An Improper Greeting It happened during my first year in my junior middle school. One evening, after supper, I went out for a walk with several friends. On the way we saw a few Americans coming towards us. When they came near, I said "Good night" to them. They smiled and answered "Good evening". After that we talked for a while. On my way home, Iwas curious to know why they didn't use the same expression. So as soon as I got home, I looked the expression up in the dictionary. Only at that time did I know that "Good night" shouldn't be used when people met in the evening. "Good night" is an expression used when people depart in the evening Instead "Good evening" is the very greeting expression.不恰当的问候 这件事发生在我初中一年级的时候。 一天晚饭后，我和几个朋友一起散步。在路上，我看到几个美国人迎面走来。当他们走近的时候，我对他们说：“Good night”。他们笑着对我说：“Good evening”，之后我们聊了一会儿。 在回家的路上，我好奇地想他们为什么不用相同的表达方式呢。一到家，我就在词典中查找这种表达方式。直到那时我才知道"Good night"不能用于晚上人们相遇的时候，它是人们在晚上分别时的一种用法。相反“Good evening"才是正确的问候方式。