ead the blog post. om © 2012, PopAnth. Used by permission London. The subway. My train suddenly stops in the middle ecneitieg fi is a pass with no announcement. Time drags until, finally, I catch the ey tec a next to me and we exchange a few words. Then I notice two near a smirking’ at us from the other end of the carriage. Have I done something wrong? I realize that | have broken the golden social » rule:nevertalkto strangers, even ifout-of-the- ordinary events are occurring. It strikes me 4 as quite perverse*. City dwellers everywhere go to great lengths to protect their personal 4 space. But in the case of a possible emergency, » isn’t this going a little too far? geen nan ere Last year, back in Sydney, | had the opposite experience. Having just flown in after an absence of six months, | was stunned to notice how friendly people were to strangers. Everywhere | went, | spied people striking up cometsations with people whom they evidently didn’t know. These werentt just vague’, « impersonal conversations, either. Names, dates, places, hopes, and dreame were all lbruveaamamet’ Tevealed in the space of approximately five minutes, (Vm told that Australian men will tine theinfermationin even talk to strangers while peeing’ into a urinal—an ‘expression of intimacy if ever I've _ Pe heard one.) inea way inwhich ians might show. ‘al behavior. mean way ¢ Smirk y, to smileand laugh in * vague adj. unclear Dervese a cntan nha sees + peeu tout ‘stunned adj. very ‘surprised bi oesall Australians) feel that we have the right to interact with strangers if we feel like it, and the obligation to respond if people interact with us. We feel that we should be able to treat each other as intimate’ friends, even if we have never met before in our lives. However, we also feel that we have the right to reprimand’ other people if they don't behave in accordance with our social rules. In other words, our claim to intimacy makes us social and antisocial at the same time. The English have exactly the opposite rule. Indeed, not only should you never talk to » strangers; you aren't even allowed to give away the most basic information to people you meet in private. Standing next to a stranger at a party? You can talk about the weather as a way to break the ice, but you don't dare to offer your name, or ask the other person what they do for a living. In her hilarious* book Watching the English, Kate Fox explains that if you want to get to know someone, you must trick them into giving you © information by asking indirect questions. "Nosy parker" is the worst insult that someone can throw at you, So, why the difference? It may have a lot to do with what we think constitutes an ideal society. In Australia, we believe that © egalitarianism’ and *mateship* are at the core of our identity. To refuse to talk to other people is to treat them as inferior. In England, Fox tells us, many of the rules about privacy are set up to maintain the class system: "keeping to yourself” means that it will be difficult to get to know members of another class. The problem with this theory of difference is thatit only tells us what people think should be done, not what they actually do. In reality, Australia is also a classed society, and the English also have many ways of maintaining egalitarianism. Plus, both societies are changing, As Australia becomes wealthier, the gap between rich and poor increases. It seems that our new hobby isto buy into exclusive suburbs”, build high walls round our houses, and drive to work. Conversely", as English people travel more and their society becomes increasingly multicultural, people are questioning the class system and rules » about privacy are losing their attraction. Could it be that we will eventually develop the same rules of social interaction? ifso,m going to seek out those two young men on the tain and make them talk with me. they talk, | will ive them a hug. If they refuse, then I can seek comfort in the fact that | have the right to hit them for their social transgression”. © intimate adj. highly personal egalitarianism n. equality : > reprimand v.to criticize someone '° suburb n. an area just outside of a city where people live ‘or bad behavior 1. conversely adv. on the other hand * hilarious adi. very fanny © transgression 1. wrongdoing (0 Whats the *hug oe hit” rule? How does apply to ‘ustraians? How about the Enis? Underine the Information in the passage. (CIs the author making an argument in this paragraph? IfS0, whats the conclusion? Undertine it (0 How might the socat behaviors of tondoners and Sydneysiders change in the future?W Reading 1 AE the graphic organizer MAPPING IDEAS Organize the ideas from Reading 1. Review the passage and fill below. Penns es oad Londoners: Sydneysiders: + Typically never ' to strangers + Are friendly with ? + Don't give out basic? + Feel they have the*__with (not even name) strangers J i Reasons: Reasons: + Ideas about privacy help * + Value and + Keeping to oneself means that its hard to + To refuse to talk is to treat the other person get to know members of ® as* FOCUS ON CONTENT “Ocenpcheion @ Circle the main idea of the Passage below. For e: reason why it is not the main idea. ach of the other sentences, check the 2 Hondoners typically never talk to strangers, even if out-of-the-ordinary events occur. — | too general too specific Rot in passage inaccurate 2 People within every culture tend to treat fellow citi eo izens very differently, based on their social (too general _ too specific ©) notin Passage inaccurate 3 People in Australia and the UK treat strangers differently, dependi constitutes an ideal society, See ee too general i a a too specific Rot in passage inaccurate ong connection exi ‘ i Connection exists between a country’s wealth and how r i ee welcoming its citizens are of too general not in pas: mn Passage inaccurateF Reading 1 isiti t to know how to approach f friends are visiting you. They want ae Seek uwich of the settings below could they talk to a — a Ea should they not? Write a short explanation in the space provided. Ona subway Ina public bathroom Ata festival VOCABULARY REVIEW Match each word to its definition. 1 evidently (adv. « + a a formal idea that explains why something exists or why something occurs 2 contrast(n.) + b togive a written or spoken answer to a question, statement, etc. 3. theory (n.) clearly; understandably 4 respond (w) + d_ tocontinue something without changing it constitute (¥)) communication between two or more people through conversation core (n.) : the center or most important part maintain (v,) + + 9 toform ormake up something else interaction (n.) = a difference between two or more people or things Fill in the blanks with the correct words fi en ey rom above. Change the form of the word if 1 These ideas are at the —— of what it means to be French 2 Noone has told us about the change, so ; ———______ it doesn’t apply t 3 When going through such rapid changes, its important mee edt eee © an open mind 4 The mountains have snow all 1ow all year round, and the green forests in the valleys, tas Pee a alleys, ee ee 5 Although she didn't _ 6 to the question, w Further testing showed his : 5 Ty WS continued our interview. ————~ ? be correct,Radingl2é ok) aT VOCABULARY PREVIEW Match each AWL word in bold with its meaning from the box. a. through b. way of thinking c not very important d, short e. strong f. leave g. in spite of h. way of living —— 1 House-swapping encounters are usually brief and not repeated. 2 The author's attitude toward house-swapping changed over time. 3. Nicola’s children were changed by the English culture and by sharing. 4. This wasn’t the first time the author swapped homes with strangers via a home-exchange website. 5 The English visitors would sweep the house clean, then mess it up and abandon it. 6 ‘The author forgot a “minor” detail—giving the French family the keys to her apartment. 7 Despite the author's willingness to give her home to strangers, the holiday started off poorly. 8 House-swappers often experience intense feelings of trust