留學生在中國 第20期 Exchange Ideas 交流思想

Chapter 21 Exchanging Ideas with Foreigners

與老外交流

You：It's very common nowadays to see foreigners and have a chance to exchange ideas with them.

現在對我們來說，見到外國人並且和他們交流已經不是什麼新鮮事兒了。

David：Exchange?

怎麼交流呢？

You：We can learn lots from foreigners because they know a lot about the latest technologies and because they have different social and cultural customs and attitudes.

我們能從外國人那裏學到許多新的技術，而且他們的社會文化習慣以及對事物的看法都和我們不同。

David:I have traveled in the United States, Europe, and South America, and generally speaking Chinese people are relatively friendlier to foreigners.

我覺得中國人很有禮貌，也很和氣。我去過美國，歐洲，南美等地。總的來說，中國人對外國人更加友善一些。

You：Chinese people and foreigners may not understand each other very well when they meet for the first time, so naturally Chinese people give the appearance of being polite. After they get to know each other, Chinese people will be even more welcoming. In fact, politeness is a virtue in China.

是呀，當中國人和外國人還不是很熟悉時，第一次見面是表現得比較客氣；而當他們很熟之後，人們常會表現得更爲熱情。禮貌待人是中華民族的傳統美德。

David：I also think politeness is a virtue, but generally speaking Americans are not as polite as Chinese are to foreigners. People from the U.S. could learn from the Chinese people's example.

我一直認爲禮貌待人應當是一種美德。但一般來講，美國人對待外國人就沒有中國人對待外國人那麼熱情了。美國人應當向中國人民學習。