Learning About Different Cultures

    Most of us live in a multicultural surroundings these days. Culture can bring us together, but it also be a cause of division. How does our own culture affect the way we view others? What steps can we take to minimize problems?

Once my friend, who is of Greek Origin, went to Sweden on business. He was sent by the head office in the US to introduce a new computer program to their branch office in Sweden . This newly created software would cut production cost in half and speed up the time from planning to production by 30 percent, as well as make the finished product look better. After presenting this program to the managers and directors, he waited for their feedback. At first it was quiet. Then, the general manager said, “Hmm, this looks good.” in a flat voice. “Hmm, I agree,” said another. My friend was in shock. Later on, when he told this to me, he said, “My mother used expressions such as ‘Fabulous!’ and ‘Marvelous!’. These people were presented with a multi-billion-dollar program, and all they could say was ‘Hmm. Good.’. I don’t understand it!”

What was the problem? Culture. What is an acceptable way of expressing excitement and joy in one country is not the same in another. The Swedes were thrilled, and they thought it was a fantastic computer program. They just had a different way of showing it.

Another example: I remember my mother always telling me to look at her when she was talking to me, especially if it was something important. It was a way of showing that I was paying attention in a respectful way. Now, my friend from Nigeria told me that she never allows her children to look at her when she is talking. “I want them to respect me.” She says. Who is right? Both. That’s the beauty of culture. There is no such thing as right or wrong, good or bad culture.

Of course, one has to take into consideration people living nearby. It is true that a person has to adjust to the country where he chooses to live. On the other hand, when people move into our country, we can make an effort to get to know their culture. Ask them about their country; ask them why they do certain things or wear different clothes. It can be quite interesting, actually. This doesn’t mean we have to like it, or live our lives in their way. But knowledge can definitely lead to fewer disagreements and more understanding between people.

When culture is understood and used in an appropriate way, it can give a person a feeling of belonging and security. You know what to do in different situations. For example: at the time of birth and death. Let’s give place to culture. Try to know and understand other people’s culture, and also try to analyze our own. Let’s choose our own way of life. Above all else―let’s live in peace with all men!

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1.People who live in the ___________ (拥挤的) city would like to spend some days in the countryside every year.

2. The young lady _____________ (表现) bravely in the face of danger.

3. Listen! He is ___________ (辩论) with his brother about something.

4. Nike travels the globe to deliver his story of how he ______________(克服) the disability.

5. We have ___________ (减少) expenses this year.

6. Only two ___________ (十年) ago, most families had no colour TV sets.

7. They worked hard . ____________ (因此) , they made twice as many toys as the others.

　　阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单向)或括号内单问的正确形式．将答案填写在答题卡的相应位置．

　　It is unfair for parents to blame schools for the ____1___ (fail) of their children's education. Many parents do not prepare their children for school， But I think it is up ____2____ the parents to take time to educate their children， beginning with teaching them the ABC， name， address， telephone number， and most ____3____ (important)， manners and respect for others.

　　Knowing how to read builds ____4____ (confident)， and a hunger to learn more， when you are a child. You can't wait until you get a letter from the child's teacher ， ____5____ (tell) you that your child is failing before you step in. You need to prepare that child as early as possible for school.

　　My daughter began reading at the age of three.　Receiving books in the mail ____6____ (strengthen) her desire to learn how to read then. Reading is the key. Once a child learns how to read， it will open up many ____7____ (chance) or self motivation to learn， and every－thing comes easy for that child ____8____ knows how to　read.

　　Just don't he ____9____ absentee(缺席的) parent. Once children get well ____10____ (educate)， that is something no one can ever take away from them.

Could your cellphone give you cancer? Whether it could or not, some people are worrying about the possibility that phones, powerlines and Wi-Fi (路由器) could be responsible for a range of illnesses, from rashes to brain tumors.

For example, Camilla Rees, 48, a former investment banker in the US, moved out of her apartment in San Francisco because of the radiation coming from next door. Rees told the Los Angeles Times that when her neighbors moved in and installed a Wi-Fi router she lost her ability to think clearly. “I would wake up dizzy in the morning. I’d fall to the floor. I had to leave to escape that nightmare,” she said. Since then, she’s been on a campaign against low-level electromagnetic fields, or EMFs（低频电磁场）.

And she’s not alone. Millions of people say they suffer from headaches, depression, nausea and rashes when they’re too close to cellphones or other sources of EMFs.

Although the World Health Organization has officially declared that EMFs seem to pose little threat, governments are still concerned. In fact, last April, the European Parliament called for countries to take steps to reduce exposure to EMFs. The city of San Francisco and the state of Maine are currently considering requiring cancer-warning labels on cellphones.

