Katie: How was the welcome party for foreign students last night?
John: Great! I made some new friends. But a funny thing happened.
Katie: What?
John: I met a Japanese boy called Sato, and as soon as I held out my hand, he bowed.
Katie: That's how people in Japan are expected to greet each other. It's impolite if you don't bow.
John: I didn't know that. So I just stood there with my hand out. Finally, I returned the bow.
Katie: I remember when I first met Marie last year, I did the same thing. I held out my hand and to my surprise, she kissed me on both sides of my face!
John: I wouldn't mind that!
Katie: Very funny. Later I found out French people are supposed to kiss when they see each other.
customkissgreetrelaxedvaluebe supposed toto one's surprise
be supposed to do 应该
That's how people in Japan are expected to greet.（日本人们就是这样被期望打招呼的。）French people are supposed to kiss when they see each other.（法国人见面应该亲吻。）be supposed to do = be expected to do = 应该/被期望做……本单元核心语法。
文化拓展
不同国家问候方式：日本→鞠躬(bow)、法国→亲吻脸颊(kiss on cheeks)、英国/美国→握手(shake hands)。
Teresa Lopez is from Cali, Colombia. "Where I'm from, we're pretty relaxed about time. If you tell a friend you're going to their house for dinner, it's OK if you arrive a bit late. We like to enjoy our time slowly. We value the time we spend with our family and friends in our everyday lives. We often just drop by our friends' homes if we have time. We don't usually have to make plans to meet our friends. Often we just walk around the town center, seeing as many of our friends as we can!
We're pretty relaxed about time.（我们对时间相当放。）be relaxed about = 对……放松/不拘束。
In Switzerland, it's very important to be on time. We're the capital of clocks and watches, after all! If someone invites you to meet them at noon, then you're expected to be there at noon. If you're even 15 minutes late, your friend may get mad. So I make an effort to be on time when I meet my friends. I always leave the house early to avoid heavy traffic because I think it's impolite to keep others waiting. Also, we never visit a friend's house without calling first. We almost always make plans to see friends. We usually plan to do something interesting, or go somewhere together.
Dear Laura,
Thanks for your message. Yes, I'm having a great time on my student exchange program in France. I was a bit nervous before I arrived here, but there was no reason to be. My host family is really nice. They go out of their way to make me feel at home. The grandmother knows that I miss Chinese food a lot. So she actually learned how to make Chinese food! She also has a teenage granddaughter about my age who is really kind. She always talks to me in French to help me practice. You wouldn't believe how quickly my French has improved because of that. I'm very comfortable speaking French now. Although I still make lots of mistakes, it doesn't worry me as it used to.
exchangegranddaughterbehaveexceptelbowgraduallygo out of one's waymake sb. feel at home
as it used to 比较
It doesn't worry me as it used to.（不像以前那样担心了。）as + 主语 + used to。
My biggest challenge is learning how to behave at the dinner table. As you can imagine, things are very different from the way they are at home. For example, you're not supposed to put your bread on your plate. You're supposed to put it on the table! I thought that was pretty strange at first, but now I'm used to it. Another example is that you're not supposed to eat anything with your hands except bread, not even fruit. You have to cut it up and eat it with a fork. Another thing is that it is impolite to say you're full. If you don't want any more food, you should just say, "That was delicious." Also, you're not supposed to put your elbows on the table. I have to say that I find it difficult to remember everything, but I'm gradually getting used to it. I don't find French customs so strange anymore.