1 . Ideas about polite behavior are different from one culture to another. Some societies, such as America and Australia, for example, are mobile and very open. People here change jobs and move houses quite often. As a result, they have a lot of relationships that often last only a short time, and they need to get to know people quickly. So it’s normal to have friendly conversations with people that they have just met, and you can talk about things that other cultures would regard as personal.
On the other hand, there are more crowded and less mobile societies where long-term relationships are more important. A Malaysian or Mexican business person, for example, will want to get to know you very well before he or she feels happy to start business. But when you do get to know each other, the relationship becomes much deeper than it would in a mobile society.
To Americans both Europeans and Asians seem cool and formal at first. On the other hand, as a passenger from a less mobile society puts it, it’s no fun spending several hours next to a stranger who wants to tell you all about his or her life and asks you all sorts of questions that you don’t want to answer.
Cross-cultural differences aren’t just a problem for travelers, but also for the flights that carry them. All flights want to provide the best service, but ideas about good service are different from place to place. This can be seen most clearly in the way that problems are dealt with.
Some societies have ‘universalist’ cultures. These societies strongly respect rules, and they treat every person and situation in basically the same way.
‘Particularist’ societies, on the other hand, also have rules, but they are less important than the society’s unwritten ideas about what is right or wrong for a particular situation or a particular person. So the normal rules are changed to fit the needs of the situation or the importance of the person.
This difference can cause problems. A traveler from a particularist society, India, is checking in for a flight in Germany, a country which has a universalist culture. The Indian traveler has too much luggage, but he explains that he has been away from home for a long time and the suitcases are full of presents for his family. He expects that the check-in official will understand his problem and will change the rules for him. The check-in official explains that if he was allowed to have too much luggage, it wouldn’t be fair to the other passengers. But the traveler thinks this is unfair, because the other passengers don’t have his problem.
1. Often moving from one place to another makes people like Americans and Australians ______.| A．like traveling better |
| B．easy to communicate with |
| C．difficult to make real friends |
| D．have a long-term relationship with their neighbors |
| A．who will tell them everything of their own |
| B．who want to do business with them |
| C．they know quite well |
| D．who are good at talking |
| A．boring | B．friendly |
| C．normal | D．rough |
| A．There is no rule for people to obey. |
| B．People obey the society’s rules completely. |
| C．No one obeys the society’s rules though they have. |
| D．The society’s rules can be changed with different persons or situations. |
2 . Antiquities are ancient objects and artworks. Museums acquire works to display from many different sources. Sometimes they purchase them. Other times they receive donations. Today there are strict rules forbidding art that has been stolen from other countries. However, antiquities that have been at museums for decades or even centuries may have arrived there by questionable means. Now, some countries claim that museums have a responsibility to return these antiquities to their original locations.
There are many examples of this debate. Perhaps the most famous is the argument between Greece and the UK over the Elgin marbles. In the early 19th century, the Earl (伯爵) of Elgin had numerous sculptures taken from Greece to the UK. When Elgin did this, Greece was still a part of the Ottoman Empire. He claimed that he had received a permit to export the sculptures. Today the marbles are on display in the British Museum^ However, Greece wants them to be returned to their original location.
Should museums return these antiquities? Experts disagree. Malcolm Bell III says yes. Bell is a retired professor of art at the University of Virginia. He says, “Many antiquities and artworks have special cultural value for a particular community or nation. When these works are removed from their original cultural setting they lose their context and the culture loses a part of its history.”
According to Bell, a country’s request for the return of an antiquity “usually has a strong legal basis.” It “was exported illegally, and is now stolen property.” He called the return of antiquities “an expression of justice.”
James Cuno says not always. Cuno is president of an art museum in Los Angeles. He is also the author of the book Who Owns Antiquity?. Cuno agrees that museums have “a social and legal responsibility” to return illegally exported antiquities. However, he doesn’t support the return of legally acquired works.
“An area of land held today by a given nation-state in the past likely belonged to a different political entity (实体). Even if one wanted to reunite scattered works of art, where would one do so? Which among the many countries, cities, and museums in possession of parts of a work of art should be the chosen ‘home’ of the reunited work?” Cuno believes that museums should collect art from the world’s diverse cultures. This should be done “through purchase or long-term loan and working in cooperation with museums and nations around the world.”
This debate is far from over. As a complex question with no easy answer, the issue requires more study.
1. The passage mainly discusses .| A．the return of antiquities |
| B．the sources of ancient objects |
| C．the cultural value of artworks |
| D．the responsibility of museums |
| A．the time of keeping them |
| B．the real country of origin |
| C．the identity of the exporter |
| D．the means of acquiring them |
| A．artworks become valueless away from their culture |
| B．there is no clear answer to giving back antiquities |
| C．museums are responsible for reuniting works of art |
| D．the request for recovering artworks aims to promote justice |
| A．the legality of antiquities seems a key factor |
| B．the opinions of experts are completely different |
| C．museums should look into the sources of antiquities they own |
| D．the return of antiquities is unlikely due to practical difficulties |
3 . The aggressive spread of market economics and communication technologies—often under the control of Western multinational companies—brings new challenges to local cultures and values in non-Western societies. Sometimes it seems as if a tidal wave of the worst Western culture is creeping across the globe like a giant strawberry milkshake spill oat and over the planet, with a flavor that is distinctly sweet, sickly and apparently homogeneous (同质的).
