What do you think of Mr. Bias‘ decision? What mistake did he commit?
二、分析、解答题
I. Read the case story (from Zanger, 1985) and answer the questions below.
A. John, an American, was happy when his Saudi Arabian neighbor invited him to a party at his apartment, just down the hall in the same apartment building. After work, John made a special trip to the neighborhood liquor store to buy a bottle of his favorite white wine for the party.
When John got to the party, his host, Mazen, greeted him at the door in a friendly way. He put his arm around John‘s shoulders and said, ―Oh, John. I‘m so glad you could come.‖
John answered, ―How‘re you doing, Mazen? Looks like a great party. Here, I brought you some of my favorite wine.‖
Mazen took the wine but said nothing about it. Then he said, ―I‘d like you to meet my sister who came from Raid, my city, just two days ago.‖
John reached out to shake Mazen‘s sister‘s hand, but she just stood there, and stopped smiling. John decided that she was probably shy. So he tried to be especially friendly to her. They had a nice conversation until Mazen ended it.
John was saying to Mazen‘s sister, ―So, it looks like your brother is going to show you the town.‖ Because John was feeling very friendly to his host and his host‘s sister, her put one arm around each of them. Mazen suddenly looked very serious.
He stood up and took John by the arm and said, ―Come over here and try some of our food.‖
John enjoyed himself very much at the party that night. He couldn‘t believe how much food Mazen had prepared. As he was leaving, he realized that he had not seen his bottle of wine. He decided that in all the confusion, Mazen had probably forgotten to open it. Questions:
1. Why did John buy the wine? 2. Why didn‘t Mazen open it?
3. Why didn‘t Mazen say anything to John about the wine? 4. Why didn‘t Mazen‘s sister shake hands with John?
5. Why did John put his arm around Mazen and his sister?
6. Why did Mazen suddenly end John‘s conversation with his sister？
B. Read the following story (from Abraham & Mackey, 2000) and discuss with neighbor what culture shock is and how shock is and how much you know about it from the story.
Nguyen Chau Van Loc went to the United States in 1979 from Vietnam. His first impression of the US was very positive. He felt that this new environment offered him many exciting opportunities.
However, Loc quickly found himself unprepared to take advantage of these opportunities. He knew almost no English. Even when he knew what to say on a bus or in a store, no one understood him, and he had to repeat and repeat. In Vietnam, Loc was a technician, but in the US, he didn‘t have enough experience
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compared with other people. He had trouble finding a job. He felt that he did not have an important role or position in the city and missed happy in the US. He began to feel very depressed and homesick.
With the help of a counselor in his English program, he understood that his feelings were normal and that they were only a stage in his adjustment to the new culture. He learned that many other Vietnamese felt the same way he did. Some, in fact, were more disoriented than he was and were afraid to go out into the city.
Eventually, Loc began to feel better about his life in the US. He developed a position in the Vietnamese American community and adjusted to his new role in the new country but will always miss Vietnam.
C. Read the following and answer the questions below it.
An American university student Tom is active in a foreign student club at his university and has several good friends from different countries. One of them tells Tom his parents and sister will be visiting, and he asks Tom if he would like to meet them.
Tom invites all of them to visit his home one afternoon. They arrive and present him with a nicely wrapped gift. Tom tells them they shouldn‘t have brought anything, but thanks them and proceeds to open the gift, which turns out to be a very pretty vase from their country. He thanks them again. He senses some awkwardness and realizes that he has not offered them anything to drink. ―Would you like coffer or tea or a soft drink?‖ he asks. They all refuse. Things seem more awkward now. But he talks a little of their country, about studies at the university, about the cost of living, and eventually the father whispers something to his son. ―I think we must be leaving to return to the hotel,‖ he says. Everybody stands up, shake hands, and they start to leave. ―Please come and visit again,‖ Tom says as he stands and watches the family walk to the door, open it, and disappear down the hall.
Two days later, in a very indirect way, Tom learns from another friend that the visitors thought he was a rude host.
Questions
1. How can you explain the fact that Tom is misunderstood when he actually wants to be kind and friendly to the visitors?
2. Why was Tom considered a rude host by his visitors? Try to figure out at least three things among the following Tom did that were regarded to be impolite.
A. Tom invites them to visit his home but does not invite them for dinner with him. B. Tom opens the gift as soon as he is presented with it. C. Tom thanks them only twice for the gift.
D. Tom thanks them not make a second offer of drinks when they refuse the first. E. Tom talks about the cost of living in the U.S.A.
F. Tom does not ask them to stay longer when they refuse the first. G. Tom does not go out to see them off.
H. Tom does not promise to return them a visit later.
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Ⅱ. First identify the ethnocentric attitudes (the attitude that one race, nationality, religion or culture is superior ) in the sentences, and then change some of the statements so that they are no longer ethnocentric
1. Mentonia (a fictitious country) has produced the finest works of art in the world. 2. Mentonia is a superior country because it has produced the greatest technology in
the world.
