Transcript Document 7134613

GENERAL DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN CHINESE AND AMERICAN
CULTURES
2
Conception Of the Self
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Chinese:
(Collectivist) Higher value
placed on group
cooperation and individual
modesty.
American:
(Individualist) Higher value placed on selfreliance. Self-promotion is more accepted.
High value placed on "freedom" from
externally imposed constraints.
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Social Relationships
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Chinese:
Formal, hierarchical(分等级的). People most
comfortable in the presence of a hierarchy in
which they know their position and the
customs/rules for behavior in the situation.
American:
Informal, egalitarian(平等主义的). People most
comfortable with their social equals;
importance of social rankings minimized.
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Friendship
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Chinese:
Small number of close, lifelong friends who
feel deeply obligated to give each other
whatever form of help might seem required.
American:
Large collection of "friends" and
acquaintances which changes over time and
involves only limited mutual obligations.
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Obligation
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Chinese:
Relationships with other people involve
reciprocal(互惠的)obligations.
American:
People avoid interdependent relationships
and situations that might entail long-term
obligations.
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Task vs. Relationship Orientation
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Chinese:
Relationship-oriented. Maintaining a
harmonious relationship has priority over
accomplishing tasks.
American:
Task-oriented. Relationships are less
important than getting the work done.
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Harmony vs. "Truth"
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Chinese:
Avoid direct confrontation, open criticism,
and controversial topics. Concern
maintaining harmony and with "face."
American:
Willing to confront directly, criticize, discuss
controversial topics, press personal opinions
about what they consider "the truth’’. Little
concern with "face."
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Role of laws, rules, and regulations
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Chinese:
More faith in personal relationships than in
written rules and procedures for structuring
interactions.
American:
Written rules presumably apply to everyone
and are assumed to produce fair, reasonable
procedures and decisions.
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Time Consciousness
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Chinese:
Relatively more attention to the past
(nostalgic) and to the longer-term future.
American:
Less interested in the past; eye on nearterm future.
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The concept of time
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Two different "management
styles" of time
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Time can be thought of as a straight line or as a
circle: the linear, sequential march of days and
years, or the rotation of the seasons.
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Our cultural orientation has a profound effect on
our daily lives and business functions.
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Two different "management
styles" of time
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Monochronic/Polychronic Time
单向计时制/多向计时制
—— introduced by
American anthropologist Edward Hall
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Monochronic/Polychronic Time
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Monochronic time is one-track linear: people do
one thing at a time.
Polychronic time is multi-track circular; it allows
many things to happen simultaneously, with no
particular end in sight.
Monochronic time is tightly compartmentalized
(划分): schedules are almost sacred.
Polychronic time is open-ended: completing the
task or communication is more important than
adhering to a schedule.
14
Common Time Differences
Monochronic People
Polychronic People
Do one thing at a time
Do many things at once
Concentrate on the job
Highly distractible and subject to interruptions
Take time commitments seriously Consider time commitments an objective to be achieved
(deadlines, schedules)
only if possible
Committed to the job
Committed to people
Adhere religiously to plans
Change plans often and easily
Concerned about not disturbing
others; Follow rules of privacy
and consideration
More concerned with relations (family, friends, close
business associates) than with privacy
Show great respect for private
property, seldom borrow or lend
Borrow and lend things often and easily
Emphasize promptness
Base promptness on the relationship
Accustomed to short-term
relationships
Strong tendency to build lifetime relationships
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Question to ponder on

What do you think of Chinese
people, Monochronic or
Polychronic?
Polychronic Chinese

Can you make some examples ?
16
Polychronic Chinese
Before doing something, Chinese will
trace back to the old experience
trying to get some successful tips.
 Chinese have high respect for “old”,
emphasizing age and experience.
老练、老成、老手、老马识途、老马嘶风、
老当益壮、老谋深算、老成持重、老成练达、
老松耐寒、老骥伏枥，志在千里、老将出马，
一人顶两、 树老根须多,人老见识多、生姜
老的辣、老凤清于雏凤声、不听老人言，吃
亏在眼前

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Polychronic Chinese


Appointment are not taken very
seriously and they in fact are often
broken.
people may do multiple tasks at the
same time instead of doing
"sequentially," (finish one task before
moving on to the next. )
18
Another question to ponder on

What do you know about American
in treating time? Monochronic or
Polychronic?
Monochronic American

