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Unit Twelve Present and Future
Part I Diversity in Culture
?Task 3
Some people find cultural differences interesting and exciting. They are mentally and physically stimulated by encounters with people from other cultures, and they want more. Other people, though, do not have that reaction. In the presence of people from different cultures they feel discomfort, confusion and anxiety. They have a strong tendency to judge or evaluate other people and to reach negative conclusions about them. Surely people of the first type are more likely to have constructive experience with people from other cultures than are those of the second type. But we can do something to help people react more constructively than they might otherwise. This is called to cope with culture shock.
Culture shock can be described as the feeling of confusion and disorientation one experiences when confronted with a large number of new and unfamiliar people and situations. Many things contribute to it --- smells, sounds, flavors, the very feeling of the air one is breathing. Of course, the natives’ unfamiliar language and behavior contribute to it too. People’s responses to culture shock vary greatly, from excitement and energetic action to withdrawal, depression, physical illness, and hostility. A particular individual might react to culture shock one way one day and another the next.
The notion of culture shock calls two useful points to mind. First, most people experience some degree of culture shock when they go to a new country, whether they admit it to themselves and others or not. Culture shock is more a product of the situation of being in a new culture than it is of the traveler’s personal traits. Second, culture shock, like other kinds of “shock,” is normally transitory. It passes with time.
Academic analysts of the culture shock idea point out that the experience of the culture shock need not be negative. While there may be some unhappiness and unpleasantness along with the confusion and disorientation, the confusion and disorientation are necessary steps in learning about the new culture. If everything in the new place is just like home, no learning will come from being there.
Questions:
1. Why do some people find cultural differences interesting and exciting? 2. What is culture shock?
3. Which of the following things was NOT mentioned to contribute to culture shock, according to the passage? 4. How long does culture shock usually last?
5. What does the speaker say about culture shock?
6. Why does the speaker think that culture shock sometimes should be regarded as something positive?
1. A. Because they can evaluate other cultures easily.
B. Because they are mentally and physically stimulated by different cultures. C. Because they can reach negative conclusions about other cultures. D. Because they can adapt themselves to other cultures. 2. A. It is a feeling of excitement in a different culture. B. It is an impact of a different culture on one’s own. C. It is a feeling of confusion in a different culture.
D. It is a positive reaction to a different culture.
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3. A. Curiosity. B. Unfamiliar language.
C. Strange behavior. D. Smells and sounds.
4. A. It usually lasts for quite some time. B. It usually lasts only for a short time.
C. It always stays with an individual when he is confronted with a new culture. D. It usually goes past when an individual recalls his own culture. 5. A. It is the result of the traveler’s personal traits.
B. It is a reaction of a foreign visitor to mental depression. C. It is a product of the situation of being in a new culture.
D. It is a kind of hostility to a new culture.
6. A. Because it urges us to learn about new cultures. B. Because it contributes to our experience.
C. Because it helps to do away with our unhappiness and unpleasantness. D. Because it is not always negative for our academic research.
Part II Globalization in Economy
? Task 3
World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization that promotes trade in goods and services between nations.
A WTO member nation has both rights and responsibilities. The most important right guarantees that, except in special circumstances, a country's export goods and services get the same treatment as those of any other WTO member. This treatment includes the same tariffs and other trade restrictions. The main responsibility of a member nation is to follow WTO guidelines on international trade. For example, a member nation must treat the exports of all WTO members equally. Another important rule involves the resolution of trade disputes. In case of disagreement over a trade issue, a member nation agrees to submit the case to a WTO committee for review. If the committee finds that a country has violated its WTO commitments, the country must either change its practices or face increased taxes on its exports.
The World Trade Organization was founded in 1995. It absorbed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which covers trade in manufactured and agricultural goods. The WTO also regulates trade in services and in intellectual property, which includes such creations as books, computer software, and recordings.
