dresses or skirts (not trousers). Doctors, lawyers and businessmen wear quite formal clothes. And in some hotels and restaurants men have to wear ties and women wear smart dresses. Jeans and open shirts are sometimes not allowed.

    In many ways, Americans are more relaxed than British people, but they are more careful with their clothes. At home, or on holiday, most Americans wear informal or sporty clothes. But when they go out in the evening, they like to look elegant. In good hotels and restaurants, men have to wear jackets and ties, and women wear pretty clothes and smart hairstyles.

    It is difficult to say exactly what people wear in Britain and the States, because everyone is different. If you are not sure what to wear, watch what other people do, and then do the same. Or ask the advice of a friend or your host. You'll feel more relaxed if you don't look too different from everyone else.

Sorry! I'm late! In Britain and the USA most people are careful about time.

  If they want to see a friend, or meet a business colleague, they telephone first to make an appointment. A lot of people don't like surprises. They want to know when a visitor is going to arrive.

    Have you arranged to meet someone at 3 o'clock? It's polite to arrive a few minutes early. Of course, everyone is late occasionally. Cars break down, trains are delayed and meetings go on too long. If you're late, just say sorry, and explain what happened. Sometimes it's impossible to keep an appointment. But if you don't arrive, the other person will be upset. Call them to explain.

    Some people usually spend time chatting and drinking tea or coffee before they start a business meeting—but not in Britain or the USA. There, they like to talk about business first and chat later—if there's time.

    Office hours in Britain and the USA are from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., but some offices open at 8.30 or 9.30 a.m. and do not close until 5.30 or 6 p.m. People usually take about one hour for lunch (between 12 and 2 p.m.). Shops open at 9 or 9.30 a.m., and stay open until 5.30 or 6 p.m. Most shops are open all day on Saturday, and are closed all day on Sunday.

Out and about in town Did you invite your friend to the restaurant? Then you pay the bill. Did your friend invite you? Your friend pays. If there are men and women in the party, the men usually pay.

    These days, men and women are equal in many ways. If you work in Britain or America, your boss could be a man or a woman. There are women in important positions in politics, law, medicine and in the business world. But it is still polite for a man to open doors for women, and to ask them to go first. And it is polite for men to stand up when they are introduced to women. On informal occasions, of course, everyone is more relaxed.

Names American and British people have two names: a "first" name, and a "surname" or "family" name. Here are some examples.

    Family members and friends always use first names, but Americans are more informal than British people, and they use first names with nearly everybody. But it's usually a good idea to use surnames until people ask you to use their first names.

    When people want to be formal, or when they do not know each other very well, they use surnames with "Mr", "Mrs" for married women, and "Miss" for unmarried women. Some women don't like to say if they are married or not. When they write their name, they use "Ms", not "Mrs" or "Miss". People never use "Mr", "Mrs", "Miss" or "Ms" with first names alone.

    Some people have middle names: Winston Spencer Churchill.

    British people do not use their middle names, but Americans often give the initial: John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon.

    When a woman marries, she usually does not use her old surname any more, but takes her husband's surname. The children have their father's surname too. So, if John Smith marries Susan Brown, she becomes Susan Smith and their children are Elizabeth Smith and Tom Smith.

    Some American men have the same first name as their father. The son puts Jr. (Junior) after his name, and the father puts Sr. (Senior) after his name: Martin Luther King Sr.

    "Sir" is a British title for men who have done a lot for their country. "Sir" is used with the first name, not with the surname alone: Sir Winston, or Sir Winston Churchill (not Sir Churchill).

    Many English names have short forms. They sound more friendly and informal than the whole name. But some people don't like the short form of their name. Listen to what other friends say before you use a short form. Here are some examples:

WOMEN'S NAMES

    Have you heard of Princess Di, Liz Taylor or Maggie Thatcher?

MEN'S NAMES

    Have you heard of Jimmy Carter, Charlie Chaplin or Teddy Kennedy?

