Transcript Unit 4 The Multicultural Society

Unit 4 The Multicultural society
Text A America as a Collage
Contents
• Part I Pre-reading Task
• Part II Text Organization
• Part Ⅲ Language points
• Part Ⅳ The Key to Translations
Part I Pre-reading Task
• Collage
• Metaphors for America
• Melting Pot
• Salad bowl
• Mosaic
• Los Angeles
Collage
A picture or design created by adhering such basically
flat elements as newspaper, wallpaper, printed text and
illustrations, photographs, cloth, string, etc., to a flat
surface,
when the result becomes three-dimensional, and might
also be called a relief sculpture.(浮雕） Most of the
elements adhered in producing most collages are “found”
materials. Introduced by the Cubist（立体派） artists,
this process was widely used by artists who followed, and
is a familiar technique in contemporary art.（当代艺术）
"Collage" was originally a French word, derived from
the word coller, meaning "to paste."
Further explanation to Collage
1) An artistic composition of materials and objects
pasted over a surface, often with unifying lines
and color.
( 拼贴画通常以统一的线条和色彩，在画面上拼
贴各种原料和物体的艺术拼合作品)
2) The art of creating such compositions.
(拼贴艺术创作这样的拼贴作品的艺术)
3) An assemblage of diverse elements:
(杂烩各种不同成分的集汇) 
Some samples of collage
Some samples of collage
Metaphors for America
• Melting Pot
• The metaphor of the “melting pot” comes
from Englishman Israel Zangwill's play The
Melting Pot, which was first performed in
Washington, D.C. in 1908.
•Video
• Salad bowl
• mixtures of various ingredients that keep their
individual characteristics, but come together as a
dynamic flavor.
• Mosaic
• This metaphor implies that immigrant
populations within the United States are not being
blended together in one "pot", but rather they are
transforming American Society into a truly
multicultural mosaic.
America is a place where you
always have a chance to try
•Los Angeles
• the origin of its name
• The brief introduction
• The sceneries
•
VIDEO of Los Angeles
•
PPT of Los Angeles
Part II Text Organization
1.The text can be divided into three parts.
Parts
Part
one
Paragraphs
Main ideas
Paras1-5
America is not declining,
but is in the process of
creating a new collagelike civilization.
Parts Paragraphs Main ideas
Part
two
Paras 6-21
Los Angeles is a good example
of such a collage.
Part
three
Paras 22-24
There is something in America
that acts as “glue” to piece
different parts together to make
the American collage: the
chance to try.
2. Things of symbolic value
Things of symbolic
value
Los Angeles
Standing for
a PC company in
Orange county
a fusion of Third World cultures
with the most modern mentalities
and technologies
a new civilization
2. Things of symbolic value
Things of symbolic values
Standing for
a person born in Los
a citizen of the world
Angeles( according to Jose
Vasconcelos)
America in the eyes of
immigrants
a place where you always
have a chance to try
Part Ⅲ Language points
1.in decline/on the decline: losing
strength; declining
e.g. ⑴He is still one of the world’s
most popular baseball players, but
his game is in decline.
⑵As she was getting older, her
mental powers were on the decline.
2.debt: a sum of money that you owe
e.g. He had enough money to pay off his father’s
debts.
3.characteristic: special mark or quality
e.g. ⑴Genes determine the characteristics of every
living thing.
⑵A prominent characteristic of language is that
the relation between a linguistic sign and its
meaning is arbitrary.
4.paralyze:make ineffective; make (sb.) lose the
ability to move part or all of the body
e.g. ⑴He had a minor stroke in 1987, which left
him partly paralyzed.
⑵The explosion killed about two hundred
people and paralyzed part of the city’s
transportation system.
5. thesis: an idea or theory that tries to explain why
sth. happens; a long piece of writing about a
particular subject that you do as part of a
university degree such as an M.A. or a Ph.D.
E.g. ⑴Their main thesis is that inflation is caused
by increase in the money supply.
⑵ He was awarded his PhD for a thesis on
industrial robots.
6.historical: concerning past events; based on the
study of history
E.g. ⑴ Is Macbeth a real historical figure?
⑵Museums collect objects of scientific, aesthetic, or
historical importance.
7.precedent: earlier happening, decision, etc. taken as
an example or rule for what comes later
e.g. ⑴The trial could set an important precedent for
dealing with large numbers of similar cases.
⑵The appointment of female commander of a navy
warship is without precedent.
8. have a/the sense that: feel/believe/realize that
e.g. ⑴As soon as we had the sense that something was
wrong, we moved the children away.
⑵We have the sense that one month’s preparation
is far from enough if we want to accomplish the
project.
9.for the first time: never before
e.g. ⑴Korea entered into the quarterfinals in the World Cup for the first
time.
⑵Airplanes were used in a major
military campaign for the first time
during World War I.
10. leave behind: cause (sth.) to
remain; fail or forget to bring or
take
e.g. ⑴ I am afraid we’ll have to leave
the dog behind at home.
⑵I arrived at the meeting to find
I’d left my notes behind.
11.mentality:characteristic attitude of mind; way of
thinking
e.g. ⑴Can you understand the mentality of someone
who likes to watch animals fighting each other?
⑵Running a business requires a very different
mentality from being a salaried employee.