Can you make some examples ?
19
Monochronic American
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Westerner cultures tend to conceptualize
time in lineal-spatial terms. Time is
something to be manipulated, saved, wasted,
made up, spent, measured.
Americans are usually very time-conscious,
treating time as a material thing that should
be used to the best advantage.
They tend to execute tasks in a sequential
manner; they will not move on to another
job unless they complete what they have on
their desk.
20
Monochronic American
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“Old” in English is associated with lack of
energy, creativity, challenge, useless,
burden .
Some English sayings concerning “old”:
An old dog will learn no new tricks./ You
can‘t teach an old dog new tricks.（老狗学
不会新把戏）
It is hard to make an old dog stoop.（老
狗弯腰，谈何容易）
“elderly” or “senior citizen”（people over
60），“golden ager” (retired people over
65)
21
Some sayings & expressions
showing the monochronic concept
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

Time is money.
Do not attend to two things at a time.
Punctuality is the politeness of
princes.
Punctuality is the soul of business.
Time works wonders.
Time works great changes.
Times change.
22

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place/put on the agenda （列入议事日程）
agree (up)on an agenda (就议事日程取得一致意见）
lay out/map out/make out/plan a schedule
have a full schedule （时间表排得很紧）
maintain a schedule （遵守某一时间表）
accomplish sth. according to schedule （按照预
定计划完成某件事情）
on/to schedule （按照预定时间）
schedule time （预定的时间）
a tight schedule （排得紧紧的时间表）
at the scheduled time （按时）
according to schedule （按时间表）
ahead of schedule （提前）
behind schedule （迟于预定的时间）
23
“准时”或“及时” in English
punctual, on schedule, on time,
on/to the minute, on the hour,
at the appointed time, timely,
at the stated time, in good time,
well-timed, in time
24
time-saving devices
TV dinner（电视便餐）、instant coffee
（速溶咖啡）、frozen food（冷冻食品）、
packaged food（包装食品）、preserved food
（制成罐头的食品）、 bread mix（面包混合料）、
cake mix（蛋糕混合料）、soup mix（汤料）、
con-venience food（简便食品）、fast food
restaurant（快餐店）、hamburger（汉堡包）、
hot dog（热狗）、pizza （意大利式烘馅饼）、
fired chicken（炸鸡）、tacos（墨西哥炸玉米卷）、
potato chips（炸土豆片）、cheeseburger（带奶
酪的牛肉馅饼）、fishburger（碎鱼陷饼）、French
fries（法式炸土豆条）、drive-in banking（服务到
车上的路边银行）
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Chinese vs American
 All in all, Americans value time as something
irrecoverable while Chinese treat time as something
enjoyable.
 In history, Americans were well-known for their
inventions like telephone, airplane, fax and other
time-saving devices whereas Chinese were famous
for their time-consuming practices such as enjoying
fireworks, playing mah-jong, and tasting delicious
food in leisurely manners.
 Besides, to the American businessmen, time signifies
money. They seize every golden minute to make
money. By contrast, to the Chinese businessmen,
time means an interpersonal network. They seize
every occasion to get it into shape.
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Discussion:
appropriate time-treatment