Come to a party! Most parties are quite relaxed these days, especially young people's parties. You don't have to wear a long dress or a black tie when you want to have a good time. In fact, you can usually wear what you like—anything from jeans to suits and dresses. British and American people are often very informal.

    Informal invitations all look very different. People will expect an answer even to an informal invitation. Just call to say if you can or cannot come.

    What do you do if someone asks you to "tea"?

    For some British people, "tea" means a cup of tea and a biscuit at 4.30 or 5 p.m. For others, "tea" or " hightea", to be exact, means a meal at 6.30 or 7 p.m.

    "Formal dress" usually means a suit and a tie for men, and a smart dress for women. "Black tie" means that the men wear dinner jackets and the women wear evening dresses. "Black tie" is only for very special occasions.

Come to dinner! Some British and American people like to invite friends and colleagues for a meal at home. But don't be upset if your English friends don't invite you home. It doesn't mean they don't like you!

    Dinner parties usually start between 7 and 8 p.m. and end at about 11. Ask your host what time you should arrive. It's polite to bring flowers, chocolates or a bottle of wine to your hostess.

   Usually the evening starts with drinks and snacks. (Ask for a soft drink if you don't like alcohol.) Do you want to be extra polite? Say how much you like the room, or the pictures, or your hostess's dress. But remember—it's not polite to ask how much things cost.

    Dinner will usually start at about 8 or 9 o'clock. In many families, the husband sits at one end of the table and the wife sits at the other end. They eat with their guests.

    You'll probably start the meal with soup, or something small as a "starter", then you'll have meat or fish with vegetables, and then a dessert (sometimes called a "sweet" or a "pudding"), followed by coffee. It's polite to finish everything on your plate and to take more if you want it. Some people eat bread with their meal, but not everyone does.

    Did you enjoy the evening? Call your hostess the next day, or write her a short "thank you" letter.

    Perhaps it seems funny to you, but British and American people say "thank you, thank you, thank you" all the time!

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课文二

您好

您好！如果你会说英语，那么你一定认识许多英语单词。你会读，会说并且也能明白别人的意思。然而，你还应该了解另外一种语言，那就是肢体语言。

　　在全世界范围内，人们借助他们的双手、头部以及双眼与人交流。日本人一见面就相互鞠躬。而印度人相遇时，则会双手合上。那么，美国人和英国人是怎么做的呢？

　　同英国人相比，美国人更为随便一些。他们总是很友好。他们乐意直呼其名，提一些问题，并且会很随意地谈论起自己。坐着的时候，他们会让自己彻底放松，坐得舒服自在。

　　英国人则比美国人来得保守。在交朋友的问题上，他们要花更多的时间。他们希望先对你有所了解，然后再邀请你去家中做客。
　　英国人和美国人与人初次见面时，会相互握手致意。与熟识的人见面时他们通常不需握手。女士之间有时会亲吻以示友好，而男士只能吻女性朋友，而且只吻一边的面颊。男人们相遇的时候，通常只是相视一笑，或者随意地说声“你好”。男人之间不会彼此亲吻。

衣着　　如今无论是生活在英国还是美国，人们都不会穿得很正式。但有时穿着得体至关重要。

　　许多英国人并不很讲究衣着。他们只在乎是否穿得舒适。外出尽情娱乐时，他们几乎可以穿任何衣服。

　　在戏院、电影院、音乐厅，你想穿什么衣服就穿什么衣服：从优雅的西服套装和长裙到牛仔裤和运动衫，什么装束都可以，只要看起来干净整洁就行。

 
　　但在英国和美国，在办公室工作的男士通常要穿西装打领带，而女士则穿长裙或短裙套装（不能穿长裤）。医生、律师和商人总是穿得很正式。在某些酒店和餐厅，男士必须戴领带，女士必须穿礼服，穿牛仔裤或敞怀衬衫的人有时会被拒之门外。

