1、This is still powerful in todays social and political rhetoric. For instance, it is not uncommon intodays society to hear people say that most, if not all, of the social and economic problems arecaused by minorities and immigrants.2. Whats the difference between todays intercultural contact and that
2、 of any time in the past?Todays intercultural encounters are far more numerous and of greater importance than in anytime in history.3. What have made intercultural contact a very common phenomenon in our life today?New technology, in the form of transportation and communication systems, has accelera
3、ted intercultural contact; innovative communication systems have encouraged and facilitated cultural interaction; globalization of the economy has brought people together; changes in immigration patterns have also contributed to intercultural encounter.4. How do you understand the sentence “culture
4、is everything and everywhere”?Culture supplies us with the answers to questions about what the world looks like and how we live and communicate within that world. Culture teaches us how to behave in our life from the instant of birth. It is omnipresent.5. What are the major elements that directly in
5、fluence our perception and communication?The three major socio-cultural elements that directly influence perception and communication are cultural values, worldview (religion), and social organizations (family and state).6. What does ones family teach him or her while he or she grows up in it?The fa
6、mily teaches the child what the world looks like and his or her place in that world.7. Why is it impossible to separate our use of language from our culture?Because language is not only a form of preserving culture but also a means of sharing culture. Language is an organized, generally agreed-upon,
7、 learned symbol system that is used to represent the experiences within a cultural community.8. What are the nonverbal behaviors that people can attach meaning to?People can attach meaning to nonverbal behaviors such as gestures, postures, facial expressions, eye contact and gaze, touch, etc.9. How
8、can a free, culturally diverse society exist?A free, culturally diverse society can exist only if diversity is permitted to flourish without prejudice and discrimination, both of which harm all members of the society.Reading IIThe Challenge of Globalization1. Why does the author say that our underst
9、anding of the world has changed?Many things, such as political changes and technological advances, have changed the world very rapidly. In the past most human beings were born, lived, and died within a limited geographical area, never encountering people of other cultural backgrounds. Such an existe
10、nce, however, no longer prevails in the world. Thus, all people are faced with the challenge of understanding this changed and still fast changing world in which we live.2. What a “global village” is like?As our world shrinks and its inhabitants become interdependent, people from remote cultures inc
11、reasingly come into contact on a daily basis. In a global village, members of once isolated groups of people have to communicate with members of other cultural groups. Those people maylive thousands of miles away or right next door to each other.3. What is considered as the major driving force of th
12、e post-1945 globalization?Technology, particularly telecommunications and computers are considered to be the major driving force.4. What does the author mean by saying that “the global may be more local than the local”?The increasing global mobility of people and the impact of new electronic media o
13、n human communications make the world seem smaller. We may communicate more with people of other countries than with our neighbors, and we may be more informed of the international events than of the local events. In this sense, the global may be more local than the local.5. Why is it important for
14、businesspeople to know diverse cultures in the world?Effective communication may be the most important competitive advantage that firms have to meet diverse customer needs on a global basis. Succeeding in the global market today requires the ability to communicate sensitively with people from other
15、cultures, a sensitivity that is based on an understanding of cross-cultural differences.6. What are the serious problems that countries throughout the world are confronted with?Countries throughout the world are confronted with serious problems such as volatile international economy, shrinking resou
16、rces, mounting environmental contamination, and epidemics that know no boundaries.7. What implications can we draw from the case of Michael Fay?This case shows that in a world of international interdependence, the ability to understand and communicate effectively with people from other cultures take
17、s on extreme urgency. If we are unaware of the significant role culture plays in communication, we may place the blame for communication failure on people of other cultures.8. What attitudes are favored by the author towards globalization?Globalization, for better or for worse, has changed the world
18、 greatly. Whether we like it or not, globalization is all but unstoppable. It is already here to stay. It is both a fact and an opportunity. The challenges are not insurmountable. Solutions exist, and are waiting to be identified and implemented. From a globalistic point of view, there is hope and f
19、aith in humanity.Translation纵观历史,我们可以清楚地看到,人们由于彼此所处地域、意识形态、容貌服饰和行为 举止上存在的差异,而长久无法互相理解、无法和睦相处。在这种情况下,跨文化交际作为 一个特定的研究领域得以形成和发展。值得注意的是,人类文明在发展过程中所遭受的许多 挫折,既是个人的,又是全球性的;人类历史进程总是充满了个人间的直接冲突和民族间的 误解从骂骂咧咧到孤立主义直至到武装冲突,大大小小争端不绝。很显然,文化间以及亚文化间的交往比以前多了,这迫切要求我们共同努力,去理解有 着不同信仰和文化背景的人们,并与之和睦相处。通过加深认识和理解,我们能够与生活方 式
20、、价值观念不同的人们和平共处;这不但有益于我们周遭环境的安定,也是维护世界和平 的决定性因素。Unit 2 Culture and CommunicationReading I What Is Culture1. Which of the definitions given above do you prefer? Why?Some may prefer a short definition, such as the one given by E. Sapir or R. Benedict, for it is highly generalized and easy to remember.
21、Some may prefer a longer one, such as Edward T. Halls definition of culture, because it provides us with a more comprehensive understanding of culture andpoints out the all-pervasive impact of culture on human life in different dimensions.2What have you learned from those definitions about culture?M
22、any things can be learned from those definitions, for each definition, though not without its limitations, tells us something very important about culture or certain aspect(s) of culture.3. Do you agree that our lower needs always have to be satisfied before we can try to satisfy the higher needs?Ev
23、en though this is generally the case, there will still be some exceptions. Sometimes people might prefer to satisfy higher needs, for instance, esteem needs, before their lower needs, such as certain physiological needs or safety needs, are satisfied.4. What examples can you give about how people of
24、 different cultures achieve the same ends by taking different roads?For example, everyone has to eat in order to live and this is universally true. However, to satisfy this basic need, people of various cultures may do it in very different ways: what to eat and how to eat it vary from culture to cul
25、ture.5. What behaviors of ours are born with and what are learned in the cultural environment?Instinctive behaviors are behaviors that we are born with and ways of doing things in daily life, such as ways of eating, drinking, dressing, finding shelter, making friends, marrying, and dealing with deat
26、h are learned in the cultural environment.6. What other cultural differences do you know in the way people do things in their everyday life?We can also find cultural differences in ways of bringing up children, treating the elderly, greeting each other, saving and spending money, and many other thin
27、gs people do in everyday life.7. In what ways are the Chinese eating habits different from those of the English-speaking countries?We Chinese may enjoy something that is not usually considered as edible by the English-speaking people. Generally we prefer to have things hot and lay much emphasis on t
28、astes. We tend to share things with each other when we are eating with others.Fill-in TaskFill in the following blanks with at least five things in our life that you think are above and five that are below the “water”, the level of our consciousness.Those that are above the water are _what to eat an
29、d how to eat it ;_how to keep healthy_ ;_how to raise children ;_how to participate in ceremonies ;_how to introduce and greet people.Those that are below the water are _what is good or bad ;_what is right or wrong _;_what is beautiful or ugly ;_what is clean or dirty ;_how is an individual related
30、to others.Then compare your fill-in items with those of your classmate, and try to decide which of the things are more likely to cause problems in intercultural communication.Generally speaking, differences in those things that are usually outside of our conscious awareness, i.e. the so-called deep
31、culture, are more likely to cause problems in intercultural communication. The reason is that this part of culture is internalized in peoples mind and thus is hard to be perceived. For example, in intercultural communication, it is easy to find out what and how people from another culture eat. Just have a look at their dining table, and we will know it. However, it is much more difficult to find out or understand the values that underlie th
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