陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。他和美國同事Amy晚上要一起參加同事James的告別晚宴，由公司北京辦事處主任戴維斯主持。

(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，你是說祝酒啊。西方人祝酒有什么規矩嗎？

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：那是戴維斯的事吧。我們有什么要做的嗎？

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：就是說我們都不用站起來，只要舉起杯，然后抿一口酒就行了。那另外一種呢？

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：是不是每個人都要說祝酒辭呢?

A：Not necessarily, but you will be expected to toast James since you worked closely with him.

C：幸虧你事先告訴我。不過那我該說些什么呢？

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：講笑話是我的長項。不過我還是得趕緊去準備準備，一會餐廳見。

******

宴會結束后，陳豪和Amy一起搭出租車回家。

A：Chen Hao, Your toast was excellent and you seemed completely at ease. You obviously practiced your remarks.

C：這可得謝謝你。還有啊，幸虧你特別提醒我每次只要抿一小口，我真沒想到有這么多人祝酒，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，我還以為你酒量過人呢！不過Amy，我還有個問題。別人為他祝酒，James好像從來不舉杯，也不喝。這樣做會不會不禮貌？

A：Not at all. That was correct etiquette. You never drink to yourself. Only to other people.

C：噢，所以被別人祝酒的人自己是不喝的。幸虧被祝酒的人不是我，否則我肯定會鬧笑話。

A：No you wouldn't. I would have warned you about that.