6) Every land has its own dining custom, and the United States is no exception. 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. 7) 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 standing until she has found a chair. A man always rises when he is being introduced to a woman. 8) A woman does not rise when she is being introduced either to a man or a woman unless the woman is much older. 9) When the guests sit down at a dinner table, it is customary 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. 10)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.

參考答案：

6)每個都有自己的餐飲習俗，美國也不另外。(直譯法)

7)如果你遲到了，食物就不會那么新鮮，女主人也會為此而感到失望。

(增譯法：增加詞匯是在譯文中增加一些原文中無其形而有其義的詞，其目的是為了使譯文的意義完整而明確，更符合漢語的表達習慣。本句增加了“為此”，使句子的意思更完整。)

8)而當一位女士被介紹給男士或女士時，她無需起立，除非那是一位比她年長的婦人。

(英語狀語從句用在主句后面的較多,而漢語的狀語從句用在主句前的較多,因此,在許多情況下,應將狀語從句放在主句前面;而且長句一般用分譯法。)

9)當客人到餐桌旁準備就餐時，通常男士應幫助女士拉開椅子讓她們坐下。(省譯法：by沒有譯出。)

10)靠左邊最外面的小叉是用來吃色拉的，色拉經常和湯一起上。

(增譯法，增加了“吃”，而且定語從句中被動語態翻譯為主動語態。)