When my family moved to America in 2010 from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect(尊敬) elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words.
By Jack
小题1:Jack brought the couple their food very fast because _______.
A．the manager asked him to do so
B．he respected the elderly
C．the couple wanted him to do so
D．he wanted more pay小题2:When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became _______.
A．nervous
B．satisfied
C．unhappy
D．excited小题3: In Jack’s hometown, _______.
A．people dislike being called “old”
B．people are proud of being old
C．many people reach the age of seventy or eighty
D．the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants小题4: Which of the following is TRUE?
A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got.
B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience.
C．The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple.
D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture.
