研究生英语视听说英语听力(课后第四题)(3)

研究生英语视听说听力原文

F: When you were having dinner, did they keep encouraging you to eat and drink?

M: Yes! They were always saying ―Eat some more! Take a bit more!‖ And the

moment there is a bit space in my bowl, they immediately gave me another helping.

That day I had 4 bowls of rice, ate I don‘t know how much food. I ate so much I

couldn‘t walk in a straight line. In America, the host won‘t urge the guest to eat and

drink more. The guest just eats however much they want to eat.

F: That‘s just the Chinese way of being friendly and welcoming to one‘s guests. For

Chinese people, making sure their guest eat their fill and eat well is the most

important thing.

M: Also they set up this incredibly abundant table of food but then they said there is

nothing here to eat, it wasn‘t prepared very well and other things like that. And it

seems even stranger to me. If they have prepared well, then how many dishes will

they have to have?

F: They were just being modest. Even if they had prepared more, they still would

have said that. And Chinese hosts would always prepare a whole lot of dishes.

Because if they are among meager selection, the host will feel that he had lost face.

Preparing a huge feast is a way of showing your respect for the guest.

M: Oh the Chinese customs are so complicated. I will never have understood if you

haven‘t told me.

F: Every culture has its own particular ways of doing things though. There are some

western customs that Chinese people think are hard to understand.

M: I guess what I have learned is that when you study a language, you also have to

understand the culture that behind it because otherwise it‘s easy to create

misunderstandings and miscommunications.

F: I agree.

B Directions: Listen to the dialogue again and decide whether these statements

are true or false.

1) When the man went to the host‘s house, he brought a bottle of wine as a gift and

they drank together in the dinner. ( F )

2) When Americans accept a gift, they almost always open the gift right away. ( T )

3) American hosts are always saying ―Eat some more! Take a bit more!‖ ( F )

4) Chinese hosts like to say that there is nothing here to eat, it wasn‘t prepared very

well and they mean it. ( F )