TABLEMANNERSATADINNERPARTY:

　　PeoplewhogotoaformalWesterndinnerpartyforthefirsttimemaybesurprisedbytablemannersinWesternculture.Knowingthemwillhelpyoumakeagoodimpression.Havinggoodtablemannersmeansknowing,forexample,howtouseknivesandforks,whentodrinkatoastandhowtobehaveatthetable.Besideyournapkinyouwillfindasmallbreadrollandthreeglasses—oneforwhitewine,onefortheredwine,andoneforwater.Therearetwopairsofknivesandforksonthetable,forksontheleftandknivesintherightoftheplate.Whenyouseetwospoons,thebigoneidforthesuopandthesamlloneforthedessert.Theknifeandforkthatareclosesttoyourplatearealittebitbiggerthantheonesbesidethem.Whenyousitdownatthetable,youcantakeyournapkin,unfolditandputitonyourlap.InChineseyousometimegetahot,dampclothtocleanyourfaceandfaceandhands,whinch,however,isnatthecustominWesterncountries.

　　Dinnerstartwithasmalldish,whichisoftencalledastarter.Simepeoplepraybeforetheystarteating,andotherpeoplemaykeepsilentforamoment.Thenyoucansay"Enjoyyourmeal"toeachotherandeverybodystarteating.Forthestarter,whichyoueatwiththesmallerpair,youkeeptheknifeinyourrighthandandtheforkinyourleft.Afterthestarteryouwillgetabowlofsoup—butonlyoneboelofsoupandneveraskforaseconfserving.

　　Thenextdishisthemaincourse.ManyWesternersthinkthechickenbreastwithitstenderwhitefleshisthebestpartofthebird.Somepeoplecanusetheirfingerswhentheyeatingchickenorotherbirds,butnevertouchbeeforothermeatinbones.Itispolitetofinisheatingeverthingonyourplate,sodon'ttakemorefoodthanyouneed.

　　Attable,youshouldtrytospeakquietlyandsmilealot,butdonotlaughallthetime.

　　MostWesternerslikesoftdrinkiftheywilldrivehome.Manyofthemdrinkwhiteorredwinewiththefood.Whendrinkingtosomeone'shealth,youraiseyourglasses,buttheglassesshouldnottouch.ThecustomoftoastinginsomepartsofChinaistofinishthedrinkatonce,butWesternersusuallytakeonlyasip.Fordrinkingduringadinner,thebestadvicisnevertodrinktoomuch.

　　Tablemannerschangeovertime.Theyfollowthefashionoftheday.Beside,tablemannersareonlyimportantatformaldinnerparties.Ifyou'renotsurewhattodo,youcanalwaysfollowyourhosts.Althoughgoodmannersalwaysmakeyoulookgood,youdonotneedtoworryaboutalltheseruleswhilehavingdinnerwithyourfriendsorfamily.