The Daily Espresso的Guy

《Ex Machina》效力于某知名搜索引擎公司的程序员Galeb幸运地抽中老板Nathan所开出的大奖，他将受邀前往位于深山的别墅中和老板共度假期。在与世隔绝的别墅中，Nathan亲切地接待了这位员工。 事实上他邀请Galeb到来还有另一个目的，那就是协助他完成其所开发的智能机器人的测试。天才一般的Nathan研制了具有独立思考能力的智能机器人Ava，为了确认她是否具有独立思考的能力，他希望加利能为Ava进行著名的“图灵测试”。似乎从第一眼开始，Galeb便为这台有着宛如人类般姣好容颜的机器人所吸引。
　　在随后的交流中，他所面对的似乎不是冷冰冰的机器，而更像是一个被无辜囚禁起来的可怜少女……
影片《机械姬》片段中，男主人公想在离别之际跟朋友把酒言欢，祝酒词已经说出口，无奈朋友婉言拒绝，只得尴尬收场。现实生活中，小伙伴们可不能这样没礼貌哦。
当然啦，跟外国友人喝酒，祝酒词是必不可少的哦。我们为各位总结了一些常用的祝酒词，一起来学习吧。
一、用(Here’s)to...表示：
例如：
1.Here's to your health / success.为你的健康/成功干杯！
2.Here's to our friendship！为我们的友谊干杯！
3.Here's to Tom for his new job!为汤姆的新工作干杯!
二、用health, luck等表示：Good health! Good luck! All the best!
例如：
1.Your health, John—May you have a successful time in Manchester为了你的健康，约翰，也祝你在曼彻斯特前程似锦!
2.Helen raised her glass，“Good luck to you!”she said.海伦举起酒杯，说道：“祝你好运!”
三、主人或主持人邀客人喝酒时，通常用Cheers! Do the honors!
例如：
1.He raised his glass，“May you success! Cheers!”他举起酒杯说：“祝你成功，干杯!”
2.Pat, you do the honors and propose the toast.帕特，你敬酒吧。

四、英美语通常用toast，round, drink to，drink a toast for / to, propose a toast for等词表示。
例如：
1.Friends，I’ll give you a toast——to our country!朋友们，我给大家敬酒，为我们国家干杯!
2.I now propose a toast to the friendship between our two people——to our friendship.现在，我提议为我们两国人民的友谊干杯！
大家都学会怎么用了吗？
在新年的聚会上呢，你可以直接对你周围的家人和朋友们说： I now propose a toast to the new year, to the year of monkey, I wish you all a happy new year and good fortune! Cheers!
这么多祝酒词，相信各位小伙伴们一定能够在酒桌上来两句了。当然，过度饮酒有害健康哦，我们还是希望各位小伙伴们适度饮酒啦。

