the extremely demanding system puts enormous psychological pressure on students, and is
considered a primary factor in the high suicide rate among Japanese school-age children. 日本教育制度的优点是那儿的学生能学到合作的社交技能。 另一个优点是他们学的数学和自然科学比大多数美国学生多得多。 他们每天学习的时数和每年学习的天数也比北美的学生多。这种制度要求高，但它却使孩子们能为进入一个重视纪律和自制的社会作好准备。然而，它也有缺点。首先，很多学生说考试之后，他们就会忘记许多曾经记熟的信息。其次，这个要求极高的制度给学生们带来巨大的心理压力，并被认为是日本学龄儿童自杀率高的一个主要因素。
7.The advantage of the education system in North America, on the other
hand, is that students learn to think for themselves. They learn to take the initiative—to make decisions and take action without someone telling them what to do. The system prepares them for a society that values creative ideas and individual responsibility. There are drawbacks, however. Among other things, American high school graduates haven't studied as many basic rules and facts as students in other countries have.
And many social critics attribute the high crime rate in the US at least partially to a lack of
discipline in the schools. 另一方面，北美教育制度的优点是，学生们学习独立思考。他们学习采取主动--做决定和采取行动都无须别人告诉他们做什么。这种制度使他们能为进入一个重视创造性的思想和个人责任的社会作好准备。不过，它也有弊端：除了别的以外，美国高中毕业生学的基本规则和事实就不如其他国家的学生学的多。而许多社会评论家认为美国的高犯罪率至少部分地应归咎于学校的纪律涣散。
第三单元 Text A、The Tale of a Cultural Translator一个文化翻译的故事
Joint ventures involving Western and Japanese companies often run into conflicts — a multitude of little things that escalate into big emotional battles in which all the parties keep exclaiming: \due to cultural differences, neither side can understand—unless they have a \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”。
The first cultural translator I ever met was an installation engineer, George by name, who worked for an American company where I was the director of international operations. The company had just started a joint venture with a Japanese firm, and the American management needed someone to train the Japanese employees in its unique technology. George's solid understanding of the equipment, its installation and use made him the best-qualified employee for the job, so everyone was happy when George accepted a two-year contract for temporary transfer to Japan.
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。
From the start, George was well accepted by all the Japanese employees. Japanese managers often distrust anyone sent to represent US owners, but George was so naturally nonassertive that no one could see him as a threat to their careers. So they felt comfortable asking his advice on a wide range of matters, including the odd behavior of their partners across the ocean. Engineers
throughout the company appreciated George's expertise and his friendly and capable help, and they got into the habit of turning to him whenever they had a problem — any problem. And the secretaries in the office were eager to help this nice bachelor learn Japanese.
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。
Sooner than anyone expected, the company became a profitable, thriving and growing venture. George's first two-year contract came to an end. By then, he could speak good Japanese, and had picked up Japanese habits. He drank green tea at all hours, ate rice at every meal and had even learned to sit properly on Japanese tatami mats. So when George was offered a second two-year Japanese contract, he accepted at once. Another contract followed, and George's love affair with Japanese culture continued.
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。
But as George's sixth year in the country was coming to an end, an unexpected difficulty became apparent: The Japanese engineers had surpassed George in their knowledge of the rapidly - changing technology. He had nothing left to teach them.
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。
Was this the end for poor George? Was there nothing more he could offer to the now-mature joint venture he had served so loyally? Would he have to leave the country he had come to love? No! Faced with the threat of an unwilling departure from Japan, George reinvented himself as a \
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”。 The idea came to George one day when the Japanese joint-venture president was — again — offended by a message from the American management. As usual in such situations, he stormed into George's office and threw the message in front of him in a fury. And George, as usual, read the message and explained in his calm manner what the Americans had really meant by it, not what it sounded like in the context of Japanese culture.
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。
Fortunately for everyone, both the Japanese and American sides of the joint venture had heard enough horror stories about cultural conflicts to recognize the value of George's skills, so when he proposed this new position for himself, the idea was quickly approved. The wisdom of this decision was proved again and again over the years.
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。 At times something far more important than good English was needed. One such case was when the Japanese accountant had to explain the $46,534 spent on 874 December-holiday presents. Or there was the time when the Japanese personnel manager had to justify keeping a chemist on the payroll even though the company no longer needed his expertise. In cases like these, everyone turned to George.
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。
Somehow or other, he made their messages sound at least halfway sensible to Americans. And when there was something that even George couldn't \would write, \
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。” It worked the other way around, too. When the American managers visited Japan, George accompanied us everywhere to ensure that we didn't do or say anything too stupid from the Japanese viewpoint. Whenever we did that anyway, he came to the rescue at once: \really mean is....\smoothing over small conflicts before they became big, emotional and costly.
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。
Since leaving that company in George's capable hands, I've advised many firms on international operations. And my first recommendation is always the same: Don't worry about language problems — the first thing you need is a cultural translator.
