American values and traits

American Values and Assumption s As people grow up, they learn certain values and assumptions from their parents and other relatives, their teachers, books, newspapers, television programs, the Internet, and a variety of other sources. Values and assumptions are closely related, but there are some differences between them. The ways in which different cultures approach the issue of appropriate roles for men and women provide a good example of the relationship between values and assumptions. Values are ideas about what is right and wrong, desirable and undesirable, normal and abnormal, proper and improper. In some cultures, for example, people are taught that men and women should inhabit separate social worlds, with some activities clearly in the men’s domain a nd others clearly in the women’s. In other cultures men and women are considered to have more or less equal access to most roles in the society.Assumptions, as used here, are the postulates, the unquestioned givens, about people, life, and the way things are. People in some societies assume, for example, that family life proceeds most harmoniously when women stay at home with their children and men earn money by working outside the home. In other societies people assume that family life works best when outside work and child-rearing responsibilities are shared by men and women. In some societies people assume that when a mature man and woman are alone together, sexual activity will almost certainly occur. In others, platonic (that is, lacking a sexual element) friendship between unmarried men and women is assumed to be possible.Scholars debate the definition of values, assumptions, and other terms that appear in this book. But this book is not for scholars. It is for international visitors who want some basic understanding of America. Those visitors who want to read more scholarly works on the issues raised here can refer to the Bibliography at the end of this book.People who grow up in a particular culture share certain values and assumptions. That does not mean they all share exactly the same values to exactly the same extent. It does mean that most of them, most of the time, agree with each other’s ideas about what is right and wrong, desirable and undesirable, and so on. They also agree, mostly,with each other’s assumptions about human nature, social relationships, and so on.Any list of values and assumptions is inherently arbitrary. Depending on how one defines and categorizes things, one could make a three-item or a thirty-item list of a cou ntry’s major values and assumptions. The list offered below has eight entries, each covering a set of closely related values and assumptions commonly held by Americans: individualism, freedom, competitiveness, and privacy; equality; informality; the future, change, and progress; goodness of humanity; time; achievement, action, work, and materialism; and directness and assertiveness. Because individualism is so vital to understanding American society and culture, it receives more attention than the others.Notice that the values and assumptions discussed below overlap with and support each other. In general, they agree with each other. They fit together. A culture can be viewed as a collection of values and assumptions that go together to shape the way a group of people perceives and relates to the world around them.Individualism, Freedom,Competitiveness, and PrivacyIndividualismThe most important thing to understand about Americans is probably their devotion to individualism. They are trained from very early in their lives to consider themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for their own situations in life and their own destinies. They are not trained to see themselves as members of a close-knit, interdependent family, religious group, tribe, nation, or any other collectivity.You can see it in the way Americans treat their children. One day I was at a local shopping mall, waiting in line to buy an Orange Julius. (An Orange Julius is a cool drink made in a blender with orange juice, ice, and some other ingredients.) Behind me in the line was a woman with two children, a boy who was about three years old and a girl who was about five. The boy had his hand in a pocket of his blue jeans, and I could hear that he had some coins in there.The bo y asked his mother, “Can I get an Orange Julius?”“No,” she said to him. “You don’t have enough money left for an Orange Julius. Remember you bought that cookie a while ago. You do have enough money for a hot dog. So you could get a hot dog now if you want to. Or, you could save your money, and sometime later when you have enough money, we could come back here and you could get an Orange Julius.”When I tell this story to people from other countries, they usually react with disbelief. The idea that a child so young would even have his own money to spend, let alone be expected to decide how to spend it, seems beyond their comprehension. Here is a young child whose own mother is forcing him to make a decision that affects not just his situation at the moment—whether or not to get a hot dog—but that will affect him at some unspecified time in the future, when he will have more money.But when Americans hear this story, they usually understand it perfectly well. This mother is helping her son learn to make his own decisions and to be accountable for his own money. Some American parents might not expect a three-year-old to make a decision about how to spend money, but they certainly understand what the mother is doing. She is getting her son ready for a world in which he will be responsible for his choices and their consequences. Even his own mother won’t be helping him later in life, and he needs to be ready for that.This particular mother may or may not have owned a copy of Dr. Benjamin Spock’s famous book, D r. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, to which millions of American parents have long turned for information and advice on raising their children. The most recent version of the book makes this observation:In the United States…very few children are raised to b elieve that their principal destiny is to serve their family, their country, or their God [as is the practice in some other countries]. Generally children [in the United States] are given the feeling that they can set their own aims and occupation in life, according to their inclinations. We are raising them to be rugged individualists…. (1998, 7)While it has become more acceptable in light of changing economic circumstances (especially higher housing costs) for young adults to live in their parents’ hous e, theideal of independence after high school graduation remains. If it is economically feasible for them to do so, young adult Americans are expected to live apart from their parents, either on their own or in college, or risk being viewed as immature, “tied to their mother’s apron strings,” or otherwise unable to lead a normal, independent life.Research by social scientists indicates that the culture of the United States is the most individualistic (or second most, after Australia) in the world. American individualism was perhaps epitomized by a “Walkman dance” at a major university. Students assembled in a large room, where they all danced alone to whatever music they were playing on their own Walkman.Americans are trained to conceive of themselves as separate individuals, and they assume everyone else in the world is too. When they encounter a person from abroad who seems to them excessively concerned with the opinions of parents, with following traditions, or with fulfilling obligations to others, they assume that the person feels trapped or is weak, indecisive, or “overly dependent.” They assume all people must resent being in situations where they are not “free to make up their own minds.” They assume, furthermore, that after living for a time in the United States, people will come to feel “liberated” from constraints arising from outside themselves and will be grateful for the opportunity to “do their own thing” and “have it their own way.” As indeed, many are.Margaret Wohlenberg was the only American student among about nine hundred Malays enrolled at the branch campus of Indiana University in Shah Alam, Malaysia. She took Psychology 101, an introductory psychology course from the Indiana University curriculum and earned a grade of A+. The other students’ grades were lower. After the experience she reported,I do not think that Psych 101 is considered a very difficult course for the average freshman on the Bloomington campus [Indiana University’s main location], but it is a great challenge to these [Malay] kids who have very little, if any, exposure to the concepts of Western psychology…. The American [while growing up] is surrounded, maybe even bombarded, by the propaganda of self-fulfillment and self-identity.Self-improvement and self-help— doing my own thing—seem at the core of American ideology.But these are “quite unfamiliar ideas to the Malay students,” MsF Wohlenberg said. The Malay students’ upbringing emphasizes the importance of family relationships and individual subservience to the family and the community.It is this concept of themselves as individual decision makers