外语系
纺织商务英语
Textile Business English
Module Four
Banquet Activities
Task 3
Entertaining guests
Learning Objectives
1. To be familiar with the different culture about
entertaining guests in different countries.
2. To master the expressions of entertaining
guests
3. To know some menus of different dishes
Lead-in—Group discussion
1.
How can you entertain guests well?
2.
What should we pay attention to in
entertaining a foreign guest? What
different cultures do you know in
entaining guests?
Useful expressions and patterns
 1.
Good evening. This is a lovely place.
It’s very kind of you to invite me.
 2. I hope you like Chinese food.
 3. I tried once. It’s very tasty.
 4. Have you tried hot pot? It is very hot.
 5. I’ve heard of it. Good thing is that I’m
an adventurous eater.
Useful expressions and patterns
 6.
Please help yourself.
 7. You are quite expert with chopsticks.
 8. It’s the first thing I’ve learned in china.
 9. How do you like hot pot?
 10. It’s a bit strong but I still like it.
Listening
Dialogue 1
Notes to the dialogue




1 ingredients: 成分
2 minced: 碾碎的
3 eggplant: 茄子，也称aubergine.
4 braised: 炖熟的, 焖熟的, 用文火炖到全熟的
Listening
Listen to dialogue 1 and complete the
following answers:
1.The main ingredient is
2.The dish first fried
.
.
Listening
Dialogue 2
Notes to the dialogue
1 starter:开胃菜
 2 avocado：[植]鳄梨, 鳄梨树
 3 spicy：加香料的, 出产香料的, 辛辣的, 有风
味的

Listening
Listen to dialogue 2 and answer the
following questions:
1.What does the woman recommend the
man to have a starter?
2.What would the man like for his main
course?
3.How about the fish with Indian spices?
Reading and Analyzing
A list of customs
Reading and Analyzing
Look at the list of customs below. Which
of them are practiced in your culture?
1. If people invite us to dinner we do not usually need to
return the invitation.
2. After we have been entertained at somebody’s home,
we usually send the host(s) a note of thanks.
3. We avoid talking about business at the dinner table.
4. We often discuss at the dinner table.
5. When we entertain business partners we usually do
this in a restaurant, not at home.
Reading and Analyzing
Look at the list of customs below. Which
of them are practiced in your culture?
6. Businesswomen do not usually accept invitations to
dinner.
7. If a businessman has dinner with his partners, his wife
does not usually come.
8. It is acceptable for businesswomen to invite male
business partners to dinner.
9. It is important to meet your business partners socially.
10. Business people often play sports together.
Reading and Analyzing
A Menu
Reading and Analyzing
Below is a menu from a western-style
restaurant. Are there any differences
between this and the typical menu of a
Chinese restaurant? Discuss this in
small groups.
A Menu
Ambassador Hotel
Today’s Menu
Starters
Vegetable soup
Shrimps with mayonnaise
Smoked ham with green salad
Main Courses
Roast lamb
Steak with mushrooms
Fish and chips
Chicken salad
Cheese salad
.75p
￡1.50
￡2.00
￡8.00
￡7.50
￡4.75
￡4.50
￡4.00
A Menu
Ambassador Hotel
Today’s Menu
All main courses are served with
a selection of fresh vegetables and a choice
of fried or boiled potatoes or rice
Desserts
A selection of cakes from the trolley
Cheese and crackers
Pancakes with orange sauce
Home made ice cream: various flavors
Coffee or Tea
Please note that there is a 10% service charge
￡2.00
￡2.00
￡1.90
￡1.75
￡1.50
Reading and Analyzing
Chinese and Western Dining Differences
Reading and Analyzing
Brainstorming Question
Did you have any dining experience in a
western restaurant? If yes, how do you
think about it? If no, how can you image
it?
Reading and Analyzing
Chinese and Western Dining Differences
Li Yang:“I didn’t like Americans very much. I found them to
be selfish. On my first day in New York, I met with my
business partners. They had arranged our meeting time for
11:00, so I thought that at some point we would break for
lunch. Since we were invited by them, I thought I would be
taken out to eat. But as we went on with the meeting, there
as never any mention of lunch. We stopped for several
hours, and I was really hungry, but they never stopped for
lunch. Even worse, they sat there the whole time eating
sandwiches, fruit, potato chips, and so on. They did offer
me some, but I refused and was waiting for the real lunch.”
