Goods Move. People Move. Ideas Move. And Cultures Change.
1. Today we are in the throes of a worldwide reformation of cultures, a tectonic shift of habits and dreams called, in the curious vocabulary of social scientists, “globalization”. It’s an inexact term for a wild assortment of changes in politics, business, health, entertainment. “modern industry has established the world market. All old-established national industries are dislodged by new industries whose products are consumed，not only at home, but in every quarter of the globe. In place of the old wants we find new wants, requiring for their satisfaction the products of distant lands and climes,” Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote this 150 years ago in The Communist Manifesto. Their statement now describes an ordinary fact of life.
2. How people feel about this depends a great deal on where they live and how much money they have. Yet globalization, as one report stated, “is a reality, not a choice”. Humans have been weaving commercial and cultural connections since before the first camel caravan ventured afield. In the 19th century the postal service, newspapers, transcontinental railroads, and great steam-powered ships wrought fundamental changes. Telegraph, telephone, radio, and television tied tighter and more intricate knots between individuals and the wider world. Now computers, the Internet, cellular phones, cable TV, and cheaper jet transportation have accelerated and complicated these connections.
3. Still, the basic dynamic remains the same: Goods move. People move. Ideas move. And cultures change. The difference now is the speed and scope of these changes. It took television 13 years to acquire 50 million users; the Internet took only five.
4. Not everyone is happy about this. Some Western social scientists and anthropologists, and not a few foreign politicians, believe that a sort of cultural cloning will result from what they regard as the “cultural assault” of McDonal’s, Coca-Cola, Disney, Nike, MTV, and the English language itself—more than a fifth of all the people in the world now speak English to some degree. Whatever their backgrounds or agendas, these critics are convinced that Western—often equated with American—influences will flatten every cultural crease, producing, as one observer terms it, one big “McWorld”.
5. Popular factions sprout to exploit nationalist anxieties. In China, where xenophobia and economic ambition have often struggled for the upper hand, a recent book called China Can Say No became a best-seller by attacking what it considers the Chinese willingness to believe blindly in foreign things, advising Chinese travelers to not fly on a Boeing 777 and suggesting that Hollywood be burned.
6. There are many Westerners among the denouncers of Western cultural influences, but James Watson, a Harvard anthropologist, isn’t one of them. “The lives of Chinese villagers I know are infinitely better now than they were 30 years ago,” he says. “China has become more open partly because of the demands of ordinary people. They want to become part of the world—I would say globalism is the major force for democracy in China. People want refrigerators, stereos, CD players. I feel it’s a moral obligation not to say: ‘Those people out there should continue to live in a museum while we will have showers that work.’”
7. Westernization, I discovered over months of study and travel, is a phenomenon shot through with inconsistencies and populated by very strange bedfellows. Critics of Western culture blast Coke and Hollywood but not organ transplants and computers. Boosters of Western culture can point to increased efforts to preserve and protect the environment. Yet they make no mention of some less salubrious aspects of Western culture, such as cigarettes and automobiles, which, even as they are being eagerly adopted in the developing world, are having disastrous effects. Apparently westernization is not a straight road to hell, or to paradise either.
8. But I also discovered that cultures are as resourceful, resilient, and unpredictable as the people who compose them. In Los Angeles, the ostensible fountainhead of world cultural degradation, I saw more diversity than I could ever have supposed — at Hollywood High School the student body represents 32 different languages. In Shanghai I found that the television show Sesame Street has been redesigned by Chinese educators to teach Chinese values and traditions. “We borrowed an American box,” one told me, “and put Chinese content into it.” In India, where there are more than 400 languages and several very strict religions, McDonald’s serves mutton instead of beef and offers a vegetarian menu acceptable to even the most orthodox Hindu.
9. The critical mass of teenagers—800 million in the world—with time and money to spend is one of the powerful engines of merging global cultures. Kids travel, they hang out, and above all they buy stuff. I’m sorry to say I failed to discover who was the first teenager to put his baseball cap on backward. Or the first one to copy him. But I do know that rap music, which sprang from the inner-city ghettos, began making big money only when rebellious white teenagers started buying it. But how can anyone predict what kids are going to want? Companies urgently need to know, so consultants have sprung up to forecast trends. They’re called “cool hunters”; and Amanda Freeman took me in hand one morning to explain how it works.
