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Key to ExercisesOpenerSuggested answers for reference: 1. In China it is a familiar scene that grandparents take their grandchildren to or from school every day, which, however, seldom happens in the West. There parenting responsibility mainly rests with the parents rather than others. 2. In general there is not much difference between Western and Chinese tourists. If any, it seems that Chinese like to pose for photos with the scenery as the background, whereas Westerners often just shoot pictures of scenic spots. 3. Well, its true that many Western employees see them and their boss as equals, but anywhere, anytime, you and your boss are never equals in its truest sense. There always exists a gap in between. Compared with Westerners, Chinese employees might tend to be more forbearing (克制) towards their boss and seldom air their grievances publicly. Reading & InteractingI. Understanding the Text 1. Text Organization PartsParagraphsMain IdeasPart OneParas. 1-2The fulltime presence of the authors mother-in-law after the babys birth skewed the balance in the family. Part TwoParas. 3-5Her mother-in-laws sacrifice made her grateful but uneasy, even suspicious at times. Part ThreeParas. 6-7The author and her husband experienced conflict because of their completely different views on family relationship and gender equity. Part Four Paras. 8-10Her mother-in-laws explanation of her role in the family was a complete cultural shock, because the author, brought up in Canadian culture, prefers greater involvement from her husband in raising their daughter. Part FiveParas. 11-13The women at the dinner table helped put things in perspective for the author. Part SixParas. 14-16 The author finally understood the Chinese way of raising a child, but she is unlikely to change diapers for her mother-in-law in the future. 2. Comprehension Check 2.1 Digging into detail 1. The fact that he wasnt taking on half of the childcare duties, and he thought it was more important to spend time on his work than on his daughter, and his expectation that his mother would do all the housework he was supposed to do. 2. Her mother-in-law explained that her role in the family was to lighten the burden of her son, allowing him to keep his former way of life, and to help her daughter-in-law out with parenting and household management. 3. She thought it was absolutely unacceptable, because, in her view, her husband is one of two parents, and therefore their daughter should be half his responsibility; and she married her husband, not her mother-in-law. 4. He obviously believed that mothers are the primary caregiver of children and this was the normal difference between mothers and fathers. 5. She totally rejected the idea, because she thought what her mother-in-law did was fulfilling the parenting responsibility of her husband, therefore it was her husbands responsibility to take care of his own mother when she was old.2.2 Understanding difficult sentences 1. B 2. B 3. A 4. A 5. B II. Focusing on Language in Context 1. Key Words & Expressions 1.1 1. In a TV interview after the election, the elected congresswoman said repeatedly how grateful she was to all her supporters. 2. More and more people now understand the importance of striking a balance between work and family. 3. Lots of people enjoy cooking yet hate to wash up. 4. In the plane crash over the weekend, the sole survivor was a baby traveling with its parents. 5. More and more people are becoming increasingly aware that climate change affects every aspect of our lives. 6. He used to enjoy going out to dine with friends, but he started spending more time with family after his wife gave birth to their baby daughter. 7. It is a tradition of American universities to invite prominent people from various fields to deliver a speech at their commencement/graduation ceremony. 8. Apart from occasional visits to local places of interest, such as art galleries, exhibitions and shopping centres, the old couple generally stayed at home. 9. The elder gentleman looked over his shoulder before entering the building, making sure nobody was following him. 10. The new product was developed in response to customer demand. 11. The young man drank too much at the party and could barely remember anything when he found himself in the hospital next morning. 12. Students should be encouraged to adopt different approaches to problems. 13. Politicians always try to avoid expressing in public opinions that are considered extreme or unpopular. 14. I love the job, and its an added bonus that its so close to home. 15. It seemed that the employment opportunities available fell short of what people hoped for that year. 16. As some of the issues surrounding climate change are very complex, it will take a long time for the international community to reach consensus. 1.2 1. negotiation 2. hono(u)r 3. phase 4. maintain 5. in the eyes of 6. leaving behind 7. relieve me of 8. work out1.3 1. The prime minister in the United Kingdom is roughly equivalent to the president of the United States. 