英语畅谈中国文化50主题 23

　　23. Exchange of Gifts
A: When offered a gift, a Chinese person will usually say “No, no, I can’t take it.” Even after he takes it, he does not always open it. On the contrary, a westerner will take the gift with appreciation¹ and open it immediately.
B: You know why? We Chinese believe that only a valuable gift is presentable and can best convey feelings. This is why Chinese people often use precious or expensive items as gifts. During the Mid-autumn Festival or the Moon Festival, people will buy well-packaged high-quality moon cakes for gifts and keep the ordinary ones for their own consumption². Because gifts are usually valuable items, people are reluctant to receive them out of consideration for the person who offers them.
A: Really? I never thought of that.
B: Westerners are different. For them, gifts are an expression of appreciation and don’t have to be very expensive. So, in receiving a souvenir, it is very appropriate to say thank you in return. It will certainly make the person even happier if you open it in front of him or her.
A: Chinese people paid great attention to gifts. Some people spend a lot of time and effort buying gifts before going abroad.
B: This is very different from the west. Before each public holiday, you can find a very large variety of gifts on display at supermarkets. They are very well wrapped and are inexpensive to buy. Most of the gifts are items for daily use. This saves people a lot of time looking for appropriate holiday gifts. On the other hand, a Chinese person seeks a gift which is decently³ priced, well-wrapped and has some unique meaning. It is always a challenge to buy a gift for a Chinese person. When people buy gifts for the overseas trips, they usually choose items with Chinese features, such as Beijing opera masks, fans and lots.
A: As more and more Chinese people go abroad and over-supply of Chinese gifts has occurred in many countries, Chinese gift items are not that unique anymore. A friend of mine is a university professor in U.S. She told me that at the end of the semester, she received three Beijing opera masks from her Chinese students. I also heard the Chinese fans are all over the place in Mexico.
B: What is an appropriate gift for a westerner?
A: Flowers、wine and chocolate are the three universal gifts that is suitable for all purposes. I sometimes wonder whether the Chinese saying “A gift may be insignificant⁴, but it carries tremendous friendship” originated⁵ in the west.

1 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

2 consumption   

n.消费，消耗，消费额，消耗量，结核病

参考例句：

• Consumption of oil has declined in recent years.石油消耗量在最近几年下降了。
• The meat was condemned as unfit for human consumption.这种肉已被宣布不适宜人们食用。

3 decently   

adv. 正派地，体面地，大方地，有礼地

参考例句：

• The children do not know how to behave themselves decently. 小孩子不懂如何举止得体。
• The new servant was decently dressed. 新来的佣人衣着得体。

4 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

5 originated   

v.起源于，来自，产生( originate的过去式和过去分词 )；创造；创始；开创

参考例句：

• The disease is thought to have originated in the tropics. 这种疾病据说起源于热带地区。
• The art of portrait miniatures was originated in England. 微型画像艺术创始于英国。 来自《简明英汉词典》