Unit 3
Cultural Diversity
Reading I
Different Lands, Different Friendships
Comprehension questions
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 Western friendships.
Reading II
Comparing and Contrasting Cultures
Comprehension questions
1. How is the mainstream American culture different from the Japanese culture?
Americans believe that human nature is basically good and man is the master of nature. They are future-oriented and “being”-oriented. Their social orientation is toward the importance of the individual and the equality of all people. However, the Japanese believe that human nature is a mixture of good and evil. Man is in harmony with nature. They are both past-oriented and future-oriented. And they are both “growing-”and “doing-”oriented. They give emphasis to authorities and the group.
2. Can you find examples to support the author’s view of traditional cultures in different value orientations?
For example, the traditional Indian culture believes that man is subjugated by nature and it is being-oriented (which can be exemplified by its caste system). Also, traditional Chinese culture is past-oriented, for emphasis has long been given to learning from the old and past.
3. Why do Americans tend to equate “change” with “improvement” and regard rapid change as normal?
Concerning orientation toward time, Americans are dominated by a belief in progress. They are future-oriented. They believe that “time is money”and have an optimistic faith in the future and what the future will bring. So they tend to equate “change” with “improvement” and consider a rapid rate of change as normal.
4. What does “Electric Englishman” mean when it is used to describe the American?
As for activity, Americans are so action-oriented that they tend to be
hyperactive. That’s why that they have been described as “Electric Englishmen”, who always keep themselves busy.
5. How would you explain the fact that contradictory values may exist in the same culture?
As time changes faster and faster and there is more contact between cultures, it is more likely to find contradictory values existing in the same culture. This is especially the case in a society that is being transformed from a traditional one into a modern one. For example, in the Japanese culture, some people may still be very past-oriented and some are rather future-oriented, and even the same people may be sometimes past-oriented in certain situations and sometime future-oriented in other situations.
6. What can we get from models of this kind about cultural differences? Models of this kind are quite useful in giving rough pictures of striking contrasts and differences of different cultures. However, such a model only compares cultures on some basic orientations. It does not tell us everything about every conceivable culture. We have to recognize that models of this kind are over-simplifications and can only give approximations of reality.
7. Do cultural values change as time changes?
Yes, the values may be in the process of marked change due to rapid modernization and globalization. However, they have a way of persisting in spite of change. The evolution of values is a slow process, since they are rooted in survival needs and passed on from generation to generation.
8. How is communication influenced by differing cultural values?
Putting people from one culture into another culture with radically different value orientations could cause stress, disorientation, and breakdowns in communication.
Case Study
Case 9
Hierarchy is significant in the Japanese culture. This structure is reflected everywhere in Japanese life, at home, school, community, organizations, and traditional institutions such as martial arts or flower arrangements.
In this case, the young chairman must have had his own ideas about how to manage the company; however, when encountered with his grandfather’s d issenting opinions, he dared not to take a stand against him. This may manifest the rigid hierarchical
structure in the Japanese society. In the Japanese society, how hierarchy is formed depends mainly on seniority, social roles, and gender. As a respectable senior member of the family and the former leader of the company, the grandfather obviously overpowered the inexperienced young chairman. In other words, the grandfather seemed to be an absolute authority for the young chairman. In Japanese culture, challenging or disagreeing with elders’ opinions would be deemed as being disrespectful and is often condemned. People in lower positions are expected to be loyal and obedient to authority. That‘s why the young chairman didn’t say anything but just nodded and agreed with his grandfather.
But Phil seemed to know little about the Japanese culture in this aspect. In many Western cultures, particularly American culture, seniority seldom matters very much in such situations, and young people are usually encouraged to challenge authority and voice their own opinions. Unfortunately, his outspoken protest could easily offend the grandfather and he might be regarded as a rude and ill-bred person by other Japanese.
Case 10
In Japan, a company is often very much like a big family, in which the manger(s) will take good care of the employees and the employees are expected to devote themselves to the development of the company and, if it is necessary, to sacrifice their own individual interests for the interests of the company, from which, in the long run, the employees will benefit greatly. But for the French, a company is just a loosely- knit social organization wherein individuals are supposed to take care of themselves and their families. Moreover, the way the French make decisions in the family might also be different from the typical Japanese one, which may not often involve females and the power to decide usually lies with the dominating male. As there are such cultural differences between the Japanese and the Frenc h, Mr. Legrand’s decision made Mr. Tanaka feel dumbfounded.
