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Video Response
1069 Greetings
Amir talks about how people greet each other in his country of Iran in public and private.
- Transcript
- Audio Slide Show
- Vocabulary
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Amir
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Tu
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MP3 Link
Amir: Oh, they do show affection. Yeah, but it matters, actually whether you are in the public sight or you're at your home, where you can just freely show your affections.
Iran, as you know, is an Islamic Republic of Iran, so the rules of Islam is very much taken seriously in the public. In the public, men and women don't hug.
Well, if it is a mother and a son, it's fine, but other than that where you don't share blood, you don't actually show that much affection or closeness or, you know, touching, in the sense of greeting even. You don't do that.
But at home, we are very, very open with our emotions and we show our affections. So we kiss. We kiss each other for just greeting, like normally it's three kiss on the cheek, so first left, right, left.
Tu: Three kiss?
Amir: Yeah.
Tu: At one time?
Amir: In public, men and women don't of course kiss each other.
So, what about Vietnam?
Tu: Yeah, it's pretty much the same in our country. Like you know, in public, people don't do - show that much direct like affection like hugging or especially kissing. I think we missed kissing, you know. Usually, it's only lovers kiss, and even mother and child, they don't kiss.
Yes, but it matters
The phrase ‘it matters’ usually means that something is important. Here, however, ‘it matters’ more closely means “it depends on’. Notice the samples.
- To buy a PC or a laptop is a difficult choice. It matters what you are going to use your computer for.
- When looking for a job, often it matters who you know, not what you know.
You can freely show your affection
In this example, to ‘freely show’ something is to do it in public without offending others. Here are two more examples.
- At the World Cup everyone can freely show their nationalism.
- In many Asian cultures, students will never freely show their dislike for a teacher.
You don’t share blood.
The phrase 'share blood’ means to be of the same family. Notice the following:
- Sitting bull was born in North Dakota and did not share blood with Eastern or Western tribes.
- The boys are similar in appearance though they do not share blood.
At one time?
‘At one time’ means a number of things happening at the same time. In fact, it has the same meaning as ‘at the same time’. Notice the equivalent meaning.
- My new computer can run many programs at the same time.
- My new computer can run many programs at one time.
It’s pretty much the same
We use the phrase ‘pretty much the same’ when we want to show similarity between people or things. Notice the sample sentences.
- A Big Mac tastes pretty much the same anywhere in the world.
- Surf on the Gold Coast is pretty much the same as California, but a little better, I think.
