Pre-reading questions:
- What is the name of your favorite place?
- Do you like to invite other people to your house?
Vocabulary:
- hospitality /hos-pi-tal-i-tee/
- invest /in-vest/
- automatic /aw-tuh-mat-ik/
- selfless /self-lis/
- maintain /meyn-teyn/
[noun] kindness and friendly behavior, esp. to guests
Her family is known because of their hospitality.
[verb] to put money or effort into something to make a profit or achieve a result
Maki’s parents invest their savings to their family business.
[adjective] able to operate independently without human control
Automatic technologies are expensive.
[adjective] caring more about other people’s needs and interests than about your own
The selfless mother gives her food to her children.
[verb] to continue to have
She always maintains her high grades.
Japan redefines hospitality by investing in service industry particularly in automated machines.
Automatic machines increase the performance of the services but might reduce the spirit of omotenashi – the nation’s brand of hospitality. “Omotenashi” means selfless hospitality or always willing to help customers. Some stores have no shopkeepers, so customers are left alone to buy at the store. Even other stores already have machines, some still keep their staff so someone can assist customers and maintain their hospitality.
Automatic machines increase the performance of the services but might reduce the spirit of omotenashi – the nation’s brand of hospitality. “Omotenashi” means selfless hospitality or always willing to help customers. Some stores have no shopkeepers, so customers are left alone to buy at the store. Even other stores already have machines, some still keep their staff so someone can assist customers and maintain their hospitality.
True or False:
- The article says that Japan invests to companies that make computers.
- Automatic machines reduce the performance of the services.
- “Omotenashi” is Japan’s term for hospitality.
- “Omotenashi” means selfish hospitality.
- Stores that have no staff leave customers alone.
Vocabulary Check:
Complete the sentences by using the words in the box.
| invest | selfless | automatic | hospitality | maintain |
- I am so happy that the hotel showed us ___________ after a long trip.
- Japan is famous for its ___________ toilets.
- The Hanzawa family ___________ in their small business.
- She ___________ the cleanliness of their house.
- Volunteers are being ___________ as they help many people from poor towns.