Case 11
Incidents such as these can point to possible cultural differences in so-called “polite” behavior, and at the same time highlight the tendency for people to react emotionally to unexpected behavior.
People in most cultures would probably agree that an apology is needed when an offence or violation of social norms has taken place. However, there may be differing opinions as to when we should apologize (what situations call for an apology) and how we should apologize. To many Westerners, Japanese apologize more frequently and an apology in Japanese does not necessarily mean that the person is acknowledging a fault. To many Japanese, Westerners may seem to be rude just because they do not apologize as often as the Japanese would do. In this case, for instance, the attitude of the Australian student’s parents is shocking to the Japanese but will be acceptable in an English-speaking society, for the student is already an adult and can be responsible for her own deeds.
Case 12
In this case, it seems that the Chinese expectations were not fulfilled. First, having two people sharing host responsibilities could be somewhat confusing to the hierarchically minded Chinese. Second, because age is often viewed as an indication of seniority, the Chinese might have considered the youth of their Canadian hosts as slight to their own status. Third, in China, it is traditional for the host to offer a welcome toast at the beginning of the meal, which is the reciprocated by the guests; by not doing so, the Canadian might be thought rude. The abrupt departure of the Chinese following the banquet was probably an indication that they were not pleased with the way they were treated. The Canadians’ lack of understanding of the Chinese culture and the Chinese ways of communication clearly cost them in their business dealings
Unit 1 1. 他们都认为他成功的可能性很小。 They all believed that his chances of success were slim. 2. 我不知道她为何总带有一种闷闷不乐的神情。 I don’t know why she always has an air of sadness. 3. 等到所有同学都就座后，学生会主席才开始宣布野营的日程安排。After all students were seated, the president of the students’ union proceeded to announce the camping itinerary. 4. 胃是人体至关重要的器官，请善待之。 Please take good care of our stomach which is a vital organ of our human body. 5、他认为总经理如此重视那些日常琐事是荒唐的。 He considered it absurd for the general manager to attach so much importance to those routine trifles. 6. 她的研究涉及多种语言和文化，富有挑战性。 Her study was full of challenge, which was concerned with many languages and cultures. 7. 根据安排，全体工作人员依次值晚班。 As is scheduled, all staff should take turns to do late duty. 8. 想到要远离父母独自生活，她深感不安。 She felt upset at the thought of leaving her parents and having an independent living in a remote area.
Unit 1 To the Student’s Book TEXT 1 Pre-Reading Questions √ 1. The writer describes what his first job was like. __ 2. The writer wanted to have a job because he wanted some experience. √ 3. The writer found his first job unpleasant __ 4. The writer enjoyed his first job 2.The Main Idea(P4) (3)The writer was interviewed by the headmaster of a school and was offered a job which was none too pleasant. 3.Vocabulary(P5) A. Guessing the meanings of words: 1. f 2. h 3. c 4. b 5. g 6. e 7. d 8. a B. Looking up words in a dictionary: 1. inconvenient and uncomfortable 2. sad; low in spirits 3. gloomy; cheerless 4. make a short, deep, rough sound (like a pig), showing dissatisfaction 5. very necessary 6. shock deeply; fill with fear 7. timidly 8. greatest; extreme 4.Questions(P7) 1. What are big staring sash-windows? Reference Answer: They are very large windows, so large that they look like people’s wide open eyes. What is the implied meaning of ―they struggled to survive the dust and fumes from a busy main road’? Reference Answer: They (the four evergreen shrubs) did their best to remain alive in spite of the dust and smoke from a main road with heavy traffic. Describe the appearance of the headmaster in your own words. Reference Answer: He was short and stout. He grew a moustache which was pale reddish yellow. His forehead was covered with freckles. What impression did the hall give the writer? Reference Answer: It was a narrow, dim (unlighted) hall which had an offensive odor of dried up cabbage. The walls, once painted in cream color, had darkened to the color of margarine and in a few places were marked with ink stains. Silence prevailed in the hall. 5. Why do you think the headmaster had ―bloodshot eyes? Reference Answer: Perhaps he liked to have a drop too much. What kind of class was the writer asked to teach? Reference Answer: It was a class of 24 boys who were from seven to thirteen years.
