9．
阅读理解
Living in a foreign culture can be exciting, but it can
also be confusing. A group of Americans who taught English in other countries recently
discussed their experiences of miscomunication.
On her first day in Micronesia, an island in the Pacific,
Lisa went into a store and asked, "Do you have cold drinks?" The woman
there didn't say anything. Lisa repeated the question. Still the woman said nothing.
Lisa later learned that the woman had answered her. The woman had raised her eyebrows
and it means "yes" in Micronesia.
Jan had an experience in Bulgaria, a country in Europe.
She went to a restaurant that was known for its cabbage. She asked the waiter, "Do
you have cabbage today?" He nodded his head. Jan waited, but the cabbage never
came. In that country, a nod means "no".
Tom had a similar problem when he arrived in India. After
explaining something in class, he asked his students if they understood. They answered
with many different nods and shakes of the head. He thought some people hand not
understood, so he explained again. When he asked again, they did the same thing.
He soon found out that his students really understood. In India, people nod and
shake their heads in different ways to say "yes" depending on where they
come from.