The WTO is one of three major organizations that oversee international economic relations among governments. The other two are the International Monetary Fund, which works to improve payment arrangements and other financial dealings between countries, and the World Bank, which provides loans to poorer nations for economic development. WTO headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.
Questions:
1. What is the most important right that a WTO member nation has? 2. What is the main responsibility of a WTO member nation? 3. What should a member nation do if a trade dispute arises?
4. What will happen if a member nation doesn’t change its practices against the WTO commitments?
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5. In what way does WTO expand the scope of the GATT agreement, according to the passage?
6. How many major organizations does this passage mention in overseeing international economic relations?
1. A. No trade restrictions.
B. No discrimination against its trade disputes.
C. The equal treatment of its export goods and services. D. The timely payment for its export goods and services.
2. A. To treat the export of WTO member nations in a favorable way.
B. To observe WTO principles on international trade. C. To administer existing free trade agreements. D. To establish world trade practices.
3. A. It should negotiate with the related country in a peaceful way.
B. It should reduce its export of goods and services to the related country. C. It should review the cause of the dispute.
D. It should agree to submit the dispute to a WTO committee 4. A. It will face increased export taxes.
B. Both its import and export will be restricted C. Its international image will be spoiled. D. It will be excluded from WTO.
5. A. It covers trade in manufactured goods.
B. It covers trade in services and intellectual property. C. It covers trade in agricultural goods.
D. It covers a framework for international trade law. 6. A. One.
B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.
Part III The World in Perspective
?Task 3
The internet, as a means for commerce, did not become reality until the 1990s. Before this time, it was mainly a tool for the army, and a research device for some American universities. Its popularity grew when it proved to become a fast and efficient means to conduct long distance transactions, as well as an effective way to distribute information.
The number one advantage that e-commerce possesses is speed. With increased speeds of communication, the delivery time is expedited and that makes the whole transaction from start to finish more efficient. Also, you can find practically any products available for sale on the Internet. Even more significant is the fact that information appearing on the Internet can be changed extremely rapidly. This gives business owners the ability to inform customers of any changes to the service that you are offering.
The second advantage of the electronic commerce is the opportunity it offers to save on costs. By using the Internet, marketing, distribution, personnel, phone, postage and printing costs, among other things, can be reduced.
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You can start doing business in cyberspace for as little as $100. The savings, therefore, are tremendous. These funds can then be diverted to marketing and advertising of your product or service.
Cyberspace knows no national boundaries. That means you can do business all over the world as easily as you can in your neighborhood. Since the Internet connects everyone in cyberspace, information is transmitted at the speed of sound and the speed of light, depending on your connection. Either way, distance becomes meaningless, which makes you able to link to anyone on the globe and anyone on the globe can link to you. The ability to provide links makes doing business on the Internet attractive to customers in any part of the world.
A potential source of trouble is customer concerns with privacy and security. Anything sent over the internet is sent through several different computers before it reaches its destination.
Questions:
1. What was the Internet mainly used for before the 1990s?
2. Which of the following is not the factor that can make the transaction more efficient on the Internet? 3. How much will you invest if you start doing business in cyberspace, according to the speaker? 4. Why does distance become meaningless in e-commerce? 5. What do customers worry about in e-commerce? 6. What does the passage mainly discuss?
1. A. For research devices.
B. For public education.
C. For military transportation. D. For business management. 2. A. Speedy communication.
B. Availability of products for sale. C. Timely updated information. D. The ability to contact customers. 3. A. As little as $100.
B. More than $100. C. Less than $100. D. No more than $10.
4. A. Because there are no national boundaries in the world.
B. Because the Internet has the ability to provide links.
C. Because either businesses or customers need to travel long distances. D. Because transportation has been much faster than before. 5. A. Prices of products.
B. Speed of transaction. C. Quality of products. D. Privacy and security.
6. A. The function of e-commerce.
B. The disadvantages of e-commerce. C. The advantages of e-commerce. D. The history of e-commerce.
中科大综合英语听力教程Unit 12
