跨文化案例选集

(完整word版)跨文化案例选集1(完整word版)跨文化案例选集1(完整word版)跨文化案例选集1Case1I’veNotConsideredMarriageYetJohn，28yearsold，anAustralianstudingChineseinBeijing，metLiHuaatadanceparty。LiHua,22,tookaninstantlikingtoJohnthefirsttimetheymet，astimewenton,theysawmoreandmoreofeachother.Aftersixmonthsorso,LiHuasuggestethatJohnmeetherparents.SincethiswasthefirsttimeJohnhadvisitedaChinesefamily,hebecamequitenervousthemomenthewasintroducedtoLiHua’sparents，eldersisterandsiser—in—law.SoonafterservinghimsomeChineseteaandfruit,LiHua’smotherbeganquestiongJohnabouthisbackground，hisfamilyandrelatives，aswellashiseconomicstatus。Johndidhisbesttoanswerallofthequestions，sometimesinbrokenChinese。Afewminuteslater，LiHua’sfatherturnedtowardsJohn,andaskedaverydirectquestion。HewantedJohntotellhimwhenhewouldmarryLiHuaandwherehewasgoingtoliveandwork.John,beingabitsurprisedatthequestion,repliedthathehadn'tthoughtaboutmarriage。LiHua’sfathergotveryupsetandangry.HestampedhisfootandaskedJohntoleave.AsJohnwasabouttoleave，LiHua'sfatherwarnedhimagainstseeinghisdaughteragain.Johnlert,withoutknowingwhathehaddonetoenragethefamily.QuestionsfordiscusssionHowcouldyouexplaintoLiHua’sparentsabouttherelationshipbetweenLiHuaandJohn?HowcouldyouexplaintoJohnLiHua’sparenets’behavior?Case2Canwetalkaboutus?Annaasksherfiance，Ben,“Canwetalkaboutus？”ImmediatelyBentensesup,seeingtrouble.Heprepareshimselfforanunpleasantconversationsandreluctantlyagrees。AnnathenthankesBenforbeingsosupportiveduringthelastfewmonthswhenshewasunderenormouspressureatherjob。Shetellehimshefeelscloserthanevertohim.ThensheinvitesBentotellherwhatmakeshimfeellovedandclosetoher.AlthoufhBenisrelievedtolearnthereisnocrisis，he’salsobaffled：“Ifthereisn’taproblem,whydowomenneedtotalkabouttherelationship?Ifit'sworking,letitbe.”QuestionsfordiscusssionCouldyouexplainwhyBenwasrelucatanttohaveatalkwithhisfiancee?Case3FeelingLeft—outAftergraduatingfromBeijingInternationalStudiesUniversity，ChenLiangpursuedanMAprogramatauniversityinBoston,theU。S.Eatlyinthesameprogram,hemadefriendswithsomeoftheAmericanstudentsstudyinginthesameprogram。Onedayafterclass,hisAmericanfriend，Dick,askedChentojoinhisintheuniversitycafeteria。OntheirwaytheyranintoDick'sgirlfriend，Lisa，whowasonherwaytoalecture.Walkingshouldertoshoulder,DickandLisacarriedonanintimateconversation，asiftheyhadn’tseeneachotherforages.Meanwhile，ChenLiangwaswalkingbehindthem,nottakingpartintheconversation.WhentheywerenearingthecafeteriaLisasaidshehadtoleaveforthelecture.Dickembracedherandgaveheralongandpassinatekiss.Seeingthis,Chenturnedawayandwalkedofftowardthecafeteria.WhenDicklookedup,hesawChenwalkingintothecageteria。DickwaspuzzledastowhyChendidn’twaitforhis，andwenttothecafeteriaalone。