谦虚在中国被称为传统美德,但不一定“放之四海而皆准”。当美国人赞扬你道：“Your English is very good.”时,你可能会说：“No,my English is very poor(不好).”但是,美国人却并不会把你这种表示看作是自谦,相反,有些美国人会为他们的结论遭到了否定而感到尴尬；还有些美国人则会以为这种自我否定是为了引出更多赞扬的一种策略。实际上,美国人的这种赞扬不过是一种友好的表示,你不如愉快地接受,说一声：“Thank you!” 当英、美国家的人对你表达感谢时,你最好不要说：“It’s my duty (This is what I should do).”因为这句话的引申意为：“职责要求我这么干。我自己可不一定乐意。”这会让他们感到很失望。为了表示主观上你乐意帮忙,应该说：“It’s my pleasure.”或“My pleasure.” Modesty is called traditional virtue in China, but it is not necessarily “all-round.” When an American praises you: “Your English is very good.” You might say, “No, my English is very poor.” But Americans don’t look at you To be self-deprecating, on the contrary, some Americans would feel embarrassed for their conclusions being denied; others would think this self-negation is a strategy for eliciting more praise. In fact, this kind of praise from the Americans is just a kind of friendly expression. You may as well accept it happily and say, “Thank you!”  When the British and American people give thanks to you, you better not say : “It’s my duty (This is what I should do).” Because the extension of this sentence means: “The duties require me to do this. I am not necessarily happy.” This will make them feel very disappointed. In order to express subjectively you are willing to help, you should say: “It’s my pleasure.” or “My pleasure.”