ibunka TB_U10

1 Marie , French, artist, lives in Japan As a French person, I agree with the remark concerning French society. When I need help, I tend to just talk to my friends about my problems without asking for help directly, in order to avoid putting pressure on them.

TRUE FALSE

→ Marie believes that asking her friends directly for help would have a negative affect on their relationship.

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2 Joey , American, teacher, lives in Japan I suppose that Americans are rather direct. Especially with people we’re close to, we just say, "Hey, could you do me a favor?" or use some other casual expression. And it can be okay to say no to a request without suffering any lasting damage to the relationship.

TRUE FALSE

→ Joey would probably only ever ask a favor of his friends using very formal language.

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3 Lesley , Australian, biologist, has lived in Japan Australians generally ask favors of others directly but politely. I have the feeling that hinting at a problem might be seen as slippery or even somehow dishonest, since it’s generally a culture which prides itself on straight, honest communication.

TRUE FALSE

→ According to Lesley, in Australian culture it’s probably better to explain honestly what you want when asking for favors.

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4 Patricia , Hungarian, student, lives in Japan In Japan, my experience is that usually it is enough to describe your problem, and the other person will understand that you are asking for help. In that sense, it is the complete opposite of Hungary. In Hungary, if you were to ask a favor simply by describing your situation, you would probably receive a response like "So?" or "I see."

TRUE FALSE

→ Patricia says that the way in which people ask for favors in Hungary is exactly the same as in Japan.

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UNIT 10 | COMPREHENSION