新编跨文化交际英语教程 参考答案(2)

Case 4

It might be simply a question of different rhythms. Americans have one rhythm in their personal and family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures have different rhythms. The American rhythm is fast. It is characterized by a rapid acceptance of others. However, it is seldom that Americans engage themselves entirely in a friendship. Their friendships are warm, but casual, and specialized. For example, you have a neighbor who drops by in the morning for coffee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinner --- not because you don?t think she could handle a fork and a knife, but because you have seen her that morning. Therefore, you reserve your more formal invitation to dinner for someone who lives in a more distant part of the city and whom you would not see unless you extended an invitation for a special occasion. Now, if the first friend moves away and the second one moves nearby, you are likely to reverse this --- see the second friend in the mornings for informal coffee meetings, and the first one you will invite more formally to dinner.

Americans are, in other words, guided very often by their own convenience. They tend to make friends easily, and they don?t feel it necessary to go to a great amount of trouble to see friends often when it becomes inconvenient to do so, and usually no one is hurt. But in similar circumstances people from many other cultures would be hurt very deeply.

Unit 2

Culture and Communication

Reading I

Comprehension questions

What Is Culture

1. 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. Some may prefer a longer one, such as Edward T. Hall?s definition of culture, because it provides us with a more comprehensive understanding of culture and points out the all-pervasive impact of culture on human life in different dimensions.

2．What have you learned from those definitions about culture?

Many 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?

Even 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 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 culture.

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 death 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 things 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 tastes. We tend to share things with each other when we are eating with others.

Reading II

Comprehension questions

Elements of Communication

1. 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 arrangements. A second aspect of context is historical. 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 classroom, to a restaurant, to a funeral house, etc?

One?s posture, manner of speaking or attire change from being casual to formal gradually from home to a park, to a classroom, to a restaurant, to a funeral house, etc, according to different formalness and seriousness of these situations.

3. How do people 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 one?s boss by his or her title and never to express one?s 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 and nonverbal symbols. As receivers, we process the messages sent to us and react to them both verbally and nonverbally.

6. Does the sender plays a more important role than the receiver in communication?

No, they are equally important fo …… 此处隐藏：7305字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……