With self-service facilities – supermarkets, to name one – beginning to appear all the time, we’re now relying on integrity more than ever.
Integrity – the quality of doing the right thing no matter if anyone is watching or not – has been highly valued in China since ancient times. And the phrase“立木取信”probably best explains how integrity works in the relationship between people and the ruling of a nation.
This phrase comes from the Warring States period (475-221 BC), during which China wasn’t yet a unified country and was constantly at war. States carried out reforms to make themselves stronger, with the most thorough and influential one being the reform of the State of Qin, introduced by statesman Shang Yang (395-338 BC).
Shang’s reform focused on farming and giving rewards to soldiers who fought hard during wars. But at first, people had little trust and confidence in Shang.
So he decided to prove himself by putting a wooden pole at the south gate of the capital of Qin, offering those who took the pole to the north gate a reward of 10 gold pieces, before long raising it to 50. When a man did as he said, Shang paid him 50 gold pieces as promised. Word soon spread, and people began to realize that Shang was a man of his word. The reforms were finally pushed forward.
Today, integrity still plays an important role in Chinese society, which is why it’s included as one of the 12 core socialist values in China.
China is also planning to build a social credit system by the year 2020, which will keep citizens’ misbehaviors –- even minor traffic violations – on record, so that trust can be established among people.
“Without a system, a conman can commit a crime in one place and then do the same thing again in another place. But a credit system puts people’s past history on the record. It’ll build a better and fairer society,”explained Wen Quan, a blogger who writes about technology and finance, to BBC News.
1. How long has integrity been valued in China? (within 5 words)2. Please use one sentence to explain the phrase “立木取信”(within 15 words)
3. What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase“a man of his word”? (within 10 words)
4. What is China planning to do to achieve integrity? (within 15 words)
5. Why is integrity so important? (within 20 words)
相似题推荐
【推荐1】As part of doing business globally and operating across culture, we often want to predict how others are going to behave. Our typical heuristic(启发式教育法) is culture. We learn about how Germans or Chinese or Italians are different from us---how they think or act or even express emotions in a different way — and we feel like we’ve done our homework. We feel prepared.
But we’re surprised to discover that the person in question acts in a completely different way from how we expected. Instead of being silent, our colleague from Asia is actually quite loud and confrontational( 对抗的). Instead of behaving aggressively, our Israeli supplier is mild-mannered. We wonder where we went wrong.
The problem comes from the questions we ask ourselves. The obvious one is “What culture does this person come from?” This question is not important. National cultural differences do matter. But culture isn’t everything. It turns out that if we ask ourselves a better, more focused set of questions, we’ll be far more successful at predicting how people will act.
Question 1: What do you know about the region? Just as it is useful to learn something about culture norms(标准) when diagnosing(诊断、判断) your situation, it is good practice to learn something about region norms. For example, if you were doing business in the America and assumed that people from the Northeast would be similar to people from the Midwest, you might be surprised.
Question 2: What do you know about the company or industry? Like countries and regions, companies and industries also have distinctive cultures. How you would interact with a boss at Google is quite different from how you would interact with a boss at Microsoft or Intel.
Finding the answers to these questions before you cross cultures can be tricky, but it is possible. One of the best ways to anticipate what you’ll encounter is by talking with expats: people similar to you who have studied, lived, or worked in the country in question. These individuals will often give you some insight into these nuances.
1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?| A．When trading globally, we can predict cultural differences successfully. |
| B．Israeli supplier should be mild-mannered instead of being ill-tempered. |
| C．People don’t care about what culture this person comes from? |
| D．It is not necessarily reasonable to stress national cultural differences only. |
| A．learning culture norms is more important than learning region norms |
| B．Asian people are actually quite loud and confrontational (对抗的) |
| C．Trying to know about the region is as necessary as knowing about cultural norms. |
| D．Doing business across cultures differs from doing business in the local region. |
| A．Employees | B．Immigrants |
| C．Experts | D．Employers |
| A．How to diagnose cultural differences. |
| B．How to get along with a person from different cultures. |
| C．How to manage cross- cultural corporation. |
| D．How to learn about a distinctive culture. |
【推荐2】Besides “wow” and “great”, what else would you say when flying over the Earth in space? Samantha Cristoforetti, the first Italian female astronaut in space, posted several lines of a famous ancient Chinese composition on Twitter to share her joy.
