世博英语札记【88】Tipping 给小费

2001年2月4日

Smoking VS. Non-Smoking 抽烟VS.不抽烟

More and more restaurants are dividing their dining rooms into smoking and non-smoking sections. A growing segment『部分』of the American population is anti-smoking.

愈来愈多餐厅将用餐的地方分隔成吸烟区及禁烟区。美国抵制抽烟的人也愈来愈多。
这里提醒大家一句在香烟盒上很醒目的一句英语：

Warning on cigarette pack 烟盒上的警语

Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to Your Health.

警告：公共卫生局长已证实抽烟有害身体健康。
其中的Dangerous也常常被Hazardous代替。

Tipping 给小费

The tip is a bonus『红利』 for good service. You may tip the waitress or waiter as much as you please. Generally, the tip is between 15% and 20% of the bill.

小费是对良好的服务所给的红利，要给服务生多少都随便你。大致上来说，小费是帐单金额的百分之十五到百分之二十。

另外在美国还有一种柜台上的小费『Counter Tips』，不论是一般餐馆或是自助餐厅，从柜台上买些食物到自己的座位上吃，要付所谓的Counter Tips。一般是以一美元的纸币或硬币投入柜台的杯子里。给不给小费全有个人决定，没有说非给不可，但给的人多半是那里的常客。

Diet Books 减肥书

The two best-selling categories『n.类别』of books in America are books on cooking and books on dieting. It seems another new diet book is published every month. But the easiest way to diet is simply to eat less.

在美国，最畅销的两种书为食谱及减肥书。大概每个月会有一本新的减肥书出版，但最容易的减肥方法是少吃一点。