Устно переведите следующий текст. Дайте письменный перевод абзацев 3, 5, 6, 7.
BASICS OF INTERCULTURAL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
1. The first step in learning to communicate with people from other cultures is sure to become aware of what culture means. Our awareness of intercultural differences is both useful and necessary in today's world of business.
2. Person may not realise it, but he belongs to several cultures. The most obvious is the culture he shares with all other people who live in the same country. But this person also belongs to other cultural groups, such as an ethnic group, a religious group, a fraternity or sorority, or perhaps a profession that has its own special language and customs.
3. So what exactly is culture? Culture is known to be a system of shared symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms for behaviour. Thus all members of a culture have, and tend to act on, similar assumptions about how people should think, behave, and communicate.
4. Distinct groups existing within a major culture appear to be more properly referred to as subcultures. Among groups that might be considered subcultures are Mexican Americans in East Los Angeles, Mormons in Salt Lake City, and longshoremen in
Montreal. Subcultures without geographic boundaries can be found as well, such as wrestling fans, Russian immigrants, and Harvard graduates.
DEVELOPING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS
5. When faced with the need (or desire) to learn about another culture, we have two main approaches to choose from. The first is to learn as much as possible—the language, cultural background and history, social rules, and so on—about the specific culture that you are expected to deal with. The other is to develop general skills that will allow you to adapt in any culture.
6. The first approach, in-depth knowledge of a particular culture, certainly works. But there are two drawbacks. One is that you will never be able to understand another culture completely. No matter how much you study German culture, for example, you are sure never to become a German or share the experiences of having grown up in Germany. Even if we could understand the culture completely, Germans might resent our assumption that we know everything to be known about them. The other drawback to immersing yourself in a specific culture is the trap of overgeneralization, looking at people from a culture not as individuals with their own unique characteristics, but as instances of Germans or Japanese or black Americans. The trick is to learn useful general information but to be open to variations and individual differences.
7. The second approach to cultural learning, general development of intercultural skills, seems to be especially useful if we interact with people from a variety of cultures or subcultures. Among the skills you need to learn are the following:
· Taking responsibility for communication. Don't assume that it is the other person's job to communicate with you.
· Withholding judgment. Learn to listen to the whole story and to accept differences in others.
· Showing respect. Learn the ways in which respect is communicated— through gestures, eye contact, and so on — in various cultures.
· Empathizing. Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes. Listen carefully to what the other person is trying to communicate; imagine the person's feelings and point of view.
· Tolerating ambiguity. Learn to control your frustration when placed in an unfamiliar or confusing situation.
· Being patient and persistent. If you want a task to be accomplished, don't give up easily.
· Being flexible. Be prepared to change your habits, preferences, and attitudes.
· Emphasizing common ground. Look for similarities to work from.
· Sending clear messages. Make your verbal and non-verbal messages to be consistent.
· Taking risks. Try things that will help you to gain a better understanding of the other person or culture.
· Dealing with the individual. Avoid stereotyping and overgeneralization.
VIII.C. Упражнения к тексту
Упр.1. Подчеркните пунктирной линией все случаи употребления герундия в тексте.
Упр. 2. Выпишите из текста существительные с левыми и правыми определениями, выраженными неличными формами глагола (Participle I (2), Participle II (1), Gerund (3), Infinitive (5). Полученные пары разместите соответственно в два столбца.
Например, shared symbols (P II) step in learning (Ger)
job to communicate (Inf)
Упр. З. Найдите в тексте и подчеркните волнистой линией инфинитивные обороты: сложное подлежащее (Complex Subject-6) и сложное дополнение (Complex Object-3)
Упр. 5. Письменно ответьте на во к тексту:
1. What is culture?
2. What are subcultures?
3. What are two main approaches to cultural learning?
