英國淑女必知的餐桌禮儀

Table posture 坐姿

Your back should never touch the chair. One must sit straight and bring the food to your mouth. No matter how crumbly the pastry is, never lean down to the dish. The only exception is when you drink soup – you can gently bow your head ever so slightly. 后背不要碰到椅子上。必須坐直，把食物送入嘴中。無論糕點多么松脆易碎，也不要低頭在盤子里吃。唯一的例外是喝湯的時候——這時你可以輕輕地低下頭。

Napkin maths 餐巾的尺寸

There are sizes you know. Use a 17-20 inch napkin for lunch, a 12 inch napkin for tea, a 26 inch napkin for dinner and a 6-9 inch napkin for cocktails. 餐巾有很多尺寸。午飯時用17-20英寸的餐巾，下午茶時用12英寸的餐巾，晚飯時用26英寸的餐巾，雞尾酒會上用6-9英寸的餐巾。

Consumption pace 吃飯的節(jié)奏

Loo breaks are unfortunately not an option. Most dinners will last an average of 2 hours so you will have to drink in moderation to prevent the need to go. 很遺憾，一般在晚餐時不去洗手間。大部分的晚餐都會持續(xù)兩小時左右，所以你要適度飲食，以免中途需要去洗手間。

No compliments 不要恭維

You shouldn't pass comment on the food (because it was cooked by the chef not the Lady of the house), on the way your host is dressed (because it was a given that she looked nice) or décor (it would give away your status if you were not used to fine interiors). 不要贊美食物(因為食物是廚師做的，而不是女主人做的)，也不要贊美主人的著裝(因為默認她看上去不錯)或屋內(nèi)的裝飾(如果你不習(xí)慣精美的室內(nèi)環(huán)境，這會暴露你的地位)。

Seating plan 座位安排

Women dominate at Downton Abbey but traditionally guests would be seated in a boy-girl-boy-girl order. Married couples would be split because it was assumed they spent enough time with each other and engaged couples were sat together so that they could talk in a chaperoned setting. 《唐頓莊園》中以女士為主，但傳統(tǒng)是賓客以男—女—男—女的順序就座。已婚夫婦會被分開，因為通常認為他們待在一起的時間已夠長了。訂婚了的夫婦坐在一起，這樣他們可以在監(jiān)護人的陪伴下交談。

Turning the table 輪流交談

To not exclude anyone at the table, you are expected to speak to one gentleman next to you. Then, when the main Lady at the table gives a gentle cough, turn to your neighbour on the other side. This was called 'turning the table'. 要想不冷落餐桌上的人，你應(yīng)當(dāng)和旁邊的紳士交談。然后，當(dāng)桌上主座的女士輕輕咳嗽一聲時，你就和另一邊的鄰座交談。這就叫做“輪流交談”。

Suitable conversation 適宜的談話

Never talk about money, work, sex, health, politics or religion on the table. The Dowager is a good regulator of this. Conversation at afternoon tea in particular should be light to go with the light meal. 不要在桌上談?wù)摻疱X、工作、性、健康狀況、政治或宗教信仰?！短祁D莊園》的老夫人就很會調(diào)整對話的節(jié)奏。下午茶的談話尤其要適合便餐的氛圍。

Eat seasonal 吃當(dāng)季的食物

Meals on Downton Abbey consist of seasonal food such as asparagus in August and game in the shooting season. They are big fans of meat which includes pork, fish, beef and lamb. 《唐頓莊園》的飯菜主要是當(dāng)季的食物，如八月份的蘆筍和打獵季節(jié)的獵物。他們很喜歡吃肉，包括豬肉、魚、牛肉和羊肉。

What food wastage policy? 如何對待食物浪費?

Before the ration was implemented during World War II, people weren't so cautious about food wastage. It was okay to leave food on your plate especially because dinners consisted of seven courses. 在二戰(zhàn)期間，食物是定量配給的。在那之前，人們并不是很關(guān)注食物浪費。因為晚餐通常有7道菜組成，所以盤子里有剩下的食物是可以接受的。)

Pudding is not a dessert 此甜點非彼甜點

Pudding is the name of the sweet course served after the main meal. Dessert is only a fruit course served after pudding, and is still eaten with a knife and fork. Bananas should not be held and bitten into like a primate. pudding是主菜之后上的甜點，dessert 則只是在這之后上來的果盤，仍用刀叉來吃。吃香蕉時，不能像猩猩那樣拿著香蕉咬。

Parlour time 客廳時間

If you're the head lady of the table, once dinner is finished take the women to the parlour for coffees and liquors, so that the men can speak about politics for 20 minutes before they join you. 如果你是餐桌上的主座，一旦用餐完畢，你就要帶領(lǐng)女士去客廳里喝咖啡或酒，而男士們則談?wù)?0分鐘的政治后再去。

