Reading across cultures

Unit 1Settling down at college around the world适应校园生活——来自世界各地的访谈Tanya Zarutskaya Moscow, Russia塔尼娅•扎茹茨卡娅莫斯科，俄罗斯This time last year I was nervous about my new life.去年的这个时候，我对新生活感到很紧张。

I didn't have any friends, and it was my first time away from home. 我没有朋友，也是第一次离开家。

At first I worked all the time, going to lectures and studying late into the night.一开始，我一天到晚都在忙功课：上课，并且学习到深夜。

But then I realized I was missing out on so many other things at university. 可后来我意识到我错过了大学里许多其他活动。

One day a girl in my hall of residence invited everyone in the dorm to a dinner party.一天，跟我住同一幢宿舍楼的一个女孩儿邀请全楼的人去参加一个晚宴。

I've no idea where she managed to buy the food, or how she had enough money. 我不知道她在哪儿买的那些吃的，也不清楚她怎么会有足够的钱。

And she dressed like a model.而且她穿得像个模特儿。

I don't know why she was bothering with university!我真不知道她干嘛还要费那劲儿上大学！I've got to know lots of interesting people and I now enjoy myself as well as study hard.现在我结识了许多有趣的人，既努力学习，也快乐地生活。

读进新时代,书写新征程英语作文评选结果Results of the English Writing Contest: Reading into the New Era, Writing a New JourneyThe English Writing Contest on the theme of "Reading into the New Era, Writing a New Journey" has come to a successful conclusion. We received an overwhelming number of entries from students all over the country, showcasing their creativity, insight, and love for the English language. After careful review and evaluation by our panel of judges, we are pleased to announce the following winners:First Place: Zhang Wei, Beijing Foreign Studies UniversitySecond Place: Li Ming, Fudan UniversityThird Place: Wang Yan, Tsinghua UniversityHonorable Mentions:- Liu Fei, Shanghai Jiao Tong University- Chen Mei, Renmin University of China- Wu Jing, Peking UniversityWe would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to the winners and all participants for their outstanding work. Thequality of the submissions was truly impressive, and it was a difficult decision for our judges to select the top entries.The winning essays demonstrated a deep understanding of the theme, as well as strong writing skills and originality. The authors presented thoughtful reflections on the importance of reading in the digital age, the power of words to shape our thinking and actions, and the significance of literature in fostering empathy and understanding across cultures.We would like to thank everyone who participated in the contest for their time, effort, and passion for writing. Your contributions have enriched our community and inspired us all to explore new horizons through the written word.We look forward to organizing more events like this in the future and providing a platform for young writers to share their voices and ideas. Congratulations once again to the winners, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors as writers and scholars. Thank you.。

Reading II: The Challenge of Globalization
Notes:
➢Technological advances have been most effective in creating the borderless world, the global community. ➢From isolation to integration, from isolated to interdependent. ➢What does “globalization” mean economically? ➢Time-spacescompression
Glad to see you. or How do you do?
Apologizing Chinese people seem to apologize less often than English-speaking countries people. The Chinese apologize only when they think it is about something that really matters.
Chinese people tend to excuse themselves by claiming that the other party must be tired or busy, etc, showing consideration for the other party
English-speaking countries
✓Increasing global mobility of people ✓The impact of new electronic media on human communications. ✓The concepts of “local” and “global” are relative. ➢The increasing flow of goods, labor, materials, technology and funds between nations. ➢The impact on multinational corporations. ➢Natural disasters ➢Global instability stems from clashes between cultures