that blinds at least some Americans to the fact that they share a culture with each other. They often have the idea, as mentioned above, that they have independently made up their own minds about the values and assumptions they hold. The notion that social factors outside themselves have made them “just like everyone else” in important ways offends their sense of dignity.Americans, then, consider the ideal person to be an individualistic, self-reliant, independent person. They assume, incorrectly, that people from elsewhere share this value and this self-concept. In the degree to which they glorify “the individual” who stands alone and makes his or her own decisions, Americans are quite distinctive.The individual that Americans idealize prefers an atmosphere of freedom, where neither the government nor any other external force or agency dictates what the individual does. For Americans, the idea of individual freedom has strong, positive connotations.By contrast, people from many other cultures regard some of the behavior Americans legitimize by the label “individual freedom” to be self-centered and lacking in consideration for others. Mr. Wilson (see pages xx–xxii) and his mother are good American individualists, living their own lives and interfering as little as possible with others. Tariq Nassar found their behavior almost immoral.Foreign visitors who understand the degree to which Americans are imbued with the notion that the free, self-reliant individual is the ideal kind of human being will be able to understand many aspects of American behavior and thinking that otherwise might not make sense. A very few of many possible examples:Americans see as heroes thos e individuals who “stand out from the crowd” bydoing something first, longest, most often, or otherwise “best.” Real-life examples are aviators Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, golfer Tiger Woods, and basketball player Michael Jordan. Perhaps the best example from the world of fiction is the American cowboy as portrayed by such motion-picture actors as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.Americans admire people who have overcome adverse circumstances (for example, poverty or a physical handicap) and “succeeded” in life. BookerWashington, a famous nineteenth-century African American educator, is one example; the blind and deaf author and lecturer, Helen Keller, is another.Many Americans do not display the degree of respect for their parents that people in more traditional or family-oriented societies commonly do. From their point of view, being born to particular parents was a sort of historical or biological accident. The parents fulfill their responsibilities to the children while the children are young, but when the children have reached “the age of independence,” the close child-parent tie is loosened, occasionally even broken.It is not unusual for Americans who are beyond the age of about twenty-two (and sometimes younger) and who are still living with their parents to pay their parents for room and board. Elderly parents living with their grown children may do likewise. Paying for room and board is a way of showing independence, self-reliance, and responsibility for oneself.• Certain phrases one commonly hears among Americans capture their devotion to individualism: “You’ll have to decide that for yourself.” “If you don’t look out for yourself, no one else will.” “Look out for number one.” “Be your own best friend.” In the late 1900s, social scientists who studied culturaldifferences published extensively about differences between individualistic and collectivistic societies. Some of their articles offered observations that can be quite helpful to collectivists and others trying to understand American culture. Two examples follow; both mention ideas that are addressed elsewhere in this book.To transcend the distance between self and others, people in individualisticsocieties have to develop a certain set of social skills. These include public speaking, meeting others quickly and putting them at ease…, making a good first impression, and being well mannered, cordial, and verbally fluent during initial encounters with others. These skills are not as necessary for collectivists. When it comes time for a person to meet unknown others in the larger society, members of the collective act as go-betweens and make introductions, describe the person’s accomplishments and abilities, and so forth…. In short, individualists have to rely on themselves and to develop skills that allow them to branch out in society. Collectivists have a supportive group that assists in this same goal. (Brislin 1990, 21–22)Collectivists will want to understand that individualists are, according to Harry Triandis, Richard Brislin, and C. H. Hui, likely topay relatively little attention to groups (including families) they belong to,be proud of their accomplishments and expect others to feel proud of their own accomplishments,be more involved with their peers and less involved with people who are older or more senior in an organization, and be more comfortable in social relationships with those who are their equals and less comfortable in relationships with people of higher or lower status than themselves,act competitively,define status in terms of accomplishments (what they have achieved through their own efforts) rather than relationships or affiliations (the family or other group to which they belong),seem relatively unconcerned about being cooperative or having smooth interpersonal relations,seem satisfied with relationships that seem superficial and short-term,be ready to “do business” very soon after meeting, without much time spent on preliminary getting-acquainted conversation,place great importance on written rules, procedures, and deadlines, such as leases, contracts, and appointments,be suspicious of, rather than automatically respectful toward, people in authority, andassume that people in general need to be alone some of the time and prefer to take care of problems by themselves. (1988, 271) To elaborate here on just one of the ideas in the listabove: individualistic Americans naturally see themselves as being in competition with others. Competitiveness pervades the society. It is obvious in the attention given to athletic events and to star athletes, who are praised for being “real competitors.” It is also obvious in schools and extracurricular activities for children, where games and contests are assumed to be desirable and beneficial. Competitiveness is less obvious when it is in the minds of people who are persistently comparing themselves with others: who is faster, smarter, richer, better-looking; whose children are the most successful; whose husband is the best provider or the best cook or the best lover; which salesperson sold the most during the past quarter; who earned his first million dollars at the earliest age; and so on. People who are competing with others are essentially alone, trying to maintain their superiority and, implicitly, their separateness from others.PrivacyAlso closely associated with the value they place on individualism is the importance Americans assign to privacy. Americans assume that most people “need some time to themselves” or “some time alone” to think about t hings or recover their spent psychological energy. Most Americans have great difficulty understanding people who always want to be with another person, who dislike being alone. Americans tend to regard such people as weak or dependent.If the parents can afford it, each child will have his or her own bedroom. Having one’s own bedroom, even as an infant, inculcates in a person the notion that she is entitled to a place of her own where she can be by herself and—notice—keep her possessions. She will have her clothes, her toys, her books, and so on. These things will be hers and no one else’s.Americans assume that people have their “private thoughts” that might never be shared with anyone. Doctors, lawyers, psychiatrists, and others have rules governing “confidentiality” that are intended to prevent information about their clients’ personal situations from becoming known to others.Americans’ attitudes about privacy can be difficult for foreigners to understand. Americans’ houses, yards, and even their offic es can seem open and inviting, yet, in Americans’ minds, there are boundaries that other people are simply not supposed to cross. When such boundaries are crossed, the Americans’ bodies will visibly stiffen and their manner will become cool and aloof.EqualityAmericans are also distinctive in the degree to which they believe in the ideal, as stated in their Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal.” Although they sometimes violate the ideal in their daily lives, particularly in matters of interracial relationships and sometimes relationships among people from different social classes, Americans have a deep faith that in some fundamental way all people (at least all American people) are of equal value, that no one is born superior to an yone else. “One person, one vote,” they say, conveying the idea that any person’s opinion is as valid and worthy of attention as any other person’s opinion.Americans are generally quite uncomfortable when someone treats them