討論題目及答案

1、Case 1Li Lan had an American friend Susan. They usually had lunch together and Li Lan often askedSusan for advice on problems she faced adjusting to American society. Susan gave Li Lan a lot ofadvice and helped her to improve her English. Once Li Lan needed urgently a big sum of moneyto pay her tuit

2、ion fee. Since she has no other friends in the States, she turned to Susan for help andpromised that she would return the money soon.To Li Lans great disappointment, this time Susan didnt seem happy to lend the money to her.Though Li Lan returned the money as she promised, they didnt get along well

3、from then on.Questions:(1) What are the differences in what American and Chinese young people expect from theirfriends?(2) Whatkind of advice would you give to hath of them so that they could get to know each other?Case 2Xiao LI and Xiao Wang were colleagues. Xiao LI gave a lot of help to Xiao Wang

4、financially andsocially. Recently Xiao LI would get married. But he forgot inviting Xiao Wang attend hiswedding. Later Xiao Wang got information about Xiao LI wedding and sent RMB 500 toXiao LI.Case3Can you use Confucianism to explain why Chinese people both have fan and chaiin one meal?Case 4In 199

5、7, a Danish woman left her 14-month-old baby girl in a stroller outside a Manhattanrestaurant while she was inside. Other diners at the restaurant became concerned and called New City Police. The woman was charged with endangering a child and was jailed for two nights.Her child was placed in foster

6、care. The woman and the Danish consulate explained that leavingchildren unattended outside cages is common in Denmark. Pictures were wired to the policeshowing numerous strollers parked outside cafes while parents were eating inside.Case 5Assume that global warming is a fact, and, as a result, assum

7、e that summers in the United Statesaverage 43 (109). It would be logical to make adjustments: Rather than air conditionbuilding all day, you might close schools and businesses in the afternoons to conserve energy.Such adjustments would make sense. Why then do some people attribute sensible midday si

8、estasin hot climates to laziness?1Case 6In India, there are elaborate rules about how closely members of each caste may approach othercastes, and Arabs of the same sex do stand much closer than North Americans. North Americans an elevator maintain personal space if the physical space permits it. An

9、Arab entering an elevatormay stand right next to another person and be touching even though no one else is in the elevator.Case 7In Thailand and Laos, it is rude for a stranger or acquaintance to touch a child on the top of thehead because the head is regarded as the home of the spirit or soul. It i

10、s believed that a child sspirit or soul is not strong enough to be touched and has tendency to become ill if patted.Case 8A British tourist is visiting a Chinese family. The Chinese hostess introduces herself and herhusband to the guestChinese hostess said, “Welcome to my home. Myname is Cai Hong, a

11、nd this is my husband.”British tourist answered, “Thank you, Mrs. Cai. Its a pleasure to meet you, Mrs.Cai. Im LucyTaylor.”Chinese hostess said, “Have a seat, Madam Lucy.”Can you identify the mistaken use of names and titles in the above case?Case 9A and B are married. One-day A bumps into an old fr

12、iend who is visiting the area. The friendinvites Aand B out to dinner. A accepts for the pair of them. Returning home A tells B,who getsupset, B asks why A did not discuss this with B before accepting. This makes A angry, as A doesnot feel it necessary to discuss this beforehand. Please comment: A i

13、s more likely to be_.Why?Case 10Aand B are married. They are both lawyers. Atsocial gatherings, A is always ready to tell of Assuccess, dropping names and boasting of cases won. B is reticent about Bs success. Sometimes Apoints out to others Bs successes, but this may upset B.B feels that people wou

14、ld not like B if Bboasts; B would rather prefer they learn indirectly from others how successful B is. Comment: Aismost likely to be a_. Why?Case 11Rose invited Li Hong to her home one day. While they were having coffee, Rose showed Li Honga few pictures of her families in a photo album. Li Hong cas

15、ually turned to other pages after that.Rose stopped her and said, “Id rather you not look at other pictures.” Li Hong was embarrassed,2and apologized, “Im sorry.” Please explain the reason why Rose was angry.Case 12Now study the following statements and think how you would respond to each of them(1)

16、 Lets get together soon.(2) I havent seen you for a long time. must come round for dinner sometime(3) It is good seeing you. I will invite you to tea later.Case 13Chinese students can not make good use of the following phrases which are comprised of onlysimple words, such as read between the lines,h

17、old water, kick the bucket.Case 14Astudent from Colombia may study in the United States and earn a Ph.D., teach at a distinguisheduniversity, and publish important books, but when he returns to visit Colombia, people to whomhe is introduced will want to know to whom he is related. Colombians want to

18、 know who hisfamily is because that places him in society much more so than any of his accomplishments in theUnited States.Case 15In Germany, there is a society that relies on rules, laws and regulations. Students expect theirteachers to be experts who have all the answers. In the workplace, there i

19、s an inner need to workhard. Germany wants to reduce its risks to the minimum and proceed with changes step by step.Case 16Time clocks are everywhere: In homes, cars, work sites, on wrists, at organized play sites. Manypeople report feeling uncomfortable not knowing the time. Perhaps only camping in

20、 thewoodswithout a radio and clocks can one be free of time awareness in the United States.Case 17Southwest is the only major airline in the U.S. that has been profitable in each of the last fiveyears. It has the youngest fleet, the best safety record, and awards for customer service. Like allthe be

21、tter-performing companies, Southwest Airlines has a well-defined set of values that helpsthe company to survive in those difficult times.Case 18Anew Spanish immigrant to the United States may have a strong feeling of disc omfort, fear, orinsecurity when he enters into the Unites States.3Case 11) Li