QuestionsfordiscusssionCouldyouexplaintoDickwhyChenLiangwalkedintothecafeteriawithoutwaitingforhim?Case4ShoesforStreetWalkingItissaidthatinRome，infrontofashoestore,therewassuchasigntoattractEnglish—speakingcustomers：Shoesforstreetwalking.Comeinandhaveafit.ThesigncaughttheattentionofmanyEnglish—speakingtourists,butnottolookattheshoesdisplayedinthewindows,buttoreadthesignandthenbreakoutintolaughter.TheItalianshopownerdidnotrealizethat“astreetwalker"meansaprostitute,while“tohaveafit”doesnotmeantohaveatry,buttobecomesuddenlyandviolentlyangryorupset.Nowondertheamusementandlaughter！（DengYanchangetal。,1989)QuestionfordiscussionWhydidtheItalianshopownermakesuchablunder？Case5ARogerwasthePersonnelExecutiveofalargeAmericanmultinationalfirm。In1996，RogerwasworkinginBraziltohelppromotetheirbusiness。Oneevening，therewasaparty,attendedbybothhisemployeesfromtheUnitedStatesandmanyBrazilianbusinesspeople。Attheparty,RogerbumpedintoRosalita,aBrazilianwomanhehadknownforsometime.RogergenerallyhadaverygoodimpressionofRosalitaandalwaysfeltateasewithher,sothathefeltfreetotelljokesandsharepersonalthoughts，andtalkaboutBrazilandBrazilianlifewithouthavingthejittersofoffendingRosalita.Duringtheparty，RosalitasaidtoRoger,“I’dliketointroduceyoutooneofmygoodfriends.Sheisaverycapablewomanandispresentlythinkingofworkinginajointventuresoshecanprovideabetterlivingforherlargefamily.Sheisverymuchinterestedinyourcompany.”Hearingthat,Rogersmiledandreplied，“OK,butIjusthopeIdon’tgethustled。”Unfortunately,Roger'sreplymadeRosalitaquiteupset.Verysoonsheexcusedherselfaspolitelyasshecould，anddidnotspeakwithRogerfortherestoftheevening.QuestionfordiscussionRogerwasconfusedbyRosalita’sbehavior.Couldyougivehimanexplanation?Case6LookOut!AforeignstudentintheU.S。wassittingbyawindowreadingabook。Sheheardsomeoneyelling“Lookout！”,soshestuckherheadoutofthewindow.Justthenaboardhurtleddownfromabove,narrowlymissingher.Shelookedup,halfinangerandhalfinfright.Therewasamanontheroofdoingrepairs.“Didn'tyouhearmecall‘Lookout’?”hedemanded.“Yes，andthat’swhatIdid，”shereplied.QuestionsfordiscussionInthiscase,whatdoes“lookout"mean?Couldyougiveasimilarcaselikethis？Case7DifferentAttitudesTowardaFlyinaBeerIfinthedininghall，aflywasseeninaglassofbeer，anEnglishmanwouldsay,“MayIhaveanother,please?”；aFrenchmanwouldpourthebeerout；aSpanishmanwouldputthemoneyonthetableandleavewithoutaword；aJapanesewouldsummonthemanagerandcriticize，“Doyoudoallyourbusinesslikethis?”；anArabwouldgivethebeertothewaiterandsay，“I'llbuyyouadrink。”;andthemorehumorousAmericanwouldsaytothewaiter，“Pleaseservetheflyandbeerseparately.Ifthecustomerlikesthefly，hecouldputitintohisbeerhimself。”Case8BorrowMoneyandLendMoneyWhileIwasstudyinginAmerica，ImetanAmericanclassmatenamedJimmy.OnedayIwaseagertobuyabook，butIdidnothaveenoughmoney,soIborrowedthreedollarsfromhim.Beforehelentmethethreedollars，Jimmyaskedmethreetimes,“Areyousureyouwillreturnthemoneytome?”Fourdayslater，hekeptremindingmeabouttheloanuntilIpaidhimbackthemoney。Interestinglyenough，weekslaterheborrowed$30frommeandsaidhewouldpaymebackinaweek。Afteronemonth,therewasnosignofthemoneysoIremindedhim。Tomysurprise,hesaid,“I’msorry,whydidn’tyouremindmeearlier?”andreturnedthemoneyinstantly。