新编跨文化交际英语教程 参考答案(4)

Case 6

When a speaker says something to a hearer, there are at least three kinds of meanings involved: utterance meaning, speaker?s meaning and hearer?s meaning. In the dialogue, when Litz said ?How long is she going to stay?? she meant to say that if she knew how long her mother-in-law was going to stay in Finland, she would be able to make proper arrangements for her, such as taking her out to do some sightseeing. However, her mother-in-law overheard the conversation, and took Litz?s

question to mean ―Litz does not want me to stay for long‖. From the Chinese point of view, it seems to be inappropriate for Litz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in-law?s arrival. If she feels she has to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she should not let her mother-in-law hear it.

Case 7

Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan,

exchanging gifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you receive a gift, and don?t have one to offer in return, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesn?t offer a gift in return may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbolic way to show appreciation, respect, gratitude and further relationship.

Keiko obviously has taken those used items from Mary, Ed and Marion as gifts, for she probably doesn?t know that Americans frequently donate their used household items to church or to the community. Mary, Ed and Marion would never consider those used household items given to Keiko as gifts. No wonder they felt very uncomfortable when they received valuable gifts in return.

Case 8

As the Chinese girl Amy fell in love with an American boy at that time, it seems that she

preferred to celebrate Christmas in the American way, for she wanted very much to appear the same as other American girl. She did not like to see her boyfriend feel disappointed at the ―shabby‖ Chinese Christmas. That?s why she cried when she found out her parents had invited the minister?s family over for the Christmas Eve dinner. She thought the menu for the Christmas meal created by her mother a strange one because there were no roast turkey and sweet potatoes but only Chinese food. How could she notice then the foods chosen by her mother were all her favorites?

From this case, we can find a lot of differences between the Chinese and Western cultures in what is appropriate food for a banquet, what are good table manners, and how one should behave to be hospitable. However, one should never feel shameful just because one?s culture is different from others?. As Amy?s mother told her, you must be proud to be different, and your only shame is to have shame.

Unit 3

Cultural Diversity

Reading I

Comprehension questions

Different Lands, Different Friendships

1. Why is it comparatively easy to make friends in the United States?

Because few Americans stay put for a lifetime. With each move, forming new friendship becomes a necessity and part of their new life.

2. Do people from different countries usually have different expectations about what constitutes friendship and how it comes into being?

Yes. The difficulty when strangers from two countries meet is their different expectations about what constitutes friendship and how it comes into being.

3. How is friendship in America different from friendship in West Europe?

In West Europe, friendship is quite sharply distinguished from other, more casual relationships,

is usually more particularized and carries a heavier burden of commitment, while in America the word ―friend‖ can be applied to a wide range of relationship and a friendship may be superficial, casual, situational or deep and enduring.

4. In what country does friendship have much to do with one?s family? And in what country does it not?

In Germany, friendship has much to do with one?s family as friends are usually brought into the family, while in France it doesn?t as, for instance, two men may have been friends for a long time without knowing each other?s personal life.

5. What is friendship like when it is compartmentalized?

For instance, a man may play chess with a friend for thirty years without knowing his political opinions, or he may talk politics with him for as long a time without knowing about his personal life. Different friends fill different niches in each person?s life.

6. What are friendships usually based on in England?

English friendships are based on shared activity. Activities at different stages of life may be of very different kinds. In the midst of the activity, whatever it may be, people fall into steps and find that they participate in the activity with the same easy anticipation of what each will do day by day or in some critical situation.

7. Do you think friendship shares some common elements in different cultures? If you do, what are they?

Yes. There is the recognition that friendship, in contrast with kinship, invokes freedom of choice. A friend is someone who chooses and is chosen. Related to this is the sense each friend gives the other of being a special individual, on whatever grounds this recognition is based. And between friends there is inevitably a kind of equality of give-and-take.

8. What do you think is the typical Chinese concept of friendship? Is it similar to or different from any of the Western friendships?

It seems that the typical Chinese concept of friendship lays great emphasis on personal loyalty and also has much to do with family. It may be similar to Germany friendship to some extent and quite different from other Wes …… 此处隐藏：8158字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……