with obvious deference. They dislike being the subjects of open displays of respect—being bowed to, deferred to, or treated as though they could do no wrong or make no unreasonable requests.It is not just males who are created equal, in the American mindset, but females too. While Americans may violate the ideal in practice (for example, women continue to be paid less, on average, than do men in similar jobs), they do generally assume that women and men are equal, deserving of the same level of respect. Women may be different from men but are not inferior to them.This is not to say that Americans make no distinctions among themselves as a resultof such factors as gender, age, wealth, or social position. They do. But the distinctions are acknowledged in subtle ways. Tone of voice, order of speaking, choice of words, seating arrangements—such are the means by which Americans acknowledge status differences among themselves. People of higher status are more likely to speak first, louder, and longer. They sit at the head of the table or in the most comfortable chair. They feel free to interrupt other speakers more than others feel free to interrupt them. The higher-status person may put a hand on the shoulder of the lower-status person. If there is touching between the people involved, the higher-status person will touch first.Foreigners who are accustomed to more obvious displays of respect (such as bowing, averting eyes from the face of the higher-status person, or using honorific titles) often overlook the ways in which Americans show respect for people of higher status. They think, incorrectly, that Americans are generally unaware of status differences and disrespectful of other people. What is distinctive about the American outlook on the matter of equality are the underlying assump tions that (1) no matter what a person’s initial station in life, he or she has the opportunity to achieve high standing and (2) everyone, no matter how unfortunate, deserves some basic level of respectful treatment.InformalityTheir notions of equality lead Americans to be quite informal in their general behavior and in their relationships with other people. Store clerks and table servers, for example, may introduce themselves by their first (given) names and treat customers in a casual, friendly manner. American clerks, like other Americans, have been trained to believe that they are as valuable as any other people, even if they happen to be engaged at a given time in an occupation that others might consider lowly. This informal behavior can outrage foreign visitors who hold high status in countries where it is not assumed that “all men are created equal.”Relationships between students, teachers, and coworkers in American society are often very informal, as the following example illustrates. Liz, a staff member at auniversity international office, invited a group of French exchange students along with their American teachers and several co-workers to her home for dinner. When the guests arrived, she welcomed them by saying, “Make yourselves at home.” Sh e showed them where to find the food and drinks in the kitchen and introduced them to some of the other guests. The French students then served themselves and sat with the other guests in small groups throughout the house, eating and talking. The young son of one of the American guests entertained them with jokes. When it was time to leave, several of the American guests stayed to help Liz clean up.Later, in describing the dinner party, the French students remarked that such an event would almost never happen in their country. First, they were surprised that Liz, whom they had only met twice before, had invited them into her home. Moreover, they were impressed that the teachers and students and the international office coworkers and their family members socialized so easily. Even though they held positions of different status at work and were of different ages, they seemed to interact easily and naturally at the party.People from societies where general behavior is more formal than it is in the United States are struck by the informality of American speech, dress, and body language. Idiomatic speech and slang are liberally used on most occasions, with formal speech reserved for public events and fairly formal situations. People of almost any station in life can be seen in public wearing jeans, sandals, or other informal attire. People slouch down in chairs or lean on walls or furniture when they talk rather than maintaining an erect bearing.A brochure advertising a highly regarded liberal arts college contains a photograph showing the college president, dressed in shorts and an old T-shirt, jogging past one of the classroom buildings on his campus. Americans are likely to find the photograph appealing: “Here is a college president who’s just like anyone else. He doesn’t think he’s too good for us.”Likewise, U.S. President George W. Bush frequently allowed himself to be photographed in his jogging attire while out for one of his frequent runs.The superficial friendliness for which Americans are so well-known is related to their informal, egalitarian approach to other people. “Hi!” they will say to just about anyone, or “Howya doin?” (that is, “How are you doing?” or “How are you?”). This behavior reflects not so much a special interest in the person addressed as a concern (not conscious) for showing that one is a “regular guy,” part of a group of normal, pleasant people—like the jogging college president and the jogging president of his superpower country.More ideas about American notions of friendship are discussed in Part II.The Future, Change, and ProgressAmericans are generally less concerned about history and traditions than are people from older societies. “History doesn’t matter,” many of them will say. “It’s the future that counts.” They look a head. They have the idea that what happens in the future is within their control, or at least subject to their influence. The mature, sensible person, they think, sets goals for the future and works systematically toward them. Americans believe that people, as individuals or working cooperatively together, can change most aspects of their physical and social environments if they decide to do so, then make appropriate plans and get to work. Changes will presumably produce improvements. New things are better than old things.Closely associated with their assumption that they can bring about desirable changes in the future is the Americans’ assumption that their physical and social environments are subject to human domination or control. Early Americans cleared forests, drained swamps, and altered the course of rivers in order to “build” the country. Contemporary Americans have gone to the moon in part just to prove they could do so! “If you want to be an American,” says cross-cultural trainer L. Robert Kohls, “you have to believe you can fix it.”“The difficult takes a while,” according to a saying often attributed to the United States Marine Corps. “The impossible takes a little longer.”This fundamental American belief in progress and a better future contrasts sharply with the fatalistic (Americans are likely to use that term with a negative or criticalconnotation) attitude that characterizes people from many other cultures, notably Latin American, Asian, and Arab, where there is a pronounced reverence for the past. In those cultures the future is often considered to be in the hands of fate, God, or at least the few powerful people or families that dominate the society. The idea that people in general can somehow shape their own futures seems naïve, arrogant, or even sacrilegious.Americans are generally impatient with people they see as passively accepting conditions that are less than desirable. “Why don’t they do something about it?” Americans will ask. Americans don’t realize that a large portion of the world’s population sees the world around them not as something they can change, but rather as something to which they must submit, or at least something with which they must seek to live in harmony.Goodness of HumanityThe future cannot be better if people in general are not fundamentally good and improvable. Americans assume that human nature is basically good, not basically evil. Foreign visitors will see them doing many things that are based on this assumption. Some examples will help.Getting More Education or Training. Formal education is not just for young people, it’s for everyone. Many postsecondary students are adults who seek to “improve themselves” or to change careers by learning more and/or getting a degree. Newspaper articles at graduation time often feature grandmothers or grandfathers who have returned to school late in life and earned a college diploma. Educational institutions offer “extension classes,” night classes, correspondence courses, televised courses, and on-line courses so that people who have full-time jobs or who live far from a college or university have the opportunity to get more education.“Nonformal” educational opportunities in the form of workshops, seminars, or training programs are widely available. Through them people can learn about a huge array of topics, from being a better parent to investing money wisely to behaving more。