参考资料Unit 1 Communication Across CulturesReading IIntercultural Communication：An IntroductionComprehension questions1. Is it still often the case that “everyone‟s quick to blame the alien” in the contemporary worldThis is still powerful in today‘s social and political rhetoric. For instance,it is not uncommon intoday‘s society to hear people say that most, if not all, of the social and economic problems arecaused by minorities and immigrants.2. What‟s the difference between today‟s intercultural contact and that of any time in the pastToday‘s intercultural encounters are far more numerous and of greater importancethan in anytime in history.3. What have made intercultural contact a very common phenomenon in our life todayNew technology, in the form of transportation and communication systems, has accelerated intercultural contact; innovative communication systems have encouraged and facilitated cultural interaction; globalization of the economy has brought people together; changes in immigration patterns have also contributed to intercultural encounter.4. How do you understand the sentence “culture is everything and everywhere”Culture supplies us with the answers to questions about what the world looks like and how we live and communicate within that world. Culture teaches us how to behavein our life from the instant of birth. It is omnipresent.5. What are the major elements that directly influence our perception and communicationThe three major socio-cultural elements that directly influence perception and communication are cultural values, worldview (religion), and social organizations (family and state).6. What does one‟s family teach him or her while he or she grows up in itThe family teaches the child what the world looks like and his or her place in that world.7. Why is it impossible to separate our use of language from our cultureBecause language is not only a form of preserving culture but also a means of sharing culture. Language is an organized, generally agreed-upon, learned symbol system that is used to represent the experiences within a cultural community.8. What are the nonverbal behaviors that people can attach meaning toPeople can attach meaning to nonverbal behaviors such as gestures, postures, facial expressions, eye contact and gaze, touch, etc.9. How can a free, culturally diverse society existA free, culturally diverse society can exist only if diversity is permitted to flourish without prejudice and discrimination, both of which harm all members of the society.Reading IIThe Challenge of GlobalizationComprehension questions1. Why does the author say that our understanding of the world has changedMany things, such as political changes and technological advances, have changed the world very rapidly. In the past most human beings were born, lived, and died within a limited geographical area, never encountering people of other cultural backgrounds. Such an existence, however, no longer prevails in the world. Thus, all people are faced with the challenge of understanding this changed and still fast changing world in which we live.2. What a “global village” is likeAs our world shrinks and its inhabitants become interdependent, people from remote cultures increasingly come into contact on a daily basis. In a ―global village‖, members of once isolated groups of people have to communicate with members of other cultural groups. Those people maylive thousands of miles away or right next door to each other.3. What is considered as the major driving force of the post-1945 globalizationTechnology, particularly telecommunications and computers are considered to be the major driving force.4. What does the author mean by saying that “the …global‟may be more local than the …local‟”The increasing global mobility of people and the impact of new electronic media on human communications make the world seem smaller. We may communicate more with people of other countries than with our neighbors, and we may be more informed of the international events than of the local events. In this sense, ―the ‗global‘ may be more local than the ‗local‘‖.5. Why is it important for businesspeople to know diverse cultures in the worldEffective communication may be the most important competitive advantage that firms have to meet diverse customer needs on a global basis. Succeeding in the global market today requires the ability to communicate sensitively with people from other cultures,a sensitivity that is based on an understanding of cross-cultural differences.6. What are the serious problems that countries throughout the world are confronted withCountries throughout the world are confronted with serious problems such as volatile international economy, shrinking resources, mounting environmental contamination, and epidemics that know no boundaries.7. What implications can we draw from the case of MichaelFayThis case shows that in a world of international interdependence, the ability tounderstand and communicate effectively with people from other cultures takes on extreme urgency. If we are unaware of the significant role culture plays in communication, we may place the blame for communication failure on people of other cultures.8. What attitudes are favored by the author towardsglobalizationGlobalization, for better or for worse, has changed the world greatly. Whether we like it or not, globalization is all but unstoppable. It is already here to stay. It is both a fact and an opportunity. The challenges are not insurmountable. Solutions exist, and are waiting to be identified and implemented. From a globalistic point of view, there is hope and faith in humanity.Translation纵观历史，我们可以清楚地看到，人们由于彼此所处地域、意识形态、容貌服饰和行为举止上存在的差异，而长久无法互相理解、无法和睦相处。