Something as simple as a smile can mean friendliness in one culture, but impatience in another. Even silence means different things in different places.
When trying to communicate in a foreign language, it’s natural to use gestures as a way of explaining your points.
Tapping your finger to your temple is a gesture to show memory in North America, but suggests insanity（精神失常）in Russia. Even nodding one’s head to show “yes” or shaking one’s head to show “no” can be misunderstood abroad. The yes-no gestures are different in countries like Bulgaria and Albania. In Turkey, “no” is gestured by nodding the head up and down.
It’s not just individual gestures that can cause miscommunication, but the rate of gesturing can also cause miscommunication. Some countries, like Italy and Spain, are known for talking with their hands. Others use few body movements as a form of politeness. In parts of East Asia, the gesture is considered unpleasant behavior, and even rude.
Britain, along with many countries of northern Europe and the Far East, is classed as a “non-contact”culture, in which there’s very little physical contact in people’s daily communication. Even accidentally touching someone’s arm is considered rude. By comparison, in the high-contact cultures of the Middle East, Latin America, and southern Europe, physical touch is a big part of socializing.
Naturally, these different standards of contact can lead to misunderstanding. An Argentinian may see a Scandinavian as cold, while the Scandinavian may see the Argentinian as impolite.
In most Western countries, frequent eye contact is a sign of confidence and attentiveness. But in many Asian, African, and Latin American countries, however, unbroken eye contact would be considered rude. These cultures tend to pay more attention to hierarchy（等级制度）, and avoiding eye contact is a sign of respect for bosses and elder. In these parts of the world, children won’t look at an adult who is speaking to them, and nor will employees to their bosses.
What will Turkish people do when they don’t agree on something?

A．Keep silent for a while.

B．Shake their heads.

C．Tap their fingers to the temple.

D．Nod their heads up and down.

Where is physical touch considered impolite or rude?

A．In Britain.	B．In Russia.
C．In Turkey.	D．In Bulgaria.

What will happen when an Argentinian meets a Scandinavian?

A．They will try to keep each other at a distance.

B．The Argentinian will try to contact the Scandinavian.

C．The Scandinavian will try to contact the Argentinian.

D．They will try to touch each other as much as possible.

What does the writer intend to tell us in the passage?

A．Most body language means the same in different cultures.

B．It’s natural to make mistakes in learning body language.

C．Body language can be confusing in different cultures.

D．There is no short cut to learning body language.