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专业好文档Reading and Discussion for Unit 1Read the passage and give a brief analysis to the discussion questions.Communication is the transfer of a message from one person to another, so that it is understood, and hopefully, it invokes a response.(See diagram l)Diagram 1senderMessagereceiverencodesdecodes and responds with next messageCommunication can be:i) Verbal-language symbolsii) Non-verbal-body language, gesture, clothing, conformity with customs and norms, para-lan- guage-tone, volume, pitch, emphasis, pauses, etc. It is said that about 65 70% of how we communicate is through non-verbal means.(Some say up t0 93% ! )In normal everyday communication, the message does not always transfer from the sender to the receiver. Such communication breakdown can occur for a number of reasons. These barriers to effective communication are often collectively referred to as noise.(See diagram 2)Even when two people speak a common language, and share common experiences and background knowledge and traditions, the communication process may not work as effectively as we would like.When we add the extra dimension of cultural difference, the process becomes even more complex. There is an even greater chance of communication breaking down not only because of the language complications, but also because of cultural differences.Questions for Discussion:1. Compare these two communication models with the ones in Unit l. What similarities or differences doyou find?The similarities of these two diagrams are that both of them show clearly the pattern of communication which is basically the transfer of a message from one person to another and that there are at least three components involved in communication: the message itself, then the sender who encodes the message and finally the receiver who decodes the message. The differences lie in the fact that diagram 1 fails to illustrate clearly what are involved in the course of the transferring of the message, which is shown in Diagram 2. Diagram 1 does not give us any clue to indicate that in normal everyday communication, the message does not always transfer from the sender to the receiver, which is called communication breakdown, while Diagram 2 illustrates such reasons as “age difference”, “boring message”, “emotional state”, “”verbal message differ from non verbal” and so on and so forth as reasons causing the communication breakdown. For example, if a fellow student speaks too fast, I may not catch what he is saying. Or if somebody talks to me about Einsteins Theory of Relativity which is Creek to me, then I will miss all the message in his speech.2. Why do you think sometimes we may experience communication breakdown?Anyway, we can see from these two diagrams that even when two people speak a common language and share a common culture, that is to say, in the mono-cultural communication, communication breakdown is likely to occur for many reasons as listed in Diagram 2. When we add the extra dimension of cultural difference, the process becomes even more complex. Thats why we often say that cross-cultural communication is a risky business, for in cross-cultural communication, there is not only the language problem, but also the cultural differences.Reading and Discussion for Unit 2Read the passage and give a brief analysis to the discussion questions.The American secretary at the Foreign Student Affairs Office always smiles at every foreign student who visits there. A young man from the Middle East misunderstands the smile and thinks that the American lady is in love with him. But one day he ran into her in the street and greeted her, yet she passed by as if she did not recognize him.Angrily, he asked his American roommate: “Why are Americans such hypocrites? His roommate was surprised. Why do you think so?Questions for Discussion:1. Why do you think the young man from the Middle East got angry? Try to explain it from a cross-cultural angle.We know that there are two definitions of a social situation. One is the official definition given by the community. The other is the participants definition given by a certain participant. The two types of definition may coincide or differ. Clearly, the American secretary at the Foreign Student Affairs Office smiles at every foreign student who visits the office. She understands this social situation with the official definition. To her, the Foreign Student Affairs Office is the public place where she works. It is her duty to deal with affairs concerning foreign students so she smiles at them to show her willingness to offer help and also to show her friendliness and good manners. Yet the young man from the Middle East mistakes her smile for her being in love with him. This is his participants definition given to the situation. Perhaps in his culture, a girl never smiles at a man unless she is in love with him. So he thinks that the American secretary loves him. He is not aware of the office definition given by the American society. His participants definition obviously runs count to the office definition.2. What do you think his roommate can do to help him better understand the situation?I think to solve his problem, his roommate should tell him the office definition of this social situation given by the American society and his own definition of the situation, pointing out that his participants definition fail tomatch the official definition. Thats why he was angry with the American lady. Yet he must adjust himself to the newculture and get used to the new society so as to have successful cross-cultural communication.Items for self-test, Units l & 2Part 1Directions: The following statements are about various aspects in cross-cultural communication. Choose the best one to complete each statement or question.1.Xiao Wang meets Peter at the airport and says to him: Morning, Peter! In this case, the source of information is_A_.A. Xiao WangB. PeterC. the airportD. Morning, Peter!2. There are two kinds of cross-cultural communication: unilateral communication and_C_.A. successful communicationB. verbal communicationC. bilateral communicationD. unsuccessful