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1. 见面

Americans have so many different ways of greeting one another! In fact, many times an American greeting will consist of several greeting questions strung together. It is very common to hear a friend say, “Hi-Stone-what’s-up- how-are-you-I-haven’t-seen-you-a-long-time-how-have-you-been-doing?” all in one breath. Although Americans generally believe that shorter is better, the function of greeting is an exception to the rule. Don’t be surprised if you are greeting in this way.

美国人彼此之间有很多种不同的问候方式。事实上，很多时候，一个美国式的问候经常由一连串问候的问题组成。我们会很普遍地听到有人对你一口气说“嗨，STONE，怎么样？你好吗？好久不见了，你最近怎么样？”尽管美国人一般认为话说得越简短越好，但是问候时却例外。如果你被人用这种连贯方式问候千万别惊讶

2. 打电话

Given the breathtaking speed with which telephones have begun to permeate every pocket of Chinese society, it is a little surprising that a good number of people have yet to learn even a modicum of telephone etiquette. Strangely, it’s as if the normal countries which one extends to another in face to face conversation do not apply in telephone conversations.
To begin with, a caller is often greeted with a blunt “Who are you?”, a response which many feel is much too direct. On occasion, the receiver of the telephone call expresses unwillingness to reveal the information the caller seeks-such as whether, say, Mr. Zhang is available to take the call—until the caller states his or her identity and institutional affiliation. A more polite approach might be to offer the desired information, following with a gentle require such as “…and who may I say is calling?” An excessive concern for privacy undermines the very function of the telephone; if someone doesn’t even want to tell a caller whether a person is available to take the call or not, why have a phone in the first place?

中国的电话业有了惊人的发展，电话己渗透到中国社会的各个角落，但令人有点吃惊的是，不少人还没有学会哪怕是起码的电话礼仪。很奇怪，面对面谈话时彼此间似乎是很普通的礼貌却未能用在电话交谈中。
开始时，打电话的人常常听到对方一声直愣愣的问话：“你哪里呀？”这使很多人感到太直了。有时候，接电话的人不愿意提供打电话的人想要得到的信息——比如说张先生是否可以接电话——直到发话的说出他（她）的身份和单位才肯告诉。而比较有礼貌的方式应是提供对方所要得到的信息，继而是文雅的问话，如：“我可以知道您的姓名吗？”对于隐私的过分关注破坏着电话的作用；如果连某人在不在都不想告诉打电话的人，那当初何必安电话呢？

3. 用餐

With the advent of fast food chains from the West such as McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Pizza Hut, the Chinese are being introduced to a diet that markedly increases the death rate from certain diseases in any population.
The main killers in North America, the degenerative diseases such as heart attack and stroke as well as colon cancer, will become a way of death, not life, in this country if the Chinese do not act quickly and compete with these health-destroying food chains.
Scientific studies from all over the world show that a diet high in animals foods such as pork, beef, chicken, fish, dairy products and refined foods, including sugar, white flour, white noodles and even white rice, undermines one’s health. Deposits of animal fat cling to the walls of arteries, blocking the blood supply to various organs.

随着诸如麦当劳、肯德基、必胜客等西方快餐连锁店的出现，这类食品正被介绍给中国人，然而这类食品可以显著地增长各种人因某些疾病而导致的死亡率。
如果中国人不赶快行动起来，与这种损害健康的连锁食品店竞争，那么北美的主要“杀手”——退化性疾病如心脏病、中风和直肠癌，也将成为中国人走向死亡的罪魁祸手。
世界各项研究表明，富含动物食品（如猪肉、牛肉、鸡肉、鱼、奶制品）和精制食品（包括白糖、白面粉、白面条以及白米饭）等饮食，都破坏着人们的健康。在血管壁上动物脂肪的沉积物阻碍着血液流向各个器官。

4. 体育爱好

The ten most popular sports in Britain and the ten in the USA respectively are: Soccer, athletics, bowls, boxing, cricket, golf, rugby, squash, tennis and snooker; American football, field and track, baseball, basketball, boxing, golf, ice hockey, skiing, tennis and bowling.
Sports are an important part of life for young Americans. Not only in every student required to attend gym classes 2 or 3 times a week, but many students participate as well in varsity daily after school. Often schools have two or three official school teams. The “freshman” team is for young players who are serious about the sport but not as experienced as older layers are. “JV” or “junior varsity” is for older, more accomplished, but still not the most competitive players, especially for sophomores and juniors. “Varsity” is for the most skilled and oldest players, who are ready for serious competition.

