时间:2019-02-25 作者:英语课 分类:英语畅谈中国文化


英语课

Chinese Hospitality 1中国人的待客之道


  A:I was invited to a traditional Beijing household for dinner once. It was an eye-opening experience. The girl who invited me was my colleague. Her father was over 60 years old. He didn’t eat much but was constantly proposing 2 a toast. His wife was busy cooking in the kitchen all the time. I asked her to join us but her husband said “No, she doesn’t.” After dinner, I asked my colleague why her father didn’t eat much and why her mother didn’t join us. She said that was an old tradition. Her father was there to keep me company because I was a guest of honor 3 and usually women did not eat with the guests.


  B:I had a similar experience too. I always feel spoiled to be a guest in a Chinese household. The host usually prepares a sumptuous 4 meal. The kids are sent to the neighbors so the guests can have a peaceful meal. Usually, they would start preparing for our visit days ahead. Even though there would be a lot of food on the table, the host would still say “We don’t have much, so please bear with us.” They keep putting food on my plate despite the fact I may not like certain food. I usually feel very embarrassed. Some hosts even force their children to perform a song or recite a poem for me.


  A:That is Chinese hospitality. People want to bring out their best food to welcome the guests. Westerners are different. They don’t stay in the kitchen when the guests have arrived. They want to socialize with the guests rather than simply showing hospitality.


  B:Chinese people are very friendly and always ready to treat their guests with the best things they have. But this hospitality may cause inconvenience to both the guests and the hosts themselves. An American said in a book over 100 years ago that Chinese hospitality is meant to show the politeness of the host rather than keeping the guest happy. The host may insist on starting a fire so he can make tea for the guest, despite the fact that the guest may be irritated 5 by the smoke. At least the host gives the impression that he is very hospitable 6.


  A:That was over 100 years ago. Things are different now. More and more people prefer a relaxed atmosphere rather than showing hospitality just for the sake 7 of it. But there are exceptions 8. I went to visit a fairly affluent 9 village in southern China last year. The host was asked to make a special tea for us. She was very friendly, but when she finished making the tea she charged each of us 10 yuan for the treat. As a result of the economic growth people have become money conscious. Although you may not feel comfortable with the traditional hospitality, it could disappear any time.


  B:Shall I feel lucky or sorry then?


  A:我曾到一个老北京家里做客,可真是开了眼了。请客的是这家的女儿,她是我的同事。她的父亲六十多岁,作为主人,他在饭桌上几乎没吃什么,只是隔一会儿就端起酒杯劝酒。他的太太一直在厨房里忙着。我们招呼她一起吃,同事的父亲说“她不上桌”。告辞出来,我问同事为什么她父亲几乎不吃东西,而她母亲一直不加入我们。她说这是老礼数。她父亲把我们当作贵客所以要陪酒,而女人一般是不和客人同桌的。


  B:我也有过同样的经历。到中国人家里做客总感觉他们招待得很隆重:上一大桌菜,小孩子被赶到邻居家,以便客人吃得尽兴。请一次客得提前几天做准备。既便做了一大桌菜,他们还是说:“没什么东西,凑合吃吧。”还不停地为你布菜,不管你是不是爱吃。这让我觉得很尴尬。有些人家还逼着孩子给客人表演唱歌,或者背诗。


  A:这就是中国人的待客之道:把最好的东西拿出来招待客人。西方人并不如此。他们不会在客人到来后还在厨房中忙碌,他们的目的是交流而不是表现待客的热情。


  B:中国人非常友好,所以才会用最好的东西招待客人。但这样一来,家人跟着受累,客人也不自在。一百多年前,一位美国人在他的书中写道:中国人待人热情的目的通常是为了表现自己懂礼节,而并非想使客人满意。主人执意生火为客人沏茶,而不在乎客人是否被烟呛着,因为他至少树立了待客有礼的形象。