各国间的文化差异巨大，我们自个儿行得通的礼仪到了西方就是另一回事啦！今天我们就来通过三个场景，了解一下中外文化间的一些不同吧~~
第一幕：一位学校领导向教师们介绍新来的美国老师
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted to introduce to you a very pretty girl, Miss Brown. She is a very good teacher from the USA. 对这番话，美国女教师一脸难堪的样子。
文化差异：中国人介绍来宾，喜欢用褒扬的话语言辞。但美国人认为，初次结识，相互介绍，不必评头论足。凡是主观性的评论，尽管是美言，也会给人唐突、强加的感觉。对以上那番话，美国女教师感到难堪的是pretty和good两个词。在那种场合，介绍应该突出被介绍人的身份、学历、职务等，而不应该是外貌和抽象的评论。相比之下，如果把pretty和good改成实际教育背景和经历，这样的介绍句比较客观，令人容易接受。
比较下面改变措辞的介绍：Ladies and gentlemen, I'm delighted to introduce to you a new teacher from the USA., Miss Ann Brown. She is a doctor of American Literature with experience of teaching English as a Foreign Language.
特别忠告：介绍客人要介绍客观事实，不要主观评论。要注重身份，不要着眼外貌。
第二幕：一位美国同事感冒了，中国同事表示关心
Chinese: You look pale. What's the matter?
American: I'm feeling sick. A cold, maybe.
Chinese: Go and see the doctor. Drink more water. Did you take any pills? Chinese medicine works wonderful. Would you like to try? Put on more clothes. Have a good rest.
American: You are not my mother, are you?
文化差异：美国人比较看中个人的独立性。受人照顾往往被视为弱者。给对方出主意或提建议时，不能使对方认为自己小看他的能力。美国人对上面第一句话的反应通常是"Take care of yourself. I hope you'll be better soon."不必教人怎么做。中国人则以出主意提建议表示关心，而且以兄弟姐妹或父母亲人的口吻，或以过来人的口气，这对美国人行不通。
特别忠告：对病人表示关心，不必尽提建议。
可以使用下列句型：
(1)I'm sorry to hear that (you've got a bad cold).
(2)I hope you'll be all right very soon.
(3)Take extra care of yourself.
(4)That's too bad. What's the matter?
(5)How are you feeling now?
第三幕：有空来坐坐
一位美国教师在中国任教，中国同事总是对她说：“有空来坐坐”。可是，半年过去了，美国同事从来没有上过门。中国同事又对她说：“我真的欢迎你来家里坐坐。如果没空的话，随时打电话来聊聊也行。”一年下来，美国同事既没有来电话，也没有来访。奇怪的事，这位美国人常为没人邀请她而苦恼。
文化差异：中国亲朋好友和同事之间的串门很随便，邀请别人来访无需为对方确定时间，自己去探访别人无需郑重其事征得同意。美国人则没有串门的习惯。一年内遇到大节日，亲朋好友才到家里聚一聚。平时如果有事上门，事先要有时间确切的预约。没有得到对方的应允，随时随地随便上门时不礼貌的行为。因此，美国同事对“有空来坐坐”这句话只当作虚礼客套，不当作正式邀请。无事打电话闲聊也是美国人视为打乱别人私人时间和活动安排的行为。若想邀请美国人上门，应当诚意的于对方商定一个互相都方便的时间。
特别忠告：有心约会要主动约时间地点
可以使用下列句型：
(1)I'd like to make an appointment with you. When will you be free/available?
(2)Let's get together some time next week. What date do you suggest?
(3)How about coming to my place for dinner this Saturday?
(4)I'd like to... What time would be convenient for you?
(5)Would... suit you?
(6)I wonder if we could arrange a meeting...
(7)Do you happen to be free on...?
(8)Have you got any plan for this weekend? How about...?
(9)I am having some friends around during the weekend. Would you like to join us?

Gratitude to Cure the Impulse to Buy More Stuff
It’s funny that two days with such opposing spirits come back-to-back in our calendars here in the U.S.: Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.
One is about being thankful for what you have, and the other is about getting more of what you don’t have. They aren’t aligned at all.
The good news is that we can use our thankfulness to overcome the urges to buy a lot of stuff — these urges being created in us by the corporations and purveyors of consumerism. We don’t have to listen to their messages of needing more things at discount (as if spending our money or getting into debt is “saving” money) or needing to buy things for our loved ones to show our love for them.
We can counter these messages with gratitude:
1. I’m grateful for what I already have, for the life I’m already living … and so I don’t need more. I can save much more by just not buying anything, and finding joy and contentedness in what I already have.
2. We can show our love for people not by buying them stuff, but by showing our gratitude for them being in our lives: sending them thoughtful letters or notes, giving hugs, spending time with them, playing games indoors and out with them.
We will get the impulse to buy more, but that doesn’t mean we need to follow the impulses. We can recognize the more rapid beating of our hearts when we begin to consider a shopping purchase, the excitement that comes from imagining a future with these purchases in our lives. Imagining a future happiness gets us excited!
Instead, we can calm these heart flutters by refocusing our attention on the present. Turn your attention to what’s in front of you, right now, and realize how amazing it is that you have all of this in your life. Turn your attention to the people in your life, near and far, and find gratitude for their presence in your heart. Turn to all the fortune you have, materially and monetarily and in spirit, and be grateful it’s there. Be grateful for the opportunity to live life, for the joy that you can find in every moment, for the good that’s inside of you right now.
These are what can bring us joy, not future purchases. This moment is all we need, and it is an opportunity for thunderous gratitude.

