公司开会前，经理Jeff说，总裁John Henderson的母亲去世了。大家问George, 遇到这种情况，中国人一般会怎样处理。
J: What do they say in China?
G: A sentence with four Chinese characters that roughly means: “May your pain be lessened and may you get through this bad time quickly.”
P: As far as what we can do, should we send flowers?
J: Actually, I spoke with Mr. Henderson earlier and he asked that no flowers be sent. Instead of spending money on flowers, the Henderson family is suggesting people make a contribution to their favorite charity in Mrs. Henderson’s name.
P: That’s so generous of them.
George说，在中国一种很常见的说法是“节哀顺便”。Penny问，需不需要送花。Jeff回答说，总裁Henderson说，不要送花， 如果愿意表示心意，可以用Henderson老夫人的名义，给他们的慈善机构捐款。”make a contribution to their favorite charity in Mrs. Henderson’s name.”
G: In China, people give the family white envelopes with cash in them. But I’m assuming they don’t do that here.
J: No, that probably wouldn’t be appropriate. The tradition used to be that you sent flowers when a person passed away.
Recently though, many people have begun to believe that spending money on flowers is a waste. Some families now prefer that friends plant a tree or make a donation to a charity group instead.
G: That’s quite a meaningful gesture.
George说，在中国，人们会给死者家属包个白包。Jeff说，西方不兴这个。西方以前的习俗是送花，但是后来，有人觉得花钱买花太浪费，所以很多家庭更愿意别人以死者的名义种一棵树或是向慈善机构捐钱。
J: But I can see why the Chinese might give money. The family could use the funds to help take care of a lot of things.
G: Yeah, I think that’s the general idea.
F: We should still send a card, right?
J: Yes, I think that would be good. We can just get one card and everyone can sign it.
他们决定买张卡片，让大家在上面签字。
P: Sounds good. What about the funeral service? Should we attend?
J: From what I understand, the service will be held this coming Sunday and will be for family members only. Also, as you can imagine, Mr. Henderson will be taking some time off from the office. He won’t come in for around two weeks.
P: Next time you speak with Mr. Henderson, please tell him his family is in our thoughts.
F & G: Yes.
J: I certainly will. Thanks, guys.
Penny 问要不要去参加葬礼，the funeral service. Jeff回答说，葬礼没有邀请外人。It will be for family members only. 大家要Jeff下次有机会，向Henderson表示问候。Tell him his family is in our thoughts.