　　在许多方面，美国人都比英国人更为随意，但在衣着方面，美国人却更为考究。居家或度假时，多数美国人穿休闲或运动服饰。但如果晚间外出，他们喜欢打扮得优雅得体。在高级的宾馆、酒店里，男士必须打领带穿西装，女士必须衣着漂亮，发型入时。


　　由于每个人各有所好，因此很难准确地说出英美人如何穿着。如果你不知道该穿什么衣服，就看看别人怎么穿，然后照搬就行了。或者问问朋友或主人的意见。穿着上不过份与众不同，你会感觉更自在一些。

对不起，我迟到了！ 在英国和美国，大多数人都很守时。

　　如果英美人要约见朋友或商业伙伴，他们会先打电话约定见面时间。很多人不喜欢不速之客。他们需要知道拜访者何时会到。

　　你是否曾安排在三点钟同人会面？提前几分钟到达显得十分礼貌。当然，任何人都有偶尔迟到的时候。也许车子坏了，火车误点了，或者会议延长了。如果迟到了，就说对不起，并且说明自己迟到的原因。有时也会因特殊原因而根本不能赴约。可这会令对方感到十分不快。因此，要打个电话向他们解释。

　　有些人正式开始商务会谈之前，通常会先花些时间闲聊，饮茶或喝咖啡；但英美人却决不会这样。他们会先谈生意，再聊天—— 如果时间充裕。

　　在英国和美国，办公时间是从上午九点至下午五点，但有些办公楼是早晨八点三十分或九点三十分开门，到晚上五点三十分或六点才关门。人们通常有大约一小时的午餐时间（中午十二点至午后两点之间）。商店一般在九点或九点三十分开始营业，直到五点三十分或六点才关门。多数商店周六全天营业，而周日则全天休息。

城市生活面面观 　　你是否曾邀请你的朋友去餐馆用餐？你邀请就应当由你来买单。你的朋友可曾邀请过你？那样的话就应当是你的朋友买单。如果男士和女士一起参加社交聚会，通常是由男士来买单。

　　现今，在许多方面男女都是平等的。如果你在英国或美国工作的话，你的上司可能是一位男士也可能是一位女士。有些女性在政治、法律、医学或商业领域身居要职。但对男士来说，为女士开门，请女士先行，仍被认为是礼貌之举。同样，男士被介绍给女士时，立即起身也一样显得彬彬有礼。当然，非正式的场合，每个人都会更为放松一些。
　

姓名 　美国人和英国人都有两个名字。一个是名，另一个是姓，或称为家族姓氏。现在举例如下：

名　　　      姓

玛丽莲    　梦露

玛格丽特  　撒切尔

埃尔维斯  　普莱斯利

　　家庭成员之间或朋友间总是以名相称，但美国人在称呼上比英国人更随意些。他们几乎都用名来称呼别人。不过，待到别人要求你用名相称时，你再由称呼姓改为称呼名，这样做也不失为一个好主意。

　　当人们希望显得正式一些时，或是他们之间并不十分熟悉时，会在姓氏之前加上“先生”、“夫人”或“小姐”这样的称呼。“夫人”是指已婚的女性，而“小姐”是指未婚的女性。有些女性不希望他人知道她们的婚姻状况。因此写自己的姓名时会用“女士”，而不是“夫人”或“小姐”。 “先生”、“夫人”、“小姐”或“女士”这样的称呼从不在名之前单独使用。
　　有些人的姓与名之间有一个中名，如：Winston Spencer Churchill。
　　英国人通常不用他们的中名，但美国人却常常使用自己中名的首字母缩写，如：John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon。

　　妇女结婚之后不再使用自己婚前的姓氏，而是跟随丈夫的姓氏。孩子们通常也跟从父亲的姓氏。如果约翰·史密斯同苏珊·布朗结婚，苏珊·布朗就成为了苏珊·史密斯，他们的孩子就是伊丽莎白·史密斯和汤姆·史密斯。