The Guanghzhou Auto Show, one of China's biggest auto shows, is getting underway. Domestic and foreign players in the auto market are taking part in the event, putting the spotlight on SUVs.
中国最大的车展之一的广州车展正在进行中。国内外汽车爱好者将参加此次车展，关注运动型多功能车。
Yale Zhang, Automotive Foresight's Managing Director, says many auto brands, such as Ford's Everest and Great Wall Motor Co's Haval H7, have shifted their focus to larger SUVs, especially since China scrapped the one-child policy:
汽车预测市场总监张豫说道，许多汽车品牌，例如福特珠峰和长城汽车的哈弗H7，尤其当中国取消了独生子女政策，都将重心转向了更大型的运动型多功能车。
We clearly see a lot of families want to shift from sedans to SUVs because of their safety, comfort and also bigger room. Because now you will have a family, you have a child, you know SUV obviously is better. Even if you have two kids, SUV looks better than a sedan. So this is one of the reason why SUV in China is very popular and still growing.
“我们明白很多家庭的选择会从轿车转向运动型多功能汽车，因为其安全性，舒适性与更大的空间。因为现在你有家庭，有孩子，你显然清楚运动型多功能汽车更好。即使你有两个孩子，运动型多功能汽车看起来比轿车更好。所以这也是为什么运动型多功能汽车在中国非常流行，而且需求还在不断增长的原因。”
In the year through October, sales of SUVs surged 46 percent year-on-year in a broader market that grew 1.5 percent.
今年前10个月, 汽车市场销量增长了1.5%，运动型多功能汽车销量较上年同期上涨46%。
According to Automotive Foresight, a market and industry research company, 32 new SUV models are expected to be released in China for 2015.
据市场和行业研究公司汽车前瞻，2015年将在中国发布32款新运动型多功能汽车。
Wu Song, General Manager of Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC Motor), says he expects Chinese brands will hit a big growth in the auto market next year, despite the country's slowest economic growth in decades:
广汽集团（GAC汽车）总经理武松表示，尽管国家经济增长十分缓慢，但他预计明年汽车市场上中国的品牌将大增：
Next year the speed of the Chinese auto market's growth will be roughly the same as this year.I estimate it will also be a small increase. But the structure of consumption will undergo a deep change, like it has this year. From January to October the market grew six percent, but for Chinese brands the growth was higher. So I think next year the car market will grow by ten percent or less, I'd estimate at the level of five to six percent,
“明年中国汽车市场的增长速度将与今年大致相同。我估计这也将是小幅增加。但消费结构将与今年一样发生深刻变化，1月到10月市场增长了6％，但中国的品牌增长更高。因此，我认为，明年的汽车市场将增长10％或以下，我估计在5-6％阶段。”
Meanwhile, China's official stats show that car prices dropped 3.4 percent in the first nine months of this year, out pacing the 1.2 percent decline for passenger vehicles overall.
同时，中国官方数据表示今年前9个月汽车价格下降了3.4％，超过乘用车1.2％的下滑。
HIS Automotive, an interests group for car manufacturers, predicts car sales growth is expected to slip to 11 percent next year.
汽车制造商的利益集团，思迈汽车信息咨询公司预测明年汽车销售增幅将下滑11%。
Analysts at Fitch Ratings, an international ratings agency, warns that new SUVs will have a tougher time commanding fat profit margins they may have enjoyed in recent years.
国际评级机构，惠誉国际信用评级有限公司的分析师提醒道新型运动型多功能车获得近几年那样的丰厚利润将变得更加困难。
Automotive Foresight's Yale Zhang, however, disagrees, saying there is still room for growth in the Chinese market, especially in big cities:
然而汽车预测市场总监张豫并不同意，说道中国市场仍有增长的空间，尤其是在大城市：
The market actually slow down a little bit this year because of the economy and also the stock market crisis. But overall the market has not really been saturated. It probably is in some larger cities, but in the majority of China cities there are plenty of room for the automobiles to grow further,
“由于经济股市危机，今年市场确实放慢了一点，但市场大体还没有真正饱和，一些大城市可能是这样，但中国大多数城市仍有着汽车进一步发展的空间。
Carmakers like Volkswagen have expressed eagerness to expand investment in the Chinese market, with six new locally made models to be launched in the next three to four years.
汽车制造商们，例如大众都表示渴望在中国市场扩大投资，今后的3到4年将推出6款新型本地制造车。