Americansdon'treadilygivemoneytoothersnorreceiveothers’readily。IfyoulentmoneytoanAmericangenerously，andsaid，“Don'tmentionitagain。Youdon'thavetopaymeback。”，hewouldbeangryandthinkyouwerelookingdownonhim，notbelievinghisabilitytorepaythemoney。Case9TwelveCupsofTeaWhenIfirstwenttoHongKong，IhadnoideaaboutChinesetea—drinkingandfoundmyselfcaughtinaveryawkwardsituation。IvisitedaChinesefamilyandwasimmediatelygivenacupoftea。IwasnotthirstyandIdidnotparticularlylikethattypeoftea,butoutofpolitenessIfinishedthecup。ButthemoreIdrank，themoreIwasgiven.IkeptinsistingthatIdidnotwantanymore,butthehosttooknonotice。Idrankabouttwelvecupsofteathatafternoon!ThehostmusthavethoughtthatIwasverygreedy，butIdidnotknowhowtoavoidgettingmoreteapoured.(HelenOatey,1988）Case10Haveyouhadyourlunch?Whereareyougoing?WhenIfirstwenttoHongKonganumberofyearsago,IhadnoideaabouttheChineselanguageortheChineseculture。Shortlyaftermyarrival,Iwenttothebankonmywaytoschool。IwasextremelysurprisedwhenthebankclerkaskedmeifIhadhadlunch.InBritishculture，thequestionwouldberegardedasanindirectinvitationtolunch,andbetweenunmarriedyoungpeopleitindicatesayoungman’sinterestindatingagirl.Sincehewasacompletelystranger，Iwasquitetakenaback。Iproceededtoschoolandwasevenmoresurprisedwhenoneoftheteachersaskedmethesamequestion.BynowIrealizedthatitcouldnotbeaninvitation,butIwaspuzzledastowhytheykeptaskingit.Inthefollowingdays，asIwasaskedthequestionagainandagain，Icametotheconclusionthatpeoplemustbeconcernedaboutmyhealth。Iwassomewhatunderweight,andIassumedtheymustbeworriedthatIwasnoteatingproperly。Onlylater,didIfindoutthatthequestionhadnorealsignificanceatall,itwasmerelyagreeting。Case11LiHongzhang’sEmbarrassmentLiHongzhang,oneofthetopofficialsintheQingDynasty，wasinvitedtovisittheUnitedStates。Hewaswarmlywelcomed.Oneday,LiwashostingabanquetfortheAmericanofficialsinapopularrestaurant.Asthebanquetstarted,accordingtotheChinesecustom,Listoodupandsaid,“Iamveryhappytohaveallofyouheretoday。Thoughthesedishesarecoarseandnotdeliciousandgoodenoughtoshowmyrespectforyou,Ihopeyouwillenjoythem…"（今天承蒙各位光临，不胜荣幸。我们略备粗馔，聊表寸心,没有什么可口的东西，不成敬意，请大家多多包涵。。。。.。）Thenextday，theEnglishversionofhiswordswasshowninthelocalnewspaper.Tohisshock，therestaurantownerflewintoarage。HethoughtitwasaninsulttohisrestaurantandinsistedthatLishouldshowhimtheevidenceofwhichdishwasnotwell—madeandwhichdishwasnotdelicious.Otherwise,Liintentionallydamagedthereputationoftherestaurants,andheshouldapologize.AllthefussmadeLiratherembarrassed.Case12Litzisaprofessorofcross—culturalcommunicationinauniversityinFinland。SheinvitedherChinesestudentshomeforaneveningparty。TheschemafromLitz’spointofviewincludesthefollowing：1.

Givinginvitation:byphone/bymail2.

Prepareeverythingbeforethearrivalofguests3.

Receivingguests:openthedoor/expresswelcome/taketheirovercoats/introduceguests/offerthemdrinks/makethemcomfortable4.

Servingfood：setthetable/soupfirst/maincourse/desert5.

Postdinneractivities：chat/playmusic/offermoredrinks6.

