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.
6)每个国家都有自己的餐饮习俗，美国也不另外。(直译法)
7)如果你迟到了，食物就不会那么新鲜，女主人也会为此而感到失望。
(增译法：增加词汇是在译文中增加一些原文中无其形而有其义的词，其目的是为了使译文的意义完整而明确，更符合汉语的表达习惯。本句增加了“为此”，使句子的意思更完整。)
8)而当一位女士被介绍给男士或女士时，她无需起立，除非那是一位比她年长的妇人。
(英语状语从句用在主句后面的较多,而汉语的状语从句用在主句前的较多,因此,在许多情况下,应将状语从句放在主句前面;而且长句一般用分译法。)
9)当客人到餐桌旁准备就餐时，通常男士应帮助女士拉开椅子让她们坐下。(省译法：by没有译出。)
10)靠左边最外面的小叉是用来吃色拉的，色拉经常和汤一起上。
(增译法，增加了“吃”，而且定语从句中被动语态翻译为主动语态。)
本文选自新东方在线论坛