陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作，他到美国同事Amy的办公室去找她。
(Office ambience)
C：Amy, 你有时间吗?
A：I can always make time for you, Chen Hao. What"s the matter?
C：我有个客户，听说我搬家，专门送了我一幅画儿。
A：That doesn"t sound like a problem. It sounds more like a nice gesture.
C：可是那画的颜色和风格跟我的公寓格格不入。
A：That"s too bad. He probably chose something he would like to have and didn"t consider your taste. I hope you thanked him for it anyway.
C：我觉得也是，给别人买东西，应该买别人喜欢的才对。不过我还是打算发个电子邮件，谢谢他，但是不知道怎么写，所以来请教你。
A：Well, first of all, you shouldn"t use e-mail to thank someone for a gift. A proper note of gratitude should be handwritten.
C：什么是 gra--ti--tude?
A：Gratitude is the same as thanks or appreciation.
C：那一定要手写吗？
A：E-mail is impersonal and lacks warmth. The effort you make to show your gratitude should match the effort that your client expended in sending you the gift.
C：我能不能买张现成的感谢卡，在上面加上一句，然后签个字呢？
A：I"m sorry, but that won"t do either. You need to demonstrate your good manners by composing a personal note in your own words on the appropriate stationery.
C：你能陪我去买合适的卡片吗？
A：I don"t have time now. But let"s meet at the stationery store at noon.
******
MC：中午，陈豪和Amy一起到卡片专卖店。
C：Amy, 这种可以折叠的感谢卡挺大方的。
A：They are acceptable, but not as classy as these correspondence cards that are made of heavier stock paper.
C：噢，correspondence cards，就是回复卡。
A：You should order some with your name engraved across the top for future use.
C：我说有时候收到别人的卡片，上面还有名字的缩写，原来是可以订做的呀。好，就买这个。不过我还是不知道怎么写。
A：It"s not so hard, and you don"t have to be dishonest.
C：你启发启发我。
A：You can tell your client how much you appreciate his thoughtfulness and generosity in sending you a painting by this artist.
C：有了。我就说“你怎么知道我家到处都是白墙的？画儿是我最需要的。”这样写，他也不知道我是不是喜欢那幅画。
A：And you have all the elements of a proper thank you note.
C：Amy, 你能再重复一下写感谢卡的注意事项吗？
A：A note of thanks is hand written on quality notepaper. It begins with a specific reference to the gift, remarks about its quality, why you appreciate it and how you will use it.
C：这么说，其实也不难嘛。谢谢你，Amy.
礼节美语031讲
陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。他和美国同事Amy晚上要一起参加同事James的告别晚宴，由公司北京办事处主任戴维斯主持。
(Office ambience)
A：Chen Hao, you need to be prepared for a lot of toasting tonight.
C：Toasting? 烤面包？
A：No, I am talking about honoring someone at a meal or reception by raising a glass of wine, champagne or water and offering a few kind words about that person.
C：噢，你是说祝酒啊。西方人祝酒有什么规矩吗？
A：There are two kinds of toasts. There is the informal toast that the host offers at the beginning of the meal to welcome his guests.
C：那是戴维斯的事吧。我们有什么要做的吗？
A：Mr. Davis will stand, raise his glass and thank everyone for coming. He will take a sip of his wine. Then the guests, who remain seated, raise their glasses in response and take a sip.
C：就是说我们都不用站起来，只要举起杯，然后抿一口酒就行了。那另外一种呢？
A：The other is more formal and comes near the end of the meal, usually during dessert. Champagne will be served. After each toast, everyone raises a glass and takes a sip of champagne.
C：是不是每个人都要说祝酒辞呢?
A：Not necessarily, but you will be expected to toast James since you worked closely with him.
C：幸亏你事先告诉我。不过那我该说些什么呢？
A：You could say how good James was to work with, tell a funny story about him, wish him success in his new position or use a favorite quote.
C：讲笑话是我的长项。不过我还是得赶紧去准备准备，一会餐厅见。
******
宴会结束后，陈豪和Amy一起搭出租车回家。
A：Chen Hao, Your toast was excellent and you seemed completely at ease. You obviously practiced your remarks.
C：这可得谢谢你。还有啊，幸亏你特别提醒我每次只要抿一小口，我真没想到有这么多人祝酒，不然非喝醉了不可。
A：It is acceptable etiquette to raise your water glass instead of the champagne flute. I usually just raise my glass to my lips so it appears that I am drinking when I am not.
C：怪不得，我还以为你酒量过人呢！不过Amy，我还有个问题。别人为他祝酒，James好像从来不举杯，也不喝。这样做会不会不礼貌？
A：Not at all. That was correct etiquette. You never drink to yourself. Only to other people.
C：噢，所以被别人祝酒的人自己是不喝的。幸亏被祝酒的人不是我，否则我肯定会闹笑话。
A：No you wouldn"t. I would have warned you about that.
礼节美语032讲
陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。他今天在走廊里遇到了美国同事Amy。
(Office ambience)
A：Chen Hao, you look pleased about something. What is it?
C：我刚才发现电话上有个叫speaker的键，只要按下去，就不用再拿着话筒说话了。
A：It is called a speaker or speaker phone, 中文可能是叫免提功能。
C：这真是太方便了。我可以一边打电话，一边干别的事。
A：Speakerphone is a great convenience, but you need to be careful about when and how you use it.
C：不能随时用吗？
A：You need to consider whether the person to whom you are speaking is comfortable being placed on speaker phone.
C：这跟他们有什么关系啊？
A：Because it is like broadcasting your entire call to other people who might be listening.
C：Broadcast？我还是不太明白。
A：When you place someone on speaker, anyone passing by or in close proximity can hear both sides of the conversation.
C：对呀，那又怎么了？
A：The person on the other end may not be comfortable with other people overhearing what he is saying, especially if he isn"t aware that he is on speaker.
C：噢，你是说对方可能不想让别人听见他跟我说些什么。
A：Exactly. Always ask permission before putting people on speaker phone.
C：谢谢你的忠告，免得我得罪人。
******
下午下班得时候，Amy又遇到了陈豪。
A：Chen Hao, how was your day?
C：还记得我们说的speaker phone吗？有个客户打电话给我问资料，我就问他能不能把电话放在speakerphone上，这样我就可以一边找资料，一边跟他通话了。
A：What did he say?
C：他说没问题，还谢谢我征求他的意见。可是我隔壁的Joe很不高兴，因为我们的谈话干扰了他的工作。
A：That is another point you need to be aware of regarding speaker phones. Using them in your cubicle when others are working in adjacent cubicles is inconsiderate.
C：既然有这么多限制，那这种功能不是白费了吗？
A：You can use it, just be thoughtful. Another reason that people use speaker phones is to be able to have a conversation or phone meeting when everyone involved cannot be present physically.
C：就是说,销售部主任正好出差，而咱们俩要是用一个电话跟他开电话会议就可以用speaker phone了吧？
A：Yes, with speaker phones, not everyone has to be in the same room to have a meeting.
C：Amy，你再提醒我一遍，什么时候该用speaker phone, 什么时候不该用？行吗？
A：It"s really simple. Don"t put people on speaker phone without asking permission and don"t use speaker phone when it may disturb others.
C：好，我记住了。
礼节美语033讲
陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。他今天有事去找美国同事Amy。
(Office ambience)
A：Hi, Chen Hao. How are you today?