Americans are careful about how and when they meet one another’s eyes. In their normal conversation, each eye contact lasts only about a second before one or both individuals look away. When two Americans look searchingly into each other’s eyes, emotions are raised and the relationship becomes more intimate ( 亲密的 ). Therefore, they carefully avoid this, except in appropriate circumstances.
Proper street behaviour in the United States requires a nice balance of attention and inattention. You are supposed to look at a passer-by (路人) just enough to show that you’re aware of his presence. If you look too little, you appear haughty (傲慢的) or secretive; too much and you’re inquisitive. Usually what happens is that people eye each other until they are about eight feet apart, at which point both cast down their eyes. In England the polite listener stares at the speaker attentively and blinks (眨眼的) his eyes occasionally as a sign of interest. That eye-blink
[听力原文] 11-15
Americans, like many people elsewhere in the world, like to invite friends to their homes for en evening of food, drink and conversation. Formal dinners in fine homes and hotels in the U. S. are much the same as formal dinners anywhere in the world. But as most people in the U. S. have no servants, their dinner parties at home tend to be informal. Guests may sit sown at a table ,or, as many new small homes have no separate dining room or very small dining space, guests can also serve themselves and eat in the living room ,holding their plates or trays on their knees.
A more enjoyable form of entertainment is the picnic. Americans are great picnickers and almost every family has a picnic basket. Summer invitations are often for a picnic at a park or in the open countryside. Unless hamburgers or hot dogs are cooked over a fire, picnic food is usually cold.
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