Unit 7
Cultures
Learning Objectives
At the end of the unit, students will be able to:
1.Know about some famous cultural landmarks of the world;
2.Have a general understanding of cultural differences, such as marriage customs,
table manners, etc.;
3. show their mastery of the words and expressions concerning cultures.
Part I Warm-up Activities
A Directions: Below are the names of the world’s famous cultural landmarks. Please
match them with the corresponding pictures.
A. Pyramid
B. Sydney Opera House
C. Eiffel Tower
D. Colosseum
E. the Statue of Liberty
F. Taji Mahal
1. Eiffel Tower
2. Taji Mahal
3.the Statue of Liberty
4. Pyramid
5. Sydney opera house
6. Colosseum
B Directions:Certain animals are chosen as symbols because they have qualities that
stand out. In different cultures the qualities they are associated are different. The following table includes some of the names of the animals. Complete the phrases by filling the right word in the blanks and discuss with your partner about their Chinese
counterparts.
mule lamb dog snail fish bee snake horse
sheep fox cat lion toad goose lark
1. as happy as a lark
2. as cunning as a fox
3. as stubborn as a mule
4. as busy as a bee
5. as slow as a snail
6. as strong as a horse
7. as ugly as a toad 8. as meek as a lamb
9. as brave as a lion 10.as evil as a snake 11. kill the goose that lays the golden eggs 12. black sheep of the family
13. lead a cat -and- dog life 14. love me, love my dog
Useful Words and Expressions
cultural heritage of the world世界文化遗
产
cultural industries文化产业
cradle of culture 文化摇篮culture shock 文化冲击
hitch-hiking搭乘
cross-cultural communication 跨文化交流icon 偶像
diversity 多样性
bilateral 双边的
ink and wash painting水墨画
local customs and practices 风土人情native/rural/country culture 乡土文化
the Big Apple 纽约城
champagne香槟酒
cocktail鸡尾酒
liqueur 烈酒mainstream culture 主流文化cultural treasures 文化宝藏
brain drain 人才外流
oriental 东方的
Confucius Institute 孔子学院Collectivism集体主义
filial piety 孝道
frugality 节俭
egalitarian 平等主义
money-orientated 金钱至上的
ethnic 种族的，人种的
exotic 异国的，外来的，异国情调的
Part II Listening
1. Quotes about the United Kingdom
Read the new words below before listening.
commission /k?'mi??n/ v. charge with a task 委托
self-irony/self- 'ai?r?ni/ n. a subtle form of humour which involves saying ironic things about oneself 自讽
parliamentary /?pɑ:l?'ment?ri/ adj. relating to or having the nature of a parliament议会的；国会的
dynamism /'dain?miz?m/n. active strength of body or mind活力；精力
Directions:You will hear a number of quotes from people across the globe on their perceptions of the UK according to a survey commissioned by the British Council. Listen and match column A with key words in column B.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
1. ITALY ( e ) a. quality education
2. HUNGARY ( b ) b. self-irony
3. HONG KONG ( g ) c. heritage
4. JAPAN ( h ) d. limited
5. KENYA ( a ) e. liveliness and people?s open-mindedness
6. BANGLADESH ( c ) f. innovative trends in music
7. KOREA ( k ) g. drunk
8. GREECE ( f ) h. discrimination and government.
9. MEXICO ( d ) i. soccer
10. NIGERIA ( j ) j. high quality products
11. SAUDI ARABIA ( i ) k. royal family and democracy
Tapescript
Quotes about the United Kingdom
by British Council
A survey commissioned by the British Council gave rise to a number of quotes from people across the globe on their perceptions of the UK.
? First set of quotes
UAE - When young people say about the British that he's unpleasant or old, it is an impression we have from the time when Great Britain was a great power together with Portugal.
ITALY - I particularly liked the spirit, the liveliness, the people and their open-mindedness.
HUNGARY - It's so fantastic that they are able to look at themselves with self-irony. I think this is exceptional. They write books and make movies that tell a negative picture about them and they show it.
HONG KONG - A lot of them are drunk and cause trouble.
JAPAN - There are bad points such as discrimination but also good points such as the parliamentary government.