10. Amanda, who is 22, works for a New York-based company called Youth Intelligence and has come to Los Angeles to conduct surveys, whose results go to many important clients. She has shoulder-length brown hair and is wearing a knee-length brocade skirt. Amanda looks very cool to me, but she says no. “The funny thing about my work is that you don’t have to be cool to do it,” she says. “You just have to have the eye.”
11. We go to a smallish ‘50s-style diner in a slightly seedy pocket east of Hollywood that has just become trendy. Then we wander through a few of the thrift shops. “If it’s not going to be affordable, ” Amanda remarks, “it’s never going to catch on.”
12. What trends does she see forming now? “The home is becoming more of a social place again. And travel’s huge right now—you go to a place and bring stuff back.”
13. “It’s really hard to be original these days, so the easiest way to come up with new stuff is to mix things that already exist. Fusion is going to be the huge term that everybody’s going to use,” she concludes. “There’s going to be more blending, like Spanish music and punk—things that are so unrelated.”
14. Los Angeles is Fusion Central, where cultures mix and morph. Take Tom Sloper and mah-jongg. Tom is a computer geek who is also a mah-jongg fanatic. This being America, he has found a way to marry these two passions and sell the result. He has designed a software program, Shanghai: Dynasty, that enables you to play mah-jongg on the Internet. This ancient Chinese game involves both strategy and luck, and it is still played all over Asia in small rooms that are full of smoke and the ceaseless click of the chunky plastic tiles and the fierce concentration of the players. It is also played by rich society women at country clubs in Beverly Hills and in apartments on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. But Tom, 50, was playing it at his desk in Los Angeles one evening in the silence of a nearly empty office building.
15. Actually, he only appeared to be alone. His glowing computer screen showed a game already in progress with several habitual partners: “Blue Whale”, a man from Germany; Russ from Ohio; and Freddy, a Chinese-American who lives in Minnesota. Tom played effortlessly as we talked.
16. “I’ve learned about 11 different styles of mah-jongg,” he told me with that detached friendliness of those whose true connection is with machines. “There are a couple of different ways of playing it in America. We usually play Chinese mah-jongg.”
17. I watched the little tiles, like cards, bounce around the screen. As Tom played, he and his partners conversed by typing short comments to each other.
18. Does he ever play with real people? “Oh yeah,” Tom replied. “Once a week at the office in the evening, and Thursday at lunch.” A new name appeared on the screen. “There’s Fred’s mother. Can’t be, they’re in Vegas. Oh, it must be his sister. TJ’s online too, she’s the one from Wales—a real night owl. She’s getting married soon, and she lives with her fiancé, and sometimes he gets up and says ‘Get off that damn computer!’”
19. Tom played on into the night. At least it was night where I was. He, an American playing a Chinese game with people in Germany, Wales, Ohio，and Minnesota, was up in the cybersphere far above the level of time zones. It is a realm populated by individuals he’s never met who may be more real to him than the people who live next door.
20. If it seems that life in the West has become a fast-forward blur, consider China. In just 20 years, since market forces were unleashed by economic reforms begun in 1978， life for many urban Chinese has changed drastically. A recent survey of 12 major cities showed that 97 percent of the respondents had televisions, and 88 percent had refrigerators and washing machines. Another study revealed that farmers are eating 48 percent more meat each year and 400 percent more fruit. The Cosmopolitan, plunging necklines and all, is read by 260, 000 Chinese women every month.
21. I went to Shanghai to see how the cultural trends show up in the largest city in the world’s most populous nation. It is also a city that has long been open to the West. General Motors, for example, set up its first Buick sales outlet in Shanghai in 1929; today GM has invested 1.5 billion dollars in a new plant there, the biggest Sino-American venture in China.
22. Once a city of elegant villas and imposing office buildings, Shanghai is currently ripping itself to ribbons. In a decade scores of gleaming new skyscrapers have shot up to crowd and jostle the skyline, cramp the narrow winding streets, and choke the parks and open spaces with their sheer soaring presence. Traffic crawls, even on the new multilane overpasses. But on the streets the women are dressed in bright colors, and many carry several shopping bags, especially on the Nanjing Road, which is lined with boutiques and malls. In its first two weeks of business the Gucci Store took in a surprising $100, 000.