美国价值观与观念随着们的成长，他们从他们的父母和其他亲戚，他们的老师，书籍，报纸，电视节目，互联网，以及各种其他来源学习某些价值和假设。

价值观和假设是紧密相关的，但它们之间存在着一定的差异。

在不同文化的方法中，男人和女人的角色的适当的角色提供了一个很好的例子，价值观和假设之间的关系。

价值观是对什么是正确和错误，可取和不可取的，正常和不正常，适当和不适当的想法。

例如，在某些文化中，人们教导人们应该在不同的社会世界中单独的社会世界，在男人的领域中有明确的活动，在其他文化中，男人和女人都被认为有更多或更少的平等参与社会中的角色。

观念，用在这里，是观念，是关于人的，生活的给予，，而事情的方式。

例如，在某些社会中，人们认为家庭生活是和谐的，当女人在家里和孩子们呆在家里时，他们会在家里赚钱。

在其他社会，人们认为家庭生活是最好的，当外界工作和抚养孩子的责任是由男人和女人共同分享的。

在一些社会中，人们认为当一个成熟的男人和女人单独在一起，性活动几乎肯定会发生。

在其他国家，柏拉图（即，性元素缺乏）未婚男女之间的友谊是可能的。

学者争论的定义，价值观，假设，和其他条款，出现在这本书。

但这本书不是为学者。

希望对美国有一定了解的国际游客。

那些想读更多学术著作的人在这里提出的问题可以参考书目的最后这本书。

在特定的文化中成长的人有一定的价值观和假设。

这并不意味着他们都在相同的程度上分享相同的价值观。

这确实意味着他们中的大多数，大部分时间，都同意对方的想法，对什么是正确的和错误的，可取的和不可取的，等等。

他们也同意，主要是，与彼此的假设有关的人性，社会关系，等等。

任何价值观和假设的任何一列都是天生的武断的。

这取决于如何定义和分类的东西，可以使一三项或一三零项国家的重大价值和假设清单。

下面提供的名单有八项，涵盖一系列的密切相关的价值观和美国人普遍持有的假设：个人主义，自由，竞争，和隐私；平等；非正式；未来，改变，进步；人性的善良；时间；成就，行动，工作，和唯物主义；而直接和自信。

[键入文字]美国人的价值观American Values_2000 字Americans sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that American values areuniversalones. We can't always see that our values are actually typical American values. Instead,we assume the things Americans value are obviously what everyone should believe in.But we should remember the saying: when you assume, you make an ass out of u and me.We only need to look at what happens when Americans go as advisors to developingcountries to see how wrong our assumptions can be. Some Americans go thinkingthey're sharing pearls of wisdom with the backward natives about how to get thingsdone right. They assume that stimulating competition and giving financial incentives forindividual achievement will naturally change people's behavior and lead to success.When their projects barely get off the ground, they can't understand what went wrong.They mistakenly think that people must just be lazy or that they don't really want ahigher standard of living.So the advisors wind up getting discouraged and going home, grateful to be surrounded byhardworking Americans again.In these situations, we should realize that American values may come fromAmerica'sunique position as the land of opportunity. We are brought up with the American dream thateveryone can work hard and get ahead. But we should realize that in countries with a different1[键入文字]history and different opportunities, other values might be more important, like avoidingconflict or saving face.tips:感谢大家的阅读，本文由我司收集整编。

Values of AmericanFrom the English class about American values, I learned a great number of ideas and thoughts being useful for me and others in our country. There are 13 commonly held values included: personal control over the environment/responsibility, change seen as natural and positive, time and its control, equality/fairness, individualism/independence, self-help initiative, competition, future orientation, action/work orientation, informality, directness/openness, practicality/efficiency, materialism/acquisitiveness listed by Robert Kohls. I just write something about a few of them, which maybe should be used reference and learned, not all.Americans do not like those believing in the power of fate and seen as being primitive, backward or hopelessly naive. In other words, those are people who are superstitious and lazy, unwilling to devote themselves to bringing about improvement. That is to say that they believe in the power of humans that can control over whatever in the environment might possibly affect them.Americans place a very high value on changing the same as responsibility, with which they can do the best to achieve many outstanding accomplishments and practicality andefficiency. Change is mightily associated with improvement, progress and growth. They do not want to be restricted by the older, more traditional cultures, for example, stability, continuity, ancient heritage-none of which is taken seriously in the United States. That is to say that they are future orientation.Americans do not like those who goes to work so late and not get things done on time. In the company, as long as there is one employee being unreasonably late, he or she would be fired definitely. On time, saving time, planning time and cherishing time are all of utmost importance to most Americans. They are very good at making schedules in details and carrying them out in the planned time and in the smallest detail to improve efficiency and productivity.Americans commonly believe in the belief that everyone is equal no matter what social status you or your parents are and how much money you have and how intelligent you are and how normal your body is or not. As long as you are a person, you have the right to obtain any opportunity to enjoy your life. For example, learn in one school and work in one company and so on. Americans respect you not in terms of your high position or your too much money. You should earn the respect by working hard.Americans advocate individualism differing from the most of non-western countries. They assert that they are special and unique in any group in which they can freely express their own opinions anytime. Privacy, resulted from individualism, is regarded as positive, desirable and satisfying and even necessary. They do not like those who asks them their privacy and talk about their private things.Americans achieve every success all by themselves. In other words, they move up the social ladder not with the help of their rich or high-ranking family.Born in an affluent or superordinate family is just identified as an accident of birth. Independence and self-help control are approved highly in the United States. They even pride themselves in being born in a poor family largely different from most other countries.Americans are already very accustomed to the atmosphere of competition which leads to innovating resulting in high-quality product under the driven of challenges or forces. They do not like people who are very lazy and have a day aimlessly and do nothing. They routinely lead an active day in schedule. Do not stand there! Do something! Just do it! They are highly popular intheir mind.Leisure time is considered as a little part of total life.These values are worth our using for reference, for instance, practical, diligent, positive, fair, independent, competitive, self-help initiative, time and its control, and so on. However, some of them should be used not directly in our cultural environment.。

