Part 3. Life here and there.

A. Keywords. busy, summer, winter, mountainous, crowded.

Vocabulary. humid, compact, Osaka.

John is British but has worked in Japan.

Etsuko is Japanese from Osaka, but she is studying in Britain.

In the following passage you are going to hear, they are comparing life as they see it in the two countries.

But before listening to it, think of the two countries and try to answer the following pre-listening questions.

1. Do you know something about the geographical and climatic conditions in Japan and Britain?

2. Guess the way that two speakers may compare the life as they see in Japan and Britain.

A2. Now listen to the passage and make notes about the features they mention and comparisons they make between the two countries.

Then fill in the gaps in the chart bellow with key words.

I found that living in Japan, people were busier, they seem to work the whole day.

Yes, that's right. We work from Monday through Saturday, Even in Summer.

You know, summer in Japan is just horrible. It's very very humid and hot.

You need to take showers three times a day.

So you find it cooler in England?

Yes, that's right.

Well, I was living in Japan in the north, it was much colder than England, especially in winter, -30 degrees centigrade.

Does the winter in Osaka last longer than the winter in England?

No, I don't think so, December, January, February, March.

Yes. It's a little bit shorter if anything.

Ever since I came here, I notice that the countryside here in England is really beautiful.

It's much flatter than in Japan.

Yes, Japan is a mountainous country and our cities are full of people.

There are lots of people in a limited flat area.

Yes, I found Japan much more mountainous than Britain, especially in the north.

The mountains are much higher and much more rocky.

I find it more beautiful than Britain, I think.

Yes, if you like mountains.

And so therefore the towns and villages tend to be more crowded.

Yes, that's right.

Yes, so because the cities are more crowded, the houses tend to be smaller, don't they?

Yes. They are very compact and we don't have a lot of space.

In big cities, you have a lot of taller building now.

Is this a problem because there are more earthquakes in Japan?

Yes, that's right and...er...

B. Keywords. sign, gesture, approval, disapproval, positive, negative, nonverbal.

Vocabulary. obscene, offense, smack, suck, index finger, thumb, fingertip,

tilt, screw, poke, twist, utter, palm, pucker, toss, irritating, brush off.

Listen to the passage "gestures of approval and disapproval".

While listening, act out each gesture.

Make sure you know what each gesture is, refer to the pictures if you don't know a gesture.

And then complete the caption below each of the pictures.

The country names in the following box are for your reference.

Did you know that...

You can give the "V for victory" signal in the U.S, but the same gesture elsewhere would be obscene.

Passing objects or gesturing with your left hand is an offense in many countries.

You are expected to smack and suck loudly at dinner in some countries.

You'd better not talk with your hands in your pockets.

Pointing with your index finger is impolite in most cultures.

These and many other small but important facts are contained in the nonverbal world of gestures.

Let's start with gestures of approval and disapproval.

Gestures of Approval.

The "OK" sign (an "O" or circle formed by the fingers of one hand) means strong approval or goodness in North American culture.

However, as mentioned early, it's obscene or rude in many parts of Latin American, Europe, Asia and elsewhere.

To the French, the "OK" gesture means "0" or "worthless", not "fine" or "OK".

Many countries, including France and a number of Latin American countries, show approval by the "thumbs up" gesture.

But in Bangladesh, this same sign means rejection, not approval.

Two thumbs are better than one in Kenya, with theis double sign means approval.

The thumb and all fingertips put together ("the hand purse"), while waving toward the body mean "good" in Tunisia.

Unfortunately, the same sign can also mean "wait".

There are many parts of the world people often use handing clapping to show thanks and positive feelings.

Greek indicates approval or "yes: by tilting their heads to either side.

Downward nodding can mean approval in Lebanon and Iran.

In Tonga, raising the eyebrows indicates agreement or liking.

An Italian gesture of praise or happiness is the "cheek screw", in which the person pokes his or her index finger into the cheek and twists it.

Kissing one's own fingertips is a sign of happiness, joy and utter approval of something or someone, especially in Europe and Latin America.

Gestures of Disapproval.

Gestures of disapproval, "dislike" or "no", are just as varied.

Mexico and Costa Rica, use the gesture of shaking the whole hand from side to side with the index finger extended and the palm outward.

A similar gesture is used all the way in Japan.

In Bolivia and Honduras, people wave the index finger as a negative sign.

In Lebanon, negativity can also be expressed by shaking the index finger side to side.

Folks in Barbados express disgust by puckering their lips and making a sound (chupse).

In Bangladesh, the thumbs up sign is used to show disapproval or rejection, not approval.

In Greece, Iran and Italy, a slight upward nod (the head toss) shows "No".

In many countries around the globe, a common sign for saying "go away" is brushing the fingers or the hand toward the irritating person or thing.

No wonder, it is called the "brush off."