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 B、A Multicultural Person
1.A multicultural person is someone who is deeply convinced that all cultures are equally good, enjoys learning the rich variety of cultures in the world, and most likely has been exposed to more than one culture in his or her lifetime. 多元文化人是这样一种人，他深信所有的文化都同样好，乐于学习世界上丰富多采的各种文化，而且很可能已经在其一生中接触过不止一种文化。 2.You cannot motivate anyone, especially someone of another culture, until that person has accepted you. A multilingual salesperson can explain the advantages of a product in other languages, but a multicultural salesperson can motivate foreigners to buy it. That’s a critical difference.你无法激发任何人，尤其是另一种文化的人，直到那个人已经接受了你。一个能说多种语言的推销员能用别的语言说明一种产品的优点， 但一个谙熟多种文化的推销员却能激发外国人去购买这种产品。这是一个关键性的区别。
3.No one likes foreigners who are arrogant about their own culture. Customers are turned off by monocultural salespeople. The trouble is, most people are arrogantly monocultural without being aware of it. And even those who are aware of it can?t hide it. Foreigners sense monocultural arrogance at once and set up their own cultural barriers, effectively blocking any attempt by the monocultural person to motivate them. 没有人喜欢那些以自己的文化傲慢自大的外国人。 只懂得一种文化的推销员会使顾客兴味索然。问题是，大多数人只懂得一种文化却很傲慢，而自己还没有意识到这一点。即使那些意识到的人也无法掩饰它。外国人马上就察觉到那种单一文化的傲慢，并树起他们自己的文化屏障，有效地阻挡住那位单一文化者任何想激发他们的企图。
4.Multiculturalism is a requirement that has been neglected too often in hiring managers for international positions. And this neglect is affecting every industry. Even if your company is not (yet!) a multinational one, chances are you?re in touch with foreign customers or manufacturers. Do you have the right employee forging these relations ? 在雇用担任国际职位的管理人员时多元文化修养常常是被忽视的一个条件。这种忽视正在影响着各个行业。即使你的公司(还!)不是一家跨国公司，你也很可能会接触外国客户或制造商。你有缔造这些关系的合适雇员吗?
5.For 20-odd years, I?ve run an executive-search firm from Brussels. When clients ask us to find the right person for a new pan-European sales or management position, I start by asking them to specify the qualifications their ideal candidate would have. Most often they list the same qualities they would want for a domestic position, but with the additional requirement that the new manager be fluent enough in English, German and French to cope with faxes and email. It sometimes takes me hours to persuade clients that the linguistic abilities they see as crucial are not enough. But after some discussion, we usually wind up specifying something like: “The new manager must be accepted throughout Europe. Thus, he or she must be multicultural. If possible, he or she should also be able to communicate in more than one of the major European languages.”20几年来， 我一直在经营布鲁塞尔的一家寻找管理人员的公司。当客户要求我们为一个新的泛欧销售或管理职位寻找合适人选时，我首先请他们详细说明他们理想的候选人应具备的条件。 通常他们列出的条件与他们对国内职位的要求相同，只是再加上这样一个要求：新的经理必须熟练掌握英语、德语和法语以处理传真和电子邮件。 有时候，我要花几个小时才能使客户们相信，光有他们认为至关重要的语言能力是不够的。 但经过一番讨论后， 最终我们通常会列出这样的条件：“新经理必须在整个欧洲都能被接受。所以，他或她必须通晓多种文化。如果可能，他或她也应能用一种以上的欧洲主要语言进行交际。”
6.Of course, it?s far more difficult to determine candidates? multiculturalism than it is to check their language skills — but it?s also a far more important ingredient to success. To seek out this crucial quality, I ask a lot of questions about candidates’ early childhood, looking for evidence of contact with diverse cultures. And I probe for arrogance about their background and
environment.当然，测定候选人对多种文化的熟悉程度比检查他们的语言技能要困难得多---但这也是一个重要得多的成功要素。为了找出这一至关重要的素质，我要问许多有关候选人幼年时期的问题，寻找与多种文化接触的证据。我也寻找他们对自身背景和环境感到的傲慢。
7.It?s sometimes very difficult to make the call. I remember a company that asked me to check out a salesman they were planning to send to Mexico. He?d studied Spanish, and had grown up in New York City — the most culturally diverse place in America. But when I interviewed him, it turned out that he had no concept of the great pride Mexicans take in their culture, and moreover he was uneasy about Mexican restaurants and markets being dirty and unsafe. I rejected him — just as Mexican buyers would have rejected him if he’d been selected for the job. 有时候，很难作出判断。记得有家公司曾请我调查一个他们正计划派往墨西哥的推销员。他学过西班牙语，在美国文化最多元化的纽约市长大。但我对他进行面试时，却发现他根本不知道墨西哥人对自己的文化有多么自豪，而且他对又脏又乱的墨西哥饭店和市场感到不安。 我没有接受他---就像如果他被选中干这份工作，墨西哥购物者也会拒绝接受他一样。