Gestures in Different Cultures
A gesture which means one thing in one country may well mean something quite different to those living in another．The ring gesture，where you form an “O” by holding me tip of your forefinger to the tip of your thumb，____1___in Britain that you think something is good．Take a trip to France，and you may fail to impress your French host when you use it to tell him your _____2____ of his new car， for in France it means zero or worthless．Travel further south and you are in even greater____3___，for in Tunisia it means “I’ll kill you!” Similar problems occur on the other side of the Atlantic．Try to avoid these _____4____by using another gesture to indicate that you think something is good and you may still find yourself in trouble．In Britain and the US the thumbs—up sign is ____5_____when you think something is good， but elsewhere，as in Sardinia，it is an ____6_____．In Britain the gesture is also used for hitch—hiking．But if you attempt using it to request a lift from a passing motorist in Greece or Italy，you had better _____7____well back from the edge of the road．It is quite likely that he will_____8____you down，for in Greece it is an insult．Pulling down the lower lid of your eye with one finger is usually used to indicate alertness．In France and Greece it means much the same as “My eye!” in England，meaning “Don’t you think I can see it?” In Spain and Italy it is also related to being____9____，but there it is used as a warning：“Keep your eyes open．"In South America，it means you think that a woman is “eyeful”，very ___10____．
A. misunderstandings
E. knock
I. insult
B. used
F. avoid
J. alert
C. means
G. attractive
K. foolish
D. stand
H. opinion
L. trouble
1.C 2.H 3.L 4.A 5.B 6.I 7.D 8.E 9.J 10.G
