ACTIVITY 10:
Quickly read the text below and choose the best
alternative (TRUE or FALSE) from the menu. Then check the correct answers.
1.
Kissing keeps you healthy.
2.
If you kiss someone in public in India, you may
be arrested.
3.
Animals kiss each other.
1
The kiss - what
a pleasant, if unlikely, way of showing your affection for someone!
And it's not only pleasant but it seems that it's good for your health
too. Research carried out by insurance firms has shown that single men
have significantly higher blood pressure than their married
contemporaries. And a US study suggests that a man is less likely to
cause a traffic accident on his way to work if he has been given a
goodbye kiss by his wife.
2
But while the language of love may be universal when two people are from
the same culture, the act of kissing can mean very different things in
different parts of the world. In China, for example, kissing someone in
public is seen as unhygienic and repulsive. As for offering your lips to
someone in India, he or she might not just jump back but call the police,
since kissing is only done between couples in private. Not surprisingly,
Indian film stars are forbidden to kiss on screen.
3
Even if your intentions aren't amorous,
you can still run into trouble. Many foreigners have got it wrong when
greeting a friend who is Dutch (compulsory three kisses) or French (two,
three or four, depending which part of France you are in). The Inuit of
Alaska wouldn't dream of doing anything more than rubbing noses - Inuit
women tend to use their mouths for more everyday tasks such as cleaning
oil lamps and chewing animal skins to soften them up.
4
Animals, on the whole, have a much broader
interpretation of kissing's significance than humans. For example, many
creatures put their mouths in those of others as a gesture not of
affection, but of submission. A wolf will place his mouth inside the
jaws of a larger, dominant male. Chimpanzees do the same thing with
their superiors. But when they relate to their contemporaries and equals,
lip-to-lip contact is intended as a sign of play and friendship.
5
Indeed the expression of affection comes
in many different forms in the animal world. Giraffes rub necks, while
birds entwine theirs. Cats press their noses together and purr loudly,
while elephants stand apart and then gently place their trunks in each
other's mouths.
6
The one thing that animals never do,
however - and humans, to their discredit, do all too frequently - is to
deceive with their kisses. In the case of Judas Iscariot kissing Christ,
for instance, or a Mafia godfather kissing a traitor, the act of placing
one's lips upon someone else's cheek is to give the kiss of death.
7
The kiss, therefore, is not a simple
matter. We receive a wide variety in our daily life: from friends, from
lovers, from children, from parents, from enemies, even from team-mates
after a goal is scored. If in a 70-year life we were kissed just once a
day, it would mean that during our time on earth we could expect to
receive a total of around 25,000 kisses. And each one of these carries a
different and complex message that has to be received, processed and
analysed with care.
ACTIVITY 11:
Finally, read the text above all over again and choose from the list A-to-H
below, the sentence which best summarises each paragraph
(1-to-7). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. Then check the correct answers.
A
There are different ways of greeting a friend
from country to country.
B
Animals have different ways of showing they
care for each other.
C
A kiss can mean many different things.
D
Different cultures have different
attitudes to
kissing in public.
E
Not all kisses are given with love or affection.
F
Mouth-to-mouth contact
between animals has
different meanings.
G
A kiss is a good way of showing how you feel
about someone.
H
Kissing is nice - and can be good for you too.
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