Unit1Persontoperson

Experiencetheworld

Listening1

Phil: Well,howdoyouthinkthepartywent?

Gloria: Ithinkitwentfine!Myfriendslikeyou!Youdidseemabitnervous,though.

Phil: Yeah,Iknow...yourArgentinianfriendsalwaysstandsoclose!Ikeptfeelinguncomfortableandwantingtomoveaway.ButIdidn’t,becauseIdidn’twanttoseemrude…

Gloria: Oh,youshouldn’tworrytoomuchaboutthat.TheyknowyouareBritish;theywouldn’thavebeenoffended!

Phil: Ihopenot!So,…doyoufeeluneasywhenwespendtimewithmyclosefriends?

Gloria: Well,Iactuallydofeelabitstrange…youBritskeepsomuchdistanceevenfromyourbestfriends!

Phil: Isupposeitmustseemabit…er,Idon’tknow…“cold”toyou?

Gloria: Well,alittlemaybe.Youknowhow,uh…whatdoyoucallit,hm…“touchy-feely”weArgentiniansare!

Phil: IthinkBritishpeopleandArgentiniansjusthaveverydifferentideasaboutpersonalspace.

Gloria: Definitely!Butwhydowehavesuchadifference?

Phil: Maybeithassomethingtodowiththeweather?Peoplefromhottercountriesdoseemtoexpresstheiremotionsmoreopenlyandbemorephysical,whilepeoplefromcoldercountriesaregenerallymoreprivateanddistant…

Gloria: Itmakessensetome!IwouldprobablyactlikethattooifIhadtoliveincoldplacesallthetime!

Listening2

Helloandwelcometo“Andy’sAdvice”.Asaprofessionalproblem-solver,oneofthemostcommonrequeststhatIreceivefromlistenersisaskingforhelpinrepairingrelationshipswithclosefriendsorfamilyaftermajorarguments.Sotoday,I’dliketosharesomekeystrategiestohelppeopleavoidgettingintothissituationinthefirstplace.

Myfirstpieceofadviceis“keepitcivilized”.Whenyoufindthetemperaturerisinginaconversation,remembernottoraiseyourvoiceorberude.Youwanttheargumenttoseemlikeafriendlyconversationfromtheoutside.

Secondly,“thinkbeforeyouspeak”.Youshouldrememberthatwordsarepowerful,andnoteasilyforgotten.So,don’tsaythingsyoumightregret.Also,alwaysavoidsayingthingslike“Youneverlisten!”or“Youalwaysdothis!”Thesekindsofthingsarerarelytrue,andjustmakepeopleevenangrier!

Thelastpieceofadvicecouldactuallyreplacealloftheothers?“Listen!”Toresolveaconflict,youneedtoknowhowtheotherpersonfeels.Alwaysgiveotherpeoplerespectandshowthatyoucareaboutwhattheyhavetosay.Andit’snotenoughtojustpretendtolisten.Reallytakeinwhattheotherpersonsays.Youneverknow,youmightevenrealizethatyouwereinthewrong.

Understandtheworld

Listening1

Intoday’spodcast,IwillsharewithyouanunforgettableexperiencethatIhadduringmytriptoItaly.Itwasmorning,andIwashavingcoffeeinabarinNaples.Awell-dressedmanofabout80walkedinandordered“acoffeeandasuspendedcoffee”.Afewminuteslater,acouplecameinandordered“Fourcoffees,please.Twoforusandtwosuspended.”Icouldn’tunderstandwhatwashappening.Butamomentlater,amandressedindirtyoldclothescameinandasked,“Doyouhaveanysuspendedcoffees?”

Isuddenlyunderstood.Peoplewerepayingforanextracoffeesothatthosewhocouldn’taffordacupofcoffeecouldhaveoneforfree.

IlearnedlaterthatthistraditionhadbeguninNaples,butithasnowspreadallovertheworld.Insomeplacesyoucanordernotonlyasuspendedcoffee,butalsosuspendedsnacks,sandwichesandevenwholemeals!

Intoday’sfast-pacedsociety,peopleseemtohavelessandlesstimetocareforeachother.Socialbehaviorslikesuspendedcoffeehelpsolvethisproblem,aswellasmakingiteasierforpeopletoexpresstheirnaturalgenerosityandkindnesstoothers.

Bytheway,beforeIleftthebar,Ipaidforacoupleofsuspendedcoffeesmyself!

Viewing

Aliceworksatalocaldepartmentstore.

Shespendsmostofherdayinteractingwithcustomersandco-workers.

There’salotoftalkinginvolvedbutthere’salsoanotherformofnon-verbalcommunicationthat’sbeingusedjustasoften:bodylanguage.

Bodylanguageistheprocessofcommunicatingthroughnon-verbalsignals.Itincludesthingslikeourposture,facialexpressions,gesturesandmore.

Themeaningsoftheseallvaryfromculturetoculture,butweinstinctivelyreadbodylanguageandinterpretitassomeexpressionofmoods,feelingsorintentions.

So,inAlice’scase,evenbeforeshespeaks,shemaybecommunicatingallkindsofthingstocustomers.Forexample,ifherarmsarecrossedandshe’savoidingeyecontact,customersmaynotfindhertobeveryapproachable.

However,Alicecouldbeinafriendlymoodeventhoughherbodylanguagesuggestsotherwise,andthisisn’tnecessarilyaconsciouschoicethatshe’smade.Thiscouldjustbehowshehabituallypresentsherself.ButifAliceisawareofthesehabits,shecanworkonimprovingherbodylanguage.

Changingyourhabitscanbedifficult,butifyoutaketimetopauseandcheckinwithyourself,youcanstarttonoticethemandadjustthingstobecomeabetternon-verbalcommunicator.Thisawarenesscanalsobeappliedtoreadingothers’bodylanguage.

