Even a child knows that nodding the head means "Yes". But some people will probably be puzzled
when they first come to India. When they talk to an Indian, he often shakes his head. They might think
that the Indian does not like what he said, but on the contrary he is expressing agreement.
The Indians have a habit of shaking their heads slightly when they talk to somebody. It doesn't mean
"No", but "Yes".
If a person doesn't know this, it might cause misunderstanding.
At one time a foreigner in Indian told his driver who was an Indian to take him to his office. The driver
shook his head. The foreigner repeated his request and the driver shook his head again. At last, the
foreigner shouted angrily, "Drive me to my office at once!" The driver said in a low voice, "Yes, sir,"
smiling and shaking his head again at the same time.
1. Generally speaking, nodding the head means _______, and shaking the head means _______.
A. Yes; No
B. No; Yes
C. Yes; Yes
D. No; No
2. Why did the Indian driver shake his head when the foreigner asked him to drive him to his office?
Because _________.
A. the Indian driver had something important to do
B. the foreigner promised to give him only a little money
C. the driver felt uncomfortable at that time
D. in India shaking the head means agreement
3. Why did the foreigner become angry? Because _______.
A. the Indian driver didn't want to send him to his office
B. he misunderstood the meaning of shaking the head in India
C. he asked the driver to send him to his office, but the Indian driver didn't say any words
D. the Indian driver asked him for a lot of money
4. The underlined phrase "on the contrary" means ________.
A. just the opposite
B. clear difference between two things
C. doing what you want to do
D. on the other hand
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