If these fears are reasonable, then perhaps we should all be worried about the amount of time we spend talking on our phones or plugging into Wi-Fi hotpots.

Some say there is evidence to support the growing anxieties. David Carpenter, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University at Albany, in New York, thinks there’s a greater than 95% chance that power lines can cause childhood leukemia. Also there’s a greater than 90% chance that cellphones can cause brain tumors.

But others believe these concerns are unreasonable paranoia (猜疑). Dr Martha Linnet, the head of radiation epidemiology at the US National Cancer Institute, has looked at the same research as Carpenter but has reached a different conclusion. “I don’t support warning labels for cellphones,” said Linnet. “We donˈt have the evidence that there’s much danger.”

Studies so far suggest a weak connection between EMFs and illness — so weak that it might not exist at all. A multinational investigation of cellphones and brain cancer, in 13 countries outside the US, has been underway for several years. It’s funded in part by the European Union, in part by a cellphone industry group.

According to Robert Park, a professor of physics at the University of Maryland in the US, the magnetic waves aren’t nearly powerful enough to break apart DNA, which is how known threats, such as UV rays and X-rays, cause cancer.

Perhaps it’s just psychological. Some experts find that the electro-sensitivity syndrome seems to be similar to chemical sensitivity syndrome, which is a condition that’s considered to be psychological.

Whether EMFs are harmful or not, a break in the countryside, without the cellphone, would probably be good for all of us.

                                                         Made In The USA: An Export Boom

In his State of the Union address two years ago, President Obama argued that in order to recover from the economic recession(经济衰退), one of the few things the U. S. needed to do was to export more goods around the world. That night, the president unveiled(公开) a new goal: to double U. S. exports over the next five years. It would be an increase that the president said would “support two million jobs in America.”

Most economists dismissed the promise at the time as something unrealistic, but two years later, the U. S. is on pace to meet that goal. American exports are up 34 percent since the president gave that speech, and the number continues to rise.

Competitive In A Global Market

Marlin Steel, a metal working business in Baltimore, makes parts that ship all across the world. “We export to 36 countries，” owner Drew Greenblatt tells All Things Considered Host Guy Raz. “We're working around the clock, and we're growing.”

It's not just advanced manufacturing exports on the rise, but pork, cattle and all kinds of agricultural exports are up as well. Even American craft beer has found an export market.

Flying Dog CEO Jim Caruso says that increasingly, people all over the world are trying the beer from the Maryland-based brewery（啤酒厂）. Caruso says，“Even in those top beer-producing countries, a competitive American product is finding a market.”

Services Are Exports, Too

Another place exports are coming from is New York City—in particular, the 30th floor of a Manhattan skyscraper on 5th Avenue and 52nd Street. That's where the consulting firm Kurt Solomon lies. It doesn't actually produce a product for export; it provides management advice and strategy.

“Four out of every five Americans is now employed in the service industry，” the nation's top trade official, Ron Kirk says, “Services are a significant part of our exports, and make up about a quarter of our exported goods.” These services can include everything from legal consulting, finance, information technology and even engineering.

And There Are Other Factors

So why has there been an increase of more than 30 percent for exports in almost everything? Part of the increase, at least for the manufacturing side, is due to better technology, says Tyler Cowen, an economist. “A lot of it is being driven by smart machines，” he tells Raz，“The U. S. has high wage rates, which is a disadvantage, but if machines are doing a lot of the work, that doesn't matter.”

China factors a lot in America's export economy, too. “Wages in China have been going up as the country becomes more productive. Thus China is losing the cheap labor advantage it has held for some time.” Cowen says.

Will Jobs Grow, too?

“Companies have become more productive by dismissing workers and lowering costs.” Cowen says. “So I don't view exporting as a way of creating a very large number of jobs, but it will create more profits.”

So not every business or worker is necessarily benefiting from the export boom in the U. S., and Cowen says that could ultimately lead to a polarization (两极) of economic outcomes.

Made In the USA: An Export Boom

For thousands of years,the most important two buildings in any British village have been thechurch and the pub. In fact,until a place has a church and a pub，it isn’t really considered acommunity worthy of a name. Traditionally,the church and the pub are at the heart of any villageor town, since it is where people gather to give and receive news. In fact, the word‘pubˈ is shortfor public house.

Thatˈs how it used to be, but things are beginning to change. It is said that the creditdecline is causing39British pubs a week to go out of business. People don’t have lots of sparemoney to spend on beer. Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that mayalso have affected the number of customers going to pubs.

