Hospitality Vs. self-service
By Christine Ma
Picture by Zhu Lijun



Hospitality is a glorious tradition that has given China a good reputation. It has been ingrained in our hearts so deeply that we take it for granted that our visitors should accept and appreciate it. However, excessive hospitality may be interpreted negatively by foreigners.

When I was sophomore, a group of American students came to visit our department. I, along with other classmates, were honored to welcome them. The student I received was a girl with whom I spent a whole morning talking. We enjoyed ourselves so much that I invited her to visit the city with me in the afternoon.

Everything went smoothly until it came to paying for the beverages. I thought that as a host, I ought to take care of everything. Therefore, I insisted on paying for the beverage, even though she took out her purse. Her refusal to let me pay drove me to holding her arms with force. How embarrassing it was. Although she gave in at last, we both felt strange afterwards and spent the rest of the day nearly speechless. Since then, I’ve tried to contact her via e-mails but got no reply.

I felt quite puzzled that what I had done had put me out of favor. But why did she seem to dislike it? I later consulted my teacher who is British. He said that most Westerners have problems with Chinese excessive hospitality. Moderate hospitality is useful to ease their anxiety in a foreign environment. However, if it’s overdone, as I had done and most Chinese tend to do, foreigners tend to feel uncomfortable.

In their culture system, they express ideas and feelings frankly. Thus, in my case she was directly telling me that she wished to pay, which I misunderstood to be polite. My insistence, on the other hand, was perceived as harassment. A core value of Western culture is independence, a demonstration of self-approval and equality with others. I should have accepted her offer to pay the bill. It left room for me to show hospitality in regard to her independence.

Realizing this difference, it would be wise to achieve a balance between hospitality and independence when receiving foreign visitors.

 

 

Cartoon English
By Bo & Bob

 

 

让你困惑的词
By Suky

20元钱可以干什么? 可以一个人看场电影, 可以买3张D片(盗版片)回家和一群朋友一起看. 看D片虽然物美价廉, 但总有些不尽如人意. 有时, 碰到一些词, 你是否有些困惑呢?

1. dude(老兄, 老哥)
开始时我把它误解为"花花公子, 纨绔子弟", 实际上此词常用于称呼年轻男性, 与guy的意思相同, 只是guy的使用范围更广. 如 Hey, dude, look at that girl. (喂, 老兄, 看那个女孩. )

2. chick(女孩)
容易误解为"妓女", 实际上此词年轻男孩常用, 语气中确实有轻佻、不尊重的含义. 例子: Look at that chick at the door. (看门口的那个女孩. )

3. pissed off(生气, 不高兴)
千万别认为是"尿尿"的意思, piss off在字典中是"滚开, 滚蛋"的意思, 实际上此词是表示"生气, 不高兴"的意思,与angry同义. 例子: Man, is that guy pissed off? (哎呀, 那家伙真的生气了? )

4. Hey, Give me five(嗨, 好啊! )
此语非常流行, 经常在大片中出现, 击掌庆贺时用. 例子: Hey, dude! Give me five! (嗨, 老兄, 太好啊! )

5. freak out(大发脾气)
总是在片子中看到这个词, freak是"奇异的, 反常的"的意思, 但此词是"大发脾气"的意思, out也可以省略, 美国很常用, 老式说法是 be very upset. 例子: He’s gonna freak. (他快要发脾气了. )

Vocabulary
hospitality 好客
excessive 过度的
sophomore 大二学生
beverage 饮料
moderate 适度的
harassment 烦扰

 

 

加拿大阿尔伯塔大学
University of Alberta



加拿大阿尔伯塔大学位于North Saskatchewan 河边, 位于阿尔伯塔省省会埃德蒙顿市(Edmonton). 埃德蒙顿市被认为是加拿大"Smart Cities"之一. 市中心距洛基山脉(Rocky Mountain)驱车仅4小时. 埃德蒙顿市作为加拿大的石油工业中心和交通枢纽, 其文化环境丰富多彩, 街区清洁安定, 生活质量很高.

阿尔伯塔大学成立于1908年, 是全加拿大以科研为主的最大的五所综合性大学之一, 其科研水平居加拿大前列. 全加14个优秀科研网, 阿尔伯塔大学为其中仅有的3所大学之一. 在全加大学中, 阿尔伯塔大学占皇家学者学会会员人数以及申请美国技术专利和技术转让总数均居第五位, 其科研收入与所得资助总额居全国第五. 得益于阿尔伯塔省发现石油后的经济起飞, 阿尔伯塔大学也获得了长足的发展, 跻身于加拿大名校的行列. 在阿尔伯塔大学里学生们不仅置身于充满竞争与挑战的学术氛围, 还可以领略校园美丽的河谷风光.

阿尔伯塔大学专业齐全, 主要院系有: 文学院、商学院、教育学院、工学院、法学院、医学院和应用科学院. 不少学科的科研水平居于加拿大大学的前列. 工学院五个系都颇具实力, 其中石油勘探(Petroleum Exploration)和炼制(Petroleum Processing)居领先地位. 大学图书馆藏书颇丰, 人均图书拥有量居全加第一. 阿尔伯塔大学由石油工业领头, 带动了其他学科的发展, 科研水平和教育质量在加拿大的学术界和工业界都有很好的声誉, 是一所全面发展的大学.

校园内各类设施完备先进. 主校园占地89公顷, 还有5,000公顷校外科研用地, 广阔的校区容纳了400个科研试验室, 包括全加最有实力的激光实验室(Laser Lab)、最居前沿的扫描电子显微镜(SEM, Scanning Electron Microscopy)实验室, 两套NMR设施和一些农业科研站点. 大学图书馆是加拿大第二大科研图书馆, Timms艺术中心拥有全加最新最好的戏剧教学设施.

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