英国和美国最受欢迎的十项运动分别是：（英式）足球，田径，草地滚木球，拳击，板球，高尔夫球，橄榄球，壁球，网球和桌球；美式足球（橄榄球），田径，棒球，篮球，拳击，高尔夫球，冰球，滑雪，网球和保龄球。
运动是美国青年生活中的一个重要部分。每个青年学生一周不仅要上两到三次的健身操课程，许多学生每天放学后还参加校队的体育活动。通常，学校都有两到三个正式的体育代表队。“初级队”代表运动认真但经验不如年龄略大选手的新生。“中级队”代表年龄略大、更有成绩、但仍不最具有竞争力的选手，特别是二、三年级的学生。“高级队”代表水平最高、年龄最长的选手，随时参加重要的比赛。

5. 道歉及其答语

Everyone makes mistakes! But, not everyone knows how to make an apology. All too often the first response to a mistake is to blame someone else. Effectively expressing a sincere apology is a valuable function that will not only show off your English, it will also show off your excellent manners. Showing consideration for others is an important part of effective communication.
金无赤足，人无完人。每个人都会犯错。但是，不是每个人都知道在犯错后该怎样道歉。大多数人经常在犯错后的第一反应就是责备他人。及时有效地表达一份真诚的道歉是至关重要的，它不仅可以向他人显示你用英语道歉的水平，而且可以体现你很有礼貌。向他人表达你的体贴是人与人之间进行有效沟通的一个重要部分。

6. 感谢及应答

People from other cultures sometimes don’t understand why Americans give so many compliments. In these cultures, too many compliments would seem insincere. A Japanese woman said that she might give a compliment once a week, while an American woman said that she gives at least one compliment a day! One of the reasons why Americans compliment so frequently seems to be to start a conversation easily.
In the English language, “thanks” is used in informal situations or in the situations in which a person has helped you in a not very important way. “Thank you” is the standard form, which is acceptable in all situations. “Thank you very much” is used only when someone had done something special to help you. The tone of voice can also add meaning to a statement of thanks. A warm, meaningful “thanks” sometimes means a lot more to the listener than a cold formal “Thank you”.

其他国家的人有时很难理解为什么美国人如此爱恭维别人。在他们看来，过多的赞美之词意味着虚伪。一个日本妇女说她一周顶多赞美一件事，而一个美国妇女说一天至少要一次！美国人爱赞美别人的原因之一似乎是为了容易开始和别人谈话。
在英语里，“Thanks（多谢）”用于非正式的场合，或用于当别人只提供了很小帮助的时候。“Thank you”是最普遍的说法，适用于任何场合。“Thank you very much”(非常感谢您)则更多地用于当别人提供了特别帮助的时候。表示感谢时声音高低的变化同样能够影响表达的效果。一个温暖的充满意义的”Thanks“有时要比一个冰冷冷的正式表达语”Thank you“ 听起来

