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Passage Two
文章二
The topic of my talk today is gift-giving.
我今天演讲的话题是送礼物。
Everybody likes to receive gifts, right?
每个人都喜欢收到礼物，对吗？
So you may think that gift-giving is a universal custom.
所以你可以认为送礼物是一项普遍的习俗。
But actually the rules of gift-giving vary quite a lot.
但是事实上送礼物的结果非常不一样。
And not knowing them can result in great embarrassment.
不了解它们会导致巨大的尴尬。
In North America, the rules are fairly simple.
在南美，结果相当简单。
If you're invited to someone's home for dinner, bring wine or flowers or a small item from your country.
如果你被邀请去某人的家里吃晚餐，带酒或者是花或者是来自你国家的一个小东西。
Among friends, family and business associates, we generally don't give gifts on other occasions except on someone's birthday and Christmas.
在朋友、家人和事业伙伴之间，我们通常不在除某人的生日和圣诞节之外的其他场合送礼物。
The Japanese, on the other hand, give gifts quite frequently, often to thank someone for their kindness.
在日本，另一方面，送礼物非常频繁，通常是感谢某人的恩惠。
The tradition of gift-giving in Japan is very ancient.
在日本送礼物的传统非常古老。
There are many detailed rules for everything from the color of the wrapping paper to the time of the gift presentation.
从包装纸的颜色到送礼物的时间的每一件事情都有许多细节的规则。
And while Europeans don't generally exchange business gifts, they do follow some formal customs when visiting homes, such as bringing flowers.
尽管欧洲人通常不会交换商业礼物，他们在做客的时候确实遵循着一些正式的传统，比如带一些花。
The type and color of flowers, however, can carry special meaning.
然而，花的种类和颜色能承载特殊的含义。
Today we have seen some broad differences in gift-giving.
今天我们看见了一些送礼物里的巨大差别。
I could go on with additional examples, but let's not miss the main point here.
我能继续举额外的例子，但是我们捏错过最重要的东西。。
If we are not aware of and sensitive to cultural differences, the possibilities for miscommunication and conflict are enormous.
如果你没有意识到文化差异且对其不敏感，错误传达和冲突的可能性极大。
Whether we learn about these differences by reading a book or by living abroad, our goal must be to respect differences among people in order to get along successfully with our global neighbors.
不管我们从书本还是通过在国外生活学习这些差异，我们的目标一定是尊重人们之间的不同来成功地和我们的国际友邻和睦相处。
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
问题19到21是基于你刚刚听到的文章的。
Question 19. What does the speaker say about gift-giving of North Americans?
问题19. 演讲者关于南美送礼物说了什么？
Question 20. What do we learn about the Japanese concerning gift-giving?
问题20.关于日本人送礼物我们了解到什么？
Question 21. What point does the speaker make at the end of the talk?
问题21.演讲者在演讲末尾表明了什么观点？
