Lecture 5 Cultural Habits.Highlightsppt课件

1、Lecture 5Cultural Habits,About the author Richard Brennan, born in 1943, is an Australian film producer and screen writer. The Alexander profession refers to the profession of teaching the Alexander Technique, a special technique founded by the Shakespearean recitalist F. Matthias Alexander (1869-19

2、55) towards the end of the 19th century, for recognizing and overcoming habituated limitations imposed by a persons manner of movement and thinking. The famous pupils of F.M. Alexander included, among others, the British dramatist George Bernard Shaw. The Alexander Technique is taught one-on-one or

3、in small groups by a trained Alexander Technique teacher. So here the author is saying that as Alexander Technique teachers, he and his colleagues are aware of personal habits.,Could you tell me the possible difference between the people around us and the people close to us? The former may refer to

4、the people we meet at school, at work or at home, the latter the people we love. So the author means that we have acquired these habits out of love for the people we are so familiar with, or out of a need to deal with unfavorable conditions.,In our minds, these conditions or habit-making factors, of

5、ten take the form of an angry parent or a hostile brother or sister at home, or the unfriendly attitude of our classmates or workmates, but probably what we often fail to notice are the factors that may play a much greater role in shaping our behaviour, ie cultural habits. By the way, do you know th

6、e exact meaning of at work? At the place where you work. For example, you can say I eat lunch at work. Your translation?,Notice the idiomatic expression to jump the queue. Whats the opposite of it? Suppose you see a queue of people waiting for the bus, what are you expected to do? You have to join t

7、he queue. And do we have a grocery store nearby? The school supermarket just out of the west gate.,Notice the phrasal verb take aback. If something takes you aback, it shocks you or surprises you very much. Here the author is saying that he was accustomed or habituated to the politeness common in Eu

8、ropean countries so that he was shocked when he saw the store-keeper was so straightforward in reproving the man.,What is the word most often used to describe this English indirectness? Reserved, ie slow or unwilling to show feelings or express opinions. People frequently spoke about this quality in

9、 the English character, so it was obvious that the English people had acquired a reputation for being very indirect.,To get somebody doing something is to bring him to the point where he is doing something. So here author is saying that his discoveries about the behavioral difference between people

10、from different cultures had kept him in wonder so much that he had started thinking seriously about the significance of it.,This is an example of the power of social conditioning, ie like it or not, the way we behave is shaped by the society we live in. Sweeping generalizations are statements that a

11、re too general because they are based on only a few related facts or examples. Here the author is modest about his abilities as an observer and analyst of cultural matters.,You may say, among other things, Could I just qualify that last statement? In spite of his awareness of his limitations the aut

12、hor still ventures to generalize about the possible culture-related behavioural differences in a given situation.,The author is quite right in that the way people move does give important cultural hints. Notice the word mannerism, which means a peculiar way of moving or speaking that is typical of a

13、 particular person or group of people. For example, you may say In accent and mannerism, he appears to be a British-educated gentleman.,Japanese women in kimono seem to have a peculiar yet graceful gait. And of course there is a world of difference between Japanese and Italians or Caribbeans, as the

14、 latter, speakers of Italian and Spanish, are known for the warmth of their character and smiles. They tend to talk and walk accompanied by dramatic or even extravagant gestures. A look at Fidel Castro and you will see what I mean.,I couldnt agree with the author more. What the Tang Dynasty poet Su

15、Shi said in his题西林壁offers the best possible explanatory note: 横看成岭侧成峰, 远近高低各不同; 不识庐山真面目, 只缘身在此山中。 And notice the when-clause preceded by a comma serves the function of an adverbial of cause.,True, people do feel liberated while travelling. But from what? From their familiar surroundings, and consequ

16、ently, from their preconceptions or prejudices.,To embark upon something is perhaps a relatively formal way of saying to start doing something, esp. something new and difficult. To embark upon a trip, therefore, means to set off on a long, and perhaps tiring journey.,Could you tell where Tahiti, Rar

