(1)
Don’t Ask About It 不要打听
I attended a strange birthday party a few years ago. My teacher was then 58 years old. But her fellow teacher said we were celebrating her 39th birthday! We were all surprised and puzzled.
After the party I was told by the fellow teacher that American women have a special saying about birthday. If a woman is over 40, or even if she is 80, her birthday is always the 39th. If she is in her thirties, her birthday will be the 29th. And in her twenties, it’s the 19th. They usually have their “real” birthdays when they are below 20.
This shows that American women, especially older women, are very sensitive about their ages. But my teacher always says, “We want to be younger.” So about the age of western women, my advice is that if you don’t know it, don’t ask it; if you really know it, don’t mention it.
(2)
Animal Communication 动物的交流方式
Animals communicate in a variety of ways. One way is by sound: A dog barks when a stranger comes near. A cat purrs when pleased. A squirrel may utter a cry that leads other squirrels to flee from danger. Some birds can make several different sounds, each with its own meaning. For example, a bird may communicate by a call that a territory is his and should not be encroached upon.
Another means of animal communication is odor. An ant releases a chemical when it dies, and its fellows then carry it away to the compost heap.
Another means of communication is body movement. When a bee has found some food, it goes back to its home. It cannot tell the other bees where the food is by speaking to them, but it does a little dance in the air. This tells other bees where the food is. There is one more example here. When a rabbit sees something dangerous, it runs away at once. Its tail moves up and down as it runs. The other rabbits see this tail moving up and down, and they run too. They know that there is danger. The rabbit has told them something without making a sound. It has given them a signal.
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