在巴黎，名目繁多的酒会、冷餐会是广交朋友的好机会。在这种场合陌生人相识，如果是亚洲人，他们往往开口之前先毕恭毕敬地用双手把自己的名片呈递给对方，这好像是不可缺少的礼节。然而，法国人一般却都不大主动递送名片，双方见面寒喧几句甚至海阔天空地聊一番也就各自走开。只有当双方谈话投机，希望继续交往时，才会主动掏出名片。二话不说先递名片反倒有些勉强。
法国人的名片讲究朴素大方，印制精美，但很少有镶金边儿的，闪光多色的或带香味儿的，名片上的字体纤细秀丽，本人的名字也不过分突出，整张纸片上空白很大，毫无拥挤不堪的感觉。
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.