Readings #1---What is culture?Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future - Albert CamusCulture is an integral part of every society. It is a learned pattern of behavior and ways in which a person lives his or her life. Culture is essential for the existence of a society, because it binds people together. In the explicit sense of the term, culture constitutes the music, food, arts and literature of a society. However, these are only the products of culture followed by the society and cannot be defined as culture.According to English Anthropologist Edward B Taylor, culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.Culture is something that a person learns from his family and surroundings, and is not ingrained in him from birth. It does not have any biological connection because even if a person is brought up in a culture different from that in which he was born, he imbibes the culture of the society where he grows up. It is also not a hidden fact that some people feel the need to follow the beliefs and traditions of their own culture, even though they might be not subscribing to certain ideologies within.Culture is a complex tool which every individual has to learn to survive in a society. It is the means through which people interact with others in the society. It acts in a subconscious way and whatever we see and perceive, seems to be normal and natural. Sometimes, other societies and people seem to be a little odd because they have a different culture from ours. We must remember that every society has a distinct culture that forms the backbone of the society. Culture does not remain stagnant, on the other hand it is evolving constantly and is in fact somewhat influenced by the other cultures and societies.Every society has a different culture, where people share a specific language, traditions, behaviors, perceptions and beliefs. Culture gives them an identity which makes them unique and different from people of other cultures. When people of different cultures migrate and settle in another society, the culture of that society becomes the dominant culture and those of the immigrants form the subculture of the community. Usually, people who settle in other nations imbibe the new culture, while at the same time strive to preserve their own.Although every society has a specific culture, there are certain elements of culture that are universal. They are known as cultural universals, in which there are certain behavioural traits and patterns that are shared by all cultures around the world. For instance, classifying relations based on blood relations and marriage, differentiating between good and bad, having some form of art, use of jewelry, classifying people according to gender and age, etc., are common in all cultures of the world.1Some people believe that humans are the only living beings who have a culture. But, there is a group of people who believe in the existence of culture even in animals. It is said that animals have certain social rules which they teach their young ones as a medium for survival.Culture is necessary to establish an order and discipline in the society. It is not only a means of communication between people, but also creates a feeling of belonging and togetherness among people in the society.By Deepa KarthaAfter you readCulture hides much more than it reveals, and strangely enough what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants. Years of study have convinced me that the real job is not to understand foreign culture but to understand our own.---- Edward T. HallDo you agree with the quotation by Edward T. Hall? Do people really not understand their own culture? What aspects of a country’s culture are the hardest to unde rstand?Readings #2---The Values Americans Live Byby L. Robert KohlsMost Americans would have a difficult time telling you, specifically, what the values are that Americans live by. They have never given the matter much thought.Even if Americans had considered this question, they would probably, in the end, decide not to answer in terms of a definitive list of values. The reason for this decision is itself one very American value—their belief that every individual is so unique that the same list of values could never be applied to all, or even most, of their fellow citizens.Although Americans may think of themselves as being more varied and unpredictable than they actually are, it is significant that they think they are. Americans tend to think they have been only slightly influenced by family, church or schools. In the end, each believes, "I personally chose which values I want to live my own life by."Despite this self-evaluation, a foreign anthropologist could observe Americans and produce a list of common values that would fit most Americans. The list of typically American values would stand in sharp contrast to the values commonly held by the people of many other countries. We, the staff of the Washington International Center, have been introducing thousands of international visitors to life in the United States for more than a third of a century. This has caused us to try to look at Americans through the eyes of our visitors. We feel confident that the values listed here describe most (but not all) Americans.Furthermore, we can say that if the foreign visitor really understood how deeply ingrained these 13 values are in Americans, he or she would then be able to understand 95% of American actions—action that might otherwise appear strange or unbelievable when evaluated from the2perspective of the foreigner’s own society and its values.The different behaviors of a people or a culture make sense only when seen through the basic beliefs, assumptions and values of that particular group. When you encounter an action, or hear a statement in the United States that surprises you, try to see it as an expression of one or more of the values listed here. For example, when you ask Americans for directions to get to a particular address in their own city, they may explain, in great detail, how you can get there on your own, but may never even consider walking two city blocks with you to lead you to the place. Some foreign visitors have interpreted this sort of action as showing Americans’ "unfriendliness." We would suggest, instead, that the self-help concept (value number 6 on our list), is so strong in Americans that they firmly believe that no adult would ever want, even temporarily, to be dependent on another. Also, their future orientation (value 8) makes Americans think it is better to prepare you to find other addresses on your own in the future. Before proceeding to the list itself, we should also point out that Americans see all of these values as very positive ones. They are not aware, for example, that the people in many Third World countries view change (value 2) as negative or threatening. In fact, all 13 of these American values are judged by many of the word’s citizens as negative and undesirable. Therefore, it is not enough simply to familiarize yourself with these values. You must also, so far as possible, consider them without the negative or derogatory connotation that they might have for you, based on your own experience and cultural identity.It is important to state emphatically that our purpose in providing you with this list of the most important American values is not to convert you, the foreign visitor, to our values. We couldn’t achieve that goal even if we wanted to, and we don’t want to. We simply want to help you understand the Americans with whom you will be relating—from their own value system rather that from yours.1. PERSONAL CONTROL OVER THE ENVIRONMENTAmericans no longer believe in the power of Fate, and they have come to look at people who do as being backward, primitive, or hopelessly naïve. To be call "fatalistic" is one of the worst criticisms one can receive in the American context; to an American, it means one is superstitious and lazy, unwilling to take any initiative in bringing about improvement.In the United States, people consider it normal and right that Man should control Nature, rather than the other way around. More specifically, people believe every single individual should have control over whatever in the environment might potentially affect him or her. The problems of one’s life are not seen as having resulted from bad luck as much as having come from one’s laziness in pursuing a better life. Furthermore, it is considered normal that anyone should look out for his or her own self-interests first and foremost.Most Americans find it impossible to accept that there are some things that lie beyond the power of humans to achieve. And Americans have literally gone to the moon, because they refused to accept earthly limitations.Americans seem to be challenged, even compelled, to do, by one means or another (and often at great cost) what seven-eighths of the world is certain cannot be done.32. CHANGEIn the American mind, change is seen as an indisputably good condition. Change is strongly linked to development, improvement, progress, and growth. Many older, more traditional cultures consider change as a disruptive, destructive force, to be avoided if at all possible. Instead of change, such societies value stability, continuity, tradition, and a rich and ancient heritage—none of which are valued very much in the United States.These first two values—the belief that we can do anything and the belief that any change is good—together with an American belief in the virtue of hard work and the belief that each individual has a responsibility to do the best he or she can do have helped Americans achieve some great accomplishments. So whether these beliefs are true is really irrelevant; what is important is that Americans have considered them to be true and have acted as if they were, thus, in effect, causing them to happen.3. TIME AND ITS CONTROLTime is, for the average American, of utmost importance. To the foreign visitor, Americans seem to be more concerned with getting things accomplished on time (according to a predetermined schedule) than they are with developing deep interpersonal relations. Schedules, for the American, are meant to be planned and then followed in the smallest detail.It may seem to you that most Americans are completely controlled by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their discussions off abruptly to make it to their next appointment on time.Americans’ language is filled with references to time, giving a clear indication of how much it is valued. Time is something to be "on," to be "kept," "filled," "saved," "used," "spent," "wasted," "lost," "gained," "planned," "given," "made the most of," even "killed."The international visitor soon learns that it is considered very rude to be late—even by 10 minutes—for an appointment in the United States. (Whenever it is absolutely impossible to be on time, you should phone ahead and tell the person you have been unavoidably detained and will be a half hour—or whatever—late.)Time is so valued in America, because by considering time to be important one can clearly accomplish more that if one "wastes" time and does not keep busy. This philosophy has proven its worth. It has enabled Americans to be extremely productive, and productivity itself is highly valued in the United States. Many American proverbs stress the value in guarding our time, using it wisely, setting and working toward specific goals, and even expending our time and energy today so that the fruits of our labor may be enjoyed at a later time. (This latter concept is called "delayed gratification.")4. EQUALITY/EGALITARIANISMEquality is, for Americans, one of their most cherished values. This concept is so important for Americans that they have even given it a religious basis. They say all people have been "created equal." Most Americans believe that God views all humans alike without regard to intelligence, physical condition or economic status. In secular terms this belief is translated into the assertion that all people have an equal opportunity to succeed in life. Americans differ in opinion about how to make this ideal into a reality. Yet virtually all agree that equality is an4important civic and social goal.The equality concept often makes Americans seem strange to foreign visitors. Seven-eighths of the world feels quite differently. To them, rank and status and authority are seen as much more desirable considerations—even if they personally happen to find themselves near the bottom of the social order. Class and authority seem to give people in those other societies a sense of security and certainty. People outside the United States consider it reassuring to know, from birth, who they are and where they fit into the complex system called "society".Many highly-placed foreign visitors to the United States are insulted by the way they are treated by service personnel (such as waiters in restaurants, clerks in stores, taxi drivers, etc.). Americans have an aversion to treating people of high position in a deferential manner, and, conversely often treat lower class people as if they were very important. Newcomers to the United States should realize that no insult or personal indignity is intended by this lack of deference to rank or position in society. A foreigner should be prepared to be considered "just like anybody else" while in the country.5. INDIVIDUAL AND PRIVACYThe individualism that has been developed in the Western world since the Renaissance, beginning in the late 15th century, has taken its most exaggerated form in 20th century United