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  二套周日19:00首播 一套周五14:00 十套12:00、19:00重播

Foreigner guest I  
  E: Welcome to "Let's Talk." Today we are going to talk about what you might want to think about if you have a foreign friend come visit or if you are in a company in charge of a foreign friend who's coming to visit.

  R: That is true. Maybe you have the wife of someone who's visiting your company or maybe you have a pen pal you've been writing letters to come visit.

  E: For the Olympics.

  R: Yeah. We'll all have more and more visitors in China, and what we are going to do with these crazy foreigners? First of all, we think you might think about their age. I'm sure you know age makes a difference on what they want to do and can't do.

  E: Yeah. If you have someone who is older, they'll be much more conservative than a younger person. So some things that younger persons might want to do, of course the older person is always or almost always more conservative.

  R: When an old couple came to visit me, they said, "I want a half day program, everyday half day. The rest of a day is just for resting." But I had a young guy come visit me, and he said, "I want to go hang on with other kids, Chinese kids, and see what they do, how they skate board, and where they shop. " And I said, "But you don't speak Chinese." He said, "I don't care. I want to go hang on with them." So you do have to consider the age a bit.

  E: Yeah. If you have a foreigner visit you, and you have to take them out to eat. This is a very important thing to keep in mind. You want to ask them a few questions. You want to ask them if they like spicy food or not. Not all foreigners like spicy food. You want to ask them if they are allergic to MSG.

  R: And they might have other allergies, too. Maybe they can't eat tomatoes or shrimps or something else. And hopefully they'll tell you. You also should ask, "Do you want to eat Chinese food today?" Maybe they've been eating Chinese food everyday for two weeks on their trip. And they like western meals. But maybe they are thrilled to Chinese food, in which case they may do things differently. They might be ordering differently.

  E: Yeah. I think we've told you this before. But in the west you usually just order one dish for yourself. You might need to explain to them that in China you order many dishes and everyone takes a little bit from each dish. They may or may not know this. Some other important things to remember is westerners basically like chicken, beef, pork, fish, and they like the muscle meat. But if you give them innards, such as stomachs and brains, or some other animals like frogs, dogs, especially dogs, they might actually get angry. They could be upset or offended.

  R: Yeah. And you may think it is interesting. If you have a brave foreigner, you could offer him snake blood, but he might say "No." Don't be offended. They might also say no to your beer or wine. Foreigners some drink, some do not. So you know you just ask and be flexible. There is a problem with paying.

  E: Yeah. In the west, if Rebecca and I went out, we were really westerners. After so many years in China, we are not really westerners anymore. But if we went out with western friends, we might I pay half and she pays half. Or she might pay the whole thing one time and I might pay the whole thing next time. But you may have your foreign friend say "Oh, no. I want to pay for this."

  R: Or "I want to pay for mine." That means just their part. Please don't be offended. That's just their habit. And they don't mean anything by it. Maybe you could say at the beginning of the meal "this is on me. " And that means "I'm paying, or next time it's on you if you insist. "

  E: Right. And don't be surprised if your foreign friend just wants to have a bowl of noodles. Most foreigners eat very simply at lunchtime. Maybe they just have a sandwich, two pieces of bread and some meat. So if you go out for a big lunch, they'll think it is a lot. So you might ask them how hungry they are. That'll be useful. They'll probably say they are not hungry at lunchtime, so you might want to make your lunch smaller and your dinner bigger if you want them to be comfortable.

  R: And when you are eating with your foreign friend, I'm sure they want to try chopsticks. And maybe they'll be successful. You might have to teach them how. And if they are not successful and they're embarrassed, you may ask for a fork. So when you think of their age and their meals, you also have to find them a clean toilet.

  E: Yeah. This is a very important thing for most foreigners. They need a sit-down toilet, not a squat toilet. So some foreigners, if you say "Please use this toilet. It's a squat toilet," maybe they don't know how to do. So you have to find a hotel or some place where they can actually sit.

  R: Yeah. I think almost every hotel can help you. So that's worth remembering. So that maybe all we can talk about today. Your foreigners should be happy, if they have seen some sights, eaten well, and found a good toilet. Next time we'll have some more.


