陈豪在北京的ABC美国公司工作。他接到公司晚宴派对的邀请，但是不想去。

(Office ambience)

CH：Hi Amy, 我刚刚收到邀请，老板请我们去吃饭。

A：I received one, too.

C：你去吗?

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儿;他们跟我关系虽说都不错，但大家毕竟不是朋友。

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：跟同事搞好关系也不一定非得出去玩儿啊。

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：这么说是不能不去了。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，让我再想想吧。

******

到了第二天....

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

C：去，不过我要带个朋友。

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

C：星期六晚上出去应酬，带个朋友还不行吗?

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

C：那好，我打个照面，待一会儿就走。

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

C：晚餐完了我总可以走了吧?

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, 我真没想到，公司派对还会这么郑重其事。还有什么要注意的吗?

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：这我知道，一定注意不会多喝。你能不能再总结一下，看看都有哪些注意事项。

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

C：我知道，还有就是晚宴结束前不能告退。

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

C：谢谢你，Amy，我一定照办