1. Which time management style do you
prefer, Monochronic or Polychronic Time?
Why?


2. What behaviors are considered to be a
waste of time?
3. As college students, how should we
spend time to make it meaningful?
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Passage Analysis
28
What is the text mainly about?
Americans value time and save time carefully.
In their eyes, time is regarded as precious
resource. A person who tends to waste his own
time or that of others is never accepted in
American culture. Consequently, Americans try
every means to save time in their daily life,
business and work so as to make every minute
count. Besides, to solve a problem or fulfill a job
with speed in U.S.A is taken as a sign of
skillfulness or being competent.
29
II. Text Analysis:
Main Idea and Structure
General idea of the
whole passage (Paras.
1-2)
Illustrations of the
general idea (Paras. 37)
Restatement and
emphasis of the
general idea (Paras. 8)
Back
By making contrast
Americans
work hard
between Americans’
at
the taskon
of time
saving
viewpoint
and
The
author
comes
time.
They
save
time
that of those from
straight
to
the
point:
not
only
in
their
daily
other cultures, the
Americans
attitudes
life,
business
but also
author emphasizes
the
towards
time: This is
in
their
work.
main idea : In
illustrated
by
the time
Americans
value
American culture,
it is
foreigner’s
first
and
save
carefully.
taken
as atime
sign
of
impression
of
U.S..
Time
is regarded
as
skillfulness
or the
being
Besides,
Americans
precious
resources.
competent
to solve a
create
a series
of a job
problem
or fulfill
devices
to save time.
with speed.
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II. Text Analysis – Analysis of Each Part
Back
Main idea?
Part I
(Paras. 1-2)
Part II
Part III
Americans value time and save time
carefully. Time is regarded as precious
resources.
Devices for developing it?
Coming straight to the point
(开门见山)
For details
31
Coming straight to the point (开门见山)
Back
The author comes straight to the point at
the beginning :
Para. 1: Americans believe no one stand
still, and time is one of the two elements
that Americans save carefully.
Para. 2: Americans regard time as
precious resource and they want every
minute to be important.
32
返回
II. Text Analysis – Analysis of Each Part
Back
Main idea?
Part I
Part II
(Paras. 3-7)
Americans try every means to save time.
They save time in their daily life ,
business and work as well. They also
create a series of devices to improve
efficiency.
Devices for developing it?
Part III
Deduction (演绎法)
For details
33
Deduction (演绎法)
Back
General idea : Americans are time-conscious
and they want every minute to count.
Specific aspects: 1. Americans save time in
their daily life. They are always in a rush and
under pressure. (Para. 3)
2. Americans save time in their business
talk.(Para. 4)
3. Americans work hard at the task of saving
time by producing labor–saving devices.
(Paras. 5-7)
For details
34
Typical example of paragraph development by
deduction (Para. 3)
Back
General statement: Every one is in a rush – often
under pressure.
Specific details:
1. City people always appear to be hurrying to
get where they are going,…
2. Working time is considered precious.
3. Drivers are abrupt and people will push past
you.
The reasons: People value time highly and they
resent someone else “wasting” it beyond a
certain appropriate point.
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返回
II. Text Analysis – Analysis of Each Part
Back
Main idea?
Part I
Part II
Part III
(Para. 8)
While new arrivals to the U.S.
regard time differently, Americans
do take it as a sign of skillfulness or
being competent to solve a problem
or fulfill a job with speed.
Devices for developing it?
Contrast (对照法)
For details
36
Contrast (对照法)
The new arrivals’ attitudes towards time:
Back
1. It is considered impolite to work too quickly.
2. The importance of an assignment is given by
the passage of time.
Americans’ attitudes towards time:
1. It is taken as a sign of skillfulness or being
competent to solve a problem or fulfill a job
with speed.
2. More time and energy is generally poured
into a more important task.
37
返回
After-reading check on Text A
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What is a foreigner’s first impression of
the US?
What will many new arrivals to the
States miss?
What labor-saving devices do Americans
use?
How do Americans conduct business?
Why is the US definitely a telephone
country?
What’s the Americans’ attitude to speed?
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Language points
(reference only)
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
stand: v. keep or stay in a particular
position or state
The room stands idle. 这房间闲置
They stood ready to move at short
notice. 他们已准备好, 接到通知随时搬。
Stand firm -- don't let them tell you
what to do. 要坚定, 不要让他们对你指手画脚。
They stand opposed to the new law. 他
们反对这项新法律。
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still: a&v. not moving, motionless,
calm, quiet
Keep still while I do up your shoe. 站
着别动，我给你系鞋带。
The sea was calm and still. 大海风平
浪静。
Still waters run deep. （谚）流静水深，
人静心深。
The food stilled the baby's cries. 婴
儿吃了东西就不哭
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fall behind