  A:这是一百年前的情形,现在有所不同。更多的人已经懂得,自在随意比过分礼貌要好得多。也有例外:去年,我到一个富裕的南方村庄去采访,请主人给我们一杯当地特有的茶。她热情地为我们上了茶,然后向我们每位收了10元钱作为服务的报偿。经济发展了,中国人也有了金钱意识。你不适应传统的待客之道,它也许很快就不复存在了。


  B:我该为此庆幸还是遗憾呢?



n.好客,殷勤;adj.(气候等)宜人,适宜
  • He welcomed you to enjoy his hospitality.他欢迎你去做客。
  • Thank you for your kind hospitality.谢谢你的盛情款待。
v.提议,建议( propose的现在分词 );打算;提供(解释);提出(行动,计划或供表决的方案等)
  • The bridegroom ended his speech by proposing a toast to the hosts. 新郎向主人敬酒结束了他的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He acted as pioneer in proposing the method. 他是率先创导这一方法的人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
n.光荣;敬意;荣幸;vt.给…以荣誉;尊敬
  • I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
  • It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。
adj.豪华的,奢侈的,华丽的
  • The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns.客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。
  • We were ushered into a sumptuous dining hall.我们被领进一个豪华的餐厅。
a.恼怒的
  • His little affectations irritated her. 他的装腔作势令她不快。
  • Her genteel accent irritated me. 她那矫揉造作的腔调使我感到难受。
adj.好客的;宽容的;有利的,适宜的
  • The man is very hospitable.He keeps open house for his friends and fellow-workers.那人十分好客,无论是他的朋友还是同事,他都盛情接待。
  • The locals are hospitable and welcoming.当地人热情好客。
n.缘故,理由
  • He loves poetry for beauty's sake.他因为爱美而喜欢诗歌。
  • We can't risk big things for the sake of small ones.我们不能因小失大。
例外( exception的名词复数 ); 不包括在内的人(或物); 规则的例外; 例外的事物
  • Most children like sweets, but there are some exceptions. 大多数孩子喜欢吃糖果,但也有一些例外。
  • Such exceptions do not invalidate the rule. 这些例外并不证明此规则无效。
adj.富裕的,富有的,丰富的,富饶的
  • He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
  • His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。
学英语单词
4-methylsalinomycin
acetilenic
airspace prohibited area
aporheidine
ataxiameter
Barytheres
bismarckia nobilis hiddebr et wendel
boiler blowdown water
Carloforte
cassette lid
cellulose propionate fibre
chapel of love
chobes
closing of root
commuting time
crassament
cultural immediacy
cushion moss
differential instrument
dilatant fluia
diveroli
documentary
ecomap
electrovoice
enqueuers
enquiry (enq)
everall
Fahry alloy
fire-prevention pipe
forest-police
game laws
gastos
geographical variant of association
grievance provision
grouped controls
had a cow
high tensile reinforing steel
highway bus station
historiosophical
hydraulic gate valve
information system for process control
inverse-feedback filter
jtc
Krishnapur
kuehneola japonica
lift someone's face
Ligularia atroviolacea
martingality
melolontha minima
Mendhein kiln
military ordinary mail
Murker
musico-
national resource industries
nickelization
niprs
nostalgie
occluded rubber
off-market offsetting
ornela
pansy orchid
pat test
per incuriam
pesterings
piston (pneumatic)
platydema terusane
production campaign
projection tract
pronunciable
pseudo-cumene
radial ventilated type
response circuit
scanzoni
seien
selective bias
semi passive
set an objective
shock tube
shotblaster
shriveling
Sinmyong
Soromaya
stowings
subarea
systems audit
Taihei-yama
taken your own life
talastine
the Alps
traceability of measurements
transient condition
truanted
truth drug
two-pass symbolic language assembler
typical model
UK-6558-01
unisolvent
Ur of the Chaldees
vapor pressure method
water fennel oil
weather notations