B2 – Upper Intermediate
Every country has its own traditions and practices. Some of which are standard and others seem rather strange. Most people try hard to ensure privacy in their homes. It is that one place where we can act freely without the fear of embarrassment and humiliation. However, in the Netherlands, people believe otherwise.
Let’s read the article and know more about this seemingly bizarre practice of Dutch people.
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “interwoven” mean? “It’s so interwoven in their culture that researchers have struggled to figure out exactly why people in the Netherlands care so little about their privacy.” Use it in a sentence.
- Define the word “bourgeois“. Give two synonyms and use them in sentences. “Astrid Brooke says she considers curtains bourgeois adornment to a window and has rarely felt the need for them.”
- What does “tight-knit” mean in this sentence, “Anthropologists Hilje van der Horst and Jantine Messing researched the phenomenon in 2006 and observed that people in tight-knit neighborhoods were more likely to leave their curtain open – and more likely to decorate their windows with statues, vases, and (fake) flowers.”? Use it in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- According to the article, what reasons do Dutch people have for not using blinds or curtains? What is your stand on Dutch people’s open culture?
- How do people in your country protect their private domestic lives?
- Do you think that privacy in the real world is just as important as that in the virtual world? Why or why not?