Most complaints made by Chinese consumers last year were about online shopping, a report from China's top legislative body said on Monday.
中国最高立法机关于周一在一份报告中称，去年中国消费者的投诉大都是关于网上购物。
The number of complaints and disputes related to shopping on the Internet rose sharply and the network has become a breeding ground for counterfeits, the report by a law
enforcement team under the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress said.
全国人民代表大会常务委员会执法检查组的一份报告称，与网上购物有关的投诉和争执的数量急剧增长，网络已经变成了滋生假冒产品的温床。
In 2014, Chinese industrial and commercial authorities dealt with 78,000 complaints concerning online shopping, up 356.6 percent year-on-year.
2014年，工商部处理了78,000件与网上购物相关的投诉，与去年同期相比增长了356.6%。
Of the total of 20,135 cases taken on by consumer associations, 92.3 percent concerned online purchases, the report said. Yan Junqi, vice-chairwoman of the NPC Standing Committee, said: "Ignoring consumers' rights and selling counterfeits are very prominent in the online shopping industry."
报告称，消费者协会总共受理案件20,135例，其中92.3%都是关于网上购物的。全国人大常委会副委员长严隽琪说：“网购产业中，无视消费者权利，出售假冒伪劣产品的现象十分严重。”
She revealed that just 58.7 percent of products sold online were found to be authentic during a random inspection in 2014 by the State Administration of Industry and Commerce.
她透露说，在2014年国家工商行政管理局的一次随机抽样检查中，网上出售的产品中只有58.7%是真实可信的。
With the boom in complaints, the number of disputes caused by online purchases also went up, she said.
严隽琪说，随着投诉量剧增，由网购造成的争端也越来越多。
Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court has handled 107 such disputes since the revised Chinese Consumer Protection Law took effect on March 15 last year, she said. A typical example, from Anhui province's financial website, described how a woman surnamed Xu paid a 2,000 yuan ($316)deposit before she bought sanitary ware priced 1,000 yuan cheaper online than she could find elsewhere.
严隽琪说，自去年3月15日修订后的《中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法》生效以来，北京市朝阳区人民法院已经处理了107起类似争端。安徽省的金融网站上有一个典型的例子：一位许姓女士在网上发现了一件卫生洁具，比别处卖得要便宜1000元，购买之前，她先付了2000元（316美元）订金。
But when it was delivered, Xu found it was poor quality and she was told the deposit could not be repaid because it was a sale product.
然而当货物送达时，许女士发现其质量极差，且许女士还被告知由于这件卫生洁具是特价商品，订金不予退还。
Yan suggested that the Supreme People's Court should clarify the revised law by the end of this year and appealed to consumer associations to play their role.
严隽琪建议，年底之前，最高人民法院应阐明修订后的法律，并呼吁消费者协会发挥好其作用。
Qiu Baochang, head of the lawyers' group for the China Consumers' Association, said: "We are always overloaded with work since the revised law came into effect.
中国消费者协会律师团团长邱宝昌说：“自修订后的法律生效以来，我们常常超负荷工作。”
"We have asked officers to update their knowledge of the law and how the online industry works,including means of payment, to catch up with the pace at which e-commerce is developing."
“我们已经要求相关办事人员更新其关于法律以及网购产业运作方式的知识，其中包括对支付方式的了解，以此来赶上电子商务发展的步伐。”

A Guide for All of Us: Getting Good at Storytelling & Other Superhuman Social Skills

By Leo Babauta

Let’s face it: most of us aren’t amazing social ninjas, good at working any social situation, let alone comfortable telling a captivating story in front of a crowd.

It would be great if there were a manual that taught us the key social skills for being good at parties, talking to strangers, making amazing friendships.