Peter Jackson: “The first six or seven dishes
seemed to fill the table with plates spread every
corner of it. I thought this big first wave of food
was the total number of dishes to be served, and I
ate greedily, but the Chinese friends around me
were different. They ate a bit of each dish and
then continued to talk. ‘They must not be very
hungry’ I thought, and continued to enjoy the food.
To my surprise, more dishes were soon served.
There were three soups, five side dishes, and
delicacies of many kinds. That’s why my Chinese
fiends ate a bit of each dish.”
Jane Jones: “The Chinese eat everything with four
legs except the chair they are sitting on. They eat
anything that moves, and indeed any part of that
moving thing. I was shocked to see chicken’s feet,
blood soup, and pig’s ears on offer in restaurants.
What Americans consider ‘disgusting’ is
considered a delicacy in China. One thing is that
most Westerners would never eat dog. Dogs are
kept only as pets and are loved as much as
children. When a Westerner sees dogs on the
menu, he or she will cry. ”
Discussions
Work with your partners to answer these
questions.
1 It is said that Westerners eat like a king for breakfast, eat
like a beggar for lunch, and eat like a commoner for
dinner. Do you understand the sentence? If you
understand it, do you agree with the idea?
2 What are the Chinese customs? What do you eat for
breakfast, lunch and dinner? Which meal is the best?
Which meal is the most important one to you?
3 What are the other differences between Chinese and
Western dinners?
4 Why doesn’t Li Yang like American?
Reading and Analyzing
Dining Etiquette
Reading and Analyzing
Many people are unsure of what the etiquette is for
having guests over as well as what the etiquette
should be for when they go to someone's home.
That being said, here are a few helpful hints.
If you are invited to someone's house for a small
gathering like a dinner, never go empty-handed. Ask
the person who is hosting the event what you
should bring. If they don't suggest something, then
use your common sense to bring something that
would be appropriate for most people such as a
beverage (I.e. bottle of wine, etc.) If you bring a food
such as a store-bought dessert or some other tasty
food, make sure you bring it in a disposable
container or something that can be left with the
host.
It is not proper etiquette to bring a food item
and then take it back. Only take the food item
with you if the host insists upon it. Otherwise,
plan on leaving it with them. After all, they are
the ones who went to the trouble to host the
special event at their homes. Taking it back
would be like offering someone a gift and then
taking it back. Don't do it. If you are hosting an
evening with friends, try to think of fun things to
do. The usual place of entertainment is in the
living room. This is an area usually designated
by couches. A lot of homes nowadays have a
television in the living room.
If this is the case, it is inappropriate to have the
television on while entertaining guests unless you are
having people over to watch a specific event such as a
football game, etc. In most other cases, however, the
television can be turned down or off. Make your guests
comfortable when they come in.
If it's their first time at your home, give them a brief tour
letting them know where things are such as the
bathroom and/or kitchen or a spare bedroom (in case
they need to change, lie down or make a phone call,
etc.). Whatever you do, make it clear that you wish
them to feel at home in your home. It will help them
relax and enjoy themselves.
New words and expressions
1.etiquette 礼节, 规矩
2.common sense 常识
3.disposable container 一次性容器
4.designate 指明 表明
Discussion
Discuss the following questions.
1．What title can you give to this passage?
2．Please give some helpful hints when you
pay a visit someone’s home.
3．What is the customs like in your country?
4．Where would you like to host your guests,
at the restaurant or at home? Why?
Assignment
Discussion: Dinner Dates
What is the best way to entertain
somebody, at home or at a restaurant?
Work in pairs or small groups. Discuss
the advantages and disadvantages of
each.
Reference
For more topic-related information , Pease
refer to the following websites:
http://www.essortment.com/all/entertaininggue_rmfd.h
tm
http://www.indobase.com/home/entertainmentrelaxation/entertaining-guests.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Entertain-Guests