蒙大英語國家-美國概況擴展課件04 American Customs and Habits

1、Lecture Four American Customs and Habits All countries have their social customs and peculiarities, and the US is no exception. Good manners, politeness and consideration for others are considered important by most people. Americans are generally informal in their relationships and wont be too upset

2、 if you break the social rules, provided your behaviour isnt outrageous.Meeting someone When meeting someone for the first time, it is customary to shake hands, both for men and for women. Hugs are only exchanged between close friends. Kissing is not common, and men never kiss other men.Americans wi

3、ll usually introduce themselves by their first name and last name (such as “Hello, Im John Smith”), or, if the setting is very casual, by their first name only (“Hi, Im John”). The common response when someone is introduced to you is “Pleased to meet you.” Unless someone is introduced to you with th

4、eir title and last name (such as Mister Smith or Miss Johnson), you should address them by their first name. Americans normally address everyone they meet in a social or business setting by their first name. However, you should always address your college professors by their title and last name (suc

5、h as Professor Jones), unless they ask you to do otherwise.Speaking on the telephoneAmericans normally answer the telephone by simply saying “Hello.” If you are calling a business, the person answering the phone will give the name of the business and usually their own name as well. If the person you

6、 would like to speak to has answered the phone, you should say hello and state your name. If not, you should ask for that person politely: “May I please speak with Andrew Brown?” The majority of Americans have answering machines in their homes. Also, the majority of businesses have voice mail accoun

7、ts for their employees. When leaving a message, state your name clearly and leave a telephone number where you can be reached. Telephone messages should be brief and to the point. Eating out All restaurants in America accept cash for payment, and most (even some fast food restaurants) also accept cr

8、edit cards. A few restaurants also accept ATM cards for payment. You will rarely find a restaurant that accepts checks.It is common to have to wait for a table at a popular restaurant. There are many popular restaurants that do not accept reservations, or will only accept reservations for large part

9、ies (for example, six or more people). At these restaurants, the wait can be very long on a weekend night, sometimes up to 1 hour. However, almost all upscale, or more formal, restaurants will accept reservations. Many restaurants in America (except for fast food restaurants) have a license to serve

10、 alcohol. Beer and wine are always available, and at some restaurants hard liquor (such as vodka or whisky) is also available. Restaurants that serve hard liquor are said to have “a full bar.”The drinking age in America is 21. If you look young, be prepared to show proof of your age when ordering al

11、cohol.EatingThe best advice is to watch you host or hostess if you are not sure what to do. But here are some hints. Americans use a napkin (yes, we know thats what the British call a babys diaper, but we call it that anyway) when they eat. Unfold it and spread it over your lap, not tuck it under yo

12、ur chin. When the meal is over, place the unfolded napkin back on the table. If you have to leave the table during the meal lay the unfolded napkin in your chair while you are gone. Food is picked up with a fork. You can use either your left hand or your right one but most Americans use the right ha

13、nd except when cutting food when the fork is in the left and the knife in the right. If you hold the fork in the left hand you can keep your knife in the right to push the food onto the fork. If you use the right hand then a small piece of bread may be use to push things with the left hand You will

14、notice that most Americans dont eat with a knife and fork like normal people. When not eating with their hands they usually eat everything with a fork held in the right hand (unless left-handed). If anything cannot be broken up into bite-size pieces with a fork (e.g. steak), youre permitted to use a

15、 knife, but must dispense with/放棄/ it afterwards (knives are generally reserved for killing people!). Even desserts are eaten with a fork, and a spoon is usually for your coffee. If you end up at a seated dinner, you might find several forks on the left of the plate and several spoons on the right.

16、Start with the utensils that are the most far away from the plate. Or, better yet, watch what the host is doing or quietly ask someone sitting next to you. Many individuals will say a prayer at a meal. This is called a blessing and you should not start to eat until your host starts so you arent chom

17、ping on a carrot when the prayer starts. At the blessing, close your eyes, bow your head and wait quietly until the end of the prayer which is when the person praying says Amen. NOW get the carrot!It is still considered correct for a man to seat the females at the table before he sits down. If every

18、one is seated and a lady comes in to join the table, the men should stand up until she is seated. (O.K., this may be a little old fashioned but its best to know it anyway!)Dont put your elbows on the table while eating. Its all right after the meal when you are just talking. Americans are great talk

19、ers. We talk at meals and consider them social occasions. Politics, religion are sometimes controversialso you may want to avoid them although your host may be interested in what it is like in your home country and if you feel comfortable talking about it, then thats o.k. Keep your voice at a modera

20、te level and keep that pleasant look on your face!Americans chew with their mouth closed. Our mothers kept telling us not to smack(咂嘴), slurp(出聲地吃喝) , burp(打嗝) or make other strange noises while eating. We dont always follow that rule when alone but when eating with others we try to remember.Toothpi

21、cks are not used at the table. If you need to use one it is considered to be polite to do it in a private place or at least away from the table. In a restaurant, to call a waiter you should attempt to catch the eye of the waiter and then raise a finger. Do not wave your arm, whistle, or call loudly.

