After coming to America, the use of “yes” and “no” brings me a lot of trouble, because the use in Korea (韩语) is a different from that in English. For example, if I am asked, “Haven’t you had dinner yet?” and I have not had dinner yet, then in Korean I usually say “Yes, I haven’t.” But in English, I have to say, “No, I haven’t.”

Because of this, my friends often get the opposite meaning from what I want to give them. One day only a month after I came to America, I had dinner with an American student, Bob. He asked me some questions and I answered them sincerely. A few days later, I found some roommates thought that I came from North Korea. One day I stopped by Bob’s room and asked why he was spreading the wrong information. “Oh, you told me that. Don’t you remember?” he said, “When I asked you ‘You are not from North Korea, are you?’, you clearly answered, ‘Yes, of course.’ Didn’t it mean that you are from North Korea?”

The different use also causes problems between my friends and me. One weekend night, my roommate Mark brought his children into the dorm(宿舍). They make some noise while playing. I didn’t mind the noise since I was just watching TV. The next morning, I met Mark. He asked me with a smile, “Didn’t my children make noise last night? Didn’t it make you uncomfortable?” Because I did not mind the noise at all, I clearly said “Yes!” The smile suddenly disappeared from Mark’s face, and he said, “I am sorry about that. They are going right now. See you later.” I could not understand what he was sorry about, and I just said, “OK. Bye!” After a moment of thinking, I realized how stupid I was. That evening, I explained to Mark and said sorry to him. I knew he thought that I had been very rude.

Now to deal with this problem, I have set simple rules: First, take a five-second break if I am not sure of “yes” or “no”. Second, use “Pardon me”, so the person may explain to me in a direct way.

If someone says to you“give me five ”, do not look for five yuan for him in your wallet! The person is not asking for your money, but your hand.

In America, “give me five ” or “give me the high five ” is very popular. You can often see it in films and on TV. It means clapping (拍击) of each other's right hands together.

People sometimes do it when they celebrate something good. For example(例如), the football players will give the high fives to everyone around to celebrate when their team wins a game.

“Give me five ” may come from the old Roman gesture of raising the right arm for the emperor（皇帝）. It shows that the person does not keep any sharp things in his hand. It is not dangerous for the emperor to meet this person.

Well, what are you waiting for? Try “give me five ” with your friends.

Pig Idioms

【小题1】

In English, the word "pig" has many idioms. Now, as the year of the Pig is coming, why not pick up some of them?

【小题2】

Let's begin with some very interesting expressions. We all know pigs spend a large amount of time eating. As a result, many pigs are fat. In English, we use the idiom "eat like a pig" to describe people who eat a lot. These people rarely care about table manners. Similarly, we use the idiom "fat as a pig" to describe a very fat person. Please note that it can be rude to use these two idioms.

【小题3】

Another interesting idiom to learn is "lipstick on a pig". We use this idiom to say that no matter how well we decorate an ugly product, it is still ugly. Even the most expensive lipstick cannot fix it!

【小题4】

"Guinea pig" is an idiom we often see in English articles. It refers to an animal or a person that is used in experiments. Interestingly, the guinea pig is actually not a pig. It is a rat that has short legs and no tail. Many children keep the animal as a pet.

【小题5】

The last Idiom we are going to learn today is "pig in a poke". It describes something that is not as valuable as it seems to be. A poke is a big bag. In old times, when people bought pigs, they must first check them out. Some pigs might be ill. They weren't worth their price tags at all!