KENYA - It's believed that if you go for further education in Britain, you get quality education.
THAILAND - They seem so cold in general.
BANGLADESH - Heritage from Britain, technology and dynamism from the United States. SINGAPORE - The British always give me the idea of old and boring.
KOREA - Underlying the British people's ideologies is their deeply rooted tradition, long history, long history of the royal family and democracy, and the class structure.
GREECE - I am thinking about music. It's not by accident that the most innovative trends in music come from England.
VIETNAM - UK is a small island but it has a global trading system.
? Second set of quotes
MEXICO - The British are limited. They don't try new things.
JAPAN - British scientists are, almost manic, in particular categories. But they are doing something that really doesn't matter.
CZECH REPUBLIC - Britain was the first country with a constitution, I think. So there is a real democratic tradition in Britain.
SPAIN - Out of the European countries I think the closest to the US is England; but you can't separate them from Europe.
SINGAPORE - They have a group of white trash, you know, skinheads. That group is very, very racist. But I think the majority is fine. In fact, I know there are some community leaders that are black.
FRANCE - There are many differences between the English, the Irish and the Scottish. Irish and Scottish are much more friendly.
HUNGARY - Their mistrust with strangers is also a characteristic. Usually this is said for the Germans but it is far more true for the English.
NIGERIA - A British product is very high quality. You'll use it and use it until you are tired. RUSSIA - People are very involved in the life of society, politics. They are very well aware of what is going on.
GERMANY - The really crazy people all come from England.
SAUDI ARABIA - They don't have any famous artists. They like soccer.
2.Marriage Customs
Read the new words and phrases below before listening.
A Directions：In this section you will hear an extract from a radio talk on marriage
customs in different parts of the world by Professor Robin Stuart. Listen to the talk and answer the following questions..
1)How do people in the West perceive courtship and marriage despite the recent growth in
the number of divorces,?
They regard courtship and marriage through the eyes of a Hollywood producer.
2)What is very common as far as marriage is concerned in India?
Arranged marriage
3) In Japan, if one of the young people involved in the arranged meeting says …Oh, no, I
could never marry him or her?, what will happen next?
They call the whole thing off.
B Direction: Listen to the talk again and fill in the blanks.
In parts of Africa, a man is allowed to have several wives. Now that sounds fine from the man?s point of view, but in fact the man is taking on a 1) great responsibility. When he takes a new wife and buys her a nice present, he has to buy all his other wives 2) presents of equal value and, although we are obviously speaking of a 3) male-dominated society, the wives often become very close and so, if there is a disagreement in the family, the husband has three or four wives to argue with 4) instead of just one.
Now, most listeners, being used to the Western style of courtship and marriage, will assume this is the best system and the one with greatest chance of 5) producing a happy marriage. But pause and reflect. Marriage must always be 6) something of a gamble. Going out with somebody for six months is very different from being married to them for six years.
It is true that American women, brought up in the United States, who married Africans and went to live in Africa, have sometimes found it 7) exceedingly difficult to assume the role of the wife of an African living in Africa. However, my observations have led me to believe that various forms of arranged marriage have just as much 8) chance of bringing happiness to the husband and wife as our Western system of choosing marriage partners. Tapescript
Marriage Customs
Here is an extract from a radio talk on marriage customs in different parts of the world by Professor Robin Stuart:
Despite the recent growth in the number of divorces, we in the West still tend to regard courtship and marriage through the eyes of a Hollywood p roducer. For us it?s a romantic business. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy asks girl to marry him, girl accepts. Wedding, flowers, big celebration.
But in other parts of the world things work differently. In India, for instance, arranged marriage is still very common. An intermediary, usually a married lady, learns that a young man wishes to get married and she undertakes to find him a suitable bride. The young couple meets for the first time on the day of the wedding.
In Japan, too, arranged marriages still take place. But there things are organized in a different way. A girl wishes to find a husband, and the girl?s mother, or an aunt perhaps, approaches
the mother of a suitable young man and the young couples are introduced. They get a chance to have a look at one another and if one of them says …Oh, no, I could never marry him or her, they call the whole thing off. But if they like one another, then the wedding goes ahead.
