In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts in the world. The guest-host relationship in China is much more different than that in some western countries, and western guests sometimes look rude in the eyes of Chinese guests.

In China, guests are almost like gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese person’s home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the west, generally the guest is not a god. Acting according to the host’s way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

My wife’s mother, a very kind elderly Chinese lady, doesn’t smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non-smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually I want to stop them directly, but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In most North American homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. You could ask, “Is it OK if I smoke?” But, don’t be surprised if they say, “No, you can’t smoke.”

Guests in China also have special habits. Some western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite foreign guests to your home, don’t be too surprised if they don’t bring you a gift.

In China, you probably won’t need to change the guest-host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.

【小题1】Many foreigners think that Chinese hosts are the ______ in the world.

A．best

B．worst

C．most natural

D．most difficult

【小题2】When a western guest visits a Chinese family, he often _______.

A．buys some fruit	B．feels like a god
C．wants some gifts	D．takes a cup of tea

【小题3】If the writer’s guests want to smoke in his house, what will he probably say?

A．It’s OK if you smoke here.	B．Let’s smoke together.
C．Sorry, you can’t smoke here.	D．Smoking is a bad habit.

【小题4】What is the meaning of the underlined phrase “adapt to” in the passage?

A．think back to	B．get used to
C．look forward to	D．keep close to

【小题5】What is the main idea of this passage?

A．Foreigners should learn from Chinese.

B．Hosts must do things in the guest’s way.

C．Western hosts are always nice to guests.

D．People should understand cultural differences.