communication3.Utterance meaning in a face-to-face communication refers to_B_.A. what the speaker has intended to convey in what is saidB. what what is said normally meansC. what the hearer has understood on the basis of what is saidD. the associative meaning words have4. When we are in a social gathering, we must be aware of the rules and procedures that govern theway things are going to proceed. These rules and procedures are technically called_D_.A. anecdotesB. goalsC. gesturesD. schema (schemas)5. Which doesnt belong to the group in a cross-cultural situation? _B_A. Head movements.B. Social valuesC. Facial expressionsD. Body contact6. When you are invited for a western meal, youre offered a second helping but you have alreadyhad enough. What would you say? _D_A. Oh, thanks. That tastes awful.B. No, I dont want to have any of that.C. No, I dont like it.D. That was delicious but Ive already had plenty7. Most Americans see themselves as separate_B_, not as representatives of a family, community or other group.A. independenceB. individualsC. customersD. cultures8. It is right to ask children or teenagers their age. But it is not normally_D_in English speaking societies to ask an adult their age -and never a woman!A. considerateB. inappropriateC. impoliteD. polite9. The American child is nurtured to be _A_ , to be able to do whatever he could by himself,ever since he was born.A. independentB. good-lookingC. obedientD. private10.One way of talking about the different stages in getting used to life in a new country is the distinction of euphoria, depression_C_ and acceptance.A. criticismB. admirationC. adjustmentD. shockand acceptance.Part 2Directions: The following statements are about various aspects in cross-cultural communication. Decide whether each of them is TRUE or FALSE.11. In face-to-face communication, non-verbal signals are not as important as verbal messages._B_A. TrueB. False12. When we Chinese refer to something about ourselves or related to us, we tend W elevate them._B_A. True.B. False.13. When you phone to tell your friend something, you are the source of information._A_A. True.B. False14. Culture shock is a term used to describe the anxiety and feelings ( of surprise, disorientation, confusion, etc. ) felt when people have to operate within an entirely different cultural or social environment, such as a different country or a different state than where they live._A_A. TrueB. False15. Chinese people tend to say things like .No, not really when they are asked” Are you hungry? in the host family._A_A. TrueB. FalseReading and Discussion for Unit 3Read the passage and give a brief analysis to the discussion questions.Linda Walker is a new American teacher in her fifties and has asked her new colleagues to call her Linda.Shes been invited for dinner to the home of her young Chinese colleague Xu, who is also an English teacher. When Linda arrives, she is introduced to Xus 5-year old daughter.Hello, granny, said the little girl in English.No, not granny, the mother hurriedly corrected.This is Linda. ?“But why? Shes so much older than you! How can you be so impolite! “The little girl was puzzled and protested in Chinese. Then Lindas face flushed and didnt know what to say.Fortunately, Linda didnt understand Chinese, though she could sense something was wrong from the little girl s reaction.Questions for Discussion:1. What was the reason for the awkwardness in this situation?The reason lies in the different use of kin terms in China, where kin terms are widely used to address known or unknown people.2. Why did the little girl think it was impolite to call Linda by her first name?In Chinese culture, the appropriate use of kin terms is considered to reflect a persons politeness, respectfulness and friendliness. Thats why the 5-year old Chinese girl addresses Linda “granny” to show her politeness and respectfulness, for in China young people are taught to respect the old and show their respectfulness by using the right kin term to address them. This is also why the little girl thinks it was impolite to call Linda by her first name. Yet this polite addressing term causes embarrassment on the side of Linda, in whose culture, kin terms are mainly confined to family members, never extended to outsiders. And foreigners tend to view age as a relatively private thing, especially among females and they dont want to be regarded as old and dont feel comfortable with the kin term “granny”.3. Suppose you are the mother, what would you explain to both the little daughter and Linda?If I were the mother, I would explain to Linda the extended use of kin terms among Chinese and the Chinese way to treat the old as respectful. Then I would explain to my daughter how to address a person properly the western way and the differences involved in the use of kin terms in the two cultures.Reading and Discussion for Unit 4Read the passage and give a brief analysis to the discussion questions.Dinner with FriendsJanice is a young American engineer working for a manufacturing joint venture near Nanjing.She and her husband George, who is teaching English at a university, are learning Chinese and enjoying their new 1ife. They have been eager to get to know Chinese people better so were pleased when Liu Ling, Janices young co-worker invited them to her home for dinner.When Janice and George arrived, Liu Ling introduced them to her husband Yang Feng, asked them to sit down at a table containing 8 plates of various cold dishes, served them tea and then disappeared with her husband into the kitchen. After a few minutes Liu Ling came back and added water to-their tea. Jan- ice offered to help in the kitchen but Liu I.ing said she didnt need help. She invited the couple to look at their new CD player and their color TV and then disappeared again.A half-hour later she came back and sat down and the three began to eat. Yang Feng came in from time to time to put dish after hot dish on the table. Most of the food was wonderful but neither George nor Janice could eat the fatty pork in pepper sauce or the sea cucumbers, and there was much more than they could eat. They kept wishing Yang Feng would sit down so they