Reading Comprehension A I went to a movie theater with my roommate yesterday. His hobby is watching movies. He is enthusiastic about movies. I was very glad when he said that he would take me to a movie theater. As a student abroad, I always spend my time reading books in the library or studying in the classroom, so I looked forward to going to the movies. The movie we saw was called “The Patriot”. It described the love between a father and his children during the time of the American War of Independence. It is a war story based on history, but the story was created by a writer for entertainment. The movie was enjoyable in that sometimes it made us laugh, and other times it made us cry. It was a successful movie. The most amazing thing was the reaction of the audience. It was different. Though I could concentrate on watching a movie in Japan, I could not in America because of the reaction of the audience. They laughed loudly when an actor told a joke and they applauded at the plot when the main character killed his enemy. It was amazing to me that they expressed their emotions openly. In other words, an American theater is a space for everyone to enjoy. If I did that in a public place in Japan, most of the audience would look down on me or complain about the noisiness, and the person beside me might say, “Could you please be silent?” There seems to be a cultural difference between America and Japan. It is said that Americans always express their emotions and opinions and that we always conceal (隐藏) ours. I’m glad to observe such a difference because I can feel I am experiencing a real thing while visiting the United States. |