Refusing and Accepting Gifts
收礼还是不收礼

You：My mother always taught me that when somebody offers you a gift you should first refuse it before you accept it.
(My mother always taught me：这是带有玩笑意味的表达法。人们也会这样说“didn’t your mother ever teach you …？”)小时候，我妈妈常跟我说如果别人给你礼物你应该先拒绝然后再收下。

David：I think in the American culture, you usually directly say whether you want or don’t want something. 美国人通常直接说想要或不想要。

You：中国春节有个习俗，亲戚要给小孩子压岁钱。在家里过完年以后，我父母会带我去走亲戚。他们给我钱的时候，我要尽力拒绝，直到他们把钱塞进我的口袋。我必须这样做，但现在我们可以大方地拿着，说“谢谢”。 In China during Spring Festival, it’s customary for relative to give younger children money. After celebrating at home, my parents used to take me to visit some of our relatives. When they offered me money, I always refused it until they shoved it into my pocket. That was the only way I could accept it. But now we can accept gifts directly and just say “thank you”.

David：So the traditions and customs are changing? 由此可见，人们的传统习俗是在不断变化的。

You：是的。我认为中国人在逐渐地接受西方文化。

David：How about you? Do you think it is important to learn some western customs? 你觉得了解西方的传统文化是很重要的吗？

You：Yes. We should learn western customs and cultures so we can establish friendships with people from different countries. 是的。我们要同世界各个民族建立友谊，我们就必须了解他们的文化。

David：You’re right. I think it’s a good thing. It’s meaningless and silly to try to understand people whose culture you do not understand.(it’s a good thing：“it’s a good thing”和“is that a good thing”都表示不太清楚对方对某事的看法。通常的回答是“yes, it’s a good thing”或“no, it’s not a good thing”。) 我也觉得是这样的。这样很好。毕竟跟一个你根本就不懂他的文化的人谈话，是很没意思的。