傑瑞：我知道了。許多人如今都在學英語。但是當我在街道上聽到有人對我說哈羅的時候感覺有點怪異。這個詞通常用於打電話。所以這讓我感覺街上的所有人都在打電話。
Li Ming: e people are friendly. We are also curious about people from afar. What you’ve just said is an example of such a feeling.
李明：中國人都非常友善。我們通常對於遠方來的人很好奇。你剛剛說的恰恰就是一例。
Jerry: But occasionally, some people tend to be over-enthusiastic. I was reading in a subway o summer day when a young man looked at my arm and asked, “Don’t you feel hot with so much hair on your arm?” I have a five-year-old son. And sometimes people like to touch his face or even hold him up in the arms. He doesn’t like that. So I have to explain to him that is the e way of showing affe.
傑瑞：但是有時候，一些人過度熱情了。記得在一個炎熱的夏天，當我在地鐵站看報紙的時候有個年輕人看著我的手臂問：“你的手臂那麼多汗毛不覺得熱嗎？”我有一個五歲的兒子。有時人們喜歡摸他的臉，甚至把他抱在胳膊上。他不喜歡這樣，所以我不得不向他解釋說這是中國人表達喜愛的方式。
Li Ming: That’s just like what we read in “A neighbor is more dependable than a distaive.” Today’s a has evolved from its agricultural ins, where there was limited mobility. Tho old traditions have given ri to a unique level of humaionship, which doesn’t aodate personal privacy. People treat each other like one big family. The level of ess is easily visible in everyday greetings such as “Have you eaten?” and “Where are you going?” Even during first enters, e people may still ask such questions as “Are you married?” “How old are you?” or other questions which may be very personal to westerner. Or you should learn to appreciate it rather than feeling offended.
李明：這就像我們所說的“遠親不如近鄰”。中國的發展源自於流動性很低的農業。那些傳統導致了這種獨一無二的人際關係，即不太顧及個人隱私。人們對待彼此就像一家人。這種親近很容易在每天的打招呼中看出來，比如“吃了嗎？”和“你去哪兒？”。甚至在第一次見麵時，中國人仍然會提出諸如“你結婚了嗎？”“你多大了”或者其他一些在西方人看來非常私人的問題。或許你應當學著去理解他而非感到被侵犯。
Jerry: I’ve got it. This is e hospitality just like the person who shared your neer. I remember some of my western friends tellihat sometimes they will either charge less or offer more when doing the grocery shopping. Again this is all about e hospitality.
傑瑞：我知道了。就像有的人和你共享報紙是中國好客的表現。我記得一些西方朋友曾告訴我他們購物時有時會少付錢或獲得更多的東西，這也是中國好客的表現。
Li Ming: Well, it ems I am an unlucky person becau I’ve never been in a situation where people are willing to charge me less.
李明：這麼看起來我是個不走運的人，因為我沒有遇到過少付錢的狀況。