外国友人来访 (一)
  E: 欢迎收看“你说我说”。今天我们讨论的话题是有关外国朋友来访时应当注意的问题, 或者当你承担公司的外事接待工作时,应当预先了解的那些问题。

  R: 也许你要接待某位外宾的夫人, 或者你的笔友越洋而来。

  E: 来参加奥运会。

  R: 前来中国观光的外国人越来越多,如何接待这些狂热的老外呢?首先一点,我们认为, 你们应当考虑到年龄因素。大家都知道,年龄差距决定了游客的行为取向。什么事想做,什么事不能做。

  E: 年长的游客往往比年轻人保守一些,所以一些年轻人热衷去做的事,年长的人不一定会喜欢。

  R: 曾有两位年长的朋友来中国玩,他们对我说:“我只安排半日观光,剩下的半天用来缓解疲劳。” 但另一位年轻人来中国玩时,他说:“我要和中国孩子一起玩。”他想知道中国孩子玩什么,他们如何玩滑板,他们在哪里购物。我问他:“你不会说中文怎么办?”他说:“没关系,我就是想跟他们一起玩。”所以 你确实要考虑年龄因素。

  E: 当你的外国朋友来访时,你会带他们出去吃饭。有几点很重要,你要弄清楚。你要问他们是否喜欢吃辣的东西,不是所有的外国人都喜欢吃辣的东西。你要问他们是否对味精过敏,味精是 "MSG"。

  R: 有的人可能会对别的某种食物过敏, 比如, 有人对番茄或虾过敏。他们若能告诉你这些固然好。你还应该问:“你今天是否想吃中餐?”因为他们也许吃了好多天的中餐了, 现在正想念西餐呢。也许他们就是中餐爱好者,情况不同, 他们的选择不一样。中西餐点菜的方式也不一样。

  E: 我们以前曾谈过, 吃西餐时人们通常只点自己的菜。此时你要向他们解释一下,中餐在这方面与西餐的不同。吃中餐时人们会点多种菜肴,进餐时每人可从每种菜中取一点。西方人可能对此不大了解。另一点需要注意的是,西方人通常喜欢吃鸡肉 、牛排、 猪肉和鱼。他们喜欢吃肌肉部分,如果你给他们吃动物内脏,比如动物的胃、脑等内脏,或者让他们吃小动物的肉 ,如青蛙肉、狗肉,特别是狗肉,他们会很生气,或流露出不安和反感。

  R: 是的。 你可能会觉得有趣,当你向一位勇敢的外国朋友推荐蛇血,他们可能会对你说: 不。你不要觉得受到冒犯,有些外国人不喝啤酒和白酒。在外国人中有些人喜欢喝酒,有些人不喜欢。所以你要问清情况,灵活掌握。还有付帐的问题。

  E: 在西方, 如果我和Rebecca一起外出, 我们是真正的西方人。 但是在中国居住了这么多年, 我们已经不算是真正的西方人了。 做为西方人,如果我们一起出去,付帐时通常我们各付一半。或者这次由她付,下次由我付。你的朋友可能对你说: “我来付帐。”

  R: 或者说 “我来付我的那部分”, 你不要感觉受到冒犯,这只是他们的习惯。也许餐前你可以他们说:“这顿饭由我来付帐,如果你坚持的话, 下次你来付帐。”

  E: 你不要见怪,如果你的外国朋友午餐只吃一碗面条。大多数西方人的午餐都非常简单,也许一个三明治就是午餐,两片面包之间夹一些肉。他们认为外出吃午餐就显得太多了,所以你可以问他们是否很饿,这很有用。他们可能会对你说:中午不太饿。所以如果你能安排简单一些的午餐,丰盛的晚餐,他们会觉得恰倒好处。

  R: 是的。当你和外国朋友进餐时,他们一定很想尝试一下筷子的用法。有的人可能用的不错,有些人则需要你指点一下。当你看到有些人用不好筷子时,或表现出有些尴尬时,请给他们提供叉子。你们考虑了年龄因素和饮食习惯,还要为他们提供一个干净的厕所。

  E: 这一点很重要。他们需要坐便器。如果你对他们说:“这是蹲式的厕所,你可以用。” 他们可能不知道怎么用,你最好帮助他们找一家饭店,找一个有坐便器的厕所。

  R: 我想所有的饭店都会提供帮助的,应该记住这一点。今天就谈这些,你的外国友人会很开心,如果他们欣赏了优美的风光,观赏了古老和新奇的东西,品尝了美味佳肴,用过干净的厕所。下次我们继续讨论这个话题。


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