Brazilians voted best tourists, Germans Worst

In a recent survey conducted by the American Board of Tourism, professionals in various areas of the tourism industry have rated Brazilians as the world's best tourists. The survey gave points for things like 'politeness,' 'willingness to understand and speak English' and 'cultural sensitivity.'People working in jobs ranging from taxi-drivers to hotel receptionists and airline flight attendants almost unanimously rated the Brazilians as being 'friendly' and 'polite.' The opposite seemed true of the Germans. "The Germans just don't seem to get it," said one manager of a hotel chain, based in New Orleans. "They're rude and impatient yet they expect service with a smile. They travel outside Germany yet want to have things just like at home. Plus, they never tip"

The best tippers are the Japanese, according to the survey. A travel agent representative explains: "The Japanese are afraid of 'losing face'. They'll do what they think is expected of them in the country they're visiting, so they're usually extremely polite. They rate very high in the cultural sensitivity category." The French scored extremely low in the 'willingness to understand and speak English' category. "It's amazing. They can be so rude and snobby," said a ticket agent at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. "You try to explain things to them and they answer you back in French. Not only that, they smoke too much — even where it's not allowed -and they're generally messy, leaving cigarettes and other rubbish on the floor. It's unbelievable." The summary of the Board's survey is given below:

 

Friendliest nationalities:	Most polite:	Willingness to understand and speak English:	Most culturally-sensitive:
1. Brazilians	1. Japanese	1. Brazilians	1. Brazilians
2. Japanese	2. Brazilians	2. Dutch	2. Japanese
3. Koreans	3. British	3. Swiss	3. Romanians
4. Canadians	4. Spanish	4. Hungarians	4. Egyptians
5. Portuguese	5. Koreans	5. Poles	5. Koreans

Discuss with your partner what you underlined in the text.

True or false?

Read the text again and mark the statements below true (T) or false (F):

 

1.People all over the world think Brazilians are the best tourists.

2. The Japanese are often afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing when travelling.

3. The French are generally not very happy to speak English.

4. The Germans want to get a real feel for the local lifestyle when they travel.

5. The Germans are happy to show their appreciation for good service.

6. The French don't seem to be very tidy when they travel.

 

If your nationality is not mentioned In the four categories in the survey, do you think it should be?

Language

The article describes the Brazilians as 'polite' and the Germans as 'rude.' Below are some more words from the article and some other ones to describe character. Match the words on the left with their opposites on the right:

a. quiet b. mean c. rude d. unfriendly e. messy f. intolerant

1.polite

2. friendly

3. loud

4. generous

5. open-minded

6. tidy

Do the same with these:

g. impatient h. warm i. boring j. dishonest k. aggressive l. calm

7. honest

8. gentle

9. patient

 

10. fun

11.excitable

12. distant

How do you think people from other countries see people from your country? Would they use any of the adjectives above?

Discussion

Work in pairs or small groups. Which nationalities do you think are being described below?

 

1.They're always in big groups.

2. They talk too loud.

3. The men are womanisers.

4. They're good dancers.

5. They smoke too much.

6. They're all fat.

7. They think they're the best.

8. They're violent people, I think.

9. They're so mean. They count every penny.

 

10. They talk with their hands.

11.They're bad drivers.

12. They're all rich.

13. They always want things done their way.

14. The women are beautiful.

15. They're all blonde-haired and blue-eyed.

Do you think your discussion would have offended people from any of the countries you have been talking about? Do you mind if your country is talked about in the same way?

UNIT 14

 

EDUCATION

 

The Clichés for Rendering a Newspaper Article

1. The headline of the article is... (The article is headlined..., The headline of the article I've read is...)

2. The author of the article is...

3. The article is taken from the newspaper...

4. The central idea of the article is about... (The main idea of the article is... the article is devoted to... the article deals with... the article touches upon... the purpose of the article is to give the reader some information on... the aim of the article is to provide a reader with some material on...)

The article deals with........

The article is devoted to the analysis of....../the question on...../description

of......

The purpose of the article is to give the reader some information on.....

The aim of the article is to provide the reader with some data on.....

5. Give a summary of the article (no more than 10-20 sentences):

The author starts by telling the reader that....

The author points out

6. State the main problem discussed in the article and mark off the passages of the article that seem important to you:

The article expresses the view that

• Concentrates on

• Focuses the reader's attention on....

• (strongly)criticizes....

• (strongly) condemns/denounces....

• comes out against

• is apposed to....

• comes out in support of.... i. According to the text.......

Further on the author reports....

• The article (author/reporter, comiv.entator) goes on to say that.

It should be noted that.....

7. In conclusion......

The author (writer, columnist, commentator) comes to the conclusion

The article concludes by saying that...

The article under discussion raises the problem of ...

8. Point out the facts that turned out to be new for you.

9. Look through the text for figures, which are important for general understanding.

10. State what places of the article contradict your former views.

11. State the questions, which remained unanswered in the article and if it is possible add your tail to them.

12. Speak on the conclusion the author comes to.

13. Express your own point of view on the problem discussed.

1. Summarize the text below, using the clichés.

Pre-reading task: What applicants have more chances to be admitted to universities: graduates of lyceums, gymnasiums or average schools?