T: hi, Betty.what's up?
B: nothing special. how about you? Are you used to the life here in the States?
T: evertything has been fine for the past several months.
B: great!
T: well, I wish someone could talk to me about Western table manners
B: sounds interesting. Where did you get the idea?
T: as you know, table manners in China are quite different from those of Westerners.
B: absolutely. that's because both of us have distinctive cultural features.
T: for example, in China, it's okay to talk while eating. However, you may regard it as rude.
B: yes. this must be a huge difference.
T: can you think of anything else?
B: sure. We tend to think that the slower on eats, the more polite one seems.
T: I didn't know that before.
B: and we never sip or slurp the soup loudly. we quietly like little mouthfuls.
T: i got it. i'll bear it in mind.
B: don't worry. i'm sure our etiquette will become a natural part of your behavior as time goes by.
T: I hope so.
