胡老大，good colloquium!

英美分家几百年来，不知发生过多少回这样的colloquium和debate--想起一个我读过的一个发言的起头（英国国会辩论是否外交承认美国，即是否完全咽下美洲独立这口气。。。。）：

“
I think my opinion is reasonable, for otherwise I would be totally ignorant, as I have spent the majority of my adult life observing America……
“

俺们贡献一点实际的吧：

1. “Where are you from?”.

Many answers can be good, like:

a. “Is that your business?”. This answer is good, because it helps keep everything short. And there can be good variations to this answer, too, from “Ah, you don’t want to know.”, “The lowest of the US, you know where is that?”, “From a little hole, just like you.”, “Why ask that? -- it‘s a biological thing: a time ago a man and a woman fell in love….”.

b. “As my accent/name may have suggested, originally I came from China, you know China?”. Normally the other side will pin it down quickly, by responding like “Ah no, Ah sure I know China of course, but I mean currently….”. This answer is good, because it helps rule out any possible negative things from the first place, so folks can come down and focus on the day.

2. “Who did all these good work?”.

This is a very tricky question, it really bothers people because it touches the sensitive issue of credit/discredit, however, I still have something to offer:

…..(after the plain and appropriately lengthy description about what you did).…
“Mr. Ah 3 did help” -- the key is that you look at Mr. Ah 3 when you say this.

Then you finish up the whole thing:

“a little bit.” -- the trick is you look at your boss when you deliver these words.

3. “You sure? Will this break the rule?”

a. “Not all of that.”. This one is good because it suggests the rest of the rule will be still fine.

b. “Not permanently.”. This one is also good because it suggests the rule will be back as it should be just totally fine.