英国宴会 上流社会的优雅谈吐.

　　英国上流社会无论言谈举止务必优雅、高贵。光是宴会就规矩不断，怎样说话才能算谈吐优雅?

　　邀请别人赴宴

　　When issuing an invitation, it should be written on writing-paper rather than note-paper.

　　邀请不能用笔记本的纸写，而要正式地写在信纸上。

　　Address male guests by their surname alone, unless they are a government minister, when Sir is required, or the king, when it should be Sire.

　　只写男宾的姓氏即可，除非他是政府大臣(这时需要加上Sir)或国王(需要加上Sire)。

　　When giving your address, avoid non-U house names like Fairmeads; U speakers stick to formal titles like Shinwell Hall. I can think of a potential problem here for people who don’t live in a manor house, but I presume that not living in a manor house is also non-U.

　　提及自己的住址时，别像非上流社会的人那样管自己的房子叫Fairmeads之类的名字。上流社会总是使用正式名称，例如Shinwell Hall。对于没有庄园宅邸的人来说，这里可能会有问题。但我估计住不起庄园也算不上上流社会的人。

　　The next difficulty is determining the correct term for the meal itself to which the guests are invited. Is dinner taken at midday or in the evening? What about lunch and supper – are these acceptable terms, or will they immediately flag your lowly status? Properly speaking, one should have lunch (or even luncheon) in the middle of the day and dinner in the evening. To rer to lunch as dinner, or to use the term evening meal is to betray your non-U origins. If a dinner guest praises the supper, then the implication is that the meal was insubstantial and unsatisfying.

　　下一个难点是如何正确描述要请宾客吃哪顿饭。Dinner这个词究竟是说午饭还是晚餐?可以使用lunch和supper吗?它们会不会立刻显得你没那么高大上?正确的说法是，午餐应该叫lunch甚至luncheon，晚餐则叫dinner。管午餐叫dinner或是管晚餐叫evening meal都会暴露你非上流社会的出身。要是一位客人说今晚的supper不错，那他实际上是指晚餐不够丰盛，令人不满意。

　　Never issue an invitation to high-tea, as this is an exclusively non-U invention.

　　绝对不要邀请别人参加high-tea，这是非上流社会的人才会做的事情。

　　When stating the dress code, be sure not to use the terms dress-suit or evening-dress. The rined equivalent is to state simply: ‘We will be changing for dinner’. How your guest is supposed to glean what to wear from this is a mystery to me, but I suppose that is precisely the point. If you have to ask, you shouldn’t be going.

　　提到着装规定时，一定不要用dress-suit或evening-dress，简单地说 “We will be changing for dinner”最好不过。对我来说，客人们该怎么穿其实是个谜，但我估计这正是精妙之处。如果你连穿什么都得问，那还是别去了。

　　宴会前

　　Should you be lucky enough to receive a return invitation, never arrive by bus. Should necessity require you to make use of public transport, be sure to muddle the terms bus and coach (properly, the former is used in towns and the latter in the country) to show that you are unaccustomed to such degradations.

　　要是你幸运的收到回访邀请，千万别坐公交去。就算迫不得已要乘公共交通，也要故意说错bus和coach(它们的正确用法是bus是市内公交而coach是城际公交)，这样才能显得你和这些屌丝交通工具不熟。

　　On arrival, ensure that you praise your host’s lovely house rather than home.

　　到达后别忘了称赞主人的房子，要说lovely house，别用home这个词。

　　Never rer to a room as the lounge, since for U speakers lounges are found only in hotels.

　　千万别管房间叫lounge，对上流社会的人来说，只有旅馆里的房间才叫lounge。

　　When introduced to strangers, the correct response to ‘How do you do?’ is to repeat the phrase. Giving an answer, such as ‘Fine thanks’, is a major faux pas.

　　被介绍给陌生人时，如果对方说“How do you do”，正确的回答是重复“How do you do”。“Fine thanks”之类的回答可是很失礼的哦。

　　宴会中

　　Linguistic etiquette during the meal is crucial. You should never serve anyone greens, or ask them to pass the cruet. Should you need to wipe your mouth, use your napkin not your serviette. If you need to check the result, ask for a looking glass rather than a mirror. Avoid coy euphemisms such as temple of health or WC; U speakers rer directly to the lavatory.

　　宴会中的言谈礼节十分重要。你不能管蔬菜叫green，也不能管调料瓶叫cruet。擦嘴用的餐巾叫napkin，不能叫serviette。想照镜子的话，要管镜子叫looking glass，不能说mirror。别扭扭捏捏的用temple of health或WC这样的隐语，上流社会的人直接说去卫生间(lavatory)。

　　宴会后

　　How to entertain your guests after the meal is another social and linguistic minield. Real tennis is an acceptable pursuit. A card game might seem like safe ground, but steer clear of whist, pontoon, nap, and even slippery sam, which are all non-U. Never stand up to deal and always rer to knaves rather than jacks.

　　安排客人们的餐后娱乐活动是另一个社交和语言上的雷区。室内网球是个不错的活动。打牌也没什么问题，只要不是惠斯特、二十一点、拿破仑牌甚至狡猾萨姆就行，只有非上流社会的人才玩这些。发牌的时候不要站着，别管J叫jacks，要叫knaves。