4. The Art of Tipping

　　给小费的艺术

　　The rules for how much to tip the waitstaff at a restaurant, café or bar (or whether to tip at all) are different in every country, but America’s tipping norms can be the most confusing.

　　在每个国家，给不给服务生小费或是给多少小费，都是不同的。但是美国给小费的标准却是最让人困惑的。

　　Here’s a quickprimer:

　　以下就是小费指南：

　　tipping in a café

　　咖啡馆小费

　　Leave some pocket change in the tip jar. If the service was especially friendly and prompt, leave a dollar.

　　在小费罐上放一些钱包里的零钱。如果服务又好又快，就给一美元吧。

　　tipping in a restaurant

　　餐馆小费

　　When you receive the bill (delivered either on a tray or in a small folder), leave cash or a credit card for the waiter to take. The waiter will return with your change.

　　当你收到餐馆账单后(账单通常会通过托盘或小文件夹送过来)，将现金或者信用卡放在桌上等服务员来取。服务员会给你找零。

　　At this point, you calculate the tip and leave it in the dish/folder or write it in at the bottom of the credit card receipt.

　　这种结帐形式下，你可以计算出你的小费，然后把小费放在盘子/文件夹里，或写在信用卡收据的底部。

　　15% is considered the minimum for a suitable tip. Above 20% is generous. If you are feeling philanthropic, the sky’s the limit.

　　合理的小费是总费用的15%左右。超过了20%说明你是个大方的人。如果你是个大善人的话，小费是不设最高额的。

　　tipping in a bar

　　酒吧小费

　　The general rule is to tip a dollar per drink (especially if you’ve ordered a fancy cocktail which required all four of the classical elements and a sorcerer’s incantation). Leave the dollar on the bar after you’ve paid for your drink.

　　酒吧小费通常是一杯一美元(特别是当你点了一杯花哨的鸡尾酒时)，把小费放在吧台上就好。

　　5. A Knack for Pop Culture

　　流行文化无处不在

　　Pop culture is one of America’s biggest exports and has a huge influence around the world. It’s hard not to be exposed to it abroad, but stateside most Americans eat, sleep and breathe pop culture.

　　流行文化是美国最大的输出品，在全世界范围内都有着巨大的影响力。在国外很难不去接触它，而美国本土的人吃饭、睡觉、包括呼吸都跟流行文化息息相关。

　　If anything ties us together culturally, it’s probably the TV shows and movies we watch, the celebrity gossip we read in trashy mags, the top-40 hits we crank up on the radio, the sports teams we follow regionally or the ocean of internet memes in which we soak our brains daily.

　　如果说在文化上有什么把美国人联系起来，那大概是电视节目与电影，垃圾杂志上的名人八卦，广播排名前40的新歌，喜欢的地区球队，以及每天我们大脑所吸的网络迷因。

　　6. Mastering Regional Slang

　　方言大师

　　Depending on which part of the country you’re in, familiar things might have strange new names.

　　在美国不同的地方，你熟知的东西或许有新的名字。

　　Words for carbonated beverages vary by region.

　　对碳酸饮料的叫法每个地区都不一样。

　　In most of the West and North, you’d order a pop with your meal, in the Southwest it’s soda and in many parts of the South you should call it coke, even if the beverage in question is actually Pepsi.

　　在美国西部和北部的大部分地区，你点菜的时候叫了瓶汽水，在美国西南部被称为苏打水，在美国南部的很多地方你应当说可乐。但我们所说的饮料实际上就是百事可乐。

　　And if you want a particularly American kind of sandwich to go with your drink, what you call it might depend on where you are:

　　而如果你想来一份美式三明治搭配你的饮料，应该怎样叫它也取决于你身处哪里：

　　hoagie (Philadelphia)

　　超大号三明治(费城)

　　hero (New York)

　　英雄三明治(纽约)

　　grinder (New England)

　　格林德三明治(新英格兰)