悠闲英语(五十六)
开篇：润墨网以专业的文秘视角，为您筛选了一篇悠闲英语(五十六)范文，如需获取更多写作素材，在线客服老师一对一协助。欢迎您的阅读与分享！
Eating in America食在美国
Actually, what I mean by eating is not the food we eat but the way in which we eat. Yes, you guessed it―we are going to talk about “table manners1.” Eating in a restaurant is a very enjoyable experience when you know what to expect and what you are expected of as a guest. In western culture, dinner is the most important meal of the day, so we’ll talk about having dinner in a restaurant in America.
Making Reservation
To start, when you plan to eat in a relatively formal restaurant, a reservation is usually required. For most restaurants, a call for a reservation two to three hours ahead of time should guarantee you a table; but for some very popular restaurants, a day or a few days in advance may be needed. Try to get to the restaurant within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. If, somehow, you would not be able to make it, call to cancel or extend the reservation.
Seating
At the restaurant, a hostess2 will seat you at a table, based on the number of people in your party and the seating pattern3 at the time. While the hostess brings everyone a menu, she is not your waitress4 and will not take orders from you. After all the guests sit down comfortably, the hostess would tell you who your waiter is for the evening and then leave. Now you see in front of you a small plate, a napkin, a knife on the right, and sometimes two forks on the left. The small plate is for your bread that will come in a while, and the napkin should be spread across your laps once you sit down. We’ll talk about how to use the knife and forks in a bit.
Waiter
The person who will make your dining out experience a happy one is your waiter. Someone will bring ice water to the table, but, unless he tells you so, this person is not your waiter but a “busboy.” A busboy works for the waiter but does not take orders from guests. As you start sipping the icy cold water, a smiling waiter will appear to introduce himself and ask to take your orders for drinks, which can be soda or alcoholic beverages5 such as a whiskey or a glass of wine. After a round of drinks is served, the waiter will announce dinner specials and answer questions about dishes on the menu. “Specials” are dishes improvised6 by the chef for the evening with available meats, vegetables, and spices. The waiter will leave you alone to give you sometime to pick your choice from the specials or the menu. Once you put down the menu, looking like you have made up your mind, he will reappear to take your order. During the dinner, the waiter will come back to check upon you and make sure all your needs are taken care of. If you need your waiter for anything, a hand gesture would be more than enough to get his attention.
Eating with Fork and Knife
Yes, the knife and the forks. If you see two forks, one should be a salad fork and the other a dinner fork. Depending on the restaurant, sometimes there are more than two forks; but no matter how many forks you see on the table, always start from the far left. The waiter will add more utensils or take the unnecessary ones away according to your dinner plan. Americans generally hold the knife in their right hand and fork in their left when cutting their food; when finishing cutting, they would put the knife horizontally on the rim of the plate with the edge facing inward (yes, toward yourself) and switch the fork from the left hand to the right and eat with it. Some of you may have noticed that people in England would do the opposite: They eat with the fork in their left hand and knife in their right. One small but important note: It is not customary to cut bread with a knife in your plate, but people do use their hands to break off small pieces of their bread―a good idea to wash your hands before going to a restaurant.
Ready for Dessert
Now you are all done with your main course7, but what are you going to do with your used knife and fork? Once you put them together in the plate with a 4 o’clock angle8, your waiter will come to take the plate away. Some may ask, “Why 4 o’clock?” It makes it easy for the waiter to clean and hold the plate―a courtesy9 from a guest to his server. Also, to help the waiter keep the table clean, things such as pieces of bones should be left in your plate instead on the table―a good guest is also a neat guest. To fill any void10 still left in your stomach, a clean table now is set for dessert, which may include cakes, coffee, and after dinner drinks such as brandy.
Check and Tip11
After the dessert, everyone in your dinner party must be plenty full and ready to go home. Your waiter will come to clean up your table again and bring you the real damage―your check. Okay, I know what your questions are: “Should I leave a tip for the waiter?” Yes, you should. And “how much should I leave?” As a rule of thumb, an appropriate tip is 17 to 20 percent of the cost of your dinner. Of course, the amount you tip the waiter also depends on how satisfied you are with the service. With a dinner check of $200, your total cost, including a tip, could run as high as $240―Ouch! It surely adds up12, doesn’t it?
Till next time, send me an email to if you have a question or would like to share a thought. Take good care and keep in touch.
解释
1. table manner 吃相
2. hostess 餐厅领位员、经理;男性为 host
3. seating pattern 上座情况
4. waitress 餐厅女服务员,男性为 waiter;现在常
以server 通称
5. alcoholic beverage酒;带酒精的饮料
6. improvise 临时制作;即兴创作
7. main course 主菜;在美国晚饭一般只有一道主菜;
欧洲一些地区晚饭有两道主菜,如意
大利
8. 4 o’clock angle 以表盘定方位,12点在上,6点在下,
9点在左,3点在右;4点在右下方
9. courtesy 礼貌,礼节
10. void 空间
11. tip 小费 (名词); 付小费 (动词)
12. ouch 哎哟 (表示疼痛); it adds up喻越加越多