Unit 4 Do as Romans Do.doc

Unit 4Do as Romans DoI. Warm-upComponents of CultureThe term culture has been defined in many ways. Howard defines it as the customary manner in which human groups learn to organize their behaviour and thoughts. I define culture as the way of life of a group of people. In that way, culture is in essence the moulder of human behaviour of a certain group.Culture has several major components. The first important one is material possessions, which refer to objects like books or clothes. The non-material component can be illustrated by the following parts: values, norms, beliefs, emotions, attitudes, aspirations, laws, and symbols. The arrows in the figure point in both directions, suggesting that culture shapes these components. In turn, these aspects impact culture, which means culture is dynamic, always undergoing great changes. For example, people who share the same level of material possessions may have different values or beliefs. People who have similar beliefs may change the ways to express emotions. From birth to death, people are faced with cultural messages and change in these components.II. Listening for content1. Listening to a conversationAudio scriptA recent survey shows that 95% of adult Chinese citizens write less than four handwritten letters per year. Two Chinese office workers, Huang and Zhao are talking about whether handwriting matters or not.Huang: Well, Im a little bit worried about my Chinese handwriting skills. I use my computer to write e-mails and my cellphone to send messages. Its so easy to forget how to write Chinese characters! Zhao: Well, Huang, you are not alone in your worries. Last week, I was reading a postcard my father sent me. I was struck by how neat and clear it was. You know, he does not live with me, but his unique handwriting reminds me of my days with him. Sometimes, I wonder, will my son be impressed by my handwriting? My ugly handwriting!Huang: How can your handwriting be beautiful, Zhao, when we rely on computers, cellphones and other electronic tools to communicate? I am afraid that one day writing by hand will become very difficult, because children may be unable to recall the stroke sequences to write some characters. Zhao: Quite possible. You see, traditional calligraphy draws less attention now. My teacher should have taught us more about traditional Chinese calligraphy. Huang: Its not the teachers fault. People now place less value on the importance of practising calligraphy. They think computers can help people recognize and write characters.Zhao: Word processing has made it much easier to communicate, but Chinese handwriting is a tradition of nearly 4,000 years old. How can we abandon it? Its time to do something to help rescue the tradition of handwritten letters. Huang: Recently, an organization has advocated a movement entitled Please Write Letters, encouraging people to send more handwritten letters, to put pen to paper. In some companies, receiving a handwritten note is now seen as something of a compliment, for its more personal and sincere.Zhao: I hope that will work.2. Listening to a passageAudio script & keyFarewell to BarbieNearly every girl likes Barbie. The surprising thing about Barbie is that the toy is welcomed worldwide in every country. It is compatible with every culture. Barbie, Mattels sweetheart, is almost 50 years old and has been in big trouble lately; in fact, some are even saying shes dead. Sales of the iconic toy over the last five years have been so bad that some are suggesting it may be time for Mattel to end production of the once-popular doll.Barbies always been about play and fashion. One toy-market analyst says that in the last couple of years there has been a little bit too much emphasis on just having it look trendy and fashionable. Mattels biggest problem was that they forgot to put some of the fun into some of the Barbie toys. And they forgot some of the basic elements. Toys need to be magical. A child needs to open a toy and immediately want to play. Mattel was not doing that.Whats more, Barbie is no ordinary toy. She copies the female form. She stands for woman within the games of make-believe in which children involve her. Some feminists criticize Barbie, because Barbie represents an old-fashioned image of females and modern features of women cannot be found in the toy.So today, a radical idea kills her, dead. But that doesnt mean the end of the brand. Nowadays, kids arent just playing with toys; they are watching movies, they are going to shows, and they are wearing clothes. So the Barbie brand is not just about dolls anymore. Its 3 billion dollars worth of merchandise and entertainment around the world every year. But as Mattels biggest seller, slumping sales could mean its time for a farewell, Barbie.3. Listening to English newsAudio script & key: Beijing Opera is largely seen as a dying art in China. Louisa Lim wants to introduce us to an unlikely new champion for Chinese opera. Hes a British man who has 1) devoted more than a decade to bringing Chinese opera to new audiences.Ghaffar: And I saw a Beijing Opera in London in 1993. And that just shocked me. It really moved me.Louisa: Ghaffar Pourazar is British, born to Iranian Azeri parents. At the age of 32, he gave up his life as a 2) computer animator and enrolled in a Beijing Opera school, drawn by the difficulty of mastering this art form. Ghaffar: And there is no other culture which has put that much 3) discipline into training the perfect performer. That is what the Beijing Opera is about, the perfect performer.Louisa: On stage, the actors not only act, they sing and dance at the same time as performing 4) heart-stopping feats of acrobatics and sword fighting. Once the show begins, its clear that Pourazar has taken a Chinese classic and made it his own. The cast is partly non-Chinese. And theres a lot of 5) explanation in English. The story is the 6) much-loved legend of the Monkey King, a mischievous monkey born from a stone, who learns 7) supernatural skills and uses them to 8) challenge the emperor of heaven. Pourazar is the multilingual monkey.