States. Here, each individual is seen as completely and marvelously unique, that is, totally different from all other individuals and, therefore, particularly precious and wonderful. Americans think they are more individualist in their thoughts and actions than, in fact, they are. They resist being thought of as representatives of a homogenous group, whatever the group. They may, and do, join groups—in fact many groups—but somehow believe they’re just a little different, just a little unique, just a little special, from other members of the same group. And they tend to leave groups as easily as they enter them.Privacy, the ultimate result of individualism is perhaps even more difficult for the foreigner to comprehend. The word "privacy" does not even exist in many languages. If it does, it is likely to have a strongly negative connotation, suggesting loneliness or isolation from the group. In the United States, privacy is not only seen as a very positive condition, but it is also viewed as a requirement that all humans would find equally necessary, desirable and satisfying. It is not uncommon for Americans to say—and believe—such statements as "If I don’t have at least half an hour a day to myself, I will go stark raving mad."Individualism, as it exists in the United States, does mean that you will find a much greater variety of opinions (along with the absolute freedom to express them anywhere and anytime) here. Yet, in spite of this wide range of personal opinion, almost all Americans will ultimately vote for one of the two major political parties. That is what was meant by the statement made earlier that Americans take pride in crediting themselves with claiming more individualism than, in fact, they really have.6. SELF-HELP CONTROLIn the United States, a person can take credit only for what he or she has accomplished by himself or herself. Americans get no credit whatsoever for having been born into a rich family. (In the United States, that would be considered "an accident of birth.") Americans pride5themselves in having been born poor and, through their own sacrifice and hard work, having climbed the difficult ladder of success to whatever level they have achieved—all by themselves. The American social system has, of course, made it possible for Americans to move, relatively easily, up the social ladder.Take a look in an English-language dictionary at the composite words that have "self" as a prefix. In the average desk dictionary, there will be more than 100 such words, words like self-confidence, self-conscious, self-control, self-criticism, self-deception, self-defeating,self-denial, self-discipline, self-esteem, self-expression, self-importance, self-improvement, self-interest, self-reliance, self-respect, self-restraint, self-sacrifice—the list goes on and on. The equivalent of these words cannot be found in most other languages. The list is perhaps the best indication of how seriously Americans take doing things for one’s self. The "self-made man or women" is still very much the ideal in 20th-century America.7. COMPETITION AND FREE ENTERPRISEAmericans believe that competition brings out the best in any individual. They assert that it challenges or forces each person to produce the very best that is humanly possible. Consequently, the foreign visitor will see competition being fostered in the American home and in the American classroom, even on the youngest age level. Very young children, for instance, are encouraged to answer questions for which their classmates do not know the answer. You may find the competitive value disagreeable, especially if you come from a society that promotes cooperation rather than competition. But many U.S. Peace Corps volunteers teaching in Third World countries found the lack of competitiveness in a classroom situation equally distressing. They soon learned that what they thought to be one of the universal human characteristics represented only a peculiarly American (or Western) value.Americans, valuing competition, have devised an economic system to go with it—free enterprise. Americans feel strongly that a highly competitive economy will bring out the best in its people and, ultimately, that the society that fosters competition will progress most rapidly. If you look for it, you will see evidence in all areas—even in fields as diverse as medicine, the arts, education, and sports—that free enterprise is the approach most often preferred in America.8. FUTURE ORIENTATIONValuing the future and the improvements Americans are sure the future will bring means that they devalue that past and are, to a large extent, unconscious of the present. Even a happy present goes largely unnoticed because, happy as it may be, Americans have traditionally been hopeful that the future would bring even greater happiness. Almost all energy is directed toward realizing that better future. At best, the present condition is seen as preparatory to a latter and greater event, which will eventually culminate in something even more worthwhile. Since Americans have been taught (in value 1) to believe that Man, and not Fate, can and should be the one who controls the environment, this has made them very good at planning and executing short-term projects. This ability, in turn, has caused Americans to be invited to all corners of the earth to plan and achieve the miracles that their goal-setting can produce. If you come from a culture such as those in the traditional Moslem world, where talking about or actively planning the future is felt to be a futile, even sinful, activity, you will have not6only philosophical problems with this very American characteristic but religious objections as well. Yet it is something you will have to learn to live with, for all around you Americans will be looking toward the future and what it will bring.9. ACTION/WORK ORIENTATION"Don’t just stand there," goes a typical bit of American advice, "do something!" This expression is normally used in a crisis situation, yet, in a sense, it describes most American’s entire waking life, where action—any action—is seen to be superior to inaction.Americans routinely plan and schedule an extremely active day. Any relaxation must be limited in time, pre-planned, and aimed at "recreating" their ability to work harder and more productively once the recreation is over. Americans believe leisure activities should assume a relatively small portion of one’s total life. People think that it is "sinful" to "waste one’s time," "to sit around doing nothing," or just to "daydream."Such a "no nonsense" attitude toward life has created many people who have come to be known as "workaholics," or people who are addicted to their work, who think constantly about their jobs and who are frustrated if they are kept away from them, even during their evening hours and weekends.The workaholic syndrome, in turn, causes Americans to identify themselves wholly with their professions. The first question one American will ask another American when meeting for the first time is related to his or her work: "Where do you work?," or "Who (what company) are you with?"And when such a person finally goes on vacation, even the vacation will be carefully planned, very busy and active.America may be one of the few countries in the world where it seems reasonable to speak about the "dignity of human labor," meaning by that, hard, physical labor. In America, even corporation presidents will engage in physical labor from time to time and gain, rather than lose, respect from others for such action.10. INFORMALITYIf you come from a more formal society, you will likely find Americans to be extremely informal, and will probably feel that they are even disrespectful of those in authority. Americans are one of the most informal and casual people in the world, even when compared to their near relative—the Western European.As one example of this informality, American bosses often urge their employees to call them by their first names and even feel uncomfortable if they are called by the title "Mr." or "Mrs." Dress is another area where American informality will be most noticeable, perhaps even shocking. One can go to a symphony performance, for example, in any large American city nowadays and find some people in the audience dressed in blue jeans and tieless,short-sleeved shirts.Informality is also apparent in American’s greetings. The more formal "How are you?" has largely been replaced with an informal "Hi." This is as likely to be used to one’s superior as to one’s best friend.If you are a highly placed official in your own country, you will probably, at first, find such7informality to be very unsettling. American, on the other hand, would consider such informality as a compliment! Certainly it is not intended as an insult and should not be taken as such.11. DIRECTNESS, OPENNESS AND HONESTYMany other countries have developed subtle, sometimes highly ritualistic, ways of informing other people of unpleasant information. Americans, however, have always preferred the first approach. They are likely to be completely honest in delivering their negative evaluations. If you come from a society that uses the indirect manner of conveying bad news or uncomplimentary evaluations, you will be shocked at Americans’ bluntness.If you come from a country where saving face is important, be assured that Americans are not trying to make you lose face with their directness. It is important to realize that an American would not, in such case, lose face. The burden of adjustment, in all cases while you are in this country, will be on you. There is no way to soften the blow of such directness and openness if you are not used to it except to tell you that the rules have changed while you are here. Indeed, Americans are trying to urge their fellow countrymen to become even more open and direct. The large number of "assertiveness" training courses that appeared in the United States in the late 1970s reflects such a commitment.Americans consider anything other than the most direct and open approach to be dishonest and insincere and will quickly lose confidence in and distrust anyone who hints at what is intended rather than saying it outright.Anyone who, in the United States, chooses to use an intermediary to deliver that message will also be considered manipulative and untrustworthy.12. PRACTICALITY AND EFFICIENCYAmericans have a reputation of being an extremely realistic, practical and efficient people. The practical consideration is likely to be given highest priority in making any important decision in the United States. Americans pride themselves in not being very philosophically or theoretically oriented. If Americans would even admit to having a philosophy, it would probably be that of pragmatism.Will it make any money? Will it "pay its own way?" What can I gain from this activity? These are the kinds of questions that Americans are likely to ask in their practical pursuit, not such questions as: Is it aesthetically pleasing? Will it be enjoyable?, or Will it advance the cause of knowledge?This practical, pragmatic orientation has caused Americans to contribute more inventions to the world than any other country in human history. The love of "practicality" has also caused Americans to view some professions more favorably than others. Management and economics, for example, are much more popular in the United States than philosophy or anthropology, law and medicine more valued than the arts.Another way in which this favoring of the practical makes itself felt in the United States, is a belittling of "emotional" and "subjective" evaluations in favor of "rational" and "objective" assessments. Americans try to avoid being too sentimental in making their decisions. They judge every situation "on its merits." The popular American "trail-and-error" approach to problem solving also reflects the practical. The approach suggests listing several possible8solutions to any given problem, then trying them out, one-by-one, to see which is most effective.13. MATERIALISM/ACQUISITIVENESSForeigners generally consider Americans much more materialistic than Americans are likely to consider themselves. Americans would like to think that their material objects are just the natural benefits that always result from hard work and serious intent—a reward, they think, that all people could enjoy were they as industrious and hard-working as Americans.But by any standard, Americans are materialistic. This means that they value and collect more material objects than most people would ever dream of owning. It also means they give higher priority to obtaining, maintaining and protecting their material objects than they do in developing and enjoying interpersonal relationships.The modern American typically owns:∙one or more color television sets,∙an electric hair dryer,∙an electronic calculator,∙a tape recorder and a record player,∙a clothes-washer and dryer,∙a vacuum cleaner,∙a powered lawn mower (for cutting grass),∙a refrigerator, a stove, and a dishwasher,∙one or more automobiles,∙and a telephone. Many also own a personal computer.Since Americans value newness and innovation, they sell or throw away their possessions frequently and replace them with newer ones. A car may be kept for only two or three years, a house for five or six before trading it in for another one.SUMMARYNow that we have discussed each of these 13 values separately, if all too briefly, let us look at them in list form (on the left) and then consider them paired with the counterpart values from a more traditional country (on the right):9。