Seeingguestsoff:thankthemforcoming/goodnightLitz’seveningpartywasnotverysuccessful，becauseshewasupsetbyoneofherguests.HerewastheinitialconversationbetweenLitzandLin：Litz：（opensthedoor)Oh,Lin，howniceyoucouldcome！Lin:It’snotdifficulttofindyourhouse。Litz:Comeonin。Lin:(comesin)Litz:CanItakeyourcoat？Lin:No，thanks。Litz:Ok，thiswayplease.Lin：(takeoffhercoatandhangsit）Analysis：LitzwashurtbecauseLindidnotletherhanghercoat。Litz’sofferingtohangLin’scoatisoneofLitz’sways(it’sonLitz'sschema）.OnLin'sside,shethoughtthatLitzwashersupervisorandthatitwasinappropriatetolethersupervisorhanghercoat。Herewehaveaninstanceofoneactionattachedwithdifferentculturalvalues。Case13FindinganInterestedBuyerGeorageHallwasinBeijingattendingatradefairandlookingforanopportunitytodobusinessinChina.HehadbeenverysuccessfulinhisbusinessdealingsintheUSandpridedhimselfonhisability“togetthingsmoving。”Hisfirstdaywasgoingwell。Helookedaroundatthedisplaysofsportingequipmenttogetsomeideaofwhomhemightapproach。Hewassurethathisproducts,tennisracketswithanunusualnewdesign，wouldarousesomeinterests。Ontheseconddayheapproachedthecompanywhichhefeltwouldbemostresponsivetohisproducts.Heintroducedhimselftothegeneral，aMr。Li。SincehehadreadthatChinesefindgettingdowntobusinessimmediatelytooabruptandrude,hebeganacasualconversation,eventuallyleadinguptothetopicofhisproductsandsuggestinghowMr。Li’scompanymightbenefitfromusingthem。GeorgethensuggestedthathecouldarrangetogettogetherwithMr。Liandprovidemorespecificsanddocumentationonhisproducts。Mr。LirespondedinfairlygoodEnglish，”Thatwouldbeinteresting.”KnowingthathehadonlyafewdaysleftinBeijing,Georgewantedtonaildownatime，"Whencanwemeet?”askedGeorge。“Ah.Thisweekisverybusy，”repliedMr。Li。“Itsureis,”saidGeorge，”Howabout10o’clock?Meetyouhere.”“Tomorrowat10o'clock？”askedMr。Lithoughtfully。“Right,"saidGeorge,“I'llseeyouthen?”“Hmm,yes；whydon’tyoucomebytomorrow，”wasthereply.“OK,”respondedGeorge，”Itwasnicemeetingyou.”Thenextdayat10o’clockheapproachedMr。Li’scompany’sexhibitonlytofindthatMr.LihadsomeimportantbusinessandwasnotabletomeetwithGeorge.HecalledbacklaterinthedayandwastoldthatMr。Liwasnotavailable。Analysis：英美人士做事情讲究守时。而中国人不太重视这方面。本案列中，李先生不仅没有准时接见预约的客户，甚至放了他“鸽子”。Case14ProfessorLianghaswrittenabookonChinesecultureinChinese。HisbookisputondisplayinBeijingInternationalBookFair'96。ProfessorLiangwouldliketohavehisbooktranslatedintoEnglishandsubmittedtoThompsonPublishers.ProfessorLianghasaskedLiYan,whomhemeetsregularlyintheEnglishCorner,tohelphimtotalktoPeterAllright，aThompsonrepresentative。Prof。Liang：奥莱特先生，这是鄙人的拙作.LiTan：Mr.Allright,thisaclumsybookwrittenbyyourhumbleservant。MrAllright:No,no,no，you'renotmyhumbleservant.WedonotpublishbooksinChinese.LiYan（toProfessorLiang）:不，不，不，你不是我的仆人，我们不出中文书。ProfessorLiang:我要请李艳翻译成英文。LiYan(toMr。Allright）：ProfessorLiangwillaskmetotranslateitintoEnglish.Mr。Allright：Mmthat’sinteresting。Analysis:Chineseauthorsalmostalwaysbelittletheirworksbydescribingthemasclumsywritings，andtheyusethesamedescriptionwhentheypresentthemtoChinesepublishers.Butthiswillbecounter—productiveinEnglish。