3. Non-Mentonians do everything the wrong way round. 4. The Mentonian language is the best language for poetry.
5. The Mentonian people have been very generous in teaching people in other
countries how to do things the right way.
6. If everyone did things the Mentonian way, the world would be a better place.
7. Example: Mentonia has produced the world‘s greatest literature. –Mentonia has
many writers who have produced well-known works of literature.
Ⅲ. Read the following statements. Indicate whether you agree or disagree with them. Then reword each of them in such a way that everyone in the group agrees with it. 1. Foreigners who go to live in a new country should give up their foreign habits
and adapt to the new country as soon as possible.
2. Many of the world‘s populations do not take enough initiatives to develop, so
they stay underdeveloped.
3. English should be accepted as the universal language of the world.
4. Some of the world‘s populations have not yet reached the higher stages of
civilization.
5. Minority members of any population should conform to the customs and values
of the majority.
三、思考题
Ⅰ. Imagine that the situations below take place in an English-speaking country.
What would you do in each situation? In some cases, more than one answer is possible.
1. You‘re been having digestive problem for a week, and have just started to feel
better. You meet a British friend at a party. You friend says, ―How are you?‖ What would you do?
a. Start talking in detail about your problem. b. Say, ―Fine, thanks. How are you?‖ c. Say, ―Not bad, thanks. How are you?‖ d. Nothing.
2. You‘re visiting an American friend in her new apartment. You like apartment and
you want your friend to know. What would you do?
a. Say, ―Your apartment is nice. How much is the rent?‖ b. Say, ―Gee, this place is really nice.‖ c. Say, ―I really like your apartment.‖
d. Say nothing, but show that you are interested by walking around, looking at
everything in the apartment, and picking up everything that is movable.
3. You‘re been invited to dinner at a friend‘s home. You‘re about to sit down to eat,
but you want to use the toilet first. What would you do? a. Say, ―Excuse me. Where‘s the toilet?‖
b. Say, ―Could I wash my hands before dinner?‖ c. Say, ―Do you mind if I use the bathroom?‖
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d. Say nothing and start looking around the house for the toilet.
4. You‘re a guest in a British or American friend‘s home. Your friend asks if you
would like something to drink. You really would like a drink. What would you do?
a. Say, ―Yes, please.‖
b. Say, ―Yes, that would be lovely.‖
c. Say, ―No, thank you‖ and wait for your friend to ask you again. d. Say, ―That‘s OK. I can get it myself.‖
5. You‘ve just been introduced to a British or American friend‘s parents. What
would you do?
a. Say, ―Hello‖, and bow.
b. Say nothing and shake hands.
c. Say, ―Nice to meet you ‖, and shake hands. d. Say, ―Hi!‖
6. You‘re 20 minutes late for class. The teacher is explaining something to the class
when you arrive. What would you do?
a. Go in, walk up to the teacher and apologize.
b. Wait outside the classroom until the class is over and then apologize to the
teacher.
c. Knock on the door and wait for the teacher to tell you it‘s OK to come in. d. Go in as quietly as you can and take a seat.
7. The teacher gives the class some homework for the next day. You know that you
won‘t be able to finish it on time. What would you do?
a. Explain the situation to the teacher and ask if you can hand in your work
later.
b. Not go to class the next day.
c. Go to class the next day without the homework and say nothing.
d. Do as much of the work as you can and give it to the teacher the next day. 8. You‘ve got a doctor‘s appointment and need to leave class early. What would
you do?
a. Not go to class.
b. Get up and leave the classroom when it‘s time to go to your appointment. c. Explain the situation to the teacher before class.
d. When it‘s time to go to your appointment, get up and explain to the teacher
why you have to leave.
9. You‘ve got a question about something the teacher has just said in class. What
would you do?
a. Look confused.
b. Call out, ―I‘ve got a question.‖
c. Raise your hand and ask the teacher to explain. d. Wait and ask the teacher to explain after class.
10. You‘ve sitting in the classroom talking to a classmate, when the teacher comes in.
What would you do?
a. Stand up to show you respect for the teacher. b. Look up and greet the teacher.
c. Look down to show your respect for the teacher. d. Look up and pay attention to the teacher.
Ⅱ. Are the generalizations about the US culture true or false?
1. Most young people in the US start dating around the age of twelve.
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2. The bill in most restaurants in the US includes a service charge.
3. In the US, shopping for groceries is usually done by going to a supermarket once
a week.
4. Most Americans do their own housework.
5. In American cities, people who walk their dogs in public are required to clean up
after them.
6. It is polite to ask Americans questions about their salary.
7. When invited to a birthday party in the US, you are expected to give a gift of
money.
8. In the US, saying ―Thank you ‖is a common way of reacting to a compliment. 9. The cost of university tuition is so expensive in the US that only the very rich can
afford it.
10. In families, it is often the mother who does most the food shopping.
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