23. “Maybe young women today don’t know what it was like,” says Wu Ying, editor-in-chief of the Chinese edition of the French fashion magazine Elle. “But ten years ago I wouldn’t have imagined myself wearing this blouse. ?It was red, with white polka dots. “When people bought clothes, they thought ‘How long will it last?’ A housewife knew that most of the monthly salary would be spent on food, and now it’s just a small part, so she can think about what to wear or where to travel. And now with refrigerators, we don’t have to buy food every day.”
24. As for the cultural dislocation this might bring: “People in Shanghai don’t see it as a problem,” said a young German businessman. “The Chinese are very good at dealing with ambiguity. It’s accepted—‘It’s very different, but it’s OK, so. so what?’”
25. Potential: This is largely a Western concept. Set aside the Gucci Store and skyscrapers, and it’s clear that the truly great leap forward here is at the level of ideas. To really grasp this, I had only to witness the local performance of Shakespeare5s Macbeth by the Hiu Kok Drama Association from Macau.
26. There we were at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, some 30 professors and students of literature and drama from all over China and I, on folding chairs around a space not unlike half of a basketball court. “I’m not going to be much help,” murmured Zhang Fang, my interpreter. I don’t understand the Cantonese language, and most of these people don’t either.”
27. I thought I knew what to watch for, but the only characters I recognized were the three witches. Otherwise the small group spent most of an hour running in circles， leaping, and threatening to beat each other with long sticks. The lighting was heavy on shadows, with frequent flashes. Language wasn’t a problem, as the actors mainly snarled and shrieked. Then they turned their backs to the audience and a few shouted something in Cantonese. The lights went out, and for a moment the only sound in the darkness was the whining of an expensive camera on auto-rewind.
28. This is China? It could have been a college campus anywhere in the West. Until recently such a performance was unthinkable. It strained imagination that this could be the same country where a generation ago the three most desired luxury items were wristwatches, bicycles, and sewing machines.
29. Early on I realized that I was going to need some type of compass to guide me through the wilds of global culture. So when I was in Los Angeles, I sought out Alvin Toffler, whose book Future Shock was published in 1970. In the nearly three decades since, he has developed and refined a number of interesting ideas, explained in The Third Wave, written with his wife, Heidi.
30. What do we know about the future now, I asked, that we didn’t know before? “We now know that order grows out of chaos,” he answered immediately. “You cannot have significant change, especially on the scale of Russia or China, without conflict. Not conflicts between East and West, or North and South, but ‘wave’ conflicts between industrially dominant countries and predominantly agrarian countries, or conflicts within countries making a transition from one to the other.”
31. Waves, he explained, are major changes in civilization. The first wave came with the development of agriculture, the second with industry. Today we are in the midst of the third, which is based on information. In 1956 something new began to happen, which amounts to the emergence of a new civilization. Toffler said, “It was in that year that U.S. service and knowledge workers outnumbered blue-collar factory workers. In 1957 Sputnik went up. Then jet aviation became commercial, television became universal, and computers began to be widely used. And with all these changes came changes in culture.
32. “What’s happening now is the trisection of world power,’” he continued. “Agrarian nations on the bottom, smokestack countries in between, and knowledge-based economies on top.” There are a number of countries—Brazil, for example—where all three civilizations coexist and collide.
33. “Culturally well see big changes,” Toffler said. “You’re going to turn on your TV and get Nigerian TV and Fijian TV in your own language.” Also, some experts predict that the TV of the future, with 500 cable channels, may be used by smaller groups to foster their separate, distinctive cultures and languages.
34. “People ask, ‘Can we become third wave and still remain Chinese?’ Yes,” Toffler says. “You can have a unique culture made of your core culture. But you’ll be the Chinese of the future, not of the past.”
35. Linking: This is what the spread of global culture ultimately means. Goods will continue to move—from 1987 to 1995 local economies in California exported 200 percent more products, businesses in Idaho 375 percent more. People move: It is cheaper for businesses to import talented employees than to train people at home. Ideas move: In Japan a generation of children raised with interactive computer games has sensed, at least at the cyber level, new possibilities. “The implicit message in all this,” wrote Kenichi Ohmae, “is that it is possible to actively take control of one’s situation or circumstances and, thereby, to change one’s fate. For the Japanese, this is an entirely new way of thinking.”
36. Change: It’s reality, not a choice. But what will be its true driving force? Cultures don’t become more uniform; instead, both old and new tend to transform each other. The late philosopher Isaiah Berlin believed that, rather than aspire to some utopian ideal, a society should strive for something else: “not that we agree with each other,” his biographer explained, “but that we can understand each other.”