　　有些美国男性与他们的父亲名字相同。儿子通常会在姓名的后面加上Jr. (Junior)，而父亲会在姓名之后加上Sr. (Senior)，如，Martin Luther King Sr.
　　爵士是英国人授予那些为国家做出贡献的人的头衔。“爵士”封号是与名一同使用的，它不能与姓氏单独使用。可以说温斯特爵士或温斯特·丘吉尔爵士，而丘吉尔爵士就是错误的用法。

　　许多英文名字有自己的简写形式。这些名字的简写形式比原来的全名听起来更随和，更友好。但有些人并不喜欢自己名字的简写形式。在用简写形式称呼别人之前应先听一听其他朋友是怎样做的。以下是一些实例。

         女子名
原名           简写形式
Diana          Di
Elizabeth      Liz
Margaret       Maggie
Jacqueline     Jackie
Katherine      Kathy (or Kate)
Jane           Janie
Susan          Sue

　　你可曾听说过戴王妃、利兹·泰勒或梅吉·撒切尔？

       男子名
原名            简写形式
James          Jim(or Jimmy)
Charles        Charlie
Robert         Bob (or Bobby)
Edward         Ed (or Teddy)
Richard        Dick
Thomas         Tom
Michael        Mike (or Micky)
Andrew         Andy

　　你可曾听说过吉米·卡特、查理·卓别林或泰迪·肯尼迪？

参加晚会　 现在的大多数晚会都非常轻松愉快，尤其是年轻人的晚会。如果你希望尽情娱乐，可以不必穿长裙，或打黑领结。事实上，通常你可以随意穿着——从牛仔到西服套装和长裙，什么都可以。英美人常常是很随意的。

　　非正式邀请的形式各不相同。但即使是非正式的邀请，人们也总是希望对此得到答复。无论接受与否，打个电话告知即可。

　　如若有人邀请你去“喝茶”，你怎么办？
　　对于某些英国人来说，“喝茶”指的是在午后四点半或五点饮一杯茶，吃一点饼干。对于其他人来说，“喝茶”（更准确的说法是“用正式茶点”），是指晚上六点半或七点的那顿晚餐。
　　“正式场合的服饰”通常指的是男士应当穿西装打领带，女士穿漂亮的裙装。“黑领结”则意味着男士们穿晚礼服戴领结，女士穿晚礼服。“黑领结”只适合特别的场合。

参加晚宴 　有些英美人喜欢邀请朋友或同事来家中吃饭。不过，如果你的英国朋友没有邀请你去他家的话，大可不必为此不安，因为那并不表示他们不喜欢你。

　　晚宴派对一般在晚上七、八点开始，至十一点左右结束。去之前，应先向主人询问何时到达为宜。去时，为女主人带上一束鲜花、一盒巧克力或一瓶葡萄酒。这样做十分礼貌得体。

　　通常晚宴一开始，先提供点心和饮料（如果你不喜欢喝酒，可以要一些不含酒精的饮料）。如果你想表现得特别彬彬有礼，那么就尽情赞美这里的房间、绘画或者女主人的服饰。但记住，询问东西的价钱是很不礼貌的。

　　晚餐一般在八、九点正式开始。大多数人家是丈夫和妻子分别坐在餐桌的两端，陪同他们的客人一同用餐。

　　第一道可能是汤，或者以一些小菜作为开胃菜；接着上肉或鱼，并伴有蔬菜；之后是甜品（有时称为“甜点”或“布丁”），最后是咖啡。将盘子里所有的东西吃完后，如果感到需要就再吃点。这样的做法会被认为是礼貌之举。一些人吃饭时还会吃点面包，但并不是所有人都这样。

　　你晚宴上过得愉快吗？第二天，可以打个电话或写一封简短的感谢信，向女主人表示感谢。

　　也许这看起来有些可笑，可英国人和美国人总是一天到晚说“谢谢，谢谢，谢谢”。

 
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