Lesson 45 Different Manners

My name is Wu Zhou.

我名叫吴州。

I have lived in Canada for twenty-three years.

我在加拿大生活了23年。

In Canada, I call myself Joe Wu.

在加拿大，我自称为Joe Wu。

Joe is an English name that sounds like Zhou.

Joe是一个英文名字，听起来就像州。

Though I have lived here for a long time, I still don't feel Canadian.

尽管我已经在那里生活了很长时间了，我仍然不感觉自己是加拿大人。

This is probably because North American manners and Chinese manners are so different.

这可能是因为北美礼仪和中国礼仪截然不同。

In China, being modest is a virtue.

在中国，谦逊是一种美德。

If someone praises you and says that your English is excellent, you should be modest and say, "No, no. My English is still poor."

如果有人表扬你，告诉你你的英语非常棒，你应该谦虚地说“不，不。我的英语仍然很差。”

But in North America, this is usually a sign of being weak and not confident.

但是在北美，这样通常是一种软弱或是缺乏信心的表现。

You should just say, "Thank you."

你应该说，“谢谢你。”

In Canada, people only ask children about their age.

在加拿大，人们只会问孩子们的年龄。

It's not polite to ask an adult's age.

向成人询问年龄很不礼貌。

They think it is private.

他们认为那是个人隐私。

But this is common in many places in China.

但是这在中国许多地方都很常见。

In both China and North America, it is polite to offer an elderly person a seat on the bus.

在中国和北美，在公交车上给年纪大的人让座都是一种礼貌。

In North America, however, an elderly person may feel embarrassed about being offered a seat.

然而，在北美，被让的年长者可能会因为让座而感到十分尴尬。

When Chinese people eat out in restaurants, they may take turns paying for the meal.

当中国人外出在餐厅就餐时，他们可能会轮流付款。

In Canada, however, people often share the cost of a meal.

然而，在加拿大，人们均摊餐费。

In China, if your guests have no food on their plates, it's polite to put food on their plates.

在中国如果客人的餐盘里没有食物了，给他们的盘子添菜是礼貌的。

In Canada, you pass food to guests, but you don't usually put food on their plates.

在加拿大，你可以给客人传菜，但通常不放在人家盘子里。

In China, people seldom give extra money to waiters, waitresses, taxi drivers or hotel workers.

在中国，人们几乎不用付额外的费用给男服务员，女服务员，出租车司机或酒店服务人员。

In North America, this is always done.

在北美，总是会给小费的。

It is called "tipping".

被称作"给小费"。

It's interesting to experience two different cultures.

经历两种不同的文化很有趣。

I think understanding cultural differences really helps us to understand each other, live together and work together.

我认为理解文化差异的确有助于我们了解彼此，共同生活与工作。