In parts of Africa, a man is allowed to have several wives. Now that sounds fine from the man?s point of view, but in fact the man is taking on a great responsibility. When he takes a new wife and buys her a nice present, he has to buy all his wives presents of equal value and, although we are obviously speaking of a male-dominated society, the wives often become very close and so, if there is a disagreement in the family, the husband has three or four wives to argue with instead of just one.
Now, most listeners, being used to the Western style of courtship and marriage, will assume that this is the best system and the one with the greatest chance of producing a happy marriage. But pause and reflect. Marriage must always be something of a gamble. Going out with somebody for six months is very different from being married to them for six years.
It is true that American women, brought up in the United States, who married Africans and went to live in Africa, have sometimes found it exceedingly difficult to assume the role of the wife of an African living in Africa. However, my observations have led me to believe that various forms of arranged marriage have just as much chance of bringing happiness to the husband and wife as our Western system of choosing marriage partners.
3. For Immigrants, Making Small Talk is Big Deal
A Directions:In this section you will hear a passage about the importance of small talk.
Listen and answer the following questions.
1) Why is it hard for Americans to find jobs?
Because it is the recession time.
2) How is Wei Fang feeling in interviews with American employers?
He is uncomfortable promoting himself.
3) What can make a difference in meeting potential employers in America?
Knowing how to make small talk.
B Directions: Listen to the passage again. Complete the summary.
Wei Fang, who is from the Shanghai area, is getting his MBA at Brandeis University in Boston, Massachusetts, felt 1) blind during his first few job interviews in the United States. When he was in conversation, he didn?t know 2) where to go next.
This type of 3)cultural anxiety can be a real disadvantage at interview time. So the Brandeis business school 4) offers a program to help foreign students adapt to the American culture.
Ndawula and Mutamba are both from 5) Africa. In their countries, people usually don't chat with strangers. If a woman approaches a man, it could seem 6) suggestive.
As part of a homework assignment, Mutamba learned to start 7) talking about the weather with a stranger in a restaurant in America. After a semester's practice, she?s becoming more 8) confident conversationalist.
The organizational behavior professor explained that even when workers are qualified, they can end up 9) socally incompetent if they don?t know what the norm of culture are. In Russia, the rule for appropriate behavior in a job interview are to be honest, modest and serious. In America, a 10) smile can get you a job, at least a chance.
Tapescript (This is not a word for word tapescript)
For Immigrants, Making Small Talk is Big Deal
The foreign-born population in the United States is now at an all-time high - more than 10 percent. And while recession-time jobs are hard to come by for Americans, for those born overseas, finding a job here can be even tougher.
Wei Fang, who is from the Shanghai area, is getting his MBA at Brandeis University in Boston, Massachusetts. And he's looking for a job in the United States. But he says he's uncomfortable promoting himself in interviews with American employers.
"In China," he explains, "the employers like the employees to be hard working and quiet. They want you speak only when they want you speak."
In meeting potential employers here, knowing how to make small talk can make a big difference. But for foreign workers, promoting themselves - making small talk, "schmoozing," things Americans take for granted - can be tricky. Fang says he felt blind during his first few job interviews here.
"Lost, actually, when I was in the conversation. I don't know where to go next."
This type of cultural anxiety can be a real disadvantage at interview time. So the Brandeis business school offers a program to help foreign students adapt to the American culture.
Today is the last day of class. Students from around the world are setting up their final projects, opening laptops and taping posters to the walls. In one corner, Isaac Ndawula stops to talk with fellow student Sheila Mutamba. Her project is learning to make American-style small talk.
"So after all this, do you intend to take this back home?" (he asks her. She nods.)"I do,
because I think small talk is very important."
Ndawula is from Uganda, Mutamba from Rwanda. Both say in the part of Africa they come from, you don't get chatty with strangers. Mutamba says now, after a semester's practice, she's becoming a more confident conversationalist. But she says her first attempt at making small talk was very different.
"I remember that very clearly, because it was very hard. And just 'cause I'm black, I can't blush, but I was really feeling very awkward and very embarrassed," she says with a laugh.
As part of a homework assignment, Mutamba says she did something an American might not think twice about. She turned to a stranger in a restaurant and started talking about the weather.
