第四十四篇 Americans Get Touchy1
The New York Times recently reported that American teens are hugging practically everyone they see. Say goodbye to the greetings of the past, from the hands-off Whats up! to the handshake or high-five2. For young people across the country, hugging is the new Hello.
Girls are hugging girls. Boys are hugging boys. Girls and boys are hugging each other. And, like every major trend, there are lots of variations on the form. Theres the classic, full-body, arms-around-the-person bear hug, the casual one-armed side hug, the group hug and the hug from behind. Theres the handshake that turns into a hug and the hug that turns into a pat on the back.
As trends go, this one seems pretty innocent. But some parents, teachers and school administrators are worried nonetheless. Will young people who arent as comfortable with physical contact feel peer pressured into hugging? Willkids who dont receive hugs feel left Out3? Could an extra-long hug slide into the more ominous territory of sexual harassment?
In response to some of these concerns, some schools have set up new rules to limit or eliminate hugging. One school head has created a three-second limitation4 for hugs at her school. A few schools have taken even more drastic measures, placing a ban on all forms of touching between students.
A few important points are being left out of the discussion. While the US has traditionally been reserved about touching - saving hugs and kisses for relatives, romantic partners and very close friends - people in many other parts of the world have been greeting each other this way for ages.
In Latin America or Western Europe, in countries like Spain, France, and Italy, a kiss on the cheek is common among women, as well as among women and men who are not romantically involved. The cheek-kiss varies by region.
Sometimes it is just an air kiss blown past the face. In other places, the proper way of greeting is to deliver a kiss upon both cheeks, or sometimes even a triplet of kisses performed by kissing one cheek, then the other, then back to the first.
Latin American men are more likely to shake hands when greeting other men,but in some countries like Turkey, its not unusual for men who know each other well to exchange kisses on the cheek. Meanwhile, for the Maori people of New Zealand, a traditional greeting called the hongi involves pressing nosestogether.
So, from a global perspective, the new trend of teen hugging in America is not so new after all. People all around the world move in close to say hello,and Americans are just now joining in.
词汇：
touchy adj. 易怒的;敏感的
harassment n. 骚扰
triplet n. 三个一组;三件一套
注释：
1. touchy 的本意为易怒的、敏感的，这里用来指喜欢肢体接触的，标题意味美国人越来越喜欢肢体接触了。
2. High-five：是美国文化手势的一种，并没有正式的中文名称，一般代表了庆祝成功的击掌，有时也写成Give me five。
3. feel left out：感到被排斥
4. three-second limitation：指学校制定的将拥抱限制在三秒钟之内的规定。
5. Maori people：毛利人(新西兰的土著)。
练习：
1. The word practically in the first paragraph could be best replaced by
A) certainly
B) nearly
C) actively
D) voluntarily
2. Which of the following is NOT among the typical ways of greetings in the past?
A) hands off Whats up
B) handshake
C) high-five
D) embrace
3. Some parents, teachers and school administrators concern the new trend of hugging for the following reasons EXCEPT:
A) Some young people get involved into the trend due to peer pressure.
B) Those who dont receive hugs feel left out.
C) Theres the danger that hugging slide into the more ominous territory of sexual harassment.
D) Diseases could be transmitted more easily through the extra-long body contact.
4. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A) Teenagers across the US hug everyone they see in nearly the same way.
B) Although some adults worry about the trend, few measures have been taken to ban on it.
C) Traditionally, the US people have been reserved about hugging between anybody.
D) In some countries, its usual for men to kiss each other on the cheek.
5. We can infer that the author holds a attitude toward the new trend of hugging.
A) positive
B) negative
C) indifferent
D) conservative
答案与题解：
1.B 文章开篇第一句话意为《纽约时报》最近报道美国的青少年现在几乎见到每一个人都会拥抱。practically常来表达nearly、almost的意思。
2.D 第一段中列举了过去美国人见面打招呼的常见方式，不包括拥抱。
3.D 第三段谈及成年人对青少年越来越多地以拥抱的方式打招呼这一趋势所表达的关切，包括担心有一些人纯粹因为来自同伴的压力而不得不接受这样一种方式，担心那些不接受拥抱这种打招呼方式的人有被边缘化的感觉，甚至担心见面拥抱会成为性骚扰的保护外衣。但没有提及对拥抱可能更容易传播疾病有所担心。
4.D 倒数第二段中，作者谈到在一些国家，比如土耳其，男人见面时互相亲吻脸颊很正常。
5.A 从整篇文章的内容来看，作者对拥抱成为美国年轻人间打招呼的方式这一趋势持一个比较积极的态度。他认为其他文化中这样一种方式已经存在了很长的时间，从全球范围来看，美国不过是加入了其他国家的行列而已。