本集介紹

❶　Intro

In the US, many people write thank you notes when they receive a gift. It is considered the minimum courtesy toward the gift-giver to acknowledge the thoughtfulness and usefulness of the gift.

However, many Americans never write thank you notes, the younger generations especially. It seems that we may be losing this custom.

If you are in the States and someone gives you a gift to honor your arrival, your birthday, a holiday or any other occasion, it is best to write them a card thanking them for the gift. It is also nice to thank people who let you stay in their home or cook a meal for you.

A thank you note can be very brief. Here is an example:

Dear Mrs. Robinson,
Thank you so much for the bracelet you gave me for my birthday. It will always remind me of you and of my visit to your city. I appreciate your thinking of me.
Warm regards,
Kaya

After you write it, make sure you have the correct address, put a stamp on it and drop it in the mail.

Listen to Amanda and Kevin talk about thank you notes.

❷　Dialogue

Amanda: Mm, salad.

Kevin: I’m feeling frustrated. So I gave a good friend of mine a gift two weeks ago.

Amanda: Uh huh.

Kevin: And I’ve yet to get… I sent her a gift two weeks ago and I have yet to get any notification of, of receipt of the gift.

Amanda: Um, that’s probably one of my biggest pet peeves right now. When I was a kid, my parents taught me to write a thank you card that moment.

Kevin: Immediately.

Amanda: Write the card. Put it in the mail.

Kevin: That’s right.

Amanda: Nobody does it anymore and it drives me crazy.

Kevin: It’s, it’s gone out of style, I guess. I think it’s incredibly rude.

Amanda: Do you think it’s inconvenient? Or people don’t know to do it? Because maybe they weren’t raised and taught to write a thank you card.

Kevin: I think it’s a combination of both. I think because the custom has kind of gone by the wayside. People aren’t doing it as much and… or they just never learned. Kind of like tipping. Some people just aren’t good tippers…

Amanda: That’s horrible.

Kevin: ‘Cause they didn’t learn from their parents.

Amanda: It’s absolutely horrible.

Kevin: Yeah.

Amanda: With wedding gifts, you know, that excuse, you have a year.

Kevin: That is BS.

Amanda: That’s, that’s BS.

Kevin: Yeah.

Amanda: Total BS.

Kevin: I agree.

Amanda: And people run with that year and they go into the next year and they say, “Well, I missed the deadline. Oops.”

Kevin: It’s ridiculous.

Amanda: Not OK. Not OK.

Kevin: Very rude.

❸　Discussion

Kevin sent a gift to his friend but hasn’t heard whether the friend received the gift.

Amanda thinks it is rude not to write a thank you note for a gift you receive. That’s what her parents taught her to do.

Kevin thinks the custom has faded. People don’t take the time to write a thank you note, or they just weren’t taught that it is the polite thing to do.

What do people do in your country when they receive a gift?

Do you write thank you notes?

❹　Quiz

⒈ Did Kevin get a thank you note from his friend?

❶ Yes
❷ No　✓
❸ He doesn’t say

⒉ What is one of Amanda’s biggest pet peeves?

❶ People who don’t write thank you notes　✓
❷ Writing thank you notes
❸ Sending gifts in the mail

⒊ What does Kevin say about thank you notes?

❶ His parents didn’t teach him to write them
❷ The practice has gone by the wayside　✓
❸ He never gets them

⒋ What does Amanda say about wedding gifts?

❶ They are BS
❷ You have a year to write a thank you note after you get a wedding gift　✓
❸ Oops!

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