(Singing)Ghaffar: Its within the rules of the art form that you perform for that audience. What I have done is, by taking it to London, to change the spoken parts into English. And thats, 9) thats within the rules of the opera.(Singing)Louisa: That even means adding a bit of comedy rap opera to the mix. (Singing)Louisa: And this hybrid bilingual opera 10) wins good reviews from both Western and Chinese audience members. A Man: And thats really Chinese stuff, 11) expressing the more acceptable way. So itll be more popular.Louisa: 12) But the popularity of Beijing Opera is fading fast, with young Chinese audiences turning to karaoke, DVDs and the Internet. Much to Pourazars sorrow.III. Follow-up1. Listening to short conversationsAudio script & key1. M: What channel do you watch on TV?W: I watch mainly news programmes and classic movies. I hate commercials. There is a lot more advertising than there used to be. M: Nowadays, whatever youre doing in your daily life, its quite difficult to get away from ads in one form or another. Theyre all around you! Advertising has always been part of our life. Q: What can be inferred from the conversation?2. W: Excuse me. Can you tell me what your lecture is about? M: Oh, Im going to lecture on photography of cities.W: Is that about architectural styles of various buildings?M: Well, not exactly. The theme in my photography is the history contained in cities. I spend quite a large amount of time trying to depict life in the city, trying to build a history of cities visually. Q: What is the man interested in?3. W: Hey, listen to this interesting quiz: When the host introduces you to a group of people at a party, whats your typical meet-and-greet smile? Are your lips closed over your teeth, or with lips open and teeth revealed? M: What? What kind of quiz is that?W: Its a quiz about your character by testing your body language. My Chinese friend did the quiz, and her answer shows she is a shy and withdrawn person. M: I wonder whether that works for us Englishmen. Q: What is the quiz about?4. M: I really dont understand why Jerry was so cold yesterday when I came to his office. I know I was late. But it was only 20 minutes. W: Well, thats your problem. Jerry is a typical American. He must feel slighted and think you are a rude person. M: In my country, its normal to be late by 30 minutes. W: But you are not in Brazil now. Q: What do you know about the man?5. W: Hi, Frank, have you just been to your kung fu class? With your Chinese friends?M: Yes. Its amazing. Speed, power, balance and timing, thats kung fu. We strike with the fist, hand, the elbow, the knee, the foot, the heel, and the bottom. W: So, does that mean you are so tough that nobody can beat you in a fight? M: I dont do it for fighting, but for exercise. I do this martial art in a gym, not on a battlefield.Q: Why does the man takes a kung fu class?2. Listening to a longer conversationAudio script & keyCulture ShockLarry: Have you felt awkward and uneasy when you were abroad? Culture shock is hard for people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. Dr. Oberg worked for the United States Operations Mission to Brazil. Today he is here with us. Morning, Dr. Oberg.Oberg: Hello, Larry.Larry: You wrote an article entitled Culture Shock. Can you explain what culture shock is? Oberg: Well, we might almost call culture shock an occupational disease for many people abroad. Culture shock is caused by the anxiety of losing all familiar things in life. Larry: Where might one encounter culture shock?Oberg: Oh, nearly everywhere. You may have to worry when to shake hands and what to say when you meet people, how to give orders to service staff, how to make purchases, when to accept and to refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not to.Larry: Can those be learned? A foreigner usually carries, say, a guidebook.Oberg: Oh, yes. Those can be learned to a certain degree. But things will not get easier even if you take some classes. When an individual enters a strange culture, he is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad-minded he is, he often encounters misunderstanding.Larry: And that is followed by feelings of frustration and anxiety.Oberg: Right. During the first few weeks, most individuals are fascinated by the new culture they are learning about. But soon they will find that appropriate words, gestures, facial expressions are acquired unconsciously. And it takes a long time.Larry: Does that anxiety remain until one leaves the country?Oberg: Maybe, but some can ultimately adjust to foreign culture pretty well. In the final stage of adjustment, the visitor accepts the customs of the country just as another way of living.Larry: So they will accept the foods, habits, and customs that used to be unfamiliar. Oberg: Yes. And they may actually begin to enjoy them. Larry: Thats good to know. Thank you, Dr. Oberg.3. Listening to a passageAudio scriptThey strike at night, without warning, searching and examining thoroughly the tombs of Egypts great kings and queens. Theyve been stealing from the dead since the beginning of time. Its a centuries-old cat-and-mouse game between tomb robbers and royalty. Ancient Pharaohs used clever technology to create one of the most marvellous miraclespyramids. Those are places whe