《跨文化交际》试题（附答案） Paper 1 Communication Analysis ? The following are three different cases of cross-cultural communication. In each of the cases there is something to be improved upon. Write an analysis on what is to be desired for more successful communication or cultural understanding.? ? Question 1 Case 1: Chen Bing, a Chinese tour guide, is talking to a Canadian tourist, Luke Baines, who has no knowledge of Chinese at all. They are having dinner in a restaurant. Chen: This is Beijing duck, one of China's most famous dishes. You'll love it! Luke: No, thanks. I don't like duck. I prefer chicken.? ? Question 2 Case 2: Feng Li and Tom have been working on a scientific experiment at a British university for some months. It has not been totally successful. They are discussing the situation in the laboratory. Feng Li: I don't know where it went wrong! Tom, Don't feel so bad. Cheer up, you've done your job. Feng Li: But our experiment has turned out to be a failure. Tom: Relax for a couple of days. I'll face the music. Feng Li: Tom, we are not playing children's games here. This is a scientific experiment. Tom, I've never taken the experiment as child’ s play, and I'm playing the game. Feng Li: You say you're playing the game! It's a rather important experiment! Feng Li walks out of the Laboratory angrily. Tom is puzzled.? ? Question 3 Case 3: This is a more complex situation where there are several things that require more informed cultural analysis. Find the cultural problems and explain the cultural differences. Jim and Li Zhen were students together at Leeds University in Britain. A year later, after graduating, Jim went to Shanghai as a visiting scholar on a year’s exchange.
期末考试范围 ? 1. 阅读理解2篇（20%） ? 2. 选词填空：15个句子（15个备选项，课后的key concepts,概念的词为主。（15%） ?eg: ———the belief that any individual, no matter how poor, can achieve wealth and fame through diligence and virtue. ? 3. 简答题：课后comprehension questions和case study( 课内或者稍微改动的）。（25%） 4. 实用写作：一封信什么的（格式）（10%） 5. 写作：给出某个文化现象观点，运用所学文化差异进行评论 （comment)。（30%） 如: 说给一个关于教育的话题（文化现象），我们要用所学的中 美教育差异进行评论，议论文形式。 价值观，家庭观，社会关系朋友观，饮食观，教育观，时间观等 篇目：Unit1: A B C Unit2 A Unit3 A B Unit5A Unit6A Unit7 A Unit10 B Unit1 A Key concepts reservation: 谦逊的coldness: 冷静的 modesty：谦虚的 humor：幽默的 sportsmanship：运动员精神 Q1、what is a reserved person like? Answer: A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers, does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited. Q2、what is the character of the Englishmen? Answer: reserved 、humor、modesty、cold、sportsmanship. Q3、what is sportsmanship? Answer: sportsmanship is the ability to practice a sport according to its rules, while al so showing generosity to one’s opponent and good temper in defeat. Case study Q、What made the British feel quite unhappy in this situation?
1.英文原声电影赏析与跨文化交际能力的培养 2."跨文化非语言交际语用失误研究 3."公示语翻译中的语用失误探析 4.国内广告语言语用失误研究现状与分析 5."全球化语境下跨文化交际失误语用归因 6."跨文化交际中的语用失误类型及对策研究 7."基于礼貌原则的跨文化语用失误分析 8."跨文化言语交际中的语用负迁移 9."浅析化妆品广告中的语用预设 10."中西方饮食文化的比较研究 11."中美时间观之对比 1 2."浅析汉英问候语中的文化差异 13."英汉词汇的文化内涵差异探析 14."英语身体语的交际功能研究 1 5."浅谈英汉身势语的表意功能之差异 16."目标语文化的理解与跨文化交际 1 7."中西文化差异对中国学生英语学生的影响 18."跨文化交际中的文化误读
9."浅析文化差异对商务谈判的影响 20."英语禁忌语的文化内涵异同研究 21."英语学习中的文化习得 2 2."英汉思维模式的差异对跨文化交际的影响 23."外语学习者的思辨能力与跨文化交际之成效 24."培养英语学习者跨文化交际能力之策略 25."英汉道歉语差异及原因 26."中西跨文化礼貌语差异探析 27."英汉语言中礼貌表达法之比较 28."英汉习惯用语的文化内涵探源 29."英语称赞语及其回应的异同研究 3 0."中美（西）家庭教育理念的差异及其对孩子的影响 31."中国英语学习者跨文化交际中的主要障碍研究 32."试析跨文化交际中角色互动的作用 3 3."本土文化与异国文化的冲突对跨文化交际的影响 34."跨文化交际中的时间观差异 35."论跨文化交际中的中西餐桌礼仪
6."关于提升英语专业学生跨文化交际能力的培养 37."涉外婚姻中的中西文化冲突 38."论跨文化广告传播中食品商标的翻译439."多媒体教学与跨文化交际能力的培养40."中西方儿童文学的差异 4 1."中西体育文化的差异及其受全球化发展的影响 42."中西传统休闲文化及其价值观的对比分析 43."简爱与林黛玉不同命运的文化透析 44."国际商务活动中礼貌原则的应用 4 5."论文化背景知识在外语阅读教学中的作用 46."国际商务交际活动中的非语言交际 47."浅析英汉汽车商标的特点及其翻译 48."英汉隐喻差异的文化阐释 49."文化语境下的英汉植物词 50."文化语境下的英汉动物词 51."从体态语探析中西文化差异 52."浅析英汉颜色词的文化内涵 53."文化视野下英语谚语的比较
Dictation Unit 1 The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Sullivan, came to me. It was the third of March, 1887, three months before I was seven years old. On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, dumb, expectant, I guessed from my mother’s sign and from the hurrying in the house that something unusual was about to happen, so I went to the door and waited on the steps. Hanging down from the porch was sweet-smelling honeysuckle. My fingers lightly touched the familiar leaves and blossoms which had just come forth to greet the sweet southern spring. I did not know what surprise the future held for me. I felt approaching footsteps. I stretched out my hand as I supposed to my mother. Someone took it, and I was caught up and held close in the arms of her who had come to help me discover all things to me, and, more than anything else, to love me. Translation: 1.They al believe that he had a slim chance of success. 