For some, especially the young, change may mean escape from oppressive traditions. It may also bring new opportunities for cultures to be combined in creative ways. However, there is genuine cause for concern about the rate at which cultures are being worn away in such a globalized world.
Perhaps by far the most important far-reaching effect of cultural globalization is the commercialization of culture, which has a disturbing impact on local people’s existing values. They are increasingly bombarded with new images, new music, new clothes and new values. The familiar and old are to be abandoned. While there was cultural change long before globalization, there is a danger that much will be lost simply because it is not valued by global markets. In West Africa for example, traditional values have been overtaken by Coca-Cola culture which the local people don’t yet have the values to deal with successfully.
Another common aspect of the globalized culture is that it pursues (追求) the same “one size fits all” American ideal. The result of this cultural process of homogenization is that a large section of the world’s population dreams of living like Cosby & Co. or like the characters in any other stereotype American soap opera. In addition, the dream of living a better life causes thousands of people to move to already overcrowded cities whose population has boomed by millions within the last decades. The majority of these new immigrants end up in slums leading to poverty, pollution and misery.
Such gradual aggression against people’s existing values and cultures has a destructive impact on their sense of who they are, what they want and what they respect. It attacks spiritual values and faith traditions. The accumulative (累积的) effect in non-Western societies is a crisis of cultural confidence, combined with the increased economic uncertainty and crime which global integration (一体化) may bring. This creates real problems for social stability» whether it is at the level of nation, community or family.
In conclusion, cultural globalization, or worldwide McDonaldization, destroys diversity and displaces the opportunity to sustain decent life through a mixture of many different cultures. It is more a consequence of power concentration in the global media and manufacturing companies than the people’s own wish to abandon their cultural identity and diversity.
1. It can be learned from Paragraph 1 that ______.| A．non-Western societies willingly accept economic globalization |
| B．Western culture unites the world、economies and technologies |
| C．the booming of Western culture destroys non-Western societies |
| D．despite its appeal, westernization shows an unpleasant uniformity |
| A．McDonald receives more criticism abroad than at home. |
| B．Many Africans dream of a middle class American lifestyle. |
| C．Chinese food wins great approval in the United Kingdom. |
| D．Some western young people fancy a visit to African countries, |
| A．Cautious. | B．Critical. |
| C．Positive. | D．Neutral. |
| A．cultural diversity in globalization |
| B．challenges to non-Western cultures |
| C．drawbacks of cultural globalization |
| D．disappearance of non-Western cultures |
4 . Are you single or married? Are you a cat or a dog owner? Do you exercise, or are you a “couch potato” (a person who sits on the sofa all day watching TV, eating and basically doing nothing)? These questions and many others are about your lifestyle.
People in the United States feel that they can choose their lifestyles and even shape their own identities. The great variety of lifestyles leads to constant national discussion of choices that people make. This freedom of choice is fun and exciting, but it also creates stress and uncertainty. In newspapers, lifestyle issues are discussed in the features or style section. In The Chicago Tribune this section is called “Tempo”. People turn to this section for lively discussion on lifestyle choices they face with regard to their personal identities, their families, and their social lives.
Many American people believe that they can make their lives happy and satisfying despite their problems. If they lack confidence or tend to feel anxious, shy, angry, or depressed, they believe that they can change themselves. Self-help books, magazines, and feature articles are filled with advice from experts about steps to take to become a happier or more satisfied person and to improve one’s self-respect. Part of this research for self-improvement is a belief that even one’s own appearance can be controlled. This is why there are so many articles in the newspaper about looking young, wearing the latest fashions, and becoming physically fit.
Lifestyle choices also involve moral and social issues. How should children be raised? How should people behave on a date? How should elderly people be treated? How can people stay happily married? All these kinds of issues are constantly discussed and are constantly changing. Not only are experts such as psychologists consulted, but stars from the political and entertainment worlds are held up as lifestyle leaders as well. In the newspaper, feature articles called profiles discuss in detail the personal lives or public work of movie stars, authors, artists, and exceptional individuals who are not stars. The lifestyle choices these people make contribute to the public discussion of all the issues that people think about.
A well-known advertising slogan is “Just do it. ” In the culture of the United States, people believe that they can take action and become the kind of people they want to be and live the way they want to live.
1. The section “Tempo” in The Chicago Tribune mainly discusses ______.| A．lifestyle choices |
| B．current affairs |
| C．experts’ opinions on life |
| D．how to improve one’s self-respect |
| A．control their own appearance |
| B．solve all the problems in their life |
| C．live a happy life in spite of their problems |
| D．improve their life by following the elders’ advice |
| A．their superiors |
| B．family members |
| C．friends and colleagues |
| D．experts and famous people |
| A．Just Do It |
| B．Make Our Lives Happy |
| C．Lifestyles in the United States |
| D．Choosing the Way We Live |
King Tutankhamen Artifacts
A traveling exhibition of artifacts from the tomb of King Tutankhamen, popularly known as “King Tut”, toured the United States from November 1976 to April 1979. The 55 objects were shown in six cities and were seen by around eight million museum-goers. The second touring exhibit was started in 2007, this time with 130 artifacts and stops in London and three different American cities. However some objects, like the king’s golden face mask, are too valuable or too delicate to be transported long distances, so “replicas” (exact copies of something) are on show.
