SomecommonmannersintheWestItisagreathelpforthepersonwhoislearningaforeignlanguagetoknowsomecustomsandmannersforthepeoplewhospeaksit,becausethelanguageisverycloselyassociatedwiththem.Iwilltellyousomecommonwesternmanners.1.MeetingandGreetingPeople1)GreetingThesimplestthingtosayis"Goodmorning,""Goodafternoon'"or"goodevening."Thisgreetingisgiventoonewhomyouknowonlyslightly,ortoanyoneyouarepassingquickly."Howareyou"isusuallyusedwhenyouarenotinsuchahurry.Noanswerisexpectedotherthan"Fine,thankyou.""hello'isthecommonestformofgreetingbetweengoodfriends.2)WhenaManRaisesHisHatIfyouarewearingahatwhichcanbetakenboldofeasily,itiscustomarytoraiseitslightlyoffyourheadwhenyougreetagirlorawoman.3)WhentoShakeHandsItiscustomarytoshakehandswhenyoufirstmeetsomeone.Andusuallyfriendsshakehandswhentheymeetafternothavingseeneachotherforsometime.Howeveritisnotnecessarytoshakehands.4)Usetheperson'sNameItisalwaysgoodformtousethenameofthepersonyouaregreeting.Youmightsay,"GoodMorning,Mr.Moncrieff"or"Hello,Franklin.,"Aperson'ssurnameshouldbeusedunlessheisgoodfriendorschool-mate.2.Introduction1)HowtoIntroducePeopleInintroducingtwopeople,thegeneralruleis:Introduceotherpeopletothepersonyouwishtohonor.TheoldarehonoredintheWestasinChina.WomenhavebeenhonouredintheWestsincethedaysofknighthood(骑士时代）.2)RisingatIntroductionAmanalwaysriseforanintroduction,exceptthatitissometimesallrightforanelderlymantoremainseatedwhenayoungmanisintroducedtohim.Thehostessalwaysrisesforanintroduction.3)IntroducingYourselfIfyouwanttomeetsomeone,itisbettertoaskafriendwhoknowhimtointroduceyou.Butsometimesatameetingorgatheringitisallrighttointroduceyourselftoafellow-student,ortooneofthesamesexandposition.3.Invitation1)YouMustReplytoanInvitationForeigncustomismuchmorestrictthanChinesecustominthematterofreplyingtoinvitations.Whenyoureceiveaninvitationyoushouldansweritimmediately,sayingdefinitelywhetheryouareabletoacceptitornot.2)WrittenorVerbalReplyIftheinvitationisgivenbywordofmouth,inconversationoratachancemeeting,youshouldansweratoncewhetheryoucancomeornot.Ifyoucannotgiveanansweratthattime,youmaysay,"MayIletyouknowthisevening?"Orsomesuchwords.4.IntheHome1)TheRightTimetoArriveWheninvitedtoluncheon,dinner,orsupper,itisveryimpolitetoarrivelate,asitisusuallyplannedtohavethemealattheexacthourgivenintheinvitation.2)InarrivalWhenyouarrive,thehostessorsomememberofthefamilywillprobablymeetyouatthedoorandtakeyourcoatandhat.Inthewintertimeyoushoulddressmorelightlythanusually,asyoumayexpecttheroomstobewarmerthaninmostChinesehomes.3)Inafewminutesthehostesswillaskhergueststocomeintodinner.Shemayormaynotaskeachgentlemantotakealadyin.Ifshedoes,theladywilltakethegentleman'sarmastheywalkintothedinningroom.Ifshedoesnot,theladieswillgoinfirst,followedbythegentlemen.Thehostesswilleitherpointouttheirseatstotheguestsastheycomeinorhaveaplacecardateachplacewiththeguestsnameonit.4)HowLongtoStayAfterthemealisoveritisnotpolitetoleaveforatleasthalfanhour,lestyouseemtohavecomeonlyforthemeal.Aneveningdinnerinvitationusuallyimpliesthatyoustayforthewholeevening.Thehostessoftenplanssomeafter-dinnerentertainment.5)WhattoSayonLeavingWhenleavinganykindofaparty,aguestalwaysexpresseshisappreciationtothehostess.Somesuchwordsastheseareappropriate."Thankyousomuch.I'vehadadelightevening."5.TableManners1)Assoonasthehostesspicksuphernapkin(餐巾）,pickyoursupandlayitonyourlap.Sometimesarollofbreadiswrappedinit;ifso,tokeitourandputitonyoursideplate.2)TheSoupCourseDinnerusuallybeginswithsoup.Thelargestspoonatyourplaceisthesoupspoon.Itwillbebesideyourplateattheright-handside.3)TheFishCourseIfthereisafishcourse,itwillprobablyfollowthesoup.Theremaybeaspecialforkforthefish,oritmaybesimilartothemeatfork.Oftenitissmaller.4)TheMeatCourseThemainCourseisusuallyservedbythehosthimself,especiallyifitisafowl(鸡禽）oraroastwhichneedtobecarved.Hewilloftenaskeachguestwhatpieceheprefers,anditisquitepropertostateyourpreferenceastoleanorfat,dark（红肉）orlight（白肉）.