22、Lan asked to borrow money from her American friend Susan, which is rarely part ofWestern friendship. Li Lan and Susan have different expectations of friendship.2) In the West, people prefer to be independent and equal rather than dependent, so they dontfeel comfortable in a relationship in which one

23、 person gives more and the other person isdependent on what is given. Among friends they mostly provide emotional support to each otherand spend time together, so they rarely borrow or lend money to each other. They would ask for aloan from the bank rather than from their friends. While in China, pe

24、ople expect their friends to Beloyal to each other, and they even take risks for their friends. So they would give not onlyemotional support to each other but also concrete help to each other, such as helping to find a job,solving a problem, or even giving money to help one out over along period of

25、time. So when afriend is in need, the first person he or she wants to ask for help is naturally his/her friend.3) As an American, Susan would like to help her Chinese friend Li Lan. But she didnt expectLi Lan would ask for money, which goes against the principle of independence and equality.While as

26、 a Chinese, Li Lan regarded Susan as her good friend, and she considered it natural to askto borrow money from Susan when she needed the money urgently.）4) Li Lan first should try to get to know American culture as much as possible. She may alsoneed to have a discussion with Susan about the differen

27、t ways of friendship in both cultures. Ifpossible, she could try to ask for a loan from a bank.5) Susan should also try to learn to understand Chinese culture. She could also have adiscussion with Li Lan about the different expectation of friendship in both cultures. If she couldunderstand the Chine

28、se ways, she might help Li Lan out financially by lending her the money.Case 2In Chinese culture influenced by Confucianism, if someone does a favor for you, youshould return the favor to them. This is very common for Chinese people .In the philosophy ofConfucianism Reciprocity are the base of relat

29、ionships. Gratitude and indebtedness are importantparts of Chinese culture. If a person feels uneasy to be indebted of someone , payback is necessaryto achieve balance in the relationship.Case 3The distinctive process of preparing Chinese cuisine is based on Confucius and hisphilosophy fan and chai

30、of balance. There is a division between fan, Chinese for grains and otherstarch foods, and chai vegetable and meat dishes. A balanced meal must have an appropriateamount of fan and chai.Case 44This case reflects one of the barriers to the effective intercultural communicationassumingsimilarity inste

31、ad of difference. The Danish woman had assumed that Copenhagen is similar toNew that what is commonly done in Copenhagen is also commonly done in New Case 5The reason why some people attribute sensible midday siestas in hot climates to laziness isthat they negatively judge aspects of another culture

32、 by the standards of one s own culture. Thiscase reflects one of the barriers ethnocentrism.Case 6This case can reflect one nonverbal communication category Proxemics. How much spacewe each want between ourselves and others depends on our cultural learning, our upbringing inour families, the specifi

33、c situation, and our relationship with the people to whom were talking.The physical distance we want between ourselves and others does vary from culture to culture.Case 7This case reflects one nonverbal communication categoryHaptics. Haptics iscommunicating by touch. Touch can communicate a wide var

34、iety of messages. The meaning oftouch depends on the kind of touch (hard, gentle, etc.) and the context. Different societies havedifferent norms for touching. These rules determine the kinds of touching that are appropriate forcertain situations and social relationships.Case 8The British tourist thi

35、nks that Cai Hongs surname is her husbands surname, since she isunaware of the fact that in China women still use their own surname after marriage. Cai Hongthinks that madam is respectful term of address for any female English -speaker, unaware of thefact that in Britain it is usually used by someon

36、e who is providing a service such as a shopassistant to a customer or a policeman to a member of the public as in Can I help you, madam? Itis never used as a title before someones name. She also mistakes the given name for the surname.Case 9Arefers to husband. While many women feel it natural to con

37、fer with their partners at everyturn, many men feel free to make decisions without such consultation. It appears that men andwomen look on decision making in quite a different light. Women prefer to have discussionsbefore decisions before decisions are arrived at. The discussion itself is prized as

38、evidence ofinvolvement. Many men, however, find lengthy discussions about what they consider minormatters a waste of time.Case 10A is more likely to be man. Women fear rejection by their peers if they appear toosuccessful and men dont. Men are encouraged from an early age to seek higher status by5di

39、splaying superiority. Boasting plays a part. Women , in contrast, learn that the closeness theyseek depends upon seeming the same as , and not better than , their friends.Case 11Looking at pictures and sharing memories is often done among friends in China. Pictures areusually not considered to be ve

40、ry private. Once shown a picture in an album, most people wouldassume that the rest of the album is there for them to go through. Li Hong must have thought thatRose was ready to let her look at the other pictures in this case.But in North American perspective, a picture album is private and not some

41、thing that one shouldassume is open to casual perusal. Because they are sensitive about their privacy and automaticallyassume an innocent is somehow an unwelcome invasion of their privacy. That concern can oftenbe dispelled with an expression of respect for privacy; but if not then remember that the

42、irreaction usually isnt personal.Case 12The above three sentences, the speaker doesnt give specific time and place for theget-together, and doesnt inquire whether the other party would like to accept it. So thosestatements are just expressions of good will rather than genuine invitations. They just

43、indicate thatthe speaker feels positive towards the other party . The proper response would simply be “Thankyou, I would love to very much.” No questions about “when”, “where” should be asked. If so , thespeaker would be embarrassed because he or she doesnt really mean to invite.Case 13This case can reflect the lack of idiomatic equivalence between two cultures is a barrier t