2.I didn’t know why she has an air of sadness all the time. 3.It was after all the students had taken their seats that the president of the students’ union proceeded to announce the camping itinerary. 4.The stomach is a vital organ of the human body; please take good care of it. 5.He considered it ridiculous for the general manager to attach so much importance to those routine trifles. 6.Her study, which ranged over many languages and cultures, was full of challenge. 7.As is scheduled, all the members of the stuff take turns to do late duty. 8.She was greatly upset at the thought of leaving her parents and living on her own in a remote area. 9.We do not worry so much about her qualifications for the job as about her health. 10.He was greatly excited about the prospect of leaving a cruise around the world. Paragraph translation From Fred’s point of view, the interview was very smoothly indeed. Five days before, he had applied for a job at a small business company and now he was being interviewed by one of its directors. Fred had been working as a salesman. He wanted to change his job not because he was short of money, but because as a salesman he could hardly enjoy any leisure at all. Fred had been worried that he might lose his head and say something silly, but fortunately he found that he had a lot in common with the director. It was clear that the director was quite satisfied. Fred was thinking that his chances of landing the job were favorable when the director proceeded to ask, “Do you mind working overtime?”
UNIT 2 一. Translation 1. Do you know which team won the football match? I have no idea. You may ask XiaoLi, he is a member of the team.\ He is on the team. 2. It is not suitable (proper) to regard this film either as totally good or completely bad. 3. I wonder if I should tell my parents that I failed in the examination. 4. Of course, he behaved dreadfully, but after all, he is only six years old. 5. The moment he saw his boss, he trembled as if he had seen a ghost. 6. I don’t think we can afford the house, even if we save every penny we have. The other day: the past time\a few days ago Take````seriously```: take````important``` Withered: become dry and then to die Clumsy: movement is not quick, stupid One of there days: in the near future Unique: specially, only one
Part 1 Comprehensive Check （15*2）每课的练习A Part 2 Multiple Choice （25*1）每课的练习E复习题的变体；另外请中看第五章 Part 3 E-C Translation（10*1）每课的练习C Part 4 Term-matching（10*1） Part 5 Multiple function（5*5）其中三道是简答题，两道是案例分析。 Terms/questions: 1. Economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology. 2. Barber system –Farming communities traded their surplus produce in exchange for products and services without the medium of money. –Human society has always traded goods across great distances. 3. Global village：real time events 、the time and space compression –All the different parts of the world form one community linked together by electronic communications, especially the Internet. 4. Melting-pot大熔炉: a socio-cultural assimilation of people of different backgrounds and nationalities. 5. Diversity: refers to the mix of people from various backgrounds in the labor force with a full mix of cultures and sub-cultures to which members belong. 6. Intercultural communication: refer to communication between people whose cultural backgrounds are distinct enough to alter their communication event. Perception 7. Culture: can been seen as shared knowledge, what people need to know in order to act appropriately in a given culture. Culture: a learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, and norms, which affect the behavior of a relatively large group of people 8. Enculturation(文化习得): all the activities of learning one’s culture are called enculturation 9. Acculturation(文化适应): the process which adopts the changes brought about by another culture and develops an increased similarity between the two cultures. 10. Ethnocentric(文化中心主义):the belief that your own cultural background is superior. 11. Communication: mean to share with or to make common, as in giving to another a part or share of your thoughts, hopes, and knowledge. 12. Components of Communication： Source交际邀请 The source is the person with an idea he or she desires to communicate. Encoding编码 Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), humans are not able to share thoughts directly. Your communication is in the form of a symbol representing the idea you desire to communicate. Encoding is the process of putting an idea into a symbol. Message编码信息 The term message identifies the encoded thought. Encoding is the process, the verb; the message is the resulting object. Channel交际渠道 The term channel is used technically to refer to the means by which the encoded message is transmitted. The channel or medium, then, may be print, electronic, or the light and sound waves of the face-to-face communication.