"So I keep trying to talk, but I have all these things in my head. I'm trying to be appropriate. I'm trying not to be nosey."
Back home, she says, things are more conservative. If a woman approaches a man, it could seem suggestive.
Adapting to a different set of rules
Andrew Molinksy, who created the Brandeis program, observes, "They don't know the rules. They don't know the script."
The organizational behavior professor explains that even when workers are qualified, if they don't know what the norms of the culture are, they can end up looking socially incompetent. That was the case with a Russian engineer he worked with, who had 17 unsuccessful job interviews. Molinsky says she was extremely qualified, "but she kept failing on the interview, and she would get feedback that she wasn't a great fit."
The rules for appropriate behavior in a traditional Russian job interview, he says, are to be honest, modest and serious. The engineer told him smiling was inappropriate.
"All this silly, friendly behavior," he recalls her saying, "if you smile in my culture like this, you look like a fool."
But, he points out, in America, it gets you a job, or at least a chance.
According to Columbia University Business School professor Michael Morris, in an increasingly global economy, all workers need to learn to manage across cultures. He says there's not much emphasis on that in the U.S. educational system, so it's something many Americans never learn how to do.
"Despite all the advantages, all the good luck of being born an American, having this great educational system and this affluent country, this is one disadvantage," Morris notes, suggesting we all need to catch up if we want to be global leaders.
4. Table Manners and Diet Customs
A Directions:You will hear a dialogue about cultural shock. While listening for the first
time , write down some key words in the notes column.
B Directions:L isten to the dialogue again and decide whether these statements are true or
false.
1) When the man went to the host?s house, he brought a bottle of wine as a gift and they
drank together in the dinner. ( F )
2) When Americans accept a gift, they almost always open the gift right away. ( T )
3) American hosts are always saying “Eat some more! Take a bit more!”( F )
4) Chinese hosts like to say that there is nothing here to eat, it wasn?t prepared very well and
they mean it. ( F ) 5) Since the man has been studying Chinese for a long time, he knows all the customs quite well. ( F ) Tapescript
M: Last weekend, I went as a guest to a Chinese friend’s house. It was really an interesting experience! I felt a little bit of cultural shock.
F: Really? So you discovered a few China and America?s different customs.
M: Definitely. First, Chinese and Americans have very different ways of accepting gifts. When I went to their house, I brought a bottle of wine as a small gift. I originally thought we would drink together as we ate. So I surprised when the host put it aside and didn’t open it. I really didn?t understand but I didn?t say anything.
F: You shouldn?t have worried. That?s just a way Chinese people accept gifts. It?s considered impolite to open something right when you receive it. The way Chinese people see it, opening the gift on the same occasion that you receive it seems to imply that you only want to see whether the gift is good or bad and you don?t care about the thought that your friend put into it.
M: Oh really? Well I guess it was just a misunderstanding then. Americans almost always open the gift right away. Then they can say something nice to show that they like what the person gave them.
F: When you were having dinner, did they keep encouraging you to eat and drink?
M: Yes! They were always saying “Eat some more! Take a bit more!” And the moment there is a bit space in my bowl, they immediately gave me another helping. That day I had 4 bowls of rice, ate I don?t know how much food. I ate so much I couldn?t walk in a straight line. In America, the host won’t urge the guest to eat and drink more. The guest just eats however much they want to eat.
F: That?s just the Chinese way of being friendly and welcoming to one?s guests. For Chinese people, making sure their guest eat their fill and eat well is the most important thing.
M: Also they set up this incredibly abundant table of food but then they said there is nothing here to eat, it wasn?t prepared very well and other things like that. And it seems even stranger to me. If they have prepared well, then how many dishes will they have to have?
F: T hey were just being modest. Even if they had prepared more, they still would have said that. And Chinese hosts would always prepare a whole lot of dishes. Because if they are among meager selection, the host will feel that he had lost face. Preparing a huge feast is a way of showing your respect for the guest.
M: Oh the Chinese customs are so complicated. I will never have understood if you haven?t told me.
F: Every culture has its own particular ways of doing things though. There are some western customs that Chinese people think are hard to understand.