could talk to him.Finally he did sit down to eat a bit, but quickly turned on the TV to show them all its high tech features. Soon it was time to go home.George and Janice felt slightly depressed by this experience, but returned the invitation two weeks later. They decided to make a nice American meal and felt lucky to find olives, tomato juice, crackers and even some cheese in the hotel shops. They put these out as appetizers. For the main course they pre, pared spaghetti and a salad with dressing made from oil, vinegar and some spices they found in the market.When Liu Ling and Yang Feng arrived they were impressed by the apartment and asked the price of the TV, video player, vacuum cleaner and other things. Janice politely refused to answer their questions. They took small tastes of the appetizers and seemed surprised when both Ceorge and Janice sat down with them. They ate only a little spaghetti and did not finish the salad on their plates. Ceorge urged them to eat more but they refused and looked around expectantly. Janice and Ceorge talked about their families and jobs and asked the Chinese couple about theirs. After a while, Ceorge cleaned the table and served coffee and pastries. Yang Feng and Liu Ling each put four spoons of sugar into their coffee but did not drink much of it and ate only a bite or two of pastry.After they left, George said that at least they had a chance to talk, but Janice was upset. We left their place so full that we couldnt walk and they re going to have to eat again when they get home.What went wrong?Questions for Discussion:1. Why did George and Janice feel slightly depressed after the dinner at Liu Lings home?And why was Janice upset when Liu Ling and Yang Feng left?In China, it is traditional that hosts entertain guests by offering many course of dishes to show how their hospitality, and the number of courses served usually has the connotation of good luck, e.g. the number 8 sounds like “发”, which means getting rich. It is quite common, especially in cities, that the husband helps a lot in cooking and serving the food if the guests are friends of his wifes. Hosts treat, especially distinguished guests, very politely by offering delicious and expensive dishes as many as possible. Guests offer of help is normally politely turned down, as it is only considered a way the guests show their politeness and observation of the decorum. Besides, TV programs often play an important role in providing entertainment at a family dinner parties. These Chinese conventions help explain the way Liu Ling and Yang Feng entertained Janice and George.2: What differences in food culture, do you think, contribute to the communication difficulties?In the West, hosts hospitality is not shown by the quality and quantity of the food, but by offering their own specialty. They hope their guests would like the food and enjoy their efforts. The hospitality is also shown by the hosts accompanying the guests and having a conversation with them. So both the host and hostess would accompany the guests to have dinner and have a talk together. Guests would not ask any private questions such as the price of the furniture, etc. These western conventions help explain the way Janice and George treated Liu Ling and Yang Feng. Liu Ling and Yang Feng followed the Chinese convention habit, thats why they asked about the prices, and often Chinese guests want to show their cultivation and manners by eating limited amount of food, and this may explain why Liu Ling and Yang Feng ate only a little food.3. What advice can you give to both couples to help them further their friendship?It is advisable for both couples to learn each others culture through experience, chatting, 2 observing and reading. On suitable occasions, e.g. at parties, friendly and interesting conversations about their respective cultures, such as ways of entertaining guests, normal conversation topics and taboos etc, can be an effective way of understanding each other. Through such interactions, their friendship will surely be enhanced.Items for self-test, Units 3 & 4Part 1Directions: The following statements are about various aspects in English names. Fill in the blanks to complete each statement.The last name, or_surname_ as it is also known, is the _family name_.2. In some offices, it is usual to _sign_documents that you have seen by adding the first letter of your name.3. Both Chinese names and English names give clues about place identity, family relationship, ethnic group, parents expectation and values or even personal _characteristics_.4. The most frequently used titles used before sumames are Mr. , Mrs. , Miss and Ms_Ms_refers to both married and unmarried women.5.In America _guys_ is che collective informal term for addressing a group of friends.6. Holland is a beautiful country. The people from Holland are called _Dutchmen_;they speak_Dutch_;and when they dine out, they prefer to _go Dutch_.7. The English names used for relatives do not distinguish between patemal and matemal relativesnor between relatives according to _ birth order _.8. Female first names tend to be longer than male names in terms of the number of _syllables9. _Female_names are more likely than male names to end in vowel sound.10. What is the name for a British person? We can talk about the British in general. “_Briton_”appears mostly in newspaper headlines while Britiaher is used mainly by non_British-speakers.Part 2Directions: The following table shows the comparison of various aspects in social interaction, like visiting a friend or during a dinner. Please complete the table according to what you have learned in Unit 4. Some of the ideas you may find are not so sharply different, because as you know, peoples ideas and values are always changjng.AspectsChinaWestem countriesInviting family membersNoYesSettling the billHost pays.11People shares the costPay for oneself implies12 meanness_Equality between friends.Opening the giftsAfter the visitors have left.Directly after receiving it.Opening directly implies13_being greedy_Polite.Wrapping f;iftsNot at all.Wrapping well.How much wine to b
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