| A. The advice from the WHO. B. No kissing, even if you are French. C. Is the foot shake the new handshake? D. Pat on the back. E. Grandma has a good idea. |
The novel coronavirus(新冠病毒)has changed our lives. In many countries, it has also changed the way people greet each other. To help stop the spread of coronavirus, people give up their usual greeting styles and invent safe ways. Let's take a look.
Lean forward(倾身向前),touch faces and make a kissing sound. This is French people's favorite way of greeting. But when the virus is going around, too many kisses are not good. An expert gives everyone in France a suggestion: simply looking into a person's eyes can be a greeting. It's not as romantic as kissing, but it's safe.
Like the French, Italian are also romantic people. When they meet, they always hug or kiss each other. Recently, an Italian grandma made a video to help everyone fight the disease. According to her, if you want to say hello to others, do not hug or kiss. Instead, you can close one of your eyes and give them a wink(眨眼). Isn't it cute?
It's a very Australian thing to put your hand out to shake hands. But if you do this, the virus can jump from one person to another. Now a health official(官员) in Australia says a pat on the back would be better. But it also has some problems. For example, it's a bit impolite if you do this to your teacher. What do you think?
People in Iran often shake hands when they meet. But a recent video shows that an interesting way to greet others is now popular in Iran. In the video, three Iran men wear masks and put their hands in their pockets. They don't shake hands, but try to "shake" feet.
An official from the WHO suggested that we use three greeting: waving hands, Thai "wai"(泰式合十礼)and bumping elbows(碰肘礼).