This decline is happening despite the fact thatin recent yearsthe UK governmenthasstarted to allowpubs to stay open after11p. m. Previously,with11p. m. as closing time,customers would haveto drink quite quickly,meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drinkslowly. The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as“binge drinking“,and it causes some long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime forcommunities. The UK government is changing the law to discourage binge drinking, and regularlyspends money on television advertisements to warn people of the problems of drinking too much.

In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market. Now, there area number of different types of pubs.

As you can see, British pubs now offer something for everyone. A lot of pubs used to be
working menˈs clubs, meaning that women could not usually enter. Today, however, women canfreely enter99%of pubs without experiencing any problems. Perhaps things are changing for thebetter after all.

Job stress hits students

As the job－hunting season kicks off, many graduates are suffering from anxiety. Job interview results are becoming the most common conversation topic in dormitories. Worried about not getting satisfactory offers, some students have sleep problems, or lose their appetite. Some might even  display symptoms of depression.

According to a survey across several universities in Wuhan conducted by Wuhan Yangtze Business University, over 72 percent of student participants were worried about finding a job. Students in the first one or two years were also uneasy about their job prospects, which contributed to spreading anxiety further.

Lang Lei, 22, a business major from Renmin University in Beijing, admitted having mood swings when job hunting. The student hoped to get positions with large state－owned enterprises in his hometown of Yantai, Shandong. But when it turned out that things wouldn't be so easy, Lang became concerned. After some struggling moments, he has now changed to more realistic goals.

Others feel tortured(受折磨)  while waiting for interview results. Mo Tong, a senior software  engineering major at South China Normal University, would fall into a nervous state every time after he attended a job interview.

“For a day or two I couldn't help but keep thinking about how I performed in front of the interviewers, how well I dealt with their questions, and whether they would consider giving me a chance in the end，” Mo was unable to focus on other things as his anxiety grew.

Media reports about rising unemployment rates and a difficult job market have touched students' nerves.

“I'm alarmed by articles saying how bachelor's degree holders are losing ground，” said Wang Hongjuan, a sophomore English major from Putian University in Fujian province. “It suggests to me that good jobs are only available to graduate or doctoral students.”

As Wang has no plans to further her education, she has to commit herself to all sorts of extracurricular activities to improve her prospects. This throws her into a packed schedule.

Wen Fang, a well－known education psychology expert and consultant in Beijing, advises students not to be misled by depressing surveys and reports about the job market. “Unemployment rates are not linked to an individual's chances of getting a job，” he said. “An individual's chances are actually mainly determined by his or her capability.”

According to Wen, a moderate degree of anxiety  is normal—it can even be helpful.  But if it constantly affects a student's normal life, one should pay more attention. “Focus on adapting yourself to the needs of society, and never ever overestimate your goals，” Wen added.

The latest attack on the Internet and on computers in general is Nicholas Carr’s writing, “The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains.”

Carr and other digital alarmists make a case that seems reasonable, at least on the surface. They argue that Internet communication tools trap us in a shallow culture of constant interruption as we crazily tweet, text and e-mail. This in turn leaves us little time for deep reading, reflection and serious conversation — activities traditionally thought to build knowledge and wisdom.

The alarmists use the concept of “neural plasticity(神经可塑性)” and talk of technology “reshaping” the brain to convince us that the new distractions make us not just less willing but less able, on a physiological level, to focus.

Whenever you hear that something is changing your brain, you ought to be worried — or at least the person telling you wants you to be worried. But does a cultural change like this necessarily lead to a fundamental change to the brain?

The appeals to neural plasticity, backed by studies showing that new changes can reorganize the brain, are largely irrelevant. The basic plan of the brain’s “shaping” is genetically determined long before a child discovers Facebook and Twitter. There is simply no experimental evidence to show that living with digital culture fundamentally changes brain organization in a way that affects one’s ability to focus. Of course, the brain changes any time we form a memory or learn a new skill, but new skills build on our existing capacities without fundamentally changing them. We will no more lose our ability to pay attention than we will lose our ability to listen, see or speak.

The idea that the Internet might make us shallower has some instant appeal, because it is easy to see how the cognitive performance of people around us drops when they are distracted. But the notion that prolonged focus and deep reading mark the best path to wisdom and insight is just an assumption, one that may be an accidental consequence of the printing press existing before the computer. To book authors like us it seems a weird notion, but it is possible that spending 10 or more hours engaged in a single text might not be the most favorable way for building brainpower.

So don’t be afraid of the digital era. Google is not making us stupid, PowerPoint is not destroying literature, and the Internet is not really changing our brains.