One sometimes finds the other person's behaviour odd, or even distasteful. If we try to find out why the two sides behave as they do, we can have a better understanding of each other and communicate more successfully.

　　如果我们避开误解的雷区，具有不同文化的两个人就能做到“沟通无极限” ！我们还是拿Lisa 和Wang Ming做例子。让我们重新设计一下双方的对话。怎么样，如此交流，是不是和谐了许多呢？

　　Wang: Hi! Lisa, welcome! Come in, please.

　　Lisa: Thanks for your invitation. It's a lovely room and very warm in here.

　　Wang: Thank you. Please sit and have a cup of tea. It's quite cold outside today. How long did it take you to come here? Was it difficult to find my place? Did you find the map I drew useful?

　　Lisa: It was very useful. It only took 20 minutes to get here. I enjoyed the walk. Winter in Beijing is very beautiful.

　　Wang: Lisa, dinner is ready. Please sit here facing the door. According to the Chinese custom, this is the seat for the most distinguished guest.

　　Lisa: Thank you. I feel most honoured. Wow! So many dishes - eight! They look delicious.

　　Wang: Thank you. I prepared the dishes myself. I hope you like them. Please help yourself.

　　Lisa: They're delicious. The Chinese food I tried in the States was not the same as this.

　　Wang: I'm glad you like them. But leave some room for the other eight hot dishes.

　　Lisa: Really? Another eight! It is not a dinner, it's a feast!

　　Wang: You know, the figure “eight” is a lucky number in Chinese. Two sets of eight dishes for distinguished guests.

　　Lisa: I feel honoured indeed. You're too kind.

　　Cultural shock 文化交际门道多！

　　you will have a better understanding of cross-cultural communication and be in a better position to avoid similar pitfalls. 避免文化冲撞，轻松跨文化交际。

　　Situation1:

　　You are eating--or have been offered--some food which you have never tried before. What would you say?

　　What's this?

　　Is this sweet or salty?

　　What are the materials?

　　What's this 听起来非常得生硬、不礼貌。最好先说出一些赞美之词，然后再提出你的问题。例如：This is delicious--what is it? (if you have just tasted it) 或者 That looks interesting--what is it ? (if you have not tasted it yet)。

　　说Is this sweet or salty?不算错，但不是很好，最好说Is this sweet or savoury? Savoury is a general word used to describe main course dishes like meat, and vegetables as well as others like cheese and crackers (salty biscuits). A cocktail party may offer savouries (small portions of slightly salty foods) as well as drinks and sweets. Note that the most common word for the sweet food at the end of a Western meal is dessert, but it may also be called sweet or pudding.

　　What are the materials? 中materials 的用词不太好，最好用ingredients替代。

　　Situation2:

　　You are offered some food you don't really like. What would you say?

　　No thanks, I don't like it.

　　No thanks, I don't want any.

　　有时候过度得坦率会引起交流的不快，所以你最好表示你已经吃饱了。

　　Situation3:

　　In a Western meal, you're offered a second helping but you have already had enough. What would you say ?

　　No, thanks. I'm full.

　　如果是和家人或者亲密的朋友用餐，你当然可以这么说。但如果是正式场合，你的表达最好更加委婉一些。例如：That was delicious but I've already had plenty, thanks.

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