Japanese Color Woodblock Prints
The Art Museum at University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, Virginia, has an extraordinary collection of Japanese color woodblock prints (木刻版画). These prints document the period from about 1850 to 1900, a time when Japan was opening itself to Western influences. Before this point, Japan was a closed society that had little communication with the world outside of its borders. These works of art beautifully show the feeling of change and the trend toward modernization. The museum has put together a traveling exhibition of 60 of these prints, which can be borrowed and exhibited worldwide for periods of eight weeks or more.
Face-to-face with “Lucy”
One of the world’s most famous archaeological (考古学的) finds in history are the 3.2 million-year-old bones of a 106-centimeter-tall female found in the Ethiopian desert in 1974. Lucy, a name given to her by the discovery team, is a “hominid”, or a creature that scientists believe is the earliest ancestor of modern human beings. Rarely is an artifact this valuable allowed to travel widely, but Lucy has been taken to several museums in the U.S. while a detailed replica remains at the Ethiopian Natural History Museum.
1. What do we learn about King Tutankhamen’s artifacts?
| A．The artifacts were shown in London first. |
| B．The artifacts were on show in the United States once. |
| C．The second touring exhibit showed more artifacts than the first one. |
| D．The king’s golden face mask was also shown in the traveling exhibitions. |
| A．Japan had little communication with other countries. |
| B．The whole country refused changes in the society. |
| C．Japan was opening itself up to Western ideas. |
| D．Japan achieved modernization. |
| A．An archaeologist. |
| B．The ancestor of modern human beings. |
| C．A 106-centimeter-tall female who died in 1974. |
| D．The first woman who visited the Ethiopian desert. |
Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.
Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.
The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near a brook (小溪); someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.
Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter—a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter—a person who made pots and pans.
The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.
Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John who was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.
Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.
1. Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?
| A．Places where people lived. | B．People’s characters. |
| C．Talents that people possessed. | D．People’s occupations. |
| A．owned or drove a cart | B．made things with metals |
| C．made kitchen tools or containers. | D．built houses and furniture. |
| A．Beatrice Smith | B．Leonard Carter |
| C．George Longstreet | D．Donald Greenwood |
7 . Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture (文化) the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities).Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian cultures, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to "read" people from another culture as we would "read" someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions.
Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressions permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural differences in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of "reading" the other person incorrectly.
1. What does the smile usually mean in America?| A．Love. | B．Politeness. |
| C．Joy. | D．Thankfulness. |
| A．show friendliness to strangers |
| B．be used to hide true feelings |
| C．be used in the wrong places |
| D．show personal habits |
| A．Learn about their relations with others. |
| B．Understand their cultural backgrounds. |
| C．Find out about their past experience. |
| D．Figure out what they will do next. |
| A．Cultural Differences |
| B．Smiles and Relationship |
| C．Facial Expressiveness |
| D．Habits and Emotions |
Foreign tourists are often confused(困惑的)in Japan because most streets there don’t have names. In Japan, people use landmarks(地标)in their directions instead of street names. For example, the Japanese will say to travelers, “ Go straight down to the corner. Turn left at the big hotel and go past a fruit market. The post office is across from the bus stop.”
In the countryside of the American Midwest, there are not usually many landmarks. There are no mountains, so the land is very flat. In many places there are no towns or buildings within miles. Instead of landmarks, people will tell you directions and distances. In Kansas or Iowa, for example, people will say, “ Go north two miles. Turn east, and then go another mile.
People in Los Angeles, California, have no idea of distance on the map. They measure distance in time, not miles. “ How far away is the post office?” you ask. “ Oh,” they answer, “ it’s about five minutes from here.” You say, “ Yes, but how many miles is it?” They don’t know.
It’s true that a person doesn't know the answer to your question sometimes. What happens in such a situation? A New Yorker might say, “ Sorry, I have no idea.” But in Yucatan, Mexico, no one answers “ I don't know”. People in Yucatan believe that “I don't know” is impolite. They usually give an answer, often a wrong one. A tourist can get very, very lost in Yucatan!
1. When a tourist asks the Japanese the way to a certain place, they usually _______ .
| A．describe the place carefully |
| B．show him a map of the place |
| C．tell him the names of the streets |
| D．refer to recognizable buildings and places |
| A．New York. | B．Los Angles. |
| C．Kansas C. Iowa | |
| A．in order to save time | B．as a test |
| C．so as to be polite | D．for fun |
| A．It’s important for travelers to understand cultural differences. |
| B．It’s useful for travelers to know how to ask the way properly. |
| C．People have similar understanding of politeness. |
| D．New Yorkers are generally friendly to visitors. |