2. The law requires that a contract has to be signed in the presence of a witness. 3. The couple with the new-born baby was looking for someone to help manage the household. 4. Children can experience much pressure to live up to the expectations of their parents. 5. Growing up means a person learns to take full responsibility for making their own decisions. 6. Chinese parents are known to make huge sacrifices to ensure a good education for their children. 7. A crime is a crime. You dont have a chance of getting away with it. 8. Your analysis put my problems into perspective. 2. Usage 1. a 2. c 3. c 4. a 5. b 6. b 7. c 8. b 3. Sentence Patterns 1. As I see it, those threatened the most by digital technology should learn to adapt and make a living out of it, rather than constantly complain. 2. Its true my wife isnt an excellent cook, but my cooking skill is even worse, so I didnt dare (to) make any comments about what she cooks. 3. My girlfriend was seriously ill then, but she didnt dare (to) tell her parents about it. 4. Its true that I experienced culture shock when I first worked in a different country, but I gradually learned to appreciate the differences rather than feel angry at them. 5. Having worked in a different city for 18 months, the young man was proud of himself for embracing the unknown and making new friends rather than hiding himself in his comfort zone as he used to. 6. The job market is at its worst and I consider myself lucky to find a well-paid job, therefore I dont dare (to) ask for more. 4. Comprehensive Practice 4.1 It is easy to get things wrong if you move to live in a new country with a different culture from your own. You may find yourself facing a whole new set of expectations about the proper way to behave. Go out to dine with your new friends and you may find yourself having to adopt a whole new set of table manners. Then there is the problem of who is responsible for paying for the meal. This may not be immediately apparent. In some cultures friends share the cost equally at the end of the meal, in others the preference is for friends to take turns, repaying one meal with another at a later date. Working out the details of local customs like these may take time, but, in my view, it is well worth the effort if you want to avoid misunderstandings. 4.2 To be a grandparent is a big deal in China. Chinese grandparents are widely known for their devotion to the responsibilities of taking care of the third generation. This, however, is a primary cause of the conflict between parents and their adult children, for there exist apparent differences in aspects like lifestyle and parenting approaches between the two generations. You can expect parents to help you manage your household and take on childcare duties, thus relieving you of your burden as a parent, but you must know, very often, you have to leave your own parenting ideas behind. Meanwhile, the adult child simply cant take the kindness of his/her parents for granted. As your parents helped you out when you struggled to balance family and career, you are certainly expected to repay their kindness by taking care of them when they get old. Reading & ComprehendingReading 1 1. Comprehension Check for Reading 1 1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T 6. F 7. F 8. T 9. T 10. F 2. Translation 1. 我妈常说，一个孩子挨一次批评就需要5次表扬，在这一点上她也一直身体力行。不是说我从来不挨批评、有错也没人指出。也不是说不该表扬的地方也表扬。 2. 他要是称赞我漂亮，我也许会觉得不必再去减掉那几斤赘肉。他乒乓训练时表现错如果受到表扬，那下次比赛就不会有进步。这种观念对我来说匪夷所思。 3. 他对我说他爱我，由于不是天天说，我常常觉得自己是做出某种努力才换来他这么说的。 4. 我觉得陌生的事，老公R很看重。现在我们有了孩子要一起抚养，希望我们的孩子Z能收获两个世界的文化精粹。 Reading 2 Comprehension Check for Reading 2 1. She lacks speaking skills and she doesnt read Chinese at all. She blames that on three reasons: her companies always failed to provide her with Chinese language courses, she was not taught Chinese in the right way, and mandarin tones are crazy. 2. She cant hear the difference in tones. 3. She found out that she can learn pronunciation and vocabulary in the way children learn English, that is, by means of rhyme, songs, etc., for rhyming and singing tones is much easier to memorize. 4. Because singing pop songs is a great way to learn Chinese, and as a bonus, she can impress Chinese friends at KTV. Integrated Skills PracticingI. Viewing & Listening Cultural differenceIn ChinaIn the U.S.Friendship A lot of people dont have big groups of friends, but a very small group of friends, with whom they are extremely close and share everything. A lot of people in America have many friends, but they may not be close, or they are close with just one or two. Collectivism vs. individualism People tend to do things with the considerations of others in mind first. Theyll get the opinion of others before they decide on doing something. Others are at least as important as themselves. Americans are very individualistic. What I want is definitely higher than what anyone else wants. Taking compliments People dont like to take compliments. People