37. In Shanghai one October evening I joined a group gathered in a small, sterile hotel meeting room. It was the eve of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, and there were diplomats, teachers, and businessmen from many Western countries. Elegant women with lively children, single men, young fathers. Shalom Greenberg, a young Jew from Israel married to an American, was presiding over his first High Holy Days as rabbi of the infant congregation.
38. “It’s part of the Jewish history that Jews went all over the world,” Rabbi Greenberg reflected. “They received a lot from local cultures, but they also kept their own identity.”
39. The solemn liturgy proceeded, unchanged over thousands of years and hundreds of alien cultures: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me,” he intoned. I’m neither Jewish nor Chinese, but sitting there I didn’t feel foreign—I felt at home. The penitence may have been Jewish, but the aspiration was universal.
40. Global culture doesn’t mean just more TV sets and Nike shoes. Linking is humanity’s natural impulse, its common destiny. But the ties that bind people around the world are not merely technological or commercial. They are the powerful cords of the heart.
Words and Expressions from the Text
1. tectonic: large plates which make up the earth’s crust. Slow but powerful movements of tectonic plates against one another produce geological upheavals such as volcanoes, earthquakes and mountain building. Hence any such changes seem profound and inexorable.
2. an assortment of: a variety of
3. to dislodge: to drive out, force from a position or place where lodged
4. clime: (Poetic) a region with reference to its climate
5. caravan: a company of travelers, esp. of merchants or pilgrims traveling together for safety, as through a desert
6. afield: away (from home)
7. wrought: (past and past perfect tense form of work) to cause, bring about; effect
8. anthropologist: 人类学家
9. to clone: 克隆
10. crease: 折痕，皱痕
11. xenophobia: fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything foreign or strange
12. bedfellow: a person who shares one’s bed; an associate, ally
13. to blast: to attack or criticize sharply
14. salubrious: healthful, wholesome; promoting health or welfare
15. resilient: recovering strength, spirits, good humor, etc. quickly; buoyant有弹性的；有复原力的
16. ostensible: apparent; seeming; professed
17. fountainhead: 源头
18. rap music: a style of black popular music with a pronounced beat to which words are recited rather than sung 说唱乐
19. brocade: 织锦
20. diner: a small restaurant built to look like a dining car, following an old-fashioned model
21. seedy: shabby, rundown
22. trendy: of or in the latest fashion or trend; ultrafashionable
23. thrift shop: (U.S.) a shop selling second hand items usu. for charity
24. to fuse: to unite by melting together into something indissoluble
25. blending: a mixing of different varieties to produce a desired quality
26. punk: a type of loud violent music popular in the late 1970s and the 1980s
27. to morph: to turn into a variant form without changing the essence
28. geek: (Slang) a performer of grotesque or depraved acts
29. mah-jongg: 麻将
30. chunky: short and thick
31. Vegas: Las Vegas, a city in Nevada, known for its casinos
32. night owl: 夜猫子
33. cybersphere: 网上世界
34. neckline: 开领
35. imposing: impressive because of size, dignity, excellence
36. to jostle: to come or bring into close contact
37. boutique: a small shop, or a small department in a store, where fashionable, usually expensive, clothes and other articles are sold
38. polka dots: (衣料上的）圆点花纹
39. dislocation: disruption; the upsetting of the order
40. Shanghai Theatre Academy: 上海戏剧学院
41. Sputnik: 1957年苏联发射的第一颗人造卫星的名称
42. trisection: 三个层次
43. Nigerian: 尼日利亚的
44. Fijian: 斐济的
45. interactive computer game: 互动的电子游戏
46. to transform: to change either the external form or inner nature or function
47. to aspire to: to be ambitious (to get or do something, esp. something lofty or grand)
48. Yom Kippur: 犹太赎罪日
49. Atonement: (Theology) the effect of Jesus’ sufferings and death in redeeming mankind and bringing about the reconciliation of God to man
50. High Holy Days: the period encompassing Rash Hashana and Yom Kippur in the Jewish calendar
51. rabbi: an ordained Jew, usually a spiritual head of a congregation, qualified to decide questions of law and ritual and to perform marriages, etc.
52. liturgy: prescribed forms or rituals for public worship in any of various religions
53. to intone: to utter or recite in a singing tone or in prolonged monotones
54. penitence: sorrow over having sinned or done wrong
Notes on the Background
1．Erla Zwingle: former National Geographic editor, currently living in Venice, Italy.
