近讀報(bào)紙，對(duì)國(guó)內(nèi)名片和請(qǐng)柬的議論頗多，于是想起客居巴黎時(shí)經(jīng)常見(jiàn)到的法國(guó)人手中的名片和請(qǐng)柬，隨筆記下來(lái)，似乎不無(wú)借鑒之處。

　　在巴黎，名目繁多的酒會(huì)、冷餐會(huì)是廣交朋友的好機(jī)會(huì)。在這種場(chǎng)合陌生人相識(shí)，如果是亞洲人，他們往往開(kāi)口之前先畢恭畢敬地用雙手把自己的名片呈遞給對(duì)方，這好像是不可缺少的禮節(jié)。然而，法國(guó)人一般卻都不大主動(dòng)遞送名片，雙方見(jiàn)面寒喧幾句甚至海闊天空地聊一番也就各自走開(kāi)。只有當(dāng)雙方談話投機(jī)，希望繼續(xù)交往時(shí)，才會(huì)主動(dòng)掏出名片。二話不說(shuō)先遞名片反倒有些勉強(qiáng)。

　　法國(guó)人的名片講究樸素大方，印制精美，但很少有鑲金邊兒的，閃光多色的或帶香味兒的，名片上的字體纖細(xì)秀麗，本人的名字也不過(guò)分突出，整張紙片上空白很大，毫無(wú)擁擠不堪的感覺(jué)。

　　In reading recent newspapers， I have come to find that people in China have become more and more interested in discussing about name cards and invitation letters. This has triggered my reminiscences of the name cards and invitation letters of the French people that I saw when I was residing in Paris. In writing down those random reminiscences， I believe that they might provide some useful information for us to learn from.

　　In Paris， all the wine parties and buffet receptions held on various occasions provide optimum opportunities to make friends with all varieties of people. When encountering a stranger on such an occasion， an Asian would invariably hand over his name card to the newly-met stranger with full reverence， with both of his hands， even before he starts to converse with the stranger. Such an act seems to have become an indispensable ritual （formality/ etiquette）。 By contrast， an average Frenchman seldom takes the initiative to （offers to / volunteers to） present his name card. Instead， he would simply walk away after an exchange of routine greetings or even some aimless （random/ casual） chat. Only when both sides become deeply engrossed （engaged / involved） in their conversation and have the intention to make further acquaintance with each other would they offer to give their name cards. It would seem somehow bizarre if a French person offers his name card without saying anything to the stranger in the first place.

　　The French tend to take extraordinary precaution to make their name cards simple yet elegant. Exquisitely designed and printed， their name cards are seldom golden-framed， or colorfully shiny， or tinted with fragrant smells. The letters as appear on their name cards tend to be diminutive but beautiful， not allowing the name of the card-bearer to be overly prominent/salient. The entire card contains much empty space， imparting no sense of over-crowdedness.