PASSAGE 5
Dining Custom
Every land has its own dining custom, and the United States is no exception1. Americans feel that the first rule of being a polite guest is to be on time. If a person is invited to dinner at 6:30, the hostess expects him to be there at 6:30 or not more than a few minutes after. Because she usually does her own cooking, she times the meal so that the coffee and meat will be at their best at the time she asks the guest to come. If he is late, the food will not be so good, and the hostess will be disappointed. When the guest cannot come on time, he calls his host or hostess on the telephone, gives the reason, and tells at what time he thinks he can come.
As guests continue to arrive, the men in the group stand when a woman enters and remain standing2 until she has found a chair. A man always rises when he is being introduced to a woman. A woman does not rise when she is being introduced either to a man or a woman unless the woman is much older.
When the guests sit down at a dinner table, it is customary3 for the men to help the ladies by pushing their chairs under them.
Even an American may be confused by the number of knives, forks, and spoons beside his plate when he sits down to a formal dinner. The rule is simple, however, use them in the order in which they lie, beginning from the outside. Or watch the hostess and do what she does. The small fork on the outside on the left is for salad, which is often served with the soup. The spoon on the outside at the right is for soup, and so on. Sometimes there is a separate little knife, called a butter spreader, on a small bread-and-butter plate at the left. As the bread is passed, each guest puts his piece on the bread-and-butter plate.
1. As a country of immigrants4, the U.S. does not have its own dining customs.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
2. The guest is expected to arrive on time because the coffee and meat will be at their best at the time he is required to come.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
3. A woman usually rises when she is being introduced to an aged5 gentleman.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
4. At a dinner table, it is customary for the men to arrange chairs for ladies.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
5. At formal American dinner, the knives, forks, and spoons beside the plate are placed in a certain order.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
6. The right order to use the knives, forks and spoons at a formal dinner is from the left to the right.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
7. At a formal dinner, bread is usually served together with salad and soup.
A. Right B. Wrong C. Not mentioned
KEY: BABCABC
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