跨文化交际英语思考题目(6)

As soon as he got out to work the next day, Jim went over to Jose and handed him a dollar, saying, ― Thanks, Jose. I really appreciated this last night. It sure was too cold to walk.‖

―Forget it,‖ said Jose, as he handed Jim back his dollar.

―Oh, no, I insist. I don‘t want to take advantage of a friend. What if I need to borrow money again sometime? If I didn‘t pay you back now, I would feel wrong asking to borrow money again,‖ said Jim, as he put the dollar into Jose‘s shirt pocket. Jose answered, ―But that‘s what friends are for. In Spanish, We have a saying, ?today for you, tomorrow for me.‘ If you pay me back, I will feel that I won‘t be able to ask you for money when I need it. I will feel like you are closing the door on me, that there is no trust between us. I thought we were friends. How can I take the money?‖ Jose handed back the dollar.

―But I won‘t feel right if you don‘t take it!‖ said Jim. Questions:

1) Why did Jim insist on returning the dollar to Jose? 2) Why did Jose not want to take it?

3) Do you think that their attitudes are cultural?

4) What cultural values are reflected in Jim‘s and Jose‘s attitudes? 5) Would you be more similar to Jim or to Jose in the same situation?

2. Read the case story (from Zanger, 1985) concerning different attitudes towards family members and relatives, and answer the questions below.

Rosa (Mexican--American) and Annie (American) shared a small dormitory room at a university. They liked each other very much and got along well until a problem came up.

One day, Rosa told Annie, ―My second cousin wants to come and see the university. She might want to go to school here next year. Do you mind if she stays with us while she visits?‖

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―Gee, it‘s pretty crowded with just the two of us. Where‘s she going to sleep?‖ ―Oh, that‘s no problem. She can sleep in my bed, with me.‖ ―Well, okay, ‖said Annie. ―It‘s up to you.‖

―Great! ‖ answered Rosa. ―She‘s coming tomorrow.‖

Two weeks later, the cousin was still with them. Since she did not bring enough money, Rosa paid for her meal. Rosa missed many of her classes so that she could help her cousin find her way around.

Rosa never complained about any of this to Annie, but Annie decided to speak to her friend.

―Rosa,‖ she said. ―I know it‘s none of my business. But I don‘t like to see you being treated this way. It‘s not fair of your cousin to take advantage of you, using your time and your money like this. And how do you ever get any sleep, anyway? I think you should tell her you have your own life to live. After all, she‘s only your second cousin.‖

Rosa was surprised. She answered, ―Oh, the bed doesn‘t bother me! It reminds me of sleeping with my sister as a child. You‘re right, though, about my schoolwork. I know I‘m missing too many classes. But family comes first. I just couldn‘t leave my cousin here by herself. ‖

Even after their conversation, Annie still could not understand her friend. Before her cousin arrived, Rosa had always seemed like such an independent, responsible person, who never missed a class. Annie just could not understand why she had changed. Questions:

1) Why was Annie confused?

2) Why did Rosa continue to help her cousin?

3) Do you think Rosa‘s and Annie‘s ideas are typical of their culture?

4) Would you do the same for your second cousin as Rosa did? Why or why not?

3. Read the following case ( from Zanger, 1985) and answer the questions that follow. Eva came to the United States from Peru to study at an American college. She wanted to live with an American family to find out more about the American way of life. And she wanted to improve her English.

The foreign student office of her college found the Larsen family for Eva to live with. Eva spoke with Mrs. Larsen on the telephone. She sounded very warm and friendly to Eva. She told Eva she could move in the next day. Eva was very happy about it.

Eva arrived the next day with all her luggage. She was excited to meet the Larsens. She rang the doorbell.

A tall, blond woman answered the door with a big smile on her face. She said, ―Oh, you must be Eva! I‘m so glad you‘re here! Let me help you with your bags. Come on in. I‘m Hilda Larsen.‖ She took one of Eva‘s bags into the house.

When they got inside, Mrs. Larsen put the bag down and stood across from Eva, about 3 feet away. She crossed her arms in front of her and asked Eva, ―Tell me about your trip. I‘d love to go to Peru someday.‖

Just then, her teenaged son walked in, hands in his pockets, ―Jimmy, Meet Eva.

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Maybe she can help you with your Spanish this semester,‖ said his mother.

Jimmy Said, ―Hi, glad to meet you.‖ His hands stayed in his pockets while he nodded his head.

Eva didn‘t know what to do with her hands. She felt uncomfortable. But she smiled and said, ―Hi, Nice to meet you.‖

The Larsens showed Eva her new room. Then they left her alone to unpack. Eva felt a little disappointed, but she didn‘t know exactly why. She thought Mrs. Larsen seemed so friendly on the phone. But now she wasn‘t sure. Jimmy also seemed a little cold, but maybe he was just shy.

Eva tried to decide what was wrong. She thought to herself: If an American girl came to stay with me in Peru, she would get a warm welcome than that. My mother would give her a big kiss, instead of just standing there, on the other side of just standing there, on the other side of the room. And my brother would give her a proper greeting. Well, people told me that Americans are cold. I guess they‘re right. Questions:

1) How did Mrs. Larsen and Jimmy greet Eva respectively? 2) Why did Eva feel that the Larsens were cold?

3) If you were Eva, would you think that Mrs. Larsen was col …… 此处隐藏：7667字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……