Luckily for us losers, my friend Tynan has written a new book, Superhuman Social Skills, and I honestly think it’s fantastic. I know I’m biased, but after reading it I believe it’s something pretty much every human being should read (and it’s free for the Kindle today). We’re not given a manual for learning social skills, and so we face so many problems because of it, from social anxiety to loneliness.

A bit of background on Tynan: he was a social loser into adulthood (seriously — ask to see his “color guard” photos). Then he got into the pickup artist community (I know, they often sound like scumbags, but he isn’t one) and honed his social skills to get better at talking to women. What resulted from that, plus traveling the world and meeting lots of people, is that he has a good number of really good friends (I’m the best one of them, but there are other good ones too), and is comfortable in lots of social situations.

I consider myself socially awkward, and reading his book gave me a sense of excitement that I could improve. I’ve recommended the book to my kids who are entering adulthood, because I think it’ll give them a big boost. But except for the most socially skilled of my friends, I think everyone I know should read this book.

I asked Tynan if I could interview him about some of the key social skills he talks about, including the one that I find most fascinating and useful — storytelling.

Leo: Who do you think needs help with social skills?

Tynan: I think we can all improve our social skills in one way or another. For some people it might be a case of diminishing returns, but I don’t think that’s true of most.

Because social skills aren’t taught through normal avenues of learning like school or through peers, most people don’t actively work on improving them. That means that a lot of us have plenty room for improvement that can be capitalized on through proactive learning.

Leo: Why is this such a difficult problem to solve?

Tynan: Social skills feel more like integral parts of us than external skills like playing the piano. So there’s a lot of ego involved. To really improve them often involves a level of humility that can be uncomfortable.

Another effect of this discomfort is that people don’t talk about social skills. If you and I were both learning to program, we would talk about our challenges and share learning resources. But with social skills, you don’t really see much of that.

Leo: How did you solve it? What changes did you see in your life as a result?

Tynan: The big first step for me was becoming involved in the pickup community. I was an introverted nerd who was completely clueless with women, and that led to me humbling myself and building up my social skills from the ground up.

I was focused on dating, but may have benefited even more in other areas, from making friends to interacting with my family. My experience with pickup helped me see social skills as something that could be improved upon, and I began to look at things like making friends, telling stories, and interacting with my friend group through a similarly analytical lens.

Leo: There are a ton of tips in your book — where should someone start?

Tynan: I think it really varies from person to person. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and the distribution of them seems to be fairly uniform. But for someone who doesn’t have a good idea of what his weaknesses are, I’d suggest either working on storytelling or on identifying his annoying habits. Storytelling is a universal skill that can have a huge impact on others, and annoying habits are often the difference between a friendship being created or not.

Leo: Without giving away the book, can you share some top tips for becoming a better storyteller?

Tynan: I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone who makes their stories too short. I’ve met a lot who make their stories way too long. It’s fun to tell a story, so we all have a tendency to bask in that and draw it out as long as possible. Really, though, it’s better to give people the juicy bits of a story and then move on to something else. They’ll always ask if they want more information.

Give a minimum of introduction, build up the tension, and then hit them with the payoff of the story. Remember that if you make your stories too long, either by going on tangents, repeating yourself, or adding too much detail, people won’t want to hear more stories in the future because they’ll worry that you won’t stop talking.

On the other hand, if you always keep your stories short and sweet, you’ll be asked to tell more of them.

Leo: What are some common annoying habits that people often have, that maybe they aren’t aware of? How does someone create awareness of their annoying habits?

Tynan: I think a lot of the most common annoying habits are stem from not understanding the natural flow of conversation. I’m always surprised at how many people dominate conversations without receiving any sort of indication that the other party is happy to just sit and listen passively. As a general rule of thumb, you should be prepared to fill in any dead spot in the conversation, but should allow the other person to talk as much as they want to. A conversation between two socially savvy people will almost always hover at a one-to-one ratio of each party speaking.

Leo: Why do you think storytelling is such a key skill for most of us social losers?

Tynan: Stories are the means by which we communicate our experiences, and our experiences have shaped us into who we are today. So by telling stories, you’re effectively communicating who you are as a person, and how you became that way. To really become good friends with someone, you can’t just share facts or opinions– you have to share yourself, and stories are how you do that.