1) become bit by bit further behind
fall behind in science 在科学方面落后
fall behind one's competitors 落后于竞争
对手
The student has been working hard for
fear that he should fall behind. 这个学生
一直很努力, 惟恐落后。
2) (with) fail to produce sth. at the
proper time
fall behind with the rent 拖欠房租
I'm falling behind with my work; I
must try to catch up. 我工作拖下来了, 我得
想办法赶上。
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result in: have as a result; cause
Acting before thinking always results in
failing. 做事不先考虑总会导致失败。
The accident resulted in the death of
two people 这场意外事故造成两人死亡。
Compare: result from: be caused by
Nothing has resulted from his efforts.
他的努力终成泡影。
The child's illness resulted from eating
unclean food. 他那孩子的病是由于吃了不洁
净的食物。
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Time is one of the two elements that Americans
save carefully, the other being labor. (Para. 1)
“subject + -ing (or: -ed) verb” structure :
No further discussions arising, the meeting
was brought to an end. 没有作进一步的讨论, 会议
就告结束了。
Lunch finished, all the guests returned to the
sitting room. 吃完午饭, 所有客人都回到了起居室。
This type of clause can be rewritten by adding
the preposition "with":
Time is one of the two elements that American
save carefully, with the other being labor.
With lunch finished, all the guests returned
to the sitting room.
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slave to sth.: a person who is
completely influenced or dominated by
sth.
a slave to drink 酒鬼
a slave to money 金钱的奴隶
nothing but: only
He's nothing but a criminal. 他只不过是
个罪犯。
The report contains nothing but lies. 这
报道满篇都是谎言。
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budget: v. plan the spending of (time, money,
etc.), or provide (time, money) in the plan
She has made so many commitments that
she has to budget her time very carefully. 她
答应下来的事太多，因而不得不精心安排自己的时间。
She budgeted for buying a new car. 她为了买
新汽车而计划节省开支。
n. a plan of how to spend money, etc. during
a particular time for a particular purpose.
a family / week's budget 家庭 / 每周预算
the company's advertising budget 公司的广告
预算
It is important to balance this year's budget.
重要的是要平衡今年的预算开支。
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kill time: make time pass quickly by
finding sth. to do
We killed time by playing cards. 我们
用打纸牌来消磨时间。
He drove to the club to kill a couple
of hours. 他驾车去俱乐部消磨了几个小时。
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account for :
1) give a satisfactory explanation about
(how sth. is used)
Jenny had to account to her husband
for every penny she spent. 珍妮不得不向
丈夫说明每一个便士是怎么花的。
2) be the cause or origin of
North Sea oil accounts for a high
proportion (部分) of our trade earnings.
北海石油占我国贸易收入的很大一部分。
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charge for: ask (an amount of money)
as a price
How much do you charge for
washing a car? 你们洗一部车要收多少钱？
We charge 200 dollars for a single
room one night. 单人房每夜收费200元。
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Once the sands have run out of a
person's hourglass, they cannot be
replaced. (Para.2)
hourglass: n. a glass container holding
fine sand for measuring time, which is
narrow in the middle like a figure 8 so
that the sand inside can run slowly from
the top half to the bottom taking exactly
one hour
Meaning: The whole sentence is a metaphor,
which means: Once time has passed, it will
not return.
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run out of:
1) (of liquid or sth. like liquid) flow out
of
Many rivers run out of the Himalayas.
许多河流发源于喜马拉雅山脉。
2) use all one's supplies, have no more
I'm afraid we've run out of gas. 我们的
汽油怕已用完了。
I'm running out of patience. 我快没耐心
了
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count: vi. If sth. counts, it is
important or valuable.
Every second counts. 每一秒钟都很重要。
She's the only person that really
counts around here. 她是这周围惟一有
影响力的人。
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in a rush: in a hurry
Why is she always in such a rush? 为什
么她总是这样匆匆忙忙的?
under pressure: in a condition of being
forced or hurried
He works best under pressure. 在压力之
下他往往工作得最出色。
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elbow: vt. push others out of the way
using elbows
I tried to stop him, but he elbowed me
out of the way. 我试图拦住他，可他用胳膊
肘把我推开。
She elbowed her way through the
crowd. 她从人群中挤了过去。
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race through: do sth. in a hurry
The government raced the new law
through all its stages so as to complete
it before the election. 政府在制定这项新法
律的各阶段都是匆匆完成，以便在大选前完成
立法。
The child raced through his homework
in order to watch the football match on
TV. 那孩子为看电视转播的足球赛而匆匆做完
作业。
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abrupt: a.
1) (of behavior) rough
an abrupt attitude 无礼的态度
When I asked her about her new job,
she was quite abrupt with me. 当我询问
她的新工作时, 她对我态度非常粗鲁。
2) sudden and unexpected
The meeting came to an abrupt end. 会
谈突然结束。
an abrupt change of policy 突然改变政策
an abrupt drop in oil prices 油价突降
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take ... personally: If you take
someone's remarks personally, you
are upset because you think that they
are being critical about you in
particular.
You mustn't take her negative
comments of your plan personally.
你不应该把她对你计划的批评当作对你个人
的攻击。