Instead，authorsshouldpointoutthemeritsoftheirworksratherthan“clumsiness”.Case15Jane,anAmericanteacherintheUS，hadjuststartedteachingEnglishtoagroupofJapanesestudents。Shewantedtogettoknowthestudentsmoreformally，sosheinvitedthemtoherhouseforparty.Thestudentsallarrivedtogetheratexactly8:00p。m。Theyseemedtoenjoytheparty:theydanced,sang，andatemostofthefood.Atabout10:00p.m，oneofthestudentssaidtotheteacher,“Ithinkit’stimeformetoleave.Thankyouverymuchfortheparty。”Thenalltheotherstudentsgotuptogo，andallleftatthesametime.Janedecidedshewouldneverinvitethemagain!Analysis：在日本以及其他很多的亚洲国家里，年轻人通常成群结队的一起去参加一些社交聚会,然后一道离去。在他们看来这是很正常不过的事.然后Jane认为这是一种侮辱,因为他们在同一时间里一下子全部离开了。在美国以及其他一些英语国家，晚上10点离开一个聚会相对来说是比较早的。Case16FourSecretariesandTheirJobsFourclassmatesfromatopChineseuniversityalltookjobsassecretariesaftergraduation.Fiveyearslaterthefourformerclassmateshadareunionanddiscussedtheirjobs.ChenQiandDaiYunbothworkasbilingualsecretariesforaFinnishcompanyinBeijing.ChenQiissecretarytotheFinngeneralmanger，andDaiYunissecretarytotheChineselocalmanger,apositiononlyslightlylowerthanthatoftheFinnmanger.ZhangYingisfromapoliticallyprominentfamilyandwashiredasthesecretarytotheleaderofasmallgovernmentbureauinthecapitalcityofherhomeprovince。LuYanworksforastaterunenterpriseinthesamecitywhereshewashiredasthesecretarytothenewmanagerforinternationalmarketing。ThecompanyhasnevermarketeditsproductsabroadbeforesothisofficeandLuYan'spositionarenewtothecompany。FiveyearslaterChenQiissatisfiedwithherjobwiththeFinnishcompanybutDaiYunisnot。TheFinnmanagerreceivesordersfromthecompany'shomeofficeinFinland，andhegivesorderstothosebelowhiminChina，includinghissecretaryChenQi.Hetellsherhowhewantshistimescheduledandshethenmakesappointmentsforhimaccordingtohisinstructions。ShetranslatesmemosandotherdocumentsandinterpretsfromChinesetoEnglishtoChinese.IfthemanagerdoesnotthinkChenQihasdoneherworkwell，hetellsherrightaway。Heisverydemanding，butChenQifeelsthatsheknowswhatherdutiesareandknowswhathermanagerexpects。Sheisconfidentthatsheisdoingagoodjob.DaiYunoftendoesnothaveasmuchworktodoasChenQidoes,becauseherbossscheduleshisownappointmentsanddoesalotoftheofficepaperworkhimself。Whenheisoutoftownshehastimetostudyforthegraduateentranceexam.However，sheisnotsurewhetherornotsheisdoingagoodjob.Hermanagertellsherwhatsheisexpectedtodo，buthedoesthisdaybyday。Whenpeoplecallorcometotheofficetoseeherboss，shegreetstheminEnglishorChineseasnecessary。Shereceivestheirmemosandothermessagesaswellastheirquestionsandrequestsandpassesthemontohermanager.DaiYunthinksofherjobasdoingwhathermanagerwantshertodo。Shepayscloseattentiontohismoodsandbehavior，andsometimessheisabletoanticipatewhathewouldlikewithouthimtellingher。Analysis：许多中国人在外企工作，不同国家的外企领导有不同的工作作风和标准。本案列中，戴云给不同的外国上司做秘书，在工作中出现由于不同的文化冲突而引起的各种工作以及沟通中的问题就很常见了.Case17OnecoldwinterdayinaChinesecity,WangLinonhiswaytothelibrarymetanAmericanprofessorwhoknewverylittleaboutChina。Aftergreetinghim,Wangsaid:“It'srathercold。You’dbetterputonmoreclothes。”Buttheprofessordidn'tappearhappyonhearingthis。