Leo: If you sucked at telling stories, how would you train to get good at it? Is there a way you could practice with friends, or strangers? How can you get good feedback and improve quickly?

Tynan: Just like anything, it’s all about getting in the repetitions. The first key is to realize that a story doesn’t have to be an epic tale that could eventually become a movie– it just has to be something that happened to you.

Think about standup comedians– they tell humorous stories all the time, but the content itself isn’t all that amazing. The value is in the delivery. So tell your friends and family things that happened to you. Anything that was funny or interesting or unexpected.

And if you can’t think of anything like that, just tell people boring things that happened to you, and try to make them interesting. I used to tell people about grocery shopping just to practice telling stories.

You’re already getting good feedback on your stories, but you’re probably ignoring it. Social etiquette means that all negative feedback is delivered in shades of gray. No one will tell you that your story sucks, but they will gently try to change the topic, butt in, or show signs of disinterest like breaking eye contact or shifting body language.

Leo: You talked about making a list of your favorite stories from A-Z (note to reader: read the book for more on this technique) … what if you don’t think you have any good stories? Is this a sign that you need to live life differently?

Tynan: I think it would be hard to live twenty or more years and not have at least twenty-six interesting experiences that could be turned into stories. Almost impossible, really. If you don’t think that you have interesting stories, you probably just don’t understand what makes an interesting story. It’s 20% content, 80% delivery.

On the other hand, once you’re nailing the delivery every time, the biggest room for improvement comes from the content. I’ve found the content for my best stories come from travel and/or going outside of my comfort zone, which are two things anyone can do.

Leo: How can you tell if your story isn’t doing well? It seems like a lot of people tell boring stories, thinking that the other person is completely interested, unaware that they’re droning on. And if you do notice, what can you do? Also … how do you balance telling a good story with listening and not talking too much?

Tynan: If your story is really good, people will be looking you directly in the eyes, showing emotion, and asking questions or saying things like, “No way!”. If you don’t see those signs, you should assume that the other person isn’t interested. That might not be true, but it’s far better to err on the side of assuming disinterest.

There’s an easy test you can employ if you think someone may possibly not be interested: just stop the story. Look for any sort of distraction, and take it. Or just say, “Anyway– it’s a long story.”
If they want the story to end, you’ve just given them what they want. If they want to hear the rest of the story, they will ask you to continue 100% of the time. This technique works every single time and makes you a very pleasant person to talk to.

Your stories should be short and modular. No epic tales with a million tangents and side-stories, just short concentrated stories. Tell one, give the other person an opportunity to tell one of their own, change the topic, or ask a question, and if they don’t take it, continue on to another one.

As a general rule, you want to be as flexible as possible, but to allow the other person to be inflexible. So if they want to talk 100% of the time or 0% of the time, you oblige them and make it as comfortable as possible.

Leo: Let’s say you walk into a party, or a bar … how do you get to the point where you can start telling one of your stories to strangers? I always feel awkward when I enter a place, and don’t know how to approach a group or a stranger and just start talking.

Tynan: A good combination is a question coupled with a related story. For example, let’s say you’re at your friend Bob’s party. You could ask people how they know Bob, which is an easy icebreaker for anyone, and then follow it up with a great story about how the two of you met. If they go into their own great story after the question, you don’t necessarily have to tell yours, but if they give a really terse response like, “Oh, we met at work”, you’re armed with a good story that’s ready to go.

Almost everyone feels awkward in these situations, but most are also hoping to have good conversations and meet people. By practicing social skills and preparing for situations like this, you’ll actually be one of the least nervous ones.

Leo: How do you go from telling stories to making a real connection and making a friend?

Tynan: To have a friendship you need shared experiences and mutual understanding. Stories are one third of that equation– they help your new friend understand you. To understand them, you need to be a good listener. Even if they’re telling a really bad story, think of it as an opportunity to get to know them, faults and all.

Tell stories that encapsulate a wide range of your experience as a human, and encourage the other person to do the same. That’s how you fill the blank canvas in your mind with data points to try to understand them.

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