Енглески језик, Way up 1 Intermediate 1, уџбеник и радна свеска за енглески језик у првом разреду гимназије, Klett

3B Could I possibly …?
2 A Read the article.
The joy of not being ‘polite’
by Anna Pande
The other day, my husband and I were on our way to a party and
ended up getting a bit lost. All of a sudden, my husband pulled
the car up alongside a rickshaw and, without a word of greeting,
shouted out the name of our destination. The rickshaw driver, unperturbed,
shouted out some directions to him and we continued
on our journey. I was impressed.
1 A Children and teenagers often have to ask for permission to
do things. Some of the expressions that are used for polite
requests are given in the box. They go from 0 – blunt, rather
rude to 3 – very polite.
0 I want … I need …
1 May I …? Can I …? Can you …?
2 I’d like to (+ infinitive) May I …? Can I
…? Could I …? Could you …?
3 Could I … please? Could I possibly …?
Would you … please? I wonder if
I might …? Would you mind (+ing form)?
Do you mind if I (+ Present Simple verb)?
Would it be OK if I (+ Past Simple verb)?
If it’s all right with you, could I …?
Write requests for the following situations:
1 Ask the teacher to leave early today.
2 Ask your parent to wake you up a bit earlier
tomorrow.
3 Ask a friend if you can borrow his/her iPad.
4 Ask a friend if you can read his/her diary.
5 Ask your parent if a friend can stay with you
overnight.
6 Ask your parent if you can go to see a film
with a friend.
7 Ask the teacher if you can hand in your
homework a day late.
8 Ask a parent to watch the late night movie.
B With a partner, write a dialogue between a teenager
and a parent or guardian.
Someone your age wants to ask a parent if s/he can go
out to your friend’s birthday party on Saturday. Asking
very politely gives a better chance of success. S/he also
wants to come home later than usual – think of a good
reason. Finally, s/he would like some money to buy a
present to take to the party.
C Present your dialogue as a role-play to another group
or the class.
Listeners: tell the presenters what was good – or funny
– in their presentations. Would you do things in a
different way?
While I was delighted by the enthusiasm shown by the rickshaw
driver, I would advise any Indians in the UK not to try this approach.
If you are lucky, you may get some directions but you are sure to
ruffle some feathers. The reason is that, in the UK, we are notoriously
‘polite’ (I have put ‘polite’ in inverted commas because what
constitutes politeness varies from culture to culture). Any request
for information has to be prefaced by an, “Excuse me, would you
mind telling me …”, or “I’m sorry, I don’t suppose you would happen
to know …” OK, so these are somewhat extreme examples but they
are not uncommon. A famous postcard which features a cartoon
of two drowning men and the title, “How to get around in English”
says it all. The first drowning man, presumably not a native English
speaker, is shouting “HELP” in an attempt to attract the attention
of a passer-by but to no avail. The second drowning man, on
the contrary, uses the words, “Excuse me Sir, I’m terribly sorry to
bother you but I wonder if you would mind helping me a moment,
as long as it’s no trouble of course.” The reaction? The passer-by is
only too happy to help him!
Having grown up in the UK, I am accustomed to being ‘polite’, in
the British sense of the word. British children, for example, are
taught to use the words “Please” and “Thank you” from a very
young age. “Please”, in particular, is portrayed as being a “magic
word” for getting things done.
Unfortunately, my attempts at politeness often backfire in India.
Instead of coming across as a gesture of respect, they are interpreted
as attempts to distance myself. For example, members of
my (Indian) family will ask me, “Why are you saying “thank you” –
we’re family?!” I have had to explain that, even with my mum and
sister, I will use the words “please” and “thank you” because, well,
it’s only polite.
By the same token, I am often taken aback by Indian attempts
to be friendly. For example, when an Indian friend of mine says
to me, “Why didn’t you call me?”, I know they are just telling me
that my call is important to them and, therefore, affirming that I
am a friend of theirs. However, if the same words were spoken by
a friend of mine from the UK, I would know that they were really
annoyed with me!
On the whole, I think I am getting used to, and indeed enjoying, the
Indian attitude to politeness, although I do find it hard to stop myself
from saying “Please” and “Thank you” several times a day. This
is probably just as well because, by phasing out these words from
my vocabulary, I could land up in trouble when visiting the UK!
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Забрањено је репродуковање, умножавање, дистрибуција, објављивање, прерада и друга употреба овог ауторског дела или његових делова у било ком обиму и поступку, укључујући
фотокопирање, штампање, чување у електронском облику, односно чињење дела доступним јавности жичним или бежичним путем на начин који омогућује појединцу индивидуални приступ делу
са места и у време које он одабере, без писмене сагласности издавача. Свако неовлашћено коришћење овог ауторског дела представља кршење Закона о ауторском и сродним правима.