陳豪在北京的ABC美國公司工作。他接到公司晚宴派對的邀請，但是不想去。

(Office ambience)

CH：Hi Amy, 我剛剛收到邀請，老板請我們去吃飯。

A：I received one, too.

C：你去嗎？

A：Of course. Aren't you?

C：我不太想去。

A：Why not? It's going to be a nice party at an upscale restaurant.

C：我不想跟同事出去玩兒；他們跟我關系雖說都不錯，但大家畢竟不是朋友。

A：I'm afraid that doesn't matter. Part of the reason for inviting everyone is to build rapport among all of us who work together.

C：Rapport是什么意思啊。

A：Rapport means building relationships between people, establishing trust and mutual understanding.

C：跟同事搞好關系也不一定非得出去玩兒啊。

A：Attendance at the office party is a part of your job. To go or not to go is not a choice. The boss expects you to be there.

C：這么說是不能不去了。我要是有其它事呢？

A：It better be something important for you to forego the office party and risk offending the boss.

C：我可不想得罪老板，讓我再想想吧。

******

到了第二天....

A：Well, CH, did you decide to go to the party?

C：去，不過我要帶個朋友。

A：I hate to tell you this, but that would not be acceptable.

C：星期六晚上出去應酬，帶個朋友還不行嗎？

A：Unless your invitation says "and guest, " it would be poor etiquette to take someone with you.

C：那好，我打個照面，待一會兒就走。

A：That's not going to work either. This is a seated dinner party so you have stay the entire time.

C：晚餐完了我總可以走了吧？

A：You must stay until our host, the boss, stands to indicate that dinner is over. Then good manners dictate you don't leave before your thank him for the evening and tell him good-bye.

C：Amy, 我真沒想到，公司派對還會這么鄭重其事。還有什么要注意的嗎？

A：Just a word of caution. If you drink alcoholic beverages, do it in moderation. Some people forget that rule and overdo it. Not only is it embarrassing, you could jeopardize your job.

C：這我知道，一定注意不會多喝。你能不能再總結一下，看看都有哪些注意事項。

A：Attendance is required. Read your invitation carefully so you know what the occasion is and if guests are included.

C：我知道，還有就是晚宴結束前不能告退。

A：That's right. Don't forget to say your good-byes. And go easy on the alcohol.

C：謝謝你，Amy，我一定照辦。