2．The Communist Manifesto: written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, first published in 1848. The quotation in the text was taken from several places in the Communist Manifesto. The original version is: “Modem industry has established the world-market, for which the discovery of America paved the way.” “All old-established national industries have been destroyed or are daily being destroyed. They are dislodged by new industries, whose introduction becomes a life and death question for all civilized nations, by industries that no longer work up indigenous raw material, but raw material drawn from the remotest zones; industries whose products are consumed, not only at home, but in every quarter of the globe. In place of the old wants, satisfied by the production of the country, we find new wants, requiring for their satisfaction the products of distant lands and climes.”
3．China Can Say No:《中国可以说不》，作者是宋强等五人，1996年5月出版。
4．James Watson (1928— ): best known for his discovery of the structure of DNA, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1964 together with two other scientists.
5．Sesame Street: 芝麻街，American television series with characters such as Big Bird, Oscar, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert, Count von Count and others which entertain and educate children along with their celebrity guests.
6．Hindu: a follower of Hinduism, which, dating from around 1500 B.C., is the oldest living religion having a membership of around 500 million confined largely to India.
7．inner-city ghettos: Originally ghettos were areas in medieval European cities where Jews were obliged to live. After World War II the term refers primarily to districts where African Americans live. “Inner-city” contrasts with the expanding suburbs which were of a long time inhabited exclusively by whites. The black subculture of the ghettos expresses, as in rap music, the alienation and anger felt by many young blacks at their substantial exclusion from the promises of American life.
8．Youth intelligence: a consulting firm. It focuses on understanding Generations Y and X (12—35 year olds), who are, they believe, creating and shaping trends in today’s culture and who have significant clout and buying power. By conducting hundreds of research sessions with young people, Youth Intelligence hopes to identify and articulate trends and therefore to become better consultants.
9．Beverly Hills and Manhattan’s Upper West Side: residential areas of rich people in Los Angeles and New York City respectively, a status symbol.
10．Cosmopolitan: founded in 1886 which was meant to become a “first-class family magazine”.
11．Gucci:古奇专卖店。The company was founded by Guccio Gucci in Florence, Italy, in 1923. As of Jan. 31, 2002，Gucci Group had 288 directly-operated stores.
12．Elle: created in France in 1945. Elle U. S. is America’s second-largest women’s fashion magazine, reaching more than 4. 7 million readers monthly. Elle merges popular culture and all genres of the arts with the world of fashion, putting everything in the context of what makes the world stylish.
13．Alvin Toffler (1928— ): one of the world’s preeminent futurists. Along with his wife and co-author Heidi Toffler, he produced the trilogy Future Shock (《未来的冲击》，1970) The Third Wave (《第三次浪潮》,1980) and Power Shift （《大未来》,1990).
14．Kenichi Ohmae: In 1994, The Economist selected him one of five management gurus in the world. As an author he has published over 100 books, many of which are devoted to business and socio-political analyses. For 23 years, Dr. Ohmae was a partner in McKinsey and Company, Inc., the international management consulting firm.
15．Isaiah Berlin (1909—1997): Berlin was born in Riga, Latvia, and emigrated with his parents to England at the age of eleven. Berlin devoted his life to the examination of such thinking as Vico, Herzen, Herder, Tolstoy, Machiavelli, and such topics as liberty, determinism, relativism, historicism, nationalism—and his most distinctive doctrine: pluralism.
Notes on the Text
Para. 1
1. in the throes of: in the act of struggling with (a problem, decision, task, etc.)
wild: in a state of disorder, disarrangement, confusion, etc.
assortment: variety, miscellaneous group or collection
to dislodge: to drive out, to force from a position or place where lodged
want: something needed or desired but lacking; need
2. How does the author begin this article? Why does she quote Marx and Engels?
The author begins the article with the statement “Today we are in the throes of a worldwide reformation of cultures” which is called globalization. Here the author points out that globalization is a world movement and a movement of reformation of cultures. She does not say merging of cultures but reformation of cultures, indicating the cultures in the world will continue to exist but they will not be the same.
The author then says that globalization is not an exact word to describe the changes. Why? The author quotes Marx and Engels to prove her point According to polls, Marx and Engels are rated among most important people in the past thousand years. The author’s intention is two-folds on the one hand she wants to show that globalization is the result of modem industry and world markets, on the other she wants to stress that it is a process and a historical process at that.
