Situations

Read these situations and answer the questions:

 Mark Higgins was on a tour of Korea, and his guide asked him how old he was. He was embarrassed, but told her. She then replied, 'But you look much older. And your friend, Steve. He's older than you but he looks much younger.' Mark felt rather offended.

·                  Why did the guide ask mark how old he was?

·                  Why did she say he looked older than his age?

·                  Why did Mark feel embarrassed and offended?

 Corinne Dublanc went to see an old Chinese friend who she hadn't seen for years. She walked into the house, and her friend greeted her with a big smile and said, 'You've gotten fat!' Corinne felt ashamed.

·              What did the friend mean by saying 'You've gotten fat!?'

·              Why did Corinne feel ashamed?

 My wife and I are Australian, and we went to dinner with a business co-worker in Damascus. When he met my wife, he said to me, ' You have a beautiful wife.' My wife went red, and I felt angry.

·              Why did the wife go red?

·              Why did the man feel angry?

 Mr. and Mrs. Saito visited me in my apartment in New York. They said, 'It's a beautiful apartment, Anne. It's much too good for you. 'I was very hurt.

·     Why did Mr. and Mrs. Saito say Anne's apartment was too good for her?

·     Why was Anne hurt?

VI. Work in pairs and talk about your answers to V.

Unit Notes!!!

1. In some cultures, it's considered appropriate to enquire about people's age, in order to know how much respect to show them. In other cultures, asking people how old they are, especially women, is considered embarrassing, and even rude. How do you feel about asking and answering questions about your age?

2. In some cultures, it's acceptable you compliment someone on becoming fat, because it's the sigh of good health and wealth. In other countries, it's considered very rude to draw attention to someone's weight, in case they feel uncomfortable about it.

Remember that to call someone fat in many cultures is very rude and should be avoided by using less direct words such as well-built, or thick-set instead, or avoiding all reference to someone's weight. Do you call ever people fat?

3. In some cultures, complimenting a man on his wife's beauty is considered inappropriate. It may be embarrassing for the wife, and the husband may even feel that the man who makes the compliment is demonstrating his physical and sexual attraction to her.

4.  In some cultures, it's considered appropriate to make a compliment and to expect the person not to accept it but to reply very modesty. Then the compliment is reinforced, sometimes in an extravagant way, until the person accepts the compliment.