M: I guess what I have learned is that when you study a language, you also have to understand the culture that behind it because otherwise it?s easy to create misunderstandings and miscommunications.
F: I agree.
Part III Watching
Directions:The extract is taken from BBC. In this extract the host will take you on a journey through the most thrilling art form of the world opera - Italian opera. Watch the video clip and answer the questions.
1)When was the first opera unveiled to the delighted audience?
In 1647.
2)How do the Italian love opera?
They love opera. It is in their blood.
3)Opera is an entirely new art form in that it uses speech, songs and dance in a more
expressive, more powerful and more emotional way.
Audioscript
Bewildering plots, exotic locations, foreign lyrics, spectacular music and yes, temperamental singers and conductors —— This is the world of opera. In these programmes, I will take you on a journey through the most thrilling art form of them all. One where all of human life and emotion are on display. Music fuses with words to create stories of love, betrayal, revenge, sorrow, passion, tragedy and comedy, to create the stirring and most magical world of Italian opera.
The Italians love opera. I t?s in their blood. In this film, I?ll be looking at four composers who shaped Italian opera, beginning a whole new art form that, 400 years later, is still thrilling audiences.
The smell of the greasepaint, this is what opera is all about. I was born into this world. My father was a voice teacher, and he imbued in me a sense of theatre, the voices, the love of vocal music and just this backstage buzz just gets my blood going in a way that no other thing can. And now I?m lucky enough to have one of the top jobs in opera- music director at the Royal Opera House in London.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you have 30 minutes, please. Thank you.”
Today is the dress rehearsal of Barbiere di Siviglia and I?m conducting the piece for the first time, so it?s a really big moment for me actually. The singers are all getting ready. The announcement has been made that I have to get down to the pit and so that?s where I?m going now.
Applause
Opera began in Italy 200 years before Rossini?s highly charged barber of Seville. An d the man who composed its first undisputed masterpiece was Claudio Monteverdi.
Monteverdi worked as courts composer at the Ducal Palace here in Mantua. He came here in 1590 at the age of 23, employed by the powerful Gonzagas to supply music to order for all kinds of occasions.
This is Vincenzo Gonzaga, Monteverdi?s patron. Now here, he is royally clad in ermine and he had plenty of money for his mistresses but was obscenely in arrears when it came to paying Monteverdi for his music. Monteverdi was treated like a slave in this ducal Palace and was miserable, all the while, producing heavenly music.
Monteverdi wrote a wide range of music for his employer. And the fashion at the time was for extravagant courtly entertainments, using speech, songs and dance. These were going to provide the basis for something entirely new. In the late 1590s, a group of Florentine intellectuals got together and tried to find a way to combine music and drama. They wanted to return to the classical Greek and Roman idea of theatre, of declamation, but what they wanted to achieve with the music and this declamation was something more expressive, more powerful, and emotional. Inspired by these ideas, Monteverdi used the Greek myth of Orpheus and created one of the first examples of what was to become a new art form, opera. Orpheus himself is a singer, so of course his story fitted perfectly with the idea of having a completely sung drama. He uses his musical powers at the gates of Hades to bring his wife back from the dead. But before the story starts, there?s a prologue. Introducing his first character, the character named “music”, or the spirit of music if you l ike, perfectly shows this marriage of speech and music.
There?s now real pulse in the music, it?s just free. Just a few chords, and yes, almost spoken words, recitativo, or in English, recit, that?s the shorthand we use. This sung speech was the revolutionary idea that created opera, telling a story and developing characters.
In a different tempo… “Where have you come from? Where are you going?”
Monteverdi successfully integrated this sung speech with songs dance and scenic effects to create a complete dramatic world. And it was unveiled in 1607 to a delighted audience in Mantua at carnival time.
Part IV Oral Practice
Role Play: a dinner
Directions: You are an overseas student studying in China. Your Chinese friend invites you to his/ her home for dinner. During this visit, you found a lot of cultural differences between Chinese culture and the one you are from.
Possible words from the host:
—Help yourself.
—Make yourself at home.
—Have some more.
As a foreign guest, you should try to include the following information in your talk.
—the table manners and dining customs in your country
—the cultural differences you have perceived since you come to China
Enrichment reading (略)