3. Today we are in the throes of... “globalization”.
今天我们正在应对一种世界范围的文化的相互影响和变化，一种习俗与追求的结构性变化，用社会科学家奇特的词汇来称呼这种变化，就叫“全球化”。
4. In place of the old wants …
(1) Instead of the traditional needs, we find new needs, demanding goods from distant and far-off places to meet these felt needs.
(2) The object of “requiring” is “the products”; “for their satisfaction” is an adverbial phrase, showing purpose.
5. Their statement now describes an ordinary fact of life.
Marx and Engels made the prediction 150 years ago. But today it is not a prediction but something that happens every day.
Para. 2
6. How people feel about this depends a great deal on where they live and how much money they have.
(1) How will you paraphrase this sentence?
The attitude of the people toward globalization is to a great extent determined by whether they are in the developed countries or not and whether they are among the haves or the have-nots.
(2) Comment on the author’s statement.
The author is to a large extent correct in making this statement. According to polls in the U. S., the attitude towards globalization has a lot to do with the level of income and education. An analysis of the economic situation in the world in recent years shows that most of the benefits of globalization have gone to the developed world.
Hence the dissatisfaction and resentment of many in the Third World.
7. ... globalization... is a reality, not a choice.
Globalization is not something that you can accept or reject, it is already a matter of life which you will encounter and have to respond to every day.
8. Humans have been... ventured afield.
(1)caravan a company of travelers, esp. of merchants or pilgrims traveling together for safety, as through a desert
to venture: to undertake the risk of, to brave
afield: away (from home)
(2) People in the world have been making commercial and cultural contacts long before merchants on camelbacks took the risk to travel to places faraway from home.
9. wrought: (past participle of work) to produce results or exert an influence
10.Telegraph ... between individuals and the wider world.
(1) Telegraph ... made the connection between individuals and the outside world closer but at the same time the connection was more complex, less direct, not so easy to see or detect.
(2) 电报、电话、收音机和电视把个人和外部世界更紧密地连在一起，这种联系更为复杂、不那么直接也不易察觉。
11. The author uses “intricate” and “complicated” to describe the connection because with the emergence of advanced technology, the connection is not only faster but also more difficult to see, to explain. For example, connection with the outside world through watching cable TV or listening to radio is less tangible and much less direct than camel caravans. But the connection is established. Telegraph and Internet connections are examples. Connections might be established through the Internet, yet you may not have met the person.
Para. 3
12. dynamic: a force producing motion or change
13. Still, the basic dynamics ... move.
“Still” here introduces a contrast. Paragraph 2 tells the readers that modern technology makes the connections and changes faster and more complicated. Paragraph 3 stresses that the basic pattern is the same. The difference lies in the speed and scope of changes.
Para. 4
14. cloning 克隆
15. How do some of Western social scientists and anthropologists and foreign politicians view this trend of globalization? Does the author agree? What is your view?
They believe that globalization will result in the spread of American goods, American values and culture and the consequence will inevitably be Americanization of the world.
The author is not so pessimistic. She does not think that globalization means Americanization and a variety of cultures will continue to exist, but they will all be changed. This can be seen in the opening statement as well as in Para. 34 and the concluding paragraph.
The fact mentioned by the critics of globalization does exist. The United States，as the only super power in the world，has taken advantage of globalization to greatly expand its exports of goods as well as ideas and values. If you go on the Internet，the overwhelming amount of information is in English. In international business，the prevalent means of communication is English. That’s why these critics include the English language as part of the “cultural assault”. Such fear is also shared by some Chinese. But globalization is a double-edged sword, which means it can cut either way. Advantages and disadvantages coexist. The determining factor is government policy. Closed-door policies have proved to be disastrous. So the only feasible approach is to make full use of the advantages and to minimize the negative effects.
16. agenda: program of things to be done
17.Western ... influence ... one big “McWorld”.
(1) crease: a fold or wrinkle
(2) McWorld: a world modeled on McDonald’s, meaning a world filled with American goods and culture
(3) Western ... influences will overwhelm all other non-western cultures, make them lose their own unique characteristics and in the end there exists only one westernized or Americanized world or culture.