Analysis：美国人以及大部分西方国家的人们不喜欢被告知要怎么做怎么做,他们比较喜欢独立，然而中国人则习惯关心别人，这个案例中王林的建议表达的就是一种对他人的关心，可是美国教授却不习惯这样的表达.Case18Inagoodrestaurant，fourteenpeoplearegatheredtosaygoodbyetotheirprofessor,whoismovingtoanotheruniversity.Steven:MayIhaveyourattentionplease？I’dliketocalluponBentosayafewwords。Ben:Thankyou，Steven。ProfessorTonightisoneofthoseparadoxes—-—it’sasadtimeandyetit’sahappytime。Sad,because.Wearelosingoneofourbestprofessors；happybecausewearepleasedtoseeProfessorgaintherecognitionthatherichlydeserves。I’mnotsurewhowillbeabletocontrolusandkeepusinline.Ithinkthenewprofessorwillhaveadifficulttime.Andsurelynoonewillbeabletotelljokesinthesamewayasyou，Professor。Seriously，weallknowthatyouwillbedifficulttoreplace。Yourscholarlyapproachandyourdedicationwillalwaysberemembered.Iwouldthereforeliketoproposeatoast。Colleagues,pelasechargeyourglasses。Professoryourfuturebefilledwillgreatsuccess,andmayyoualwaysrememberus.Weknowwewillneverforgetyou.ToProfessorAll：（Standingup)ToProfessorShore！（Everyonedrinks.Professorsmilesatthemall。）Analysis：就餐时总是要在各种缘由下向人敬酒：可以是非正式的，向朋友或同事敬酒；也可以是正式的,向全体聚会的人敬酒。与中国式的敬酒大不相同的是，在西方正式的敬酒时,受敬的人是不能喝酒的，而是正襟危坐，两眼睁睁看别人喝酒。另一个不同是：无论正式还是非正式，敬酒的人不必走过去敬酒，而是在自己的座位处站起来敬酒。敬酒时开始的语言永远是：“向…”，而其他随敬酒的人重复敬酒人的第一句话(即“向…”），然后喝一口酒.敬酒时如果举了杯，说了敬词，而实际上没有喝酒，就会被看做十分不恭的行为,在很久以前甚至于被认为是一种侮辱，是不想加入敬酒的仪式。Case19AnAmericanwenttoChinesehome.Hewasofferedsometea。Justwhenthefirstcupwasabouttofinish,moreteawasadded。Thevisitordrankthesecondcup.Thenthecupwasfilledthethirdtime.Thenhedrankit,then…untilthevisitorwasquitefull。Why？Analysis:在中国的传统文化习俗里，主任通常会不断给客人倒水倒茶，或者不断地给客人的盘子里加食物以表示他的热情好客.面对的这样的情况，中国客人知道如何处理，在他们觉得吃饱喝足之后,就会随它放在桌上。而美国客人就不懂了，在美国,在自己的盘子里剩下食物是不礼貌的,于是他出于遵循美国文化理念可能会在这样的招待中吃的过多。Case20DinnerwithFriendJaniceisayoungAmericanengineerworkingforamanufacturingjointventurenearNanjing.SheandherhusbandGeorge，whoisteachingEnglishatauniversity，arelearningChineseandenjoyingtheirnewlife。TheyhavebeeneagertogettoknowChinesepeoplebettersotheywerepleasedwhenLiuLingling，Janice’syoungco—workerinvitedthemtoherhomefordinner.WhenJaniceandGeorgearrived,LinglingintroducedthemtoherhusbandYangFeng,askedthemtositdownatatablecontaining8platesofvariouscolddishes，servedthemteaandthendisappearedwithherhusbandintothekitchen。AfterafewminutesLinglingcamebackandaddedwatertotheirtea。JaniceofferedtohelpinthekitchenbutLinglingsaidshedidn’tneedhelp.SheinvitedthecoupletolookattheirnewCDplayerandtheircolorfulTVandthendisappearedagain。Ahalf—hourlatershecamebackandsatdownandthethreebegantoeat.YangFengcameinfromtimetotimetoputdishafterhotdishonthetable。MostofthefoodwaswonderfulbutneitherGeorgenorJanicecouldeatthefattyporkinpeppersauceortheeacucumbers,andtherewasmuchmorethantheycouldeat.TheykeptwishingYangFengwouldsitdownsotheycouldtalktohim。Finallyhedidsitdowntoeatabit,butquicklyturnedontheTVtoshowthemallitshightechingfeatures。