A：Hey, look at these paintings on the wall! Aren’t they beautiful? Linda bought some good paintings.

喂，看墙上这些画!它们难道不漂亮吗?琳达买的油画真不错。

B：Yeah, very impressive. Oh, this one’s marvelous!

是啊，很令人钦佩。噢，这幅画很了不起哦!

C：Sure, they’re very colorful.

当然，它们很鲜艳。

D：Thank you. You are very generous with your compliments.

谢谢你们。你们真乐于夸奖别人。

A：You know the first thing most Chinese students would ask is how much did this painting cost?

你知道大部分中国学生第一件会问的事便是,这画多少钱?

B：Right. I’ve noticed that too. They always ask that question before they say anything else.

是啊。我也注意到了。在他们说其它话之前，他们老喜欢问那个问题。

C：That’s true. Most Chinese do that. I don’t know why. It’s just a habit. I’ve noticed that foreigners often make compliments soon after they see a product someone has bought - even if they don’t really mean it.

的确是这样。许多中国人都这样做。我不知道为什么。只是个习惯。我注意到了外国人看见别人买的东西常常会马上称赞一番——即使他们并不真正发自内心。

A：Yeah, we’re just different. We can’t figure out why many Chinese people don’t give big hugs to their own parents after they grow up.

是啊，我们就是不一样。我们不明白为什么许多中国人成年以后就不再拥抱他们自己的父母亲。

C：No, we don’t do that. At least very few people I know do that.

不，我们不这么做。至少我认识的人中很少人会这样。

B：And as far as I know, it’s not common for a Chinese to say, I love you to anyone including his or her soul mate.

而且据我所知，对于一个中国人来说，说声我爱你是很不常见的，即使对他们的心上人。

D：Cindy, please don’t misunderstand. We’re not saying that one way is better than another. They’re just different, that’s all.

辛迪，你不要误会。我们不是在说哪一个比另一个好。它们只是不同，就这样。

C：I know. Americans say those three words a lot, especially in movies. I wonder if they really mean it.

我知道。美国人说这三个字说得特别多，尤其在电影里。我想知道他们是否是说真的。

B：We do, most of the time. Sometimes we tell our loved ones that we’re proud of them too. Words are important.

大部分时间，我们是说真的。有时候我们也告诉我们爱着的人我们很为他们自豪。言语是重要的。