She first wrote in Chinese, and then attached an accurate translation of the lines in both Italian and English to help more people understand. “Looking up, I see the immensity of the cosmos; bowing my head, I look at the multitude of the world. The gaze flies, the heart expands, the joy of the senses can reach its peak, and indeed, this is true happiness,” it says. Two days before she landed on Earth, the beauty of space and Chinese literature resonated on her Twitter account. Before long, her posts went viral on Twitter with thousands of retweets, likes and replies.
The text she quoted is from the Preface to Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion,a Chinese calligraphy masterpiece by Wang Xizhi (303-361) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420). She also attached three photos taken in space of China’s Bohai Bay and the day-night view of Beijing. “The poem and views are both magnificent as well as healing. If everyone could enjoy the same sight, a lot of pain in the world would be ‘dissipated’,” one user comments.
As the first Italian female astronaut in space, Cristoforetti carried out her first space mission on Nov 23, 2014. In 2022, she started the second mission in April and returned to Earth on Friday night after a 127-day stay in orbit.
Cristoforetti has also been active in Sino-European cooperation in the field of manned spaceflight. She was a working group member with Chinese counterparts to define and implement cooperation in the field of astronaut operations. When not traveling for work, she is an eager reader and has a great passion for languages. Speaking clear Chinese, Cristoforetti once told the media that the teams from China and Europe were working very well together in the field of astronaut training.
1. What is the result of Cristoforetti’s post online?| A．The birth of a masterpiece. |
| B．A trend of journey to space. |
| C．An instant hot issue on Twitter. |
| D．Different translations of the lines. |
| A．Relieved. | B．Caused. |
| C．Increased. | D．Recognized. |
| A．Cristoforetti’s devotion to her career. |
| B．Cristoforetti’s language learning strategies. |
| C．The leadership Cristoforetti plays in her team. |
| D．The possible motivation for Cristoforetti’s post. |
| A．A female astronaut becomes online star |
| B．A Chinese poem gets popular abroad |
| C．Literature conveys the beauty of space |
| D．An Italian astronaut promotes Sino-European cooperation |
【推荐3】People, old or young, can enjoy many different performances at theaters or concert halls, which have become an important part of our culture.
“LOUDMOUTH”at the Tank(through Nov.18) .Young theatergoers may not be familiar with the expression,but the title of the show is a great example：Its10-yearoldheroine, Amy,dislike stalking.The theatre piece explore show Amy finally finds her voice through an imaginative games he plays with her friends.The production also offers an optional performance workshop where participants invent their own games.
212-563-6269,thetanknye.org
“WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD”at the Actors' Theater(Nov.18, 1 to 3:30pm) .This musical answers not only the timeless question for kids, but another one, too：Which came firs, the chicken or the egg?Written and directed by Rob Lester, the production opens the season for the Play Nice People.One way it plays nice：donating ticket earnings to local charities.
800-313--8599,playnicepeople.com
“GUITAR MASH”at City Winery(Nov.19, 2 to 4：30pm) .Jamming with top-billed musicians is something most amateur players can only dream of.But this event, intended for ages 10 and older, invites all music fans with guitars to join in a“camp re.”Brunch is provided, and those who want to sing or listen are welcome, too.The performers will be former guitarists in Guitar Mash.
212--608055,guitarmash.org/6thanniversary
“WHO IS BENNY GOODMAN”at the Rose Hall(Nov.17-18, 1 to 3：30pm) .Goodman was both a great bandleader and a pioneer in musical performances.In the concert, part of Jazz at Lincoln Centre for Youngster 'series, children will learn about both Goldman's values and his music.Hosted by Victor Gaines, the interactive show will include Goodman hits like“Sing,Sing, Sing”, and“Let's Dance”.
212-721-6500,gman.org/events
1. Where could you take part in an on-profit program?| A．At the Tank. | B．At the Actors’ Theater. |
| C．At City Winery. | D．At the Rose Hall. |
| A．It lasts two and a half hours. |
| B．It is intended for children. |
| C．There is an interactive section. |
| D．There is a minimum age limit. |
