初次见面的外国人跟你说了句"How do you do", 估计多数人都会美滋滋地搬出学校教的那套,回敬一句"How do you do"。可英美人士却觉得你的回答有点买帽子当鞋穿--不对头。因为他们会觉得对话似乎没有得到回应,好像你并不高兴见到他一样。所以,当别人说"How do you do"的时候,你最好改答"Nice to meet you"或者"It's a pleasure to meet you"。
Wang Dong: Welcome to Beijing, President Taylor. I'm Wang Dong, the secretary of the foreign affairs office from China Bright Advertising Company. Please call me Wang.
James Taylor: Oh, nice to meet you, Wang.
Wang Dong: Nice to meet you, too. How was the flight?
James Taylor: It was OK, though I feel a bit tired.
Wang Dong: Would you like me to help you with the luggage?
James Taylor: Oh, thank you.
Wang Dong: Please follow me to the gate. The company car is waiting for you outside.
大家已经意识到了吧,这段对话适用于正式的社交场合。
1 二个人用 Nice to meet you 相互问候。
2 Wang Dong 在自我介绍的时候不仅说了自己的姓名,还说了自己的职务和此行的身份。
3 Wang Dong 称呼对方为President Taylor,这是一种正式的称呼,而不是用Mr. James或者James。
4 Wang Dong 的用语十分礼貌,恭敬。
说到这里,让我们来作个初次见面问候用语的小结吧。
Brief greetings:
-- Hi! (for informal situation)
-- Hello! (for informal situation)
-- Hullo! (for informal situation)
-- Good morning/afternoon/evening. (for more formal situation)
Extended greetings at the first meeting:
-- Nice to meet you. (-- Nice to meet you, too.)
-- How do you do! (--Nice to meet you.) (for more formal situation)
附:几个实用的句子
1. Nice to meet you. 很高兴认识你。二个素不认识的老美见面打招呼的方式很简单,就是一个人先说"Nice to meet you", 另一个人说 "Nice to meet you, too",然后相互握手。但人多的时候, 你不可能一个一个说 "Nice to meet you",这时简单说"Hi" 就可以了,但这么说不适用于比较正式的场合。
2. Give me a hug.给我一个拥抱吧。
如果两个人相识已久,见面再说"Nice to meet you" 反而显得有点见外。这时候通常问候一句 "How are you doing" 或者 "What's up" 比较好一些。如果两个人还是不错的朋友,就会彼此拥抱一下。当然啦,拥抱之前不一定要说 "Give me a hug",只要看到人家张开双手,你就可以迎上去拥抱啦。
3. Do you want to exchange numbers? 你想不想交换电话呢?
如果是学生的社交场合,要不要名片就不是那么重要了。这时你可以尝试跟对方交换电话号码。你可以说 "Do you want to exchange numbers" 或是直截了当要对方的电话 "Could I have your phone number"。当然,第一次见面就要对方电话感觉好像怪怪的,所以你也可以跟对方要 E-mail address 或是 ICQ number。总之要什么就根据当时的情况和你个人的企图来定了。
If you ask someone over, you invite the person to your house or apartment:
“My roommates and I are going to ask our English teacher over for lunch.”
2.ASK (SOMEONE) OUT 约某人出去,约会
If you ask someone out, you invite the person to go out for a romantic encounter:
“Bill asked me out, but I turned him down (said no). He’s just not my type.”
3.COME OVER 来到你的住处
When a person comes over, they arrive at your house or apartment:
“Why don’t you come over to my place after class? We can work on the project together.”
4.BRING OVER带东西到某人的住处
To bring something over is to bring an object to the other person’s house or apartment:
“I’ll bring over my DVD collection so that we can watch some movies.”
5.HAVE (SOMEONE) OVER 大概有多少人
Have over is the general word for having people visit your house/apartment:
“We’re having about 15 people over for Thanksgiving dinner.”
6.POP IN / STOP IN / STOP BY 短暂停留
These phrasal verbs mean to enter a place for a short period of time:
“I just stopped by to say hi – I need to go in about ten minutes.”
7.DROP IN 突然拜访
Drop in means to visit unexpectedly:
“My sister always drops in while I’m in the middle of doing something important. I wish she’d call me before she came over.”
8.DROP (SOMEONE) OFF 让某人从车上下来
Drop off is when you take somebody in your car and then leave them in another place:
“I’m going to drop my husband off at the airport. He’s traveling to London.”
9.PICK (SOMEONE) UP 接某人,让某人上车
Pick up is the opposite of “drop off.” If you pick someone up, you go drive to a place and get someone into your car. Remember that you drop someone off at a place, and you pick someone up from a place.
“My husband returns from London on Thursday – I’ll pick him up from the airport around noon.”
10.BONUS IDIOM: “TAKE A RAIN CHECK” 换个时间,改天再约
“We’re going to play basketball tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to join us?”
“I’ll have to take a rain check – my boyfriend and I are going to see a concert. Maybe another time!”
“I’ll take a rain check” is a response to a social invitation if you can’t go, but you hope the person asks you again in the future.