22、 If necessary you can ask another waiter to get your waiter for you. If you drop a fork , ask the waiter to get you another. Its o.k. to either pick up the one you dropped or let the waiter do it.If you encounter a problem in the restaurant (maybe a glass with lipstick on it or the food has been dou

23、ble salted) it is o.k. to tell the waiter or the manager in a nice way. Americans are curious about food and are usually anxious to know about things you eat and how you prepare them in your homeland. It is good to explain the dishes at a meal if the friends you are with might not know the items.If

24、you go to a restaurant and there is food left over you can ask for a “doggy bag“(餐館提供的食品袋）. Dont be embarrassed; remember you are trying to be as just like the local folks. If you go to a cafeteria（自助餐廳）, you go through the line, select the food and then get a table. If you go to a restaurant you wi

25、ll usually see a person greeting and seating you or a sign saying, wait to be seated. If not, you can go ahead and find a table for yourself. If there is an eating counter in the restaurant, it is o.k. to take an empty seat at the counter even if there is a waiting line for a table.In a cafeteria th

26、e food is displayed so as to sell as much as possible, so the desserts are usually put first. Despite this the order of food consumption in the U.S. is: salad, main course, dessert. Bread is eaten from your fingers and along with the main course and/or the salad. Most Americans do not normally serve

27、 soup. As a student you will immediately encounter a “pizza party”. There is some question about how to eat pizza nicely but it is generally considered a finger food. You pick up a wedge shaped slice (V形), slightly bend it down the middle (long ways) and start to eatAsking for tea in the southern U.

28、S. will most likely get you a glass of tea with ice and sugar (and I mean a LOT of sugar). You can ask for unsweetened tea and they will have that . If you want hot tea you must say, hot tea. Good luck!- but go ahead and try our tea, its goooood!DressingAlthough many foreigners have the impression t

29、hat Americans are relaxed and casual in their dress, they often have strict dress codes. If you have doubts how to dress for something, call and ask your host. If they say casual dress, just dress neatly in clean clothes that you would wear daily to class. Many people wear caps these days. They are

30、still hats and fit the general rule: Men remove their hats when entering a building; women may or may not remove theirs. In the puritanical New England states, people usually dress conservatively and more formally than in most other regions. This is particularly true of office workers, who are usual

31、ly expected to wear a suit and tie (and have short hair). In the east, casual wear (jeans or casual trousers, open-necked shirt) is acceptable for the beach or the garden but is unacceptable in many restaurants. In the south and west, casual dress is more acceptable, in the office and socially, and

32、only the most expensive restaurants insist on ties and formal dress. Many offices have introduced a dress-down day on one day a week (usually Friday), when employees may wear casual attire (although jeans may still be off limits). When there is a big event, men should wear a tie and/or jacket. Ladie

33、s will be dressed in dresses rather than slacks/j家常褲/. Although they might not remind you, men wear dark socks with dark shoes on formal occasions. When going anywhere that could be remotely formal (or informal), its wise to ask in advance what youre expected to wear. Usually when dress is formal, s

34、uch as evening dress or dinner jacket, this is stated in the invitation (e.g. black tie), and you wont be admitted if you turn up in the wrong attire. On the other hand, at some informal gatherings you may feel out of place if you arent wearing jeans and a T-shirt. If youre invited to a wedding, enq

35、uire about dress (unless you want to stick out like a sore thumb). Black or dark dress is almost always worn at funerals. TippingTheres a long tradition of tipping in the US, where greasing palms (bribe sb. 賄賂/打點) is both an integral part of the American way of life and a social disease (tippititus)

36、, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the quality of service. Without tipping the whole economy would grind to a halt, although theres often a thin line between tips and payoffs/賄賂/, a fact of everyday business life in most cities. Americans are prodigious /巨大的/ and prolific/大量/ tippers, which isn

37、t normally regarded as discretionary/任意的/. Non-tippers are considered cheap (the ultimate insult to an American) and are treated with contempt, particularly by taxi drivers. Most Americans are shocked by anyone who doesnt tip or who tips too little, and some go to extremes and tip everybody in sight

38、, including air hostesses and theatre attendants. Tipping has become so ingrained that its generally impossible to get a decent seat at a cabaret/酒店/ or floor show (e.g. in Las Vegas) without bribing the attendant $5 or $10. Even if all other seats are empty, you will end up behind a pillar if you d

39、ont cross the attendants palm with silver. Although its customary to show your pleasure or displeasure by the size of your tip, most Americans would have to receive atrocious/兇惡的/ service not to tip at all (most wouldnt dare refuse to tip a taxi driver, irrespective of how tortuous or roundabout the

40、ir journey). Tips are not added to the bill in the U.S. except in rare cases or where there is a large party, so it is proper to tip the waitress or waiter for service.The usual amount today (2001) is from 15% to 20% depending on the service and whether its a really nice restaurant or not. You do no

