21世纪大学英语读写教程第二册相关答案

Second, the wonderfully creative lessons they prepare strongly motivate us to study as hard as we should. And third, our teachers’ warmly human characters create bonds of friendship that will last forever. 第三单元 翻译 UNIT3 TEXT A

一个文化翻译的故事

西方和日本公司的合资企业经常会发生冲突----许多无关紧要的琐事会扩大为情绪激动的交战， 各方不停地叫嚷：“他们是怎么了!?他们能不能理解……?!” 但是因为冲突主要是由文化差异引起的，所以没有一方能够理解----除非他们有一名“文化翻译”。

我遇到的第一位文化翻译是一位设备安装工程师，名叫乔治，他在一家我担任国际业务部主任的美国公司里工作。 这家公司刚同一家日本商社开办了一家合资企业，美方管理部门需要有人在它的独特技术方面培训日本雇员。乔治对设备及其安装和使用的透彻了解使他成为最能胜任这项工作的雇员， 所以当乔治接受了暂时调往日本的一份两年期合同时，大家都很高兴。

从一开始，乔治就被所有的日本雇员欣然接受。日方经理通常不信任任何被派去代表美方业主的人，但乔治生性随和，没有人把他看作是对自己职业的一种威胁。所以他们喜欢就广泛的各类问题征求他的意见，包括大洋彼岸他们的合作伙伴的古怪行为。公司上下的工程师们都珍视乔治的专业知识和他友好而技能熟练的帮助，他们已养成了一有问题----任何问题，就找他帮忙的习惯。办公室里的秘书们都热衷于帮助这个讨人喜欢的单身汉学习日语。

谁也没有料到那么快公司就成了一家赢利、兴旺、日益壮大的企业。乔治的第一份两年期合同到期了。这时，他已经能讲很好的日语，并养成了一些日本人的习惯。他整天喝绿茶，顿顿吃米饭，甚至学会了正确地坐榻榻米。所以，当公司向乔治提出在日本的第二份两年期合同的建

21世纪大学英语读写教程第二册相关答案

议时，他立即就接受了。之后又有第三份合同，乔治与日本文化的情缘在继续着。

但是当乔治在这个国家的第6个年头即将结束时，一个未曾料到的困难变得显而易见了：日本工程师对迅速更新的技术的了解已经超过了乔治。他没有什么剩下的东西可以教他们了。

难道这就是可怜的乔治的结局吗? 他对于这家他曾经如此忠诚地服务过的、现已成熟的合资企业，就再也没有什么可以贡献的了吗? 他只得离开他已开始爱上的这个国家吗? 不! 面对着要离开日本的威胁，乔治心有不甘，于是将自己重新塑造成了一名“文化翻译”。

一天，这家合资企业的日方总裁----又一次----被来自美方管理层的一份电文激怒了，乔治就是在那一天产生了做一名“文化翻译”这一想法的。像通常碰到类似的情况时一样，日方总裁冲进乔治的办公室，怒气冲冲地将那份电文扔到了他面前。乔治也同往常一样，读了电文，然后心平气和地解释了美国人这样说的真正意思，而不是在日本文化背景下听上去的那种意思。

对大家来说都很幸运的是，合资企业的日方和美方都已经听说过足够多的有关文化冲突的骇人故事，他们能够认识到乔治的技能的价值，所以当他为自己提出这个新的职位时，这个想法很快便被采纳了。在这几年中，这一决定的英明一次又一次地得到了证明。

有时我们需要比熟练的英语远为重要的东西。当日方会计师不得不解释花在874份十二月假日礼物上的46,534美元时，就是这么一种情况。或者当日方人事经理不得不说明即使公司不再需要一个化学师的专业知识仍要继续聘用他的理由时也是如此。在诸如此类的情况下，人人都求助于乔治。

他用各种办法让他们的电文使美国人听上去至少有一部分道理。当有些事连乔治也无法“译”成美国式的含义时，他会写道：“这听上去很荒唐，但你们无论如何也应该同意。”

21世纪大学英语读写教程第二册相关答案

反之亦然。当美方经理们访问日本时，乔治便处处陪着我们，以确保我们不会做出或说出任何在日本人看来十分愚蠢的事或话来。 一旦我们做了蠢事， 说了蠢话，他马上就来解救：“他们真正的意思是……”多亏乔治有办法在小冲突激化、情绪化、造成巨大损失之前就将其化解，公司从未出现过成堆的麻烦。

自把那家公司交到能干的乔治手中以来， 我已经在国际业务方面为许多公司出谋划策。我的第一条建议总是相同的：不要担心语言问题------你首先需要的是一名文化翻译。方面为许多公司出谋划策。我的第一条建议总是相同的：不要担心语言问题------你首先需要的是一名文化翻译。 Text comprehension II.

1. The author is talking about cultural differences: different ways of doing things in different cultures; different attitudes, traditions, beliefs, etc. she or he says neither side can understand because people are not usually conscious of their deepest cultural attitudes.

2. The American company George worked for started a joint venture with a Japanese firm, and they needed someone to train the Japanese engineers. George was the most highly qualified employee for the position, and he accepted a two-year contract for temporary transfer to Japan.

3. The Japanese liked George’s nonassertive nature, his expertise and his willingness to help; it’s also implied that they liked his efforts to learn Japanese, and that the secretaries liked the fact that he was single. These qualities contributed to his becoming a cultural translator by making the Japanese trust him, feel comfortable with him, and grow accustomed to asking him for all kinds of advice.

4. He had to ‘reinvent’ himself because his expertise as an engineer was no longer needed, but he didn’t want to leave Japan. The company accepted his ‘reinvention’ because they had heard lots of horror stories about cultural conflicts and recognized the value of having someone like George around. 5. The author means that the misunderstandings were not always merely linguistic.

21世纪大学英语读写教程第二册相关答案

6. The examples imply that there is a strong group orientation in Japanese business, that sentiment can be as important as profit and efficiency, and that employees may be valued for something other than their material contribution to the company. The fact that these examples mystified the US side implies that in American business relations, profit and efficiency are considered more important than sentiment, and that Americans expect logical explanations for decisions, expenditures, etc.

7. Because the words and actions of the American visitors could be misinterpreted by the Japanese: things that could seem crazy or rude to the Japanese are normal to Americans.

8. Because the author believes that language problems are not a serious barrier, compared with cultural differences. Vocabulary III.

1. surpassed 2. approved 3. ensure 4. thriving 5.escalated 6. qualified 7. represent 8. apparent 9. justify 10. conflicts IV.

1. go along with 2. from the farmers’ viewpoint 3. multitudes of 4. run into 5. come to an end 6. picked up 7. at times

8. gotten into the habit of 9. smooth over 10. the other way around V.

1. due to 2. thanks to 3. Due to 4. Thanks to 5. due to 6. Thanks to Word Building VI.

Interchangeable: that can be used in place of each other

Interface: a place or area where different things meet and have an effect on

each other

Intercontinental: between continents

Intersection: a joint where two roads or lines cross Interdisciplinary: involving two or more disciplines

Interview: an occasion when a person is asked questions by one or more other people

1. intercontinental 2. interface 3. intersection 4. interchangeable