12.plural: involving more than one person or thing
or different kinds of people or things
e.g. ⑴ His government has pledged to move the
country towards a plural democracy.
⑵A plural form of a noun is the form that is
used to refer to more than one person or thing.
⑶ Data is the Latin plural form of datum.
13.unbelievable:extremely surprising ; very
difficult to believe and therefore probably untrue
e.g. ⑴ Dealers were paying unbelievable prices
for her painting.
⑵Her excuse for being late for class was totally
unbelievable.
14.immigrant:a person who moves
as a settler to another country
American children of
different origins
e.g. ⑴Historically, the United
States has attracted vast numbers
of immigrants from around the
globe.
⑵It was estimated that more than
11 out of every 20 New Yorkers
were immigrants or the children
of immigrants.
15.network:connected system
e.g. ⑴The Internet is composed
of many interconnected
computer networks.
⑵Most personal computers
communicate with each other
and with larger networks, such
as the Internet, by using the
ordinary telephone network.
16.constructive:having a useful purpose; helpful
e.g. ⑴ Criticism is welcome only when it is
constructive.
⑵After their meeting, both sides described the talks
as frank, friendly and constructive.
17.cooperation:working or acting together for a
common purpose
e.g. ⑴ The mission of the United States is to
maintain world peace, develop good relations
between countries, promote cooperation in solving
the world’s problems, and encourage respect for
human rights.
⑵The European Union is an
organization dedicated to
economic cooperation
among European nations.
18.conception: idea about
what sth. is like or
understanding of sth.;
process in which sb. forms
a plan or idea
e.g. ⑴Their conception of
love seems to be very
different from our own.
⑵I had no conception of the
finished product.
⑶The symphony is
admirable in conception.
19.destructive:causing destruction
e.g. ⑴ Technology can be conceived as both a
creative and a destructive process.
⑵The strong EL Nino which occurred between
1982 and 1983 was the most destructive in more
than a century.
20.Show up: put in an appearance; be present
e.g. ⑴ If I don’t show up for class this morning, I’ll
be kicked out.
⑵He always shows up in a fancy car.
21.offend: hurt the feelings of; give offence to
e.g. ⑴ Richard was deeply offended that people
thought he’d faked the story.
⑵He apologized for his comments and said he had
no intention of offending the professor.
22.In the …sense: as far as…is concerned
e.g. ⑴In the academic sense, this article is not well
written.
⑵In the environmental sense, your plan to build a
chemical factory is a disaster, whatever the
economic benefits may seem to be.
23.religion: a belief in the life of the spirit and usually
in one or more gods; a particular system of this
belief and all the ways of expressing your love for
your god, ceremonies, and duties that are connected
with it
e.g. ⑴Philosophy comprised all areas of speculative
thought and included the arts, sciences, and
religion.
⑵Buddhism is the most widely distributed of
the Asian religion.
24.From the perspective of: from
the viewpoint of
e.g. ⑴From the perspective of
women, the article is well
worth reading.
⑵The novel Harry Potter is
written from the perspective of
a child.
25.submerge:(cause to) go under the surface of water;
cover or completely hide
e.g. ⑴ Submarines are designed to submerge and
surface, and to maneuver quietly underwater to
avoid detection.
⑵Some archeological treasures will be
submerged in the construction of the Three Gorges
Dam.
26.ethnic:of a race or the races of mankind
e.g. ⑴ Although America’s culture is becoming more
uniform, its society remains a diverse mix of
ethnic, racial, and religious groups.
⑵Long-held ethnic tensions escalated into a
violent armed conflict.
27.essential:fundamental; most important; necessary
(followed by to/for sth.)
e.g. ⑴Most teachers agree that play is an essential
part of a child’s development.
⑵Is money essential to happiness?
⑶It is essential that you arrive on time.
28.combination: joining or putting together; state
of being joined
e.g. ⑴It is the combination of wit and
political analysis that makes his articles so
readable.
⑵All genetic traits result from different
combination of gene pairs, one gene
inherited from the mother and one from
the father.
29.stagnant: unchanging; still and stale
e.g. ⑴Thousands of disputes between management
and labor resulted from stagnant wages coupled
with inflation.
⑵They tried to drain stagnant pools where
mosquitoes breed.
30.destiny:fate
e.g. ⑴She wanted to be an artist, but destiny decreed
that she should become a doctor.
⑵We are masters of our own destiny.
31.discourage: take away the courage or confidence
of
e.g. ⑴Michael was discouraged by repeated failures
that he decided to give up his project.
⑵Many people were discouraged by the
seemingly endless economic depression.
Part Ⅳ The Key To Translation
Professor Huntington’s paper greatly inspired me.
According to him, in a plural/ pluralistic society, there
will inevitably be different opinions. The key is to
deal with them in such a way that they can play a
constructive rather than destructive role.
He argues that in a plural/pluralistic society we must
stress/attach importance to interpersonal relationships,
cooperation,
and looking at issues from the perspective of other
people. If some groups regard themselves as superior
and treat other ethnic groups or religions with
disrespect, the whole society may be paralyzed.
I am convinced that if we put into practice the ideas
mentioned above, then there is the possibility of
creating a new civilization.
End
Thank you very
much for your
appreciation