Let’ssayAlicenoticesthatherco-workerisunusuallyquiet,hashisbodyturnedawayfromherandisslouchedover.Shemaypickupthathe’supsetorthatthere’sanunspokenissueathand.DependingonAlice’srelationshipwithhim,shemaywanttogivehimsomespace,oraskifanything’swrong.

Beingawareofthevariousaspectsofbodylanguagecanmakeallthedifferenceinhowpeopleperceiveyou,andhowyouperceivethem.Beawareofhowyoupresentyourselfandyoucansayalotwithoutspeaking.

Listening2

Theage-oldsceneofChinesepeoplefightingtopaythebillinrestaurantsmaysoonbecomeathingofthepast,accordingtoarecentsurvey.Inasurveyaboutdininghabits,65percentofChinesepeopleunder30saidthattheyalmostalwayssplitthebillwhentheyeatoutwithfriends.Withpeopleover40,thatnumberdropstoonly25percent!

Thischangehassomethingtodowiththeincreasingpopularityofmobilephonepaymentapps.Theseappsallowcustomersto“goDutch”bysimplyscanningaQRcodeorsendingahongbaoontheirphones.Thisway,evenlargepartiescaneasilysplitthebill,andwon’tfeelawkwardtryingtoworkoutwhooweswhat.

TheideaofsplittingthebillisnewtomanyolderChinesepeople.Manyofthembelievethatpayingthebillisasignofhonorandrespect.Manyalsosaytheyfindituncomfortabletosplitthebill,andworryaboutlosingface.

However,withyoungpeoplethetrendisgettingmoreandmorepopular.Bysplittingthebill,theydon’thavetoworryaboutspendingbigmoneyeverytimetheyeatoutwithfriends.

Furtherlistening

Conversation

Tarika: Hey,Han.CanIaskyousomething?

Han: Sure.Whatisit?

Tarika: It’smyboss’birthdayonSundayandIdon’tknowwhattogether.Sinceyou’reSouthKorean,likeher,Ithoughtyoucouldhelp.

Han: I’mhappytohelp.ButifIwereyou,Iwouldprobablyconsiderherpersonalpreferencesfirst.

Tarika: Oh,Iagreewiththat.However,Istillwanttoavoidbreakinganytraditionalgift-givingrules…

Han: Well,youshouldtrytoavoidunluckynumbers.Forexample,inKorean,thenumber“four”soundslike“death”!

Tarika: Oh,right.InIndia,thenumber13isunlucky…So,doyouthinkchocolatesorflowersareagoodidea?

Han: Absolutely.Giftslikethataresimplebutclassy.However,Ithinkit’sevenbetterifitcanbeconnectedtoyourowncultureinsomeway.

Tarika: That’sagoodidea.IcouldbuyhersometraditionalIndiansweets.

Han: I’msureshe’dlovethat!Remember,colorscanbequiteimportant,too.InSouthKorea,weneverwrappresentsinwhiteorblack.

Tarika: OK,arethereanycolorstheyprefer?

Han: Yes,blueisapopularcolorinSouthKorea.

Tarika: Indiansweetswrappedinblue,then!

Passage1

Thisweekend,ZhangWei,aChineseAmericanlivinginSanFrancisco,ismeetinghistwobestfriendsforthefirsttime:Leila,aSouthAfricangeographyteacher,andColin,aChileanofficeworker.Thethreefriends“met”inanonlinegroupabouttheirfavoriteactor:BruceLee.TheyareinSanFranciscothisweekendforaBruceLeeConvention.

LeilabecameafanaftercatchingaBruceLeemovieonlate-nightTV.Withinweeks,shehadseenallofhismovies,butnoonearoundhersharedherpassion.

Colinwasaweakchild,whoseparentssignedhimupforakungfutrainingschool.There,histeachersintroducedhimtoBruceLee.ColinsaysthatBruceLeechangedhislife,inspiringhimtobecomefitterandhealthier.However,justlikeLeilainthecitywherehelivesnow,hehasn’tfoundanyoneelsewhoshareshispassion.

Althoughtheonlinefangrouphasmanymembers,Colin,LeilaandZhangWeiweredefinitelythemostdedicated.Almosteveryday,theygoonlinetochat,postBruceLeemovieclips,ortesteachotheronthesmallestofdetailsfromhismovies.Aftertwoyearsofbeingclosefriendsonline,theydecidedtomeetattheBruceLeeConvention.

Passage2

Goodafternoon,Ms.Watson.Goodafternoon,classmates.

Formytalktoday,Iampresentingtheresultsofmyrecentsurveyaboutthesocialrulesofinstantmessagingapps.

Iasked100studentswhatannoyedthemthemostwhenusingtheseapps.Herearemyfindings.

Seventy-eightofthe100respondentsreportedthatthethingthatannoysthemmostaboutusinginstantmessagingappsisreceivingvoicemessageswhileworking,intheclassroomoronpublictransport.Manypeoplecommentedthattheythinkvoicemessagessentinthemiddleofatextconversationareinconsiderate.

Accordingtoourresults,anotherthingtoavoiddoingiscallingpeopleforavideooraudiochatwithoutgivingthemnotice:Morethantwo-thirdsofrespondentsmentionedthatthesewerealmostalwaysunwelcome.Onerespondentcommented,“Iusuallyassumesomethingbadhashappenedwhensomeonecalls,sowhenIfindoutthatit’sjustforachat,Iusuallyfeelannoyed.”

Amongtheotherthingsthatamajorityofrespondentsfoundannoyingare:beingaddedintogroupswithoutbeingaskedfirst;andbeingsenttoomanylinks.

So,doyourbesttoavoiddoingthesethingsthatIhavementionedwhen