1.American valuesHow does American culture differ from others? The way to address this question is to consider the values that Americans live by. As people grow up, they learn certain values, which will influence and mode their way of life.” Values" are ideas about what is right and wrong, desirable and undesirable, normal and abnormal, prosper and improper.1. FreedomThe word "freedom" is one of the most respected popular words in the United States. By "freedom", Americans mean the desire and the ability of all individuals to control their own destiny without outside interference from the government, a ruling noble class, the church, or any other organized authority. The desire to be free of controls was a basic value of the new nation, and it has continued to attract immigrants to this country. We can see this in the way Americans treat their children. Even very young children are given opportunities to make their own choices and express their opinions: The child's preference will normally be accommodated. Through this process, Americans come to see themselves as separate human beings who have their own opinions and who are responsible for their own decisions.2. EqualityAmericans are also distinctive in the degree to which they believe in the ideal, as s tated in their Declaration of Independence, that “all men are created equal.” Although they sometimes violate the ideal in their daily lives, particularly in matters of interracial relationships, Americans have a deep faith that in some fundamental way all people (at least all American people) are of equal value, and no one is born superior to anyone else. “One man, one vote,” they say, conveying the idea any person’s opinion is as valid and worthy of attention as any other person’s opinion3. Individualism / IndependenceThe belief in the freedom of the individual is probably the most basic and most strongly held of all American beliefs. The most important thing to understand about Americans is probably their devotion to "individualism". They have been trained since very early in their lives to consider themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for their own situations in life and their own destinies. Americans view themselves as highly individualistic in their thoughts and actions. They resist being thought of as representatives of any homogeneous group. When they do join groups, they believe they are special, just a little different from other members of the same group. In the U.S. you will find people freely expressing a variety of opinions anywhere and anytime. Yet, in spite of this independence, almost all Americans end up voting for one of their two major political parties. Individualism leads to privacy, whichAmericans see as desirable. Closely associated with the value they place on individualism is the importance Americans assign privacy. Americans assume people “need some time to themselves” or “some time alone” to think about things or recover their spent psychological energy. Americans have great difficulty understanding foreigners who always want to be with another person and who dislike being alone.3. Directness / Openness/ HonestyMany other countries have developed subtle, sometimes highly ritualistic, ways of informing others of unpleasant information. Americans prefer the direct approach. They are likely to be completely honest in delivering their negative evaluations, and to consider anything other than the most direct and open approach to be "dishonest" and "insincere". Anyone in the U.S. who uses an intermediary to deliver the message will also be considered "manipulative" and "untrustworthy". If you come from a country where saving face is important, be assured that Americans are not trying to make you lose face with their direct。