18. Whatever their backgrounds ... one big “McWorld”.
不管他们的背景和纲领如何，这些对全球化持反对态度的人深信西方的影响——往往等同于美国的影响——会把所有文化上的差异一一压平，就像一位观察家所说的，最终产生一个麦当劳世界，一个充满美国货和体现美国价值观的世界。
Para. 5
19. Popular factions sprout to exploit nationalist anxieties.
(1) popular factions: 反映公众情绪(或得到公众支持)的派别
(2) Political groups with broad support have come into being to take advantage of existing worries and uneasiness among the people about foreign “cultural assault”.
20. ... where xenophobia and economic ambition have often struggled for the upper hand ...
(1) Why does the author put “xenophobia” and “economic ambition” as a pair in contrast? Xenophobia means hatred or fear of foreigners or foreign things. If xenophobia becomes dominant, there will be movements to drive out foreigners and foreign goods. This can be found in the Boxers Movement. Economic ambition refers to the desire to build China into a strong, industrialized country, to improve the livelihood of the Chinese people. This would mean opening to the outside world, introducing foreign capital, technology and goods.
(2) In China, the two trends of closed-door and open-door policies have long been struggling for dominance.
21. …suggesting that Hollywood be burned.
(1) Hollywood stands for American films. This is a rhetorical device called synecdoche.
(2) Why “be burned”, not “is burned” is used here?
Subjunctive mood is used after the verb “suggest”.
(3) ……建议把进口的好莱坞大片烧掉。
22. Is the author’s summary of the book accurate?
No. The writers of the book do express some strong nationalist feelings, but they are not irrational. Their arguments are not groundless, though they contain serious flaws. And they are not simply asking people to reject anything foreign. To call them xenophobic is neither correct nor fair.
Para. 6
23. Those people out there should continue to live in a museum while we will have showers that work.
(1) “Museum” here stands for ancient life or backwardness, the kind of life you can only find in museums now.
(2) “Showers that work” stands for modern life with high-tech gadgets.
(3) The Chinese people should continue to live a backward life while we live comfortably with all modern conveniences.
Para. 7
24. Westernization ... I discovered ... very strange bedfellows.
(1) (be) shot through with: to have a lot of, as if full of holes after a shotgun blast
(2) inconsistencies: not uniform, inharmonious or self-contradictory factors
(3) bedfellow: an associate, ally, confederate, etc.
(4) After months of research and travel, I found that Westernization is a concept full of self-contradiction and held by people of very different background or views.
25. How does the author bring out the inconsistencies on the concept of Westernization?
First she contrasts the critics and the boosters. Then she contrasts the inconsistencies within each group. The critics blast Coke and Hollywood but not organ transplant and computers, indicating their critique is selective. The boosters emphasize environmental protection but make no mention of cigarettes and automobiles, indicating that they deliberately overlook those things that bring damage to health and the environment. The conclusion is: Westernization is neither a direct, uninterrupted road to hell nor to paradise. In other words, it is neither terribly bad nor extremely good.
(1) to blast: to attack or criticize sharply
(2) Booster: enthusiastic supporter
26. Yet they make no mention ... disastrous effects.
然而他们不提西方文化中不那么健康的一面，甓如香烟和汽车，就在发展中世界急切地接纳这些东西时，它们已带来很坏的后果。
27. Apparently ... paradise either.
很显然，西方化既不会直达地狱，也不是直通天堂。
Para. 8
28. But I also discovered ... compose them.
(1) resourceful: able to deal promptly and effectively with problems, difficulties, etc. resilient: recovering strength, spirits, good humor, quickly; buoyant
(2) In what way are cultures resourceful, resilient, and unpredictable?
How does the author prove this?
The author tries to prove this by giving three examples.
The first is Hollywood High School in Los Angeles, the city which many people consider as a source of devaluing world cultures. Even in the place where Hollywood is located you still find a school with thirty-two languages spoken. This is a sign of cultural diversity. The second is Sesame Street in Shanghai. Sesame Street is popular television show in the U. S., yet the Chinese borrowed the form and filled it with Chinese values and traditions. This again shows how resourceful and resilient cultures can be. The third is McDonald’s in India. It shows on the one hand McDonald’s is clever to cater to Indian demand, on the other hand the resourcefulness and resilience of American and Indian cultures. When such unexpected things happen, it is right for the author to call cultures unpredictable.
(3) 不过我也发现文化就如构成文化的民族一样，善于随机应变，富有弹性而且不可预测。
29. In Los Angeles ... degradation …
在洛杉矶，世界文化堕落的明显的源头……
30. McDonald’s serves ... orthodox Hindu.
(1) Why does McDonald’s serve mutton instead of beef in India?