Soonitwastimetogohome.GeorgeandJanicefeltslightlydepressedbythisexperience,butreturnedtheinvitationtwoweekslater.TheydecidedtomakeaniceAmericanmealandfeltluckytofindolives，tomatojuice，crackersandasappetizers.Forthemaincoursetheypreparedspaghettiandasaladwithdressingmadefromoil,vinegar,andsomespicestheyfoundinthemarket.WhenLiuLinglingandYangFengarrivedtheywereimpressedbytheapartmentandaskedthepriceoftheTV,videoplayer，vacuumcleanerandotherthings.Janicepolitelyrefusedtoanswertheirquestions.TheytooksmalltastesoftheappetizersandseemedsurprisedwhenbothGeorgeandJanicesatdownwiththem.Theyateonlyalittlespaghettianddidnotfinishthesaladontheirplates。Georgeurgedthemtoeatmorebuttheyrefusedandlookedaroundexpectantly.JuniceandGeorgetalkedabouttheirfamiliesandjobsandaskedthetableandservedcoffeeandpastries.YangFengandLinglingeachputfourspoonsofsugarsintotheircoffeebutdidnotdrinkmuchofitandateonlyabiteortwoofpastry.Aftertheyleft,Georgesaidthatatleasttheyhadachancetotalk,butJanicewasupset.“Welefttheirplacesofullthatwecouldn’twalkandthey’regoingtohavetoeatagainwhentheygethome.Whatwentwrong？Analysis：中西方饮食习惯大大的不同。中国人邀请客人会准备一大桌子的菜，并在就餐过程中使劲劝说客人多吃点,吃完之后，还有剩菜，就表明主人的盛情款待。而西方人一不劝吃，二就餐完毕后，盘子最好是空的。本案列中的两对中外夫妇不明这个文化差异，发生误解就是自然而然的事了。Case21Afterthemealandafterthetablehasbeencleared。Liuisnotsurewhattodo，butwantstohelpinsomeway.Atleasthewantstooffer。Helen:Thanksforyourhelp，Huang。Liu:Pleasure.WhatcanIdonow？Helen:Nothing.It’sfine。I’llrinsethesedishesthenstackthem。It’llonlytakeaminute。Liu：Doesthefamilyusuallyhelp？Helen：Well,atspecialtimes.Jacksometimesrinsesthedishesbutyoucanseehe’sreallytiredtonight.Liu:Letmedoitforyou.Helen：Notruly,it’sokay。Liu:MaybeIcanwipethetablethen。Helen：Thatwouldbehelpful.Thanks。You’rereallykind,Huang。Analysis：在西方人家中的就餐的时间里,大家都设法插手帮一下忙，即便是男士也不例外，不要一点不动着开饭。所有家住者要能帮者摆摆餐具，或餐后收拾洗碗，把餐具放进洗碗机，倒垃圾，站在一边帮着擦干洗好的餐具。虽然都是小忙,却表明你对别人的操劳非常在意，是个用心的人。Case22Twostrangershavebeenchatting。A：Soyou’rebeenhereforayear？B:Yes.Onemoreyeartogo，thenI'llgobacktochina。A：Whatwillyoudobackhome?B：It’shardtoknow.There’salotchangeatthemoment.A:Yeah.Everythingischanging，everywhere。Sometimesit’sdifficulttokeepup.B:That’strue。MaybeI’ll…（A’smobilephonerings.)A:Excuseme，I’dbetteranswerthis.It’sprobablywork.B:Sure.Takeyourtime.Analysis：有时在与人交谈中，难免要有什么原因要离开一会儿，或是去接一个电话，或要去洗手间。礼貌再此被提出来。出于礼貌起见,要记住做一些恰当解释再离开。不管理由是什么，即便是要接一个手机电话，在打开电话回话前，向对方说声对不起。如果只离开几分钟，没有必要找一个理由。你说了对不起，就表明你确实是有事要离开一会儿.Case23LiuHuangiscallinghisfriendStevenathishome。Person:Hello.Johnisspeaking.Liu:Hello？I'mlookingforSteven.Person:Sorry，there’snooneherecalledSteven。Liu:Isthat65778868？Person:No.Ithinkyou’vegotthewrongnumber。Thisis65788868.Liu:Oh，I'msorry.Person:Noproblem.Goodluck。Liu:Thanks.Analysis：失手拨错号码是常有的事.如果在国外，即便有语言障碍，害怕说英语，也还是要先与对方核对是不是拨错了，然后再道歉。如果发现拨错了号码就马上挂电话，是不礼貌的行为。Case24Lin：Thankyousomuchforawonderfulnight。I’vehadagreattime。Erica：It'sbeenapleasurehavingyou.Wehopeyoucancomeagain,soon.Lin:I'dlikethat.Youbothknowhowtomakemefeelathome。Thanksforeverything。Analysis：在动身离去的时候，找到主人，当面说一声谢谢，是有礼貌的行为。Case25OfftoaBadStartDavidHuhadjuststartedworkingfortheforeignownedcompany。Hewassittingathisworkstationbuthadnotbeengivenanyassignmentthatheshouldbedoingatthismoment.Hewasrelaxingandwaitingandthenthoughthewouldtaketheopportunitytohavealookaround.Hepokedhisheadintoseveralofficesjusttoseewhattherewastobeseen.SuddenlyMr.Parkerc