陳豪在北京的ABC美國(guó)公司工作，他跟美國(guó)同事Amy一起喝下午茶。

(Office ambience)

A：Chen Hao, you've been attending a lot of business dinners lately. Didn't your team go out again last night with the clients?

C：沒(méi)錯(cuò)。我老板Mr. Brown決定請(qǐng)客人到附近剛開(kāi)張的那家法國(guó)餐館去吃飯。

A：How did it go?

C：飯菜的味道確實(shí)不錯(cuò)，但是有個(gè)客人很失態(tài)。

A：What do you mean?

C：首先，她點(diǎn)的菜都是菜單上價(jià)錢(qián)最貴的。

A：What did the others do?

C：其他人點(diǎn)的都是中等價(jià)位的，我也一樣。

A：This client sounds as if she could use some business etiquette training. Unless Mr. Brown suggested that you all order certain pricey dishes, she should have chosen something moderately priced.

C：我覺(jué)得也是。除非主人堅(jiān)持，否則客人應(yīng)該點(diǎn)一些普通的菜才對(duì)。

A：It's rude to take advantage of your host like that. This client is not very savvy about business dining.

C： Savvy是什么意思啊？

A：Savvy means having knowledge and experience.

C：這個(gè)客戶(hù)確實(shí)不懂禮貌，而且還不只這些呢！

A：Let's head back to the office now. You can tell me on the way.

******

陳豪和Amy兩人一起往回走。

A：So there is more to this story?

C：那個(gè)客人不僅點(diǎn)的都是最貴的，而且一道菜都不拉。

A：Like what?

C：從湯開(kāi)始，然后是頭臺(tái)、沙拉，主菜，最后還有特制的甜點(diǎn)，一樣不少。

A：What did everyone else do?

C：Mr. Brown雖然吃得很少，但也只好跟著她一道菜一道菜地點(diǎn)。

A：He was doing the correct thing as host by ordering the same as the client.

C：作為主人，一定要這么做嗎？

A：When someone orders appetizers or other dishes in addition to the entrée, it is polite for others to order the same courses.

C：那又是為什么呢？

A：That keeps the pace of the dinner even and avoids the awkwardness of one person eating a course by herself.

C：如果沒(méi)有別人點(diǎn)湯的話，那個(gè)客戶(hù)自己吃的時(shí)候一定會(huì)覺(jué)得很尷尬。

A：At an informal dinner, some people have soup while others may select a different appetizer to have at the same time. Everyone should have an equal number of courses.

C：那作為請(qǐng)客的主人，在飯桌上能做些什么呢？

A：Simple. The host can say, "Why don't we all have an appetizer?" Or he could ask, "Would anyone like something to start with?"

C：這樣一來(lái)，你就能知道自己是不是唯一想點(diǎn)頭臺(tái)的人了。

A：Right. If no one else has a starter course, then you don't either.

C：你真應(yīng)該給昨天那個(gè)客人好好上一課。