Unit 2 Comparison of valuesPart I Blank FillingDirections: Fill in each underlined space with a proper expression.1.The English proverb “Look before you leap.” stresses the same value of caution as theChinese proverb __________. 三思而后行2.According to the present western value of human nature, men are basically a mixture of__________. good and evil3.Chinese people are usually encouraged to be good by the people around them and are likely tofeel ashamed if they fail to live up to other s’ expectations that they should be virtuous. In this case, Chinese culture is called a kind of __________. shame culture.4.When it comes to the relationship of human to nature, Chinese culture emphasizes thathumans are a part of nature and they should live in __________ with nature. Harmony5.In Chinese culture, people’s behaviors should be suitable to their __________ and characters.social status or roles6.Quite a lot westerners hold such a belief that Chinese people often make their talk with othersa performance to show off themselves and their conversation is often lacking in __________.information.7.“Every man is the architect for his own fortune.”vividly indicates American value of__________. individualism8.__________ and __________ are the typical two features of Chinese features of collectivism. Group interest, duty and loyalty, harmony, hierarchy, or modesty任选其二Part II T or FDirections:Read the following statements and decide whether they are true or false.1. ____ V alues people hold exert a strong influence on people’s daily life by teaching people how to behave properly. T2. ____ The value that every person desires to live a happy life is typically a universal value rather than an individual value. T3. ____ The proverb “The early bird catches the worm.” reflects the value of efficiency. F4. ____ Western people are mainly future-oriented so that they are good at making plans for the future and are likely to ignore their history. F5. ____ In many instances contradictory values are found in a particular culture. That is, there is often a gulf between the values that are articulated (idealism) and the values that are acted out (reality).T6. ____ American people take actions very seriously and emphasize their goals. When they accomplish achievements, the outcome is usually measured qualitatively. F7. ____ We Chinese value hard work, honesty, kindness, and so do Americans. TPart III Multiple ChoiceDirections:There are 25 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Choose the ONE that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.1. The following all can reflect Chinese values about human nature except _____. AA. 人人为我B. 知足常乐C. 近朱者赤D. 仁者爱人2. All the following things are valued in western individualist culture except _____. DA. self-relianceB. equality of opportunityC. separatenessD. family duty3. Which of the following proverbs was originated from Greece? CA. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.B. Too many cooks spoil the broth.C. God helps those who help themselves.D. Blood is thicker than water.4. After making an appointment, if is _____ people who are usually late. DA. ChineseB. EnglishC. GermanD. French5. In western culture, land is just like _____.CA. motherB. hometownC. powerD. rootPart IV Short Answer Questions. (15%)Directions:Choose three questions from the following five questions and answer them briefly. Write your answers on the ANSWER SHEET1. What are the main features of Western values in your opinion?2. Can you list out some of negative features of Chinese values and explain them?3. Can you list out some of negative features of American values and explain them?4. "Face" is a very important concept in China. See how many phrases i you can think of that contain the term "face". How important is "face" to you? Give some situations in which "face" is concerned. What do you think "face" means? Why is "face" important in China?"Face" is not new to Chinese and other Asians. It carries a range of meanings based upon a core concept of "honor". Within sociological and sociolinguistic studies it is generally defined as "the negotiated public image, mutually granted each other by participants in a communicative events. (Scollon & Scollon, 2000) It refers roughly to a set of claims one makes regarding his/her characteristics and traits. These characteristics and traits are usually what a society thinks are good and desirable. Having some of these characteristics of a certain person called into question would mean that that person was likely to be looked down upon by others. He/She thus loses face, feeling embarrassed, upset, and angry. If that happens, there is little harmony.We have to know, however, that the face-concept is not unique in China and other parts of Asia. Sociologists hold that this concept exists among Americans too (and in fact among allother peoples). The difference is that face simply has greater social significanc e for the Chinese than for the Americans. In China, everyone is conscious of face all the time. An oft-repeated Chinese proverb puts it thus: "A person needs face as a tree needs bark. " In the United States, concern for face exists but remains largely out of most people’s awareness.5. What Chinese basic values are most impressive in your mind. List out two of them and explain.One of the characteristics of the Chinese culture is hierarchy. Every person is supposed to have a set position in family and society in order to achieve harmony between the people. One of the famous saying of Confucius is "Let the emperor be an emperor, the subject a subject, the father a father, and the son a son", the implication being that within the family as within the nation, persons are not equal; each has to mind his/her own position and role and act accordingly; and personal desires are best subjugated to the will of the patriarch (the male head of a family and a tribe). Confucius found there was nothing wrong with inequality because, in his view, the obligations between senior and junior ran in both directions. The senior party had his duties for the junior, and vice versa. These reciprocal obligations were expressed in the Chinese virtue known as li, which means " right conduct in maintaining one' s place in the hierarchical order.Large power distance characterizes a hierarchical culture in which people are comfortable with an unequal distribution of power and thus do not try to bring about a more nearly equal distribution. Throughout the Chinese history, people have shown respect for age, seniority, rank, maleness, and family background, from which hierarchy is clearly seen. Of course, as we all know, in the past decades, this way of thinking has noticeably eroded. In spite of the change, the basic assumptions are still there.So it s not difficult to see that humility is an important value in China, and the concern for humility is apparent everywhere, though often without our awareness. The way of showing humility is usually by self-disparaging. For example, when the Chinese entertain a guest or some guests with a sumptuous dinner with the table overflowing with six or eight beautifully presented, mouth-watering dishes, the comment of the host/hostess is likely to be (in a suitably apologetic tone of voice) " We hope you won' t mind joining our simple home meal. We' re not very good at cooking, so we ve only prepared a few dishes for this evening." Or a very renowned artist usually writes in the corner of his/her exquisite painting something that means "trying one's hand" or "daubing".There is another example where modesty and humility is displayed. When a large number of people are preparing themselves for a group photograph, they usually begin by crowding into the back row ( s) , because they understand that the front row, especially the center-front location, is the place of honor and recognize that proper humility requires them to not willingly place themselves in the front. Only after some good-natured scuffling and earnest appeals from the junior members and the photographer to the senior ones, the situation resolves itself properly, with the most important seniors at the center-front, which also reflects the hierarchical conception.As harmony is the goal in a hierarchical society, courtesy or good manners has always been stressed by the Chinese tradition when interacting with other people. One important way to achieve this harmony is to accept and respect each person' s need to preserve face.Part V Case studies.Directions: S tudy the following cases and answer the questions. Choose two from the three cases.Case 1When a middle aged American couple who were both professors showed up to help a young Chinese couple move into their new apartment, they were surprised that the Chinese couple would not allow them to do any work. Instead they found a place for them to sit and gave them tea. Question:Why were the American couple surprised? What kind of values are reflected in this case?Key: The Chinese couple thought it was inappropriate for an older distinguished professor t move furniture and carry boxes for them. It would not be dignified. In US when someone moves into a new house, it is a custom for friends to help clean and carry, so the Americans were eager to help and were upset that their presence only created more worked for their young friends.Note:Read Chapter 9 and finish the attached exercises《跨文化交际实用教程》（by 胡超）。