are glad to hear compliments. Sensitivity to timePeople are a little more lax. They dont tend to plan things well. People are very punctual. They always look at their watch or phone to figure out what time it is. They like to set and meet deadlines. Being late is not OK. Transcript: Hey guys, this video is about cultural differences between America and China. I just happen to be from America but Im sure a lot of you guys who are not from America, you know, just from the West in general, maybe Europe or something, this could probably apply to your country as well. One thing I have noticed that is different culturally is friendship. Friendship is a little it seems to be a little bit different here. In America we just kind of casually just say, oh yeah that guy is my friend, that guy is my friend, oh she is my friend, totally, like, so I have like 500 friends in America. And but Im not really close with any of them. Maybe this is just my fault or something. But in, and Ive just noticed that, like, a lot of people in America have their friends, but theyre not terribly close with a lot of them. Maybe one, or two. But Ive noticed in China that a lot of people dont have big groups of friends. They dont casually just say, oh that guys my friend, that guys my friend, that guy is my friend, shes my friend. They dont do that with their friendships. Theyll have, you know, a very, very small group of friends, but those friends that they have will be extremely, extremely close, that they will share everything with. Ahmn, so yeah, there is a less casual way of approaching friendship in China that Ive noticed. One thing that Ive noticed that is really different between China and America is the difference between individualism and collectivism and or like duty to the family, or something like that. And in America we are very individualistic. We say, I want to do this and I want to do that. Im going to do this, Im going to do that, cause itll make me happy, thats what I want to do. But in China, people tend to do things with the considerations of others in mind first. Theyll get the opinion of others before they decide on doing something, and theyll say, you know, is this good for my family, is this good for other people. And so Chinese people it seem. they think about others more than themselves. Or others are at least as important as themselves. So its a big difference. Another little cultural difference that Ive noticed in China is very small, its not that important, but, it is there. Its the nature of taking compliments. In China, people dont really take compliments. If you say to eh. somebody, hey, your English is so good, or youre you look so nice today, or something like that, theyll, theyll, kind of, theyll go, um, well, my English is, thats OK, or, theyd say, oh its an old dress, these are old clothes. You know, Chinese people dont like to take compliments. Theyll say, if you are speaking in Chinese, theyll say, 哪里哪里, which means like, where, where, like where is this person youre talking about. So, but in America, and in the West, if you say, oh man, you look really nice these days, well, oh, great, thanks, you know, thanks for noticing. Or your Chinese is so good. Oh, well thank you. You know I practiced a lot. Its great. So, yeah, thats another difference, and one thats really small, you will notice it in everyday life, its very common. The thing that Im going to end with today is about time. Im going to talk about time and the way that people are sensitive to time in China. Its a little different than in America. In America we are very punctual, were very, very time-oriented, people are always looking at their watch or their phones or something, always trying to figure out what time it is. You know, if you say, hey I need this report, I need this thing on my desk by Monday at 8 oclock, or I need it by the end of the day today. In America, well get that done, well itll be done. And if you say, hey, we are gonna meet at 8 oclock, we are gonna do this and do this, Americans, we will be there at 8 oclock, well be there early, absolutely, absolutely. Being late is not ok. But in China they are a little more lax. Eh, they dont tend to plan things as well. For example, a lot of my friends who teach at different universities all around China, they have told me, and I also have experiences, like, the weekend, the weekend before school starts, so school starts Monday, and then, say its Friday, or its Saturday, I still havent received my class schedule, I havent received name lists for class, I havent received really important stuff, you know. And, thats just the lack of planning and organization. They just say, oh, well get to it eventually. And thats pretty common. And Ive experienced this, you know, myself, and a lot of my friends who work in China, theyve noticed this as well. And that closes up this video of cultural differences between China and America. I hope you found it interesting and informative. 9
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