Breakfast rules 早餐的規(guī)矩

If you're a married Lady, it is customary to have your breakfast in bed, because you supposedly don't have to socialise to find a husband. For those at the table, breakfast would be a buffet of kedgeree, toast, kippers. 如果你是已婚女士，應(yīng)在床上吃早餐，因為你不必通過社交活動去尋覓佳偶了。對那些在餐桌上吃飯的人而言，早餐一般是是燴飯、烤面包和鯡魚自助餐。

Serve from the finest 使用最好的餐具

While the staff would drink from clay dishes, upstairs fine bone china was compulsory. 家仆們使用陶制餐具，而樓上客人用餐必須使用精美的骨瓷。

After lunch snacks allowed 午飯后可以加餐

Traditionally dinner was not served until 8:30 or 9:00pm, so it was normal to get hungry late afternoon. Anna Russell, the Duchess of Bedford invented afternoon tea, the light pre-dinner snack. This consists of sandwiches with no crusts and scones which you should break with your hand, not cut it with a knife. The jam and clotted cream order is personal to you. 傳統(tǒng)的晚餐是在晚上8:30或9:00時吃的，所以半下午一般都會餓。貝德福德公爵夫人安娜-拉塞爾發(fā)明了下午茶，做為餐前小吃。下午茶包括去掉面包皮的三明治和司康餅，要用手掰，而不是用刀子切?？梢噪S意在上面涂抹果醬和濃縮奶油。

It's a cup of tea 喝茶

Here are the rules: milk should be poured in after the tea; stir the milk in with your spoon in a back and forth motion (12 to 6 o'clock); the spoon should be placed on the saucer behind the cup, and you should never hook your finger around the cup handle. Instead, pinch your index finger and thumb through the loop and rest the base of the handle on your middle finger. If the table is too low, hold the saucer at waist height. 喝茶的規(guī)矩是：先倒茶再倒牛奶;用勺子前后來回攪拌牛奶(在12點和6點的方向之間);勺子要放在茶杯后的茶碟上，不要把手指勾在茶杯的把手上。用食指和大拇指捏住把手的環(huán)，把中指放在把手的底部。如果桌子太矮了，把茶碟端在齊腰的高度。

Don't call it high tea 不要把下午茶稱作

“high tea” During the Downton Abbey era, the name 'high tea' referred to an evening snack which the staff ate, because it consisted of a substantial meal of cake and meat and was eaten on a high wooden table. The Americans misinterpreted it as a name for glamour and richness. 在《唐頓莊園》時代，“high tea”指的是晚上家仆們吃的小吃，因為這種小吃主要是由蛋糕和肉類組成，并且是在高高的木桌上吃的，所以叫“high tea”。美國人誤認為這個名字有魅力并體現(xiàn)了富有。

Hats and gloves 帽子和手套

Hats and gloves are required for all meals before 6pm. When eating, remove your gloves and place them on your lap and the napkin on top. 參加晚上6點前的所有用餐都要求戴帽子和手套。吃飯時，摘下手套，并把它們放在膝蓋上，在上面再蓋上餐巾。

Best dressed 最佳著裝

Wear a tea gown – a low waited dress similar to the one Mary Poppins wears – for afternoon tea and a full evening dress with an up-do for dinner. Men should always wear black or white shoes to let the woman shine. Make sure your maid logs what you wore to guest dinners to prevent any repeated outfits. However, it is perfectly acceptable to repeat outfits in front of the family. 穿茶會禮服—— 類似于瑪麗-波平斯穿的那件低腰連衣裙——來喝下午茶，晚餐時要盤頭并穿晚禮服。男士們則應(yīng)穿黑色或白色的皮鞋來襯托女士。確保侍女記錄下來你參加各種晚宴時所穿的衣服，以免重復(fù)穿著。不過，在家人面前穿同樣的衣服是可以接受的。

Tiara ban 冠飾禁令

Only married women can wear tiaras to formal dinners, which is often gifted to them during their wedding. It is used to distinguish the single women in a room. 只有已婚女士才能戴冠飾出席正式的晚餐，冠飾通常是婚禮時的禮物。它可以用來區(qū)分房間里的單身女士。

Want more? 還想要一些?

It's not appropriate to ask for more food or drink. Here's how it's done. If you want more tea during an afternoon tea, ask the person closest to the teapot if they would like more tea. In reply, they will ask you the same question. Alternatively, if the port decanter doesn't reach you during after- dinner drinks say, "Lady Mary, do you know the Earl of [insert a town name]? He was a terribly nice chap who would always forget to pass the decanter”. They should get the message. 直接詢問要求一些食物和飲品是不恰當(dāng)?shù)??？梢赃@樣做：如果你在下午茶時還想喝點茶，可以問離茶壺最近的人他們是否還想要茶。作為答復(fù)，他們也會問你同樣的問題。另外，在餐后飲酒時，如果沒人給你遞酒，這時你可以說，“瑪麗小姐，你知道xx鎮(zhèn)的伯爵嗎?他人非常好，總是忘了給我遞酒。”這樣他們就能明白了。