Unit 1 Language Structures Main Teaching Points: The Passive Sentence involving the moral auxiliary have to . The pupils should be told that their homework has to be checked before they hand it in. 2. converted from the active sentence with a direct and indirect object . She isn’t paid anything for overtime. 3. involving the verb phrase/ phrasal verb . I don’t think anybody should be made fun of because of his physical handicap. 4. from by the They say/It is said …patterns . They say/ It is said that three parks will be expanded. Language Points: scratch: (at sth.) to rub your skin with your nails, usually because it is itching;挠，搔（痒处）; to make or remove a mark刮出（或刮去）痕迹；（sb./sth.）(from sth.)to decide that sth. cannot happen or sb./sth. cannot take part in sth., before it starts.取消，撤销，退出 . 1) The dog scratched itself behind the ear. 2)I’d scratched my leg and it was bleeding. 3)Be careful not to scratch the furniture. 4)His pen scratched away on the paper. 5)to scratch a rocket launch取消火箭发射计划 6)She has scratched because of a knee injury. 2. turn sb./sth. down: to reject or refuse to consider an offer, a proposal, etc. or the person who makes it.拒绝，顶回（提议、建议或提议人）；to reduce the noise, heat, etc. produced by a piece of equipment by moving its controls 把…调低；关小 has been turned down for ten jobs so far. 2)He asked her to marry him but she turned him down. 3)Please turn the volume down.音量调低。 3. look down on sb./sth.: to think that you are better than sb./ sth.蔑视，轻视，瞧不起 . She looks down on people who haven’t been to college. look sb. up and down: to look at sb. in a careful or critical way上下仔细打量，挑剔地审视某人 (not) look yourself :to not have your normal healthy appearance气色不像往常那样好 . You’re not looking yourself today.=You look tired or ill/sick.
Unit 3 Cultural Diversity Reading I Different Lands, Different Friendships Comprehension questions 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?
Answers to Unit 1 TEXT 1 ( P2 ) My First Job Comprehension A. True (T) or False (F)? 1. The writer thought that the likelihood of him getting the job was not great though he was young and eager to do something useful. T 2. The headmaster liked the young man at first sight. F The headmaster did not like the young man when he went for an interview. He looked at him with surprised disapproval and, instead of showing welcome to the young man, he just grunted, which was an expression of irritation and displeasure 3. The headmaster saw eye to eye with the writer as far as children’s games were concerned. F They did not think alike. To the headmaster, games played an essential role in a boy’s education but the writer did not consider games to have so much importance to the boys. 4. The writer was not happy about his having to teach algebra and geometry, but he did not mind having to walk a mile along the dusty road to the Park. T 5. The young man was satisfied with the salary he would get. F The young man would only get twelve pounds a week including lunch, which was by no means good pay. Of course the writer was not satisfied. However, before he could say anything about the poor pay, the headmaster had stood up and asked the young man to meet his wife. 6. The writer did not feel unhappy at the idea of working under the headmaster’s wife. F The writer thought it was something he could hardly bear. To him, for a young man to work under a woman would be shameful and would result in a loss of dignity and self-respect. B. Explain the following in your own words. 1. Being very short of money and wanting to do something useful, I applied, fearing as I did so, that without a degree and with no experience of teaching my chances of landing the job were slim. Because I was in bad need of money and was eager to do something of use, I applied for the job. But at the same time that I did so, I was afraid that the possibility for me to get the job was very small because I didn’t have a university degree, nor did I have any teaching experience. 2. ...three days later a letter arrived, summoning me to Croydon for an interview. … three days later I received a letter, asking me to go to Croydon to have an interview. 3. He looked at me with an air of surprised disapproval, as a colonel might look at a private whose bootlaces were undone. He cast a look at me with the same surprise and dislike as a colonel would look at a soldier when his bootlaces came loose.