点击职业英语四册 新增部分答案Book 3 Unit 1 Workplace Communication.docVIP

Practical Reading and Writing: Workplace Communication --- Book 3 Unit 1 9. Practical Reading: Workplace Communication A. Read this text about cultural communication. The workplace often seems very international. Colleagues, customers, suppliers, investors and even owners may have different nationalities. Being sensitive to different cultural expectations and behaviour helps maintain harmony in business. The workplace often seems very international. Colleagues, customers, suppliers, investors and even owners may have different nationalities. Being sensitive to different cultural expectations and behaviour helps maintain harmony in business. For example, North Americans expect to shake hands firmly. They maintain steady eye contact when they meet others and a smile shows pleasure and good nature. They like almost a meter of personal space and are casual about business cards. Asians often smile when they are happy, sad, angry, frustrated, embarrassed or even confused. They think a lot of eye contact is disrespectful and they are used to limited personal space. They consider business cards to be very important, studying them seriously and referring to them during meetings. Handshakes are likely to be brief. Men from the Middle East may not be comfortable shaking hands with women. They may smile to help prevent conflict rather than as a greeting and they are more comfortable in crowds than are Americans. Of course, all these examples are generalizations and may not be true of all people from each culture. However, it is interesting to learn about other cultures and very useful when working for an international company. Personal space = the area immediately around a person in which others should not intrude. Personal space = the area immediately around a person in which others should not intrude. Eye contact = looking into the eyes of another person, it is different from staring but more than just looking. A generalization = something affecting most people.