【正文】 they usually avoid this word by using some euphemisms. For instance, people are more likely to use the term “senior citizen” rather than “old people” when they refer to someone with an old age. So we should try to avoid those cultural taboos and respect other’s cultures. In this way, we would keep our munication going smoothly and some embarrassing situations can be avoided effectively.4 The Causes of Social Pragmatic Failures There are many reasons of the social pragmatic failures. This problem can be analyzed from different view angles. Because of its diversity and plexity, here, only three of the most brief and easily understood causes are listed below. Attitude Towards the Relationships of Humans to NatureChina is a country which holds a view that man should be harmonious with nature and seek for peacefulness. We believe that nature would treat us well if we treat nature well, so the relationship between humans and nature is respect and fear. Since our culture teaches integration with nature, harmony and balance, we are likely to seek harmony and balance in social relationship as well. What’s more, the substance of Confucianism in china is peace. Confucianism advocates that people should be modest and keep a balanced relationship with the outside world.On the contrary, westerners, especially Americans see a clear separation between man and nature and man is clearly held to be in charge. Thus, they usually have an insatiable drive to subdue, dominate, and control their natural environment. Because of this, they think they are separate from others and can use scientific methods to control people and events. That’s the reason why westerners are so progressive and pay much attention to selfdevelopment and place privacy on a very high level. Therefore, the social pragmatic failures can be aroused easily in crosscultural munication. Sense of TimeThe majority of Chinese people hold the belief of both future and past orientation. Our cultural memories are rich and deep, people usually look back to a period when they want to make changes for the sake of absorbing the past experience. In china, old people had been greatly respected by youngsters. In traditional Chinese family, important decisions have to be agreed by the oldest people in the family. But in western countries, old people don’t enjoy a status as high as Chinese old people do. Most westerners are dominated by a belief in progress. They are future oriented, and they have an optimistic faith in the future. They tend to equate “change” with “improvement” and consider a rapid rate of change as normal. So it is not unmon to find out that westerners usually have a negative feeling towards old people. They are trying to avoid referring to the word “old” in their daily conversation. That’s why there are a large number of euphemisms in the English vocabulary. If we don’t much attention to this particular phenomenon, the social pragmatic failures can certainly not be avoided and solved. Different Social RelationshipsChinese people’s behavior reflects the group pattern of social relationships. In the group pattern of social relationships members of groups may be relatively equal. Each person’s social identity es from their group memberships. People feel dependent on the group, safe within it, proud and petitive with other groups. The groups need time to find out what each member is thinking and feeling. Once the group has made the decision, the whole group rather than one person is responsible for it. But in western countries, people pay great attention to the importance of the individual and the equality of all people. Stress on the individual begins at a very age when the American child is encouraged to be autonomous. It is an accepted rule that children should make decisions themselves, develop their own opinions, solve their own problems, and have their own possessions. Friendly, informal, outgoing, and extroverted are their characteristics. They are so independent from other people that they pay great emphasis on privacy. They hope they can have their own personal space and not to be invaded by others. Hence, the different social relationships can also be regarded one of the most important reasons of causing social pragmatic failures during the crosscultural munication.5 The Ways to Deal With Social Pragmatic FailuresAs is known to all, the crosscultural munication has bee an inevitable trend in today’s society.