Lesson26 Come to a Party!
Most parties are quite relaxed these days, especially young people'sparties. You don't have to wear a long dress or a black tie when you want tohave a good time. In fact, you can usually wear what you like — anythingfrom jeans to suits and dresses. British and American people are often quiteinformal.
People will expect an answer even to an informal invitation.
Just call to say if you can or cannot come. Some people of course(especially older ones) still enjoy formal parties. An invitation to a smartparty often has RSVP written at the bottom. This is short for the Frenchphrase responde si vous plait. It means that you must write a letter ortelephone to say if you can or cannot come. People often send outinvitations weeks before a party. It's polite to answer as soon as possible.
What do you do if someone asks you to 'tea'? For some British people, 'tea'
means a cup of tea and a biscuit at 4:30 or 5 p.m. For others, 'tea' means ameal at 6:30 or 7 p.m. 'Formal dress' usually means a suit and tie for men,and a smart dress for women. 'Black tie' means that the men wear dinnerjackets and the women wear evening dresses. 'Black tie' is only for veryspecial occasions.
smart party 正式的聚会、社交活动
聚会去！
今天的聚会大多相当随意，尤其是年轻人的聚会。想要玩得高兴，你不需长礼服或半正式礼服。事实上，你一般喜欢穿什么就穿什么——从牛仔到套装和礼服。英美两国的人常常穿得很休闲。
即使是一个非正式邀请，人们也会期待一个回复。你只要打个电话告知会不会去。当然，有些人（尤其是年纪大些的）仍然喜欢正式的聚会。一个高雅聚会的邀请函经常在底部写着RSVP。这是法语respondesi vous plait的简写。它的意思是你必须写信或打电话答复是否会来。邀请大都在聚会前几周发出。尽快答复是礼貌的做法。
如果有人邀请你“喝茶”，你会怎么做？对英国人来说，“喝茶”意味着在下午四点半或五点喝杯茶，吃点饼干。对有的国家的人来说，“喝茶”指在晚上六点半或七点吃饭。“正式礼服”一般指男人穿的套装和领带，以及女人穿的时髦的裙装。“小礼服”指男宾穿无尾礼服，女宾穿晚礼服。“小礼服”仅在非常特殊的场合才会穿。 |