41、t tip in fast food places like McDonalds. Unlike some countries the tips go directly to the wait-staff and not to the owners. Just leave it on the table or add it to the bill if you are using a credit card.Tipping in restaurants and barsMany restaurant owners and other employers exploit the practice

42、 of tipping by paying starvation wages (the person who delivers your take-away pizza or Chinese meal may get no wages at all), in the knowledge that employees supplement their wages with tips. If you dont tip a waiter, he may not starve (unless the restaurants food is bad), but hell certainly strugg

43、le to survive on his meagre salary. In general, a service charge isnt included in the bill in restaurants and youre expected to tip the waiter, waitress and bartenders 15 to 20 per cent, depending on the class of establishment. In top class restaurants the captain may also receive 5 per cent of the

44、total bill and the wine waiter (sommelier) around $2 for each bottle of wine served. Most people also tip the matre dhtel (at least $5) if he finds them a seat or arranges a party (often the only way to get a seat in a fashionable restaurant is to tip the matre dhtel /伺應(yīng)部主任/( $10 or $20). The situat

45、ion with regard to tipping is anything but clear, however, and it can often be embarrassing (its surprising that some enterprising American hasnt established a tipping counselling service for foreigners). In restaurants, for example, many bills have service not included printed on them to make sure

46、you leave a tip. However, even when service is included in the bill, this doesnt mean that the percentage added for service goes to the staff (if you dont leave a tip and the waiter tips the soup in your lap the next time you go there, you will know why). Dont be bashful about asking whether a tip i

47、s expected. Restaurant tips can be included in credit card payments or given as cash. The total on credit card slips is often left blank (even when service is included in the price) to encourage you to leave a tip. Some bills even include separate boxes for gratuities for waiters and captains, but d

48、ont forget to fill in the total before signing it. Most restaurant staff prefer you to leave a cash tip, as tips included in credit card payments often arent passed on to them. In a bar, you may be presented with the bill after each round of drinks and if you dont tip that could be the last you see

49、of the waiter for the rest of the evening. In some bars (or where youre well known), you can run a tab and pay (pick up the tab) when you leave. Some people place a $5 or $10 bill on the table or bar at the start of a drinking session to ensure they receive good service. As in restaurants, bar staff

50、 usually expect 15 to 20 per cent, although tips depend on the class of establishment. Bar staff in a five-star hotel are used to receiving large tips, whereas in a seedy back street bar they arent. Tipping taxi driversWhen using taxis, a tip of 10 to 15 per cent is normal and the fare is usually ro

51、unded up to the nearest dollar. Tipping in hotels depends on whether youre staying at The Plaza (where youre expected to tip everyone in sight) or some back street hovel (where no services are provided). Petrol station attendants (who clean your windscreen) and cinema and theatre ushers arent usuall

52、y tipped. Fifty cents is generally the lowest tip for anything and $1 is normal for small services. Other typical tips include porters (50 cents to $1 per bag), doormen/bouncers (50 cents to $10, e.g. at a nightclub), chambermaids ($1 to $1.50 per day), hotel room service (20 per cent), toilet atten

53、dants (50 cents to $1), sleeping car attendants ($2 to $5, depending on the service), cloakroom attendants (25 cents to $1), valet parking attendants ($1 to $5, depending on the establishment), delivery people ($1 to $5 or $10, depending on the value and size of what was delivered), hairdressers (15

54、 to 20 per cent or $1 or $2 for the washer, cutter and the colourer), and tour guides ($1 or $2). Tipping the doormanMost people give the doorman or superintendent of their apartment block a tip (or sweetener) for extra services, ranging from 50 cents to $5. Its usually essential to tip your apartme

55、nt blocks handyman (if you want to see him again). Postmen arent tipped (it would be expensive to tip them every day) but Americans traditionally give them $5 or $10 at Christmas (despite the fact that US postal employees are prohibited from accepting gifts). Christmas is generally a time of giving

56、tips to all and sundry and can be expensive. Its customary to tip all trades people who serve you regularly, e.g. your doorman, newspaper boy, parking attendant, hairdresser, laundryman, handyman/做零活的人/, etc. The size of a tip depends on how often someone has served you, the quality and friendliness

57、 of service, and how rich you are. Generally, tips range from a few dollars up to $20 or more for the superintendent of your apartment block (it pays to be nice to him), which is usually placed inside a Christmas card. If youre unsure who or how much to tip, ask your neighbours, friends or colleague

58、s (who will all tell you something different!). Smoking Smoking is not as common in America as in many other countries. Generally, Americans smoke less than Europeans and much less than Asians. It is a practice that is becoming less and less socially acceptable. Smoking is prohibited in many places.

59、 It is not allowed in any public buildings, on any public transportation (including airplane flights within the United States), in shops, movie theaters, schools, and office buildings. The general rule is if you are indoors, then you probably are not allowed to smoke. The exceptions are bars, nightc

60、lubs, and some restaurants. If a restaurant does allow smoking, it will only be in an area that is designated for smokers. If you are with someone, even outdoors, it is polite to ask if they mind before you start smoking. The legal smoking age in America is 18. If you are buying cigarettes (or anoth