7. 道别

You want to end a conversation; it’s up to you to find acceptable structures. Often these can include a hint for you leaving or a reason for having to leave (like “Nice talking to you” or “Sorry, I must get back to work”, etc.).
It is usual practice to end a conversation politely. Just walking away would be considered extremely rude.
Sometimes Americans have trouble ending conversations with each other. The reason may be that there is no one way to end a conversation. In some other cultures, there are specific ways to end conversations, such as bowing or minutes to say “Goodbye” and, as they do, you can see them backing away from each other. By the time they are about fifteen or twenty feet apart, they’ve often said their last “Goodbye”
想结束谈话时，你就得找适当的方式结束。通常可以暗示要走的意思或是给出一个要走的借口(像“和你交谈很是愉快”或“对不起，我得回去工作了”等等)。通常都是有礼貌的结束交谈。说走就走，没个交代，那是很不礼貌的。
美国人在结束谈话有时候可能会比较麻烦。这大概是因为他们没有一个约定俗成的方式。但在有些文化里，人们会用鞠躬或握手等方式来表达这种意思。在美国你常常会看到人们用好几分钟的时间来说“再见”，而且几乎是说一句一回头，直到双方走开近２０英尺远了，他们才说出最后一个“再见”。

8. 购物

Most cities in the U.S. collect a sales tax on almost everything you buy. When you move into a new community, you must ask how much the local sales tax is, and what items are and are not taxable. Both taxable items and the amount of tax are considerably from place to place. We say that in America only two things in life are unavoidable: one is death and the other is taxes.
Flea markets have become a common feature in many American cities. They take place in empty parking lots, fairgrounds and drive-in cinemas. Wherever flea markets may appear, their purpose is the sale and exchange of goods. Whether they are knowledgeable collectors or just plain bargain hunters, people are drown to flea markets by the enormous amount and variety of merchandise offered.
美国的大多数城市几乎对客户买的任何东西都要征收销售税。搬进一个新社区，必须问问当地的销售税是多少，什么货品要征收，什么货品不要。征税的物品及数量各地悬殊较大。我们说，在美国人生只有两件事是不可避免的：一是死，二是税。
跳蚤市场已经成为美国许多城市的一景。空旷的停车场、露天游乐场以及露天影院都可以作为其场地。不论出现在什么地方，它们的目的都是为了买卖和交换。而且，不论是学识渊博眼光独到的收藏家，还是过日子精打细算的小市民，人们总是被跳蚤市场上为数众多花样纷繁的商品吸引着而走到一起。

9. 约会

In some cultures, it’s more important to arrive on time for appointment, but in some other cultures people are not expected to arrive on time. In the U.S., people like others to be on time for business appointments, while for private parties, it’s advisable to be a little late.
In western countries, generally, you need to make an appointment first if you try to visit a doctor, teacher, and hairdresser etc. To go to a popular restaurant, you should also call ahead to make a dinner reservation. A visit to a doctor especially requires an appointment, since doctors are usually very busy. If you are very sick and have no time for an appointment, you must go to an emergency room of a hospital where a doctor is on duty. This might be very expensive in some countries.
在有的文化中，人们准时赴约是非常重要的。但有的文化中却不这样要求。在美国，对于工作约会人们希望别人能准时赴约，但对于私人聚会稍微晚到倒是可以的。
在西方国家，若要看医生，找老师，去美发等，一般都要先预约。去一家好一点的餐馆就餐，也需要提前打电话预约。要找医生看病尤其需要预约，因为医生通常都会很忙。如果病得很重，来不及预约，那就必须到某家医院的急诊室就诊，那儿会有医生值班。这在某些国家费用可能会很高。

10. 家庭

A mother’s love is like a beacon
Burning bright with kindness and prayer,
And though the changing scenes of life
We can find a heaven there.
My parents are the tree roots, and we are the new leaves of the tree. Thanks to the richness of the soil, the greenery is luxuriant; and thanks to the efforts of our parents, we grow to maturity.
Having a loving wife, a successful child, a circle of friends and a dream work, you need only one thing more, rest, to be the happiest man. The pleasure of family is the best medicine to stop bad habits from forming,
母亲的爱像灯塔，她的仁慈和祝福使灯塔光芒四射，穿过人生的种种变迁，我们能够找到天堂。
父母是我生长的根，我们是树上嫩绿的新芽。树木的繁茂归功于土地的养育，儿女的成长归功于父母的辛劳。
有个可爱的妻子，一个有出息的孩子，一圈子朋友，一份梦寐以求的工作，要成为最幸福的人，你只需要再有休息。家庭生活的乐趣是抵抗坏风毒害的最好良方。

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