内容正文:
话题提分练13 必修4 Unit 4
人际沟通、社会与文化
限时40分钟
阅读理解 (2023·皖江名校联考) 体裁:说明文 话题:跨文化沟通 难度:★★★☆☆
“One day I went to a Swedish friends house and while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready. And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate!” an Internet user shared on a media platform. Consequently, there was a lot of criticism of the Swedes. Many said they wouldnt dream of being so mean in their culture. Would a host in Sweden really not invite a guest to join their meal if its dinnertime?
It does happen, says Richard Tellstrom, a food historian at Stockholm University. He says this so⁃called “non⁃hospitality” was customary when he was a kid in the 60s and 70s. If he was over a friends house and it was time for dinner, he would return home to eat. Or he would stay and wait in another room while his friend finished his meal. Then theyd continue playing.
“Some Swedes think feeding a guest creates a sense of duty.” explains Tellstrom. “And in a society that values equality and independence, people dont want to put a burden on someone or feel like they owe someone something.” However, it wasnt a universal rule. Families in the countryside, for example, were more likely to feed guests. People lived farther apart, so it wasnt as easy for people to go home and eat. The “no dinner for you” policy has slowly faded, says Tellstrom. “Since the 1990s, food has become a new symbol in society. We have open kitchens. People like to dine there and show off their cooking.”
But non⁃sharing hosts havent entirely disappeared, says Mohini Mehta, a food scholar. She admits she had a tough time adjusting to life in Sweden when she moved there in 2020. She was used to cooking dinner every day for friends and hosting dinner parties almost weekly in India. She learned that in some cultures, like her own, sharing a meal with someone is a way to break the ice—but this isnt always the case for Swedes.
瑞典人不好客,很多时候,他们并不会邀请客人共享食物。但并非所有国家都这样。文章对这