新编跨文化交际英语教程.docx

1、新编跨文化交际英语教程Unit 2Culture and CommunicationReading IIElements of CommunicationComprehension questions1. What are the aspects of context mentioned above? One aspect of context is the physical setting, including location, time, light, temperature,distance between communicators, and any seating arrangem

2、ents. A second aspect of context ishistorical. A third aspect of context is psychological. A fourth aspect of context is culture.2. In what ways would your posture, manner of speaking or attire change if you move from one physical setting to another, for example, from your home to a park, to a class

3、room, to a restaurant, to a funeral house, etc? Ones posture, manner of speaking or attire change from being casual to formal gradually fromhome to a park, to a classroom, to a restaurant, to a funeral house, etc, according to differentformalness and seriousness of these situations.3. How do people

4、acquire communication norms in their life? People acquire communication norms from their experiences in life.4. What examples can you give to describe some Chinese norms in our everyday communication? For example, it seems to be a norm in China to address ones boss by his or her title and neverto ex

5、press ones disapproval directly to him or her.5. How can we play both the roles of sender and receiver in communication? As senders, we form messages and attempt to communicate them to others through verbal andnonverbal symbols. As receivers, we process the messages sent to us and react to them both

6、 verballyand nonverbally.6. Does the sender plays a more important role than the receiver in communication? No, they are equally important for both of them are essential in the process of communication.7. In what ways do the differences between participants make communication more or less difficult?

7、 Three especially important variables affecting participants which are relationship, gender, andculture make communication more or less difficult.8. What is a symbol and what is a meaning? The pure ideas and feelings that exist in a persons mind represent meanings. The words,sounds, and actions that

8、 communicate meaning are known as symbols because they stand for themeanings intended by the person using them.9. How can meanings be transferred from one person to another? What problems may arise in this process? A message from one person is encoded into symbols and then decoded into ideas and fee

9、lings toanother person. In this process of transforming include nonverbal cues, which significantly affect themeaning created between the participants in a communication transaction.10. When are unintended or conflicted meanings likely to be created? Unintended meanings are created when the decoding

10、 person receives a meaning unrelated towhat the encoder thought he or she was communicating. Conflicting meanings are created when theverbal symbols are contradicted by the nonverbal cues.11. Which channels do you usually prefer in communication? Why? Of the five channels, some may prefer sight. As

11、the old saying goes, words are but wind, butseeing is believing.12. What examples can you find to show that one channel is more effective than others for transmitting certain messages? For example, when asking a lady for a date, a young man may wear an immaculate suit andspray some perfume to show t

12、hat he highly values this date with her. In this case, sight and smell aredefinitely more effective than words for conveying that particular message.13. What are the things that can create noises in the process of communication? Sights, sounds, and other stimuli in the environment that draw peoples

13、attention away fromintended meaning are known as external noise. Thoughts and feelings that interfere with thecommunication process are known as internal noise. Unintended meanings aroused by certain verbalsymbols can inhibit the accuracy of decoding. This is known as semantic noise.14. What should

14、we do to reduce the interference of noise in communication? When communicating with others, we should pay undivided attention to communication itself,avoiding being distracted by any external or internal noise. Besides, we should make sure that whatwe say is correctly understood by others and vice v

15、ersa to prevent semantic noise from generating.15. Why is feedback a very important element of communication? Feedback is very important because it serves useful functions for both senders and receivers: it provides senders with the opportunity to measure how they are coming across, and it provides

16、receivers with the opportunity to exert some influence over the communication process.16. What will you usually do when you receive negative feedback in communication? Open.Case StudyCase 5In China, it is often not polite to accept a first offer and Heping was being modest, polite andwell-behaved and had every intention of accepting the beer at the sec