(Office ambience)

M：Good morning. 陳豪。嘿，你一手拿著咖啡，一手拿著面包上哪兒去呀?

C：我去參加財務(wù)委員會的定期會議。這是我第一次參加。早上沒時間吃早飯，所以把早飯帶去。

M：等等。這個會議是由負(fù)責(zé)財務(wù)的副總裁召開的，Do you know the protocol of the meeting?

C：Protocol? 你是說P-R-O-T-O-C-O-L, 那外交部禮賓司那個詞里邊有這個字。

M：沒錯，但是我這里說的是公司內(nèi)部大家都遵循的一些做法。Protocol refers to the unspoken rules you follow to show courtesy and respect to other people.

C：嗯...unspoken rules you follow!這跟我的咖啡有什么關(guān)系呀?

M：你要知道有的老板每次開會都備有咖啡和點心。It won't be polite to bring your own.

C：That's true.不過今天的會議是Mr. Smith召開的，你知道有沒有咖啡點心呀?

M：不知道。要是你不知道，會議通知也沒提， you'd better leave your breakfast behind.

C：看來只好餓肚子了。好，我走了。

M：陳豪，會開完啦?I'm going out lunch, want to join me?

C：不行，我開會時吃了好多點心，水果，午飯吃不下了。Besides, Mary, something made me very embarrassed today.

M：什么事呀?

C：我在吃得高興的時候，他們要我讓座位。

M：Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to warn you.這種比較高層的會議，定期參加會議的人一般都有固定的座位。你第一次去，進了會議室最好先問一下。Ask where to sit before you take a chair.

C：可是我不知道嘛!一進會場看見有吃的我就很高興。拿了咖啡，點心就近找個位置上就坐下了。誰知道那是Mr. Smith的助手Laura的位置。

M：Laura asked you to change the seat?

C：No, no! Laura當(dāng)時還沒到?？墒?，后來會計室新來的Sarah一進會議室就往那位置上坐。

M：She has to change her seat too, right?

C：Of course.她很難堪。

M：沒關(guān)系，你和Sarah下回就知道了。So remember: Protocol refers to the unspoken rules you follow to show courtesy and respect to other people. Any time you don't know the protocol for a meeting, it's best to ask, just to make sure if it's OK to bring you own coffee and which seat is appropriate for you.