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opening: a. first or beginning (one),
starting
They returned to take part in the
season's opening game. 他们回来参加本
赛季的头一场比赛。
the opening night of a new play 新话剧
的首演之夜
the opening words 开场白
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interaction: n.
1) communication
informal interactions among adults
成年人之间非正式交流
human-computer interaction 人机对
话, 人机交流
2) acting on each other; working
together
Increased interaction between the
police and citizens will improve the
rate of solving crimes. 警民之间加强合
作将有助于提高破案率。
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go with: exist or take place at the
same time, be found together
Happiness does not go as an
automatic result with money. 有钱不一
定就幸福。
Responsibility goes with becoming a
father. 当了父亲责任就随之而来。
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assess: vt. judge the quality,
importance, or worth of
He's so lazy that it's difficult to assess
his ability. 他懒得很，很难对他的能力作出
评估。
It's too early to assess the effects of
the new law. 要评价新法令的效果现在还
为时过早。
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tick: vi. (of a clock, etc.) make a
sequence of quiet short regularly
repeated sounds
My watch doesn't tick because it is
electronic. 我的手表不滴答作响, 因为它是
电子表。
While we waited the taxi's meter kept
ticking away. 在我们等待时, 出租车上的
计程表一直在滴滴答答地响着。
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labor-saving a. designed to
reduce the amount of work or effort
needed to do sth.
省工的，节省劳力的，减轻劳动的
Women like the washing machine as
it is labor-saving.
女人 们喜欢洗衣机，因为它能节省劳力。
A personal computer can be very
labor-saving.
个人电脑能节省很多劳力。
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save ... for: keep sth. for future use,
not use up sth.
Save your strength for hard work
you'll have to do later. 养精蓄锐以应付
今后你得去做的繁重工作。
Can you save your story for later?
你能不能把你的故事留在以后告诉我?
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significance: n. meaning, importance
What is the significance of this
speech? 这个讲话有什么意义？
The significance for college
students of doing a part-time job is
more than money and experience. 大
学生打工的意义还不仅在于钱和经验。
At that time few people realized the
significance of his discovery. 当时几
乎没有人认识到他的发明的意义。
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at hand: under discussion or being
considered; “near in time or place”.
Her question was not related to the
matter at hand. 她提的问题跟正在考虑
的事情无关。
The great day is at hand.重大节日即将
到来。
Having the right equipment at hand
will be very helpful.手边有合适的设备用
将很有帮助。
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conduct: vt.
1) organize and carry out
I decided to conduct an experiment.
我决定做一个实验。
A team from the United Nations will
observe the election to be sure that it
is fairly conducted. 一个联合国代表团将
观察这次选举，以保证它公正地进行。
2) act as the path for (electricity, heat,
etc.)
Plastic and rubber won't conduct
electricity, but copper will. 塑料和橡胶不
导电, 但是铜导电。
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in person: physically present, by
oneself
I can't attend the meeting in person,
but I'm sending someone to speak for
me. 我不能亲自出席会议，但我将派人代表
我发言。
Will you apply for the position by
letter or in person? 你是写信还是亲自前
去申请那个职位？
The winner will be there in person to
collect the prize. 获胜者将亲自去那里领
奖。
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settle: vt. solve
We can also say:
settle an argument解决争端
settle the case结案
settle a bill 结账
settle an account 还债
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whereas: conj. but, in contrast, while
We thought she did not like us,
whereas in fact she was very shy. 我们
以为她不喜欢我们，然而事实是因为她很害羞。
They want a house, whereas we would
rather live in a flat. 他们想住一所房子, 可
我们宁愿住在一套公寓房里。
Their country has plenty of oil, while
(or: whereas) ours has none. 他们国家
石油丰富, 而我们国家则一点也没有。
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in one's eyes: in the opinion or
judgment of someone
In the eyes of the critical
professionals, he can do no wrong. 在
评论家看来，他是不会错的。
The expert is always right in the
eyes of everybody. 在大家的心目中，
专家总是对的。
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worthy of: meriting
He is worthy of our praise. 他值得我
们表扬。
worthy of help 值得帮助的
acts worthy of punishment 应该受到
惩罚的行为
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weight: n. [U] importance
Don't worry about what he thinks,
his opinion doesn't carry much
weight. 别担心他怎么想，他的意见没有
多少影响。
an idea of great weight 很重要的观点
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competent: a. (of people) having the
necessary ability, skill, knowledge,
etc.
He is competent for the task. 他能胜
任这项任务。
If you want to learn English, you
must first find a competent teacher.
你如要学习英文, 首先得找一位称职的教师。
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fulfill: vt. 1) do or perform
They fulfilled their work ahead of
time as we did ours. 同我们一样, 他们
也提前完成了任务。
fulfill a duty 履行责任
2) supply or satisfy (a need, demand
or requirement)
The company should be able to
fulfill our requirements for product
quality. 这家公司必须能满足我们对产品
质量的要求。
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get sth. /sb. doing (sth.): make sth.
/sb. do sth.
Can you get the old car going
again? 你能让这辆旧车重新跑起来吗？
It's not hard to get the boy talking;
the problem is stopping him. 让这个孩
子说话并不难；难的是让他闭上嘴。
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