英语论文网

there are many differences even within the United States. Men use their eyes in different ways women do; there are differences of age, class or social status and geographical region; there are differences of ethnic background.

The story is told of a teenage Puerto Rican girl in a New York high school who was taken with a number of other girls to the principal for suspected smoking. Although there was no proof of any wrongdoing and although she had a good record, the principal decided she was guilty and suspended her. “There was something sly and suspicious about her,” he said in his report. “She just wouldn’t meet my eye. She wouldn’t look at me.”

When she was questioned by the principal it was true that she kept staring at the floor and refused to meet his eye. And in English there is a saying “Don’t trust anyone who won’t look at you in the eye.” It so happened that one of the teachers had a Latin American background and knew about Puerto Rican culture. After talking with the girl’s parents, he went to the principal and explained that according to Puerto Rican culture, a good girl “does not meet the eyes of an adult.” Such behavior, he explained, “is a sign of respect and obedience.”
3.1.4 Smiles and laughter

There are 50 or so different types of human smiles. By analyzing the movements of over 80 facial muscles involved in smiling, researchers can tell when a smile is true. Look for the crinkle in the skin at the middle, outside corner of the eyes and if it is not there, the smile is probably fake. Authentic smiles are smiles that change rapidly from a small facial movement to a broad open expression

Smiles and laughter usually convey friendliness, approval, satisfaction, pleasure, joy and merriment. This is generally true in China as well as the English-speaking countries. However, there are situations when some Chinese will laugh that will cause negative reactions by westerners. To illustrate, here is an excerpt from a letter by an American to a Chinese friend on nonverbal gestures that often cause cross-cultural misunderstanding: “…One is the different meaning of laughter in China and American. When an American is parking his bicycle, for example, and the bicycle accidentally falls over, he feels embarrassed at his awkwardness, and is quite angered and humiliated when Chinese onlookers laugh. I have seen the same thing happen in the dining room, when a foreigner drops a plate quite by accident and feels badly and Chinese onlookers laugh, compounding his discomfort and causing anger and bad feeling.” Such laughter, of course, is not at the person or his misfortune—whether he be a foreigner or a Chinese. It can convey a number of feelings: don’t take it so seriously; laugh it off, it’s nothing; such things can happen to any of us, etc. However, for people unaware of this attitude, the reaction to such laughter is usually quite unpleasant and often generates ill feeling towards those laughing.

In eastern Asian countries, people do not readily show emotions. They are conditioned to use the face to conceal rather than reveal their feelings. For example, the Japanese smile is not necessarily a spontaneous expression of amusement, but a law of etiquette, elaborated and cultivated from early times. It is a silent language, often seemingly inexplica