Track: English Studies Instructor: Prof.

Noamane
Course: Reading Comprehension and Précis 1 Academic year: 2019-2020

READ CAREFULLY THE FOLLOWING TEXT AND THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW.

1.The Importance of Hello Greetings are a socialization behavior that most people take for
granted because greetings are so pervasive in society. But from a young age, people are taught
the appropriate greetings for different circumstances.

2. Studying everyday life can help us better understand why we act the ways we do. Sociologist
Erving Goffman points out that greetings are part of our face-to-face contacts, phone
conversations, and letters.

3. One area that greetings illuminate is status. For example, which person says “hello” first and
how someone is greeted can be part of the stratification system in a society. In the past, a man
removed his hat and bowed to greet a prince or king; this behavior showed his lower rank in
the society. This greeting became truncated over time. Later, people began to greet equals by
just lifting the hat and then by touching the hat. Finally, a motion toward the hat was enough
of a greeting among friends.

4. Greetings also show cultural differences. In France, people kiss each other on the cheeks as
a friendly, everyday greeting, but this type of behavior is not the norm in the United States. In
fact, activities that are acceptable in one country may seem odd or even be taboo in another
country. Learning what is acceptable and what is prohibited is important for travelers,
especially for those conducting international business. In the United Sates, most business
introductions begin with a firm, short (three- to four-second) handshake. In Europe, business
associates also shake hands, but the handshake is usually more formal. Business greetings in
Europe rarely display the friendly backslaps that are sometimes seen in the United States. In
Japan, people customarily bow as a greeting, and many business people have learned to look
carefully at how the bow is done. The depth of a bow reflects the status between the two people.
In Arab countries, men often greet each other with a hand on the right shoulder and a kiss on
each cheek. Though a handshake is usually used when meeting people from other regions, it
may be done with two hands and be more of a handhold. In Latin American countries, male
friends hug each other when they meet, and women kiss each other on the cheeks. In business
settings, the handshake is typically the norm at first; however, after a third or fourth meeting,
a hug might be given. Visitors are generally allowed some flexibility in greeting ceremonies,
but because greetings are so ingrained, a native of a country may be ostracized if he or she fails
to follow proper behavior.

5. Linguist C. A. Ferguson, as an informal experiment, decided to deviate from conventional

greeting behavior at work. For two days in a row, he didn’t respond to his secretary’s “good
morning.” He reported that the atmosphere was unpleasant on the first day and tense on the
second day. By the third day, to alleviate the stress and save their working relationship, he
discontinued the experiment. What people say and do in what may seem like simple greetings
can have more importance than people imagine.

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Track: English Studies Instructor: Prof. Noamane
Course: Reading Comprehension and Précis 1 Academic year: 2019-2020

Questions

I. Comprehension

1. What is the main idea of the text?

2. Can you suggest an appropriate title for the text?
3. Explain why the author considers greeting a socialization behavior
4. According to the author, how does greeting illuminate social status? Provide an
example to illustrate your answer.
5. What was Ferguson’s main goal behind his informal experiment?

II. Language
1. Find in the text the synonyms of the following words:

a. habitually: d. abbreviated:
e. clarify:
b. forbidden:
f. suitable:
c. weird:

2. Provide the antonyms of the following words:

a. prohibited d. alleviate
e. pervasive
b. truncated
f. display
c. ostracized

3. Identify what part of speech the following words are; then derive other parts of speech from
them:
Word Part of speech Derivatives

a. stratification
b. depth
c. acceptable
d. imagine
e. unpleasant

4. Find in the text the collocations listed below. What does each one mean? Put them into
sentences of your own
a. to take for granted;
b. in a row;
5. Summarize paragraph four: use your own words and try to maintain the original meaning
6. Paraphrase paragraph one

III. discussion
1. What do you think about the different ways people greet each other in Morocco?
2. Provide two examples of social behavior that differ from one culture to another.