17、otonga and Fiji are? All are in the Pacific Ocean. Tahiti is an island in French Polynesia. This is a very beautiful place and is associated with the French artist Paul Gauguin, whose best-known works were painted there. Rarotonga is the largest of the Cook Islands, and Fiji is a country in the sout

18、hwest Pacific Ocean.,Tahiti,Spirit of the Dead Watching, Gauguin,Rarotonga,Government Building, Suva, Fiji Islands,To order room service is to order food and drink from room service, a service provided in a hotel, by which guests can have food and drink brought to their rooms. Cruising on a luxury s

19、hip, ie sailing comfortably on a luxury ship. Notice the noun cruise, which means a holiday on a large ship. Westerners often regard a cruise around the world as the ultimate luxury holiday.,What is a kava ceremony? Kava, or yaqona as it is called in Fiji, is the Islands national drink. This narcoti

20、c sedative drink is made from the crushed or powered root of a shrub of the pepper family. This bitter-tasting drink encourages a sense of well-being and may be offered to guests as a special sign of goodwill. According to legend, kava is a sacred crop that was given by the gods as a source of wisdo

21、m. Kava is served at social gatherings and during traditional ceremonies.,Kava is served at social gatherings and during traditional ceremonies.,Notice the preposition by. What does it indicate here? It indicates quick change. So by the day is used to say that somebody or something is quickly changi

22、ng, either for the better or for the worse. To further intensify the idea of quick change, what change would you make to the expression? By the hour or even by the minute.,Here the author is saying that in some of the places he visited, people were benefiting more from new technology in each passing

23、 day while in others people seemed to be living in a thousand-year-old primitive society where they never needed to be in a hurry to get things done, nor did they ever have the idea of a holiday at the local spa. A health club is something like a mixture of gym and spa, where exercise equipment, swi

24、mming pools, sauna, massage and beauty treatment are provided.,The author describes his journey as a very surreal experience, ie an experience that is more like a dream than reality because all the different strange things have come together. It sounds as if he had to pinch himself to make sure it w

25、as not all a dream.,To encounter somebody is to meet them without planning to. Its relatively formal. Some live in primitive surroundings with barely enough to eat. Notice the word barely, and consider whether these people go hungry. The answer seems to yes and no.,They did manage to feed themselves

26、 and their children, but they could have eaten more if there had been more food available. We would say in Chinese, 他们只能勉强果腹.,Modern city life is more stressful and people there move in a different way to those in less modern places. Here, move not only means to change position, but also suggests a

27、particular way a person behaves and thinks. And notice the preposition to. Does it relate to move or different?,Notice that the last sentence in the preceding paragraph serves as the topic sentence for this paragraph, and the author is going to develop the topic by comparison. City people had a more

28、 abrupt manner, ie they didnt bother to say or do more than was necessary and therefore gave the impression of being rude and unfriendly, and sometimes they even looked as if they were seeking a chance to argue with you. On the whole, these people gave the impression of being less happy and more sel

29、fish or egocentric.,Id like to draw attention to the modifier less technologically advanced, which I consider to be not only a more accurate description but also a clever way of avoiding such word as backward which may have a touch of value judgement. Now, what were people like in the less technolog

30、ically advanced cultures?,What does not nearly mean? Not at all or far from. They were not at all so goal-oriented, ie they were not at all so ambitious and driven by the desire for success.,They seemed more relaxed, more fulfilled, ie more satisfied with themselves for what they had been doing and

31、getting from life. Now could you tell the function of the expression as far as I could tell in the short time I was there? Notice what the author is about to do. He is about to generalize about these people, and this expression is used to add limitations so that what he says next doesnt sound too sw

32、eeping.,I soon noticed the change in myself I had learned to treat other people the way they treated me. I remember having described the English character as reserved. And the word for this character trait is simply reserve. Notice the verb drop. You may drop or lose your reserve after a few drinks with a couple of friends.,In all too obvious, all too is an intensifier used in reference to a bad situation, eg. The end of the holiday came all too soon. Stimuli is the plural form of stimulus. Here it refers to all the things that exist or happen around you sights and sounds and events that you