[摘要]大家都知道英國(guó)上流社會(huì)的繁文縟節(jié)，但有時(shí)也會(huì)沉浸在他們只言片語表現(xiàn)出的貴族氣息中無法自拔。那么，如何表現(xiàn)得像貴族一樣呢？小編為你整理宴會(huì)前后要注意的小細(xì)節(jié)，讓你瞬間有“貴族范兒”！

　　邀請(qǐng)別人赴宴

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

　　邀請(qǐng)不能用筆記本的紙寫，而要寫在信紙上。

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

　　只寫男賓的姓氏，除非他是政府大臣(這時(shí)需要加上Sir)或國(guó)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.

　　提及自己的住址時(shí)，別像非上流社會(huì)的人那樣管自己的房子叫Fairmeads之類的名字。上流社會(huì)總是使用正式名稱，例如Shinwell Hall。我能想象這里可能會(huì)有一個(gè)問題，有些人并不住在莊園里。但我覺得住不起莊園也算不上上流社會(huì)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 refer 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.

　　下一個(gè)難點(diǎn)是如何正確描述要請(qǐng)賓客吃哪頓飯。Dinner這個(gè)詞究竟是說午飯還是晚餐？可以使用lunch和supper嗎？它們會(huì)不會(huì)立刻顯得你沒那么高大上？正確的說法是，午餐應(yīng)該叫l(wèi)unch甚至luncheon，晚餐則叫dinner。管午餐叫dinner或是管晚餐叫evening meal都會(huì)暴露你非上流社會(huì)的出身。要是一位客人說今晚的supper真不錯(cuò)，那他不是在暗示晚餐不夠豐盛，就是說它不夠美味。

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

　　絕對(duì)不要邀請(qǐng)別人參加high-tea，只有非上流社會(huì)的人才會(huì)使用這個(gè)詞。

　　When stating the dress code, be sure not to use the terms dress-suit or evening-dress. The refined 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.

　　提到著裝規(guī)定時(shí)，一定不要用dress-suit或evening-dress，而是簡(jiǎn)單的說“We will be changing for dinner”就可以了。對(duì)我來說，客人們?nèi)绾晤I(lǐng)會(huì)該穿什么其實(shí)是個(gè)謎，但如果不知道穿什么，他們就不會(huì)去。

　　宴會(huì)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.

　　要是你幸運(yùn)的收到回訪邀請(qǐng)，千萬別坐公交去。就算迫不得已，也要故意用錯(cuò)bus和coach(它們的正確用法是bus是市內(nèi)公交而coach是城際公交)，這樣才能顯得你和這些屌絲交通工具不熟。

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

　　到達(dá)后別忘了稱贊主人的房子，要說lovely house，別用home這個(gè)詞。

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

　　千萬別管房間叫l(wèi)ounge，對(duì)上流社會(huì)的人來說，只有旅館里的房間才叫l(wèi)ounge。

　　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.

　　被介紹給陌生人時(shí)，如果對(duì)方說“How do you do”，正確的回答是重復(fù)“How do you do”。“Fine thanks”之類的回答可是很失禮的哦。

　　宴會(huì)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 refer directly to the lavatory.

　　宴會(huì)中的言談禮節(jié)十分重要。你不能管蔬菜叫g(shù)reen，也不能管調(diào)料瓶叫cruet。擦嘴用的餐巾叫napkin，不能叫serviette。想照鏡子的話，要管鏡子叫l(wèi)ooking glass，不能說mirror。別扭扭捏捏的用temple of health或WC這樣的隱語，上流社會(huì)的人直接說去衛(wèi)生間(lavatory)。

　　宴會(huì)后

　　How to entertain your guests after the meal is another social and linguistic minefield. 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 refer to knaves rather than jacks.

　　安排客人們的餐后娛樂活動(dòng)是另一個(gè)社交和語言上的雷區(qū)。室內(nèi)網(wǎng)球是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的活動(dòng)。打牌也沒什么問題，只要不是惠斯特、二十一點(diǎn)、拿破侖牌甚至狡猾薩姆就行，只有非上流社會(huì)的人才玩這些。發(fā)牌的時(shí)候不要站著，別管J叫jacks，別叫knaves。

　　(外研社)