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A:
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小张，你美国玩得怎么样？有什么有趣的事？
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Xiǎo Zhāng, nǐ Měiguó wán de zěnmeyàng? yǒu shénme yǒuqù de shì?
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Xiao Zhang, how were your travels in America? Do you have any interesting stories?
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B:
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很不错，跟中国很不一样。不过我这次也栽了一回。
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hěn bùcuò, gēn Zhōngguó hěn bù yīyàng. bùguò wǒ zhècì yě zāi le yī huí.
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It was great! It's completely different from China. However, this time I embarrassed myself a bit.
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A:
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怎么了？被宰了？
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zěnmele? bèi zǎi le?
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What happened? Were you ripped off?
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B:
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不是，是小费的事情。我记得你说过，在美国接受别人的服务就要付小费。所以我处处小心，时刻准备着钱。结果最后在机场，人家帮我拿了一下行李。我却正好没零钱了，只能给了一张20美元！
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bùshì, shì xiǎofèi de shìqing. wǒ jìde nǐ shuō guo, zài Měiguó jiēshòu biérén de fúwù jiù yào fù xiǎofèi. suǒyǐ wǒ chùchù xiǎoxīn, shíkè zhǔnbèi zhe qián. jiéguǒ zuìhòu zài jīchǎng, rénjiā bāng wǒ ná le yīxià xíngli. wǒ què zhènghǎo méi língqián le, zhǐnéng gěi le yī zhāng èrshí měiyuán!
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No. It's something to do with tips. I remember you said that in America if someone provides you with service you need to tip. So I was very careful, and always had a bit of money prepared. In the end, I was at the airport and someone helped me carry my bags. However, I didn't have any change. I could only give him a 20 dollar bill!
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A:
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哈，你真大方。这种情况下，实在没零钱就别给了，不用打肿脸充胖子。
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hā, nǐ zhēn dàfang. zhèzhǒng qíngkuàng xià, shíshì méi língqián jiù bié gěi le, bùyòng dǎzhǒngliǎn chōngpàngzi.
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Ha, you're really generous. In this situation, if you don't have change then you don't need to give anything. There's no need to put on airs.
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B:
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哎呀，我不是怕给中国人丢脸吗？我可不想被别人骂成是小气鬼。
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āiyā, wǒ bùshì pà gěi Zhōngguórén diūliǎn ma? wǒ kě bù xiǎng bèi biérén mà chéng shì xiǎoqìguǐ.
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Jeez, but shouldn't I be afraid of making Chinese people look bad? I definitely don't want other people to call us cheapskates.
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A:
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嗯，在美国的确很多人认为中国人普遍比较小气，给小费很抠门，要么索性不给。
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ng, zài Měiguó díquè hěn duō rén rènwéi Zhōngguórén pǔbiàn bǐjiào xiǎoqì, gěi xiǎofèi hěn kōumén, yàome suǒxìng bù gěi.
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Well, actually in America many people consider Chinese people to generally be pretty cheap and are stingy about giving tips. You might as well not give them, right?
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B:
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这也不能全怪我们啊，这是风俗习惯不同。在中国，根本不需要付小费，你付的钱里已经包括了服务费。要不是你告诉我，我根本不知道吃饭必须要付小费。
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zhè yě bùnéng quán guài wǒmen a, zhè shì fēngsú xíguàn bùtóng. zài Zhōngguó, gēnběn bù xūyào fù xiǎofèi, nǐ fù de qián lǐ yǐjīng bāokuò le fúwùfèi. yàobushì nǐ gàosu wǒ, wǒ gēnběn bù zhīdào chīfàn bìxū yào fù xiǎofèi.
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You can't totally blame us for this! This custom is completely different from our own. In China, you don't need to give a tip. The money you pay already includes a service charge. If you didn't tell me, I totally wouldn't know that I have to leave a tip when I eat.
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A:
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但是有些中国人去了一段时间应该已经了解了，可是付小费还是很抠，像是有人抢他钱一样。
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dànshì yǒu xiē Zhōngguórén qù le yī duàn shíjiān yīnggāi yǐjīng liǎojiě le, kěshì fù xiǎofèi háishì hěn kōu, xiàng shì yǒurén qiǎng tā qián yīyàng.
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However, Chinese people who have been there for a while should already understand. But they are still stingy about giving tips, as if someone is robbing them of their money.
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B:
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这个就不应该了。我猜他们觉得你都已经服务过我了，我跟你就没关系了。再多付钱，不是亏了吗？如果是一开始就付小费，我觉得可能会多付一点，以换取更好的服务。
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zhè gè jiù bù yīnggāi le. wǒ cāi tāmen juéde nǐ dōu yǐjīng fúwù guo wǒ le, wǒ gēn nǐ jiù méi guānxi le. zài duō fùqián, bùshì kuī le ma? rúguǒ shì yīkāishǐ jiù fù xiǎofèi, wǒ juéde kěnéng huì duō fù yīdiǎn, yǐ huànqǔ gèng hǎo de fúwù.
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It shouldn't be like that. My guess is that they feel like you've already given me some service. I don't have any relationship to you. Paying more money again, isn't that a loss to you? If I had to pay a tip up front, I think I would pay more in exchange for better service.
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A:
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在美国，餐厅服务员这样的工作只有很少甚至没有基本工资，全靠小费。
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zài Měiguó, cāntīng fúwùyuán zhèyàng de gōngzuò zhǐ yǒu hěn shǎo shènzhì méiyǒu jīběn gōngzī, quán kào xiǎofèi.
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In America, the waiters who work in restaurants have very little or even no base salary. They rely completely on tips.
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B:
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哦，原来是这样啊。那得不到小费，就等于白忙活一场了。
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ò, yuánlái shì zhèyàng a. nà débudào xiǎofèi, jiù děngyú bái mánghuo yī chǎng le.
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Oh, so it's like that. Then if they don't get tips, it's the same as if they did all that work for nothing.
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A:
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嗯。而且这样也可以控制服务的质量。有了小费这个环节，服务员就不敢消极怠工了。
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ng. érqiě zhèyàng yě kěyǐ kòngzhì fúwù de zhìliàng. yǒu le xiǎofèi zhè gè huánjié, fúwùyuán jiù bù gǎn xiāojí dàigōng le.
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Yeah. And this way you can also control service quality. By having tips you make this connection, so waiters don't dare to slack off.
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B:
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那倒是，美国很多服务员的态度比中国的好多了。
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nà dào shì, Měiguó hěn duō fúwùyuán de tàidu bǐ Zhōngguó de hǎo duō le.
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That's true. In America, the attitudes of many waiters are much better than Chinese waiters.
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A:
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哎，走吧，走吧，吃饭去吧。
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āi, zǒu ba, zǒu ba, chīfàn qù ba.
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Hey! Let's go. Let's go. Let's go eat!
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B:
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哎哟，吃个饭还要看服务员脸色，真不想去！
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āiyōu, chī gè fàn hái yào kàn fúwùyuán liǎnsè, zhēn bù xiǎng qù!
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Oh man! If I eat a meal, I'm at the mercy of the waiters. I don't want to go!
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