Neil: Hi there and welcome to Question and Answer of the week. I’m Neil and

I’m joined by Li.

Yang Li: 大家好我是杨莉。欢迎收听《你问我答》节目，每周我们都会通过这个窗口来解答

众提出的有关英语学习和英国文化方面的问题。

Neil: Today we’ve left the studio behind and we’re in a restaurant, all to answ

a question from Shuoxin Li from Beijing.

Yang Li: 是的，今天我们走出了播音室专门来到了一家餐馆，以便回答李朔昕提出的以下问

题。

Question

I’m Shuoxin Li from Beijing. I’d like to know – what is the correct way to order food in

the restaurant? How much tips should I give in different kinds of restaurant in differen

time?

Yang Li: 谢谢你的问题。李朔昕同学想了解在到参观就餐时的一些常用语，比如，如何点菜

还有怎样给小费等等。

Neil: A great question. Well, I think the best place to start is by looking at th

menu. Most menus will show you starters and main courses.

Yang Li: 大部分的菜单都会标明开胃菜和主餐的。瞧，服务员过来了。Here comes the

waiter! 可是，我还没想好要什么呢!

Neil: Don’t worry, Li, he’ll just ask what drinks we want first.

Waiter: Hi there, can I get you some drinks while you’re looking at the menu?

Yang Li: 别紧张，服务员只不过先来问问顾客想喝点什么饮料. Yes please, I’ll have a

lemonade.

Neil: And I’ll have an orange juice please.

Waiter: Are you ready to order?

Yang Li: 服务员问我们是不是准备好，可以点菜了。可是我还没准备好呢!

Neil: Don’t worry, this is what to say: Can we have a few more minutes, please?

Waiter: Certainly, sir. Just to let you know that the specials today are pea soup

and grilled chicken.

Yang Li: 在这种情况下 Neil 很客气地对服务员说‘再给我们几分钟时间，可以吗?’ Can we

have a few more minutes, please? –这样我们可以有时间仔细看看菜单。

Neil: The waiter also mentioned ‘the specials’ – these are things which aren’t on

the menu, but are additional meals available for that day only.

Yang Li: 今日特餐 specials 好了我已经看好了要点的菜了。

Waiter: Are you ready to order?

Neil: Yes, we are, I’ll have the prawn cocktail to start, please, followed by the

lasagne.

Yang Li: And I’ll have the soup to start 我想先喝一碗汤 and then the grilled chicken,

please. 然后主餐要烤鸡。

Waiter: Very good. Would you like any bread while you are waiting?

Yang Li: 服务员经常会问顾客要不要附加一些东西，比如面包啦或蔬菜沙拉等等. No, that’s

all, thank you.

Neil: It’s as simple as that – now we just need to wait for our food and eat…

Yang Li: Wow, the food was amazing. I’m stuffed! 我撑死了!

Neil: Me too, I don’t think I could eat another thing. Here comes the waiter

again.

Waiter: Would you like to look at the dessert menu, madam?

Yang Li: 他问我们要不要看看甜点菜单，可是我什么都吃不下了我不想要甜点，怎么说?

Neil: Just politely refuse, like this: No thanks, we couldn’t eat another thing.

Could we have the bill please?

Yang Li: 吃饱了，喝足了，该结帐了。买单在英语里就是 “could we have the bill please”.

Neil: The waiter has been very helpful so we’ll need to leave a tip. In the UK,

it’s usual to leave a tip of at least 10%.

Yang Li: 如果服务不错，那么在英国就餐一般都要留至少百分之十的小费。

Neil: Check the bill first though. If it reads “Service included”, it means the

price of the tip has already been added on to the bill, so you don’t need to

pay extra.

Yang Li: 如果账单上写着服务费包括在内 “service included” 那就说明小费已经被包括进去

了。 Do we need to leave a tip every time we eat out?

Neil: Not really. It depends on how formal your meal is and how much service

you have had. If it’s a largely self-service cafe, there’s often a little jar on

the counter where you can throw some coins in.

Yang Li: 小费的多少取决于就餐的正式程度，如果是自助咖啡馆，那么收款台附近常常会摆着

一个大罐子，顾客可以随意往里面放一些零钱或什么都不放。

Neil: Well, I hope that we’ve answered your question, Shuoxin Li.

Yang Li: 如果你也有英语学习或英国文化方面的问题，请随时给我们发电子邮件。邮箱地址为

questions.bosite@tingclass.net. I have to go now to catch my bus Neil. I’ll

leave you to settle the bill, OK?

Neil: Grrr! Typical 抠门儿!