Because the religion of Hinduism regards the cow as sacred, so beef can’t be eaten.
(2) 麦当劳供应的是羊肉而不是牛肉，而且提供一份素食的菜单，连最正统的印度教徒也能接受。
Para. 9
31. the critical mass of teenagers
(1) mass: a large number
(2) teenager: a person between the age of 13 and 19
(3) The large number of young people between the age of 13 and 19 is decisive.
32. Why are teenagers so important?
Their number is huge and they have time and money to spend. So entertainment and goods are designed in such a way as to cater to their taste.
33. Why does the author consider teenagers one of the powerful engines of merging global cultures?
Young people are the source of fashion and fashion knows no national boundaries. The fashion in one culture can be easily picked up by teenagers in other cultures. The spread of rap music is a case in point.
34. hang out: (slang) to spend much of one’s time; frequent
35. ... rap music, which sprang from the inner-city ghettos, began making big money only when rebellious white teenagers started buying it.
(1) rap music: a style of black popular music with a pronounced beat to which words are recited rather than sung 说唱乐
(2) This is a phenomenon of the 60s in the U.S. A number of white teenagers of well-to-do family backgrounds became alienated from middle-class values and conventions. They attempted to break away from such shackles in a counter-culture movement. Rock music became a major vehicle for the counter-culture attack on the status quo.
36. They are called “cool hunter”, ... how it works.
(1) cool hunter: 猎酷者
(2) to take (sb.) in hand: to control someone, as to show him how to behave or act
Para. 10
37. What sort of person is Amanda Freeman? Why does she go to Los Angeles?
Amanda is 22 and she works for a consultant company, Youth Intelligence, which is located in New York. She has come to Los Angeles to conduct surveys in order to predict trends. Los Angeles is supposed to be a center of youth fashion because of Hollywood.
38. She has shoulder-length brown hair and is wearing a knee-length brocade skirt.
她留着披肩的棕发，穿着一条长及膝盖的织锦短裙。
39. You don’t have to be cool to do it; you just have to have the eye.
(1) cool: (slang) fashionable in the eyes of the young
(2) the eyemental awareness: a special knack or intuition
(3) In trying to find out what will be the future trend, you do not need to be fashionable yourself. All you need is awareness, that is to say, you need to be on the alert, to be observant.
Para. 11
40. We go to a smallish ... that has just become trendy.
(1) diner: a small restaurant built to look like a dining car, following an old-fashioned model
(2) seedy: shabby, rundown
(3) trendy: of or in the latest fashion or trend; ultrafashionable
(4) pocket: an isolated area of a specified type
(5) We go to a small restaurant built in the style of the 1950s in a somewhat run-down area east of Hollywood which has just become a fashionable area.
(6) 我们去了一家小一点的，50年代式样的餐馆。这家餐馆位于好莱坞东面一个比较破落的区域，这个区域刚刚时髦起来。
41. thrift shop: esp. US, a shop selling second-hand items usu. for charity
42. If it’s not going ... it’s never going to catch on.
(1) to catch on: to become popular
(2) if the trend is too expensive and cannot be followed by people, it will not become popular.
Para. 13
43. It’s really hard ... that already exist.
近来，创新极为困难。因此，最容易的办法就是把现存的东西捏在一起，拿出一个新玩意儿来。
44. mix: to show a combing of things so that the resulting substance is uniform in composition, whether or not the separate elements can be distinguished
fuse: to unite by melting together into something indissoluble
blend: to imply a mixing of different varieties to produce a desired quality
45. punk: a type of loud violent music popular in the late 1970s and the 1980s
46. How does Amanda go about her work?
She goes to small, cheap shops in trendy areas to conduct surveys because any fashion, if it is not affordable, cannot become popular. She also has her eyes on fusion because nowadays blending has become the trend.
Para. 14
47. Why does the author bring in Tom Sloper and mah-jongg?
The author uses Tom Sloper and mah-jongg as an example to illustrate fusion. It is a typical example because it is a fusion of computers, a Western high technology, and mah-jongg, a traditional Chinese game — a fusion of East and West, of technology and entertainment. In short, a fusion of things previously unrelated.
48. This being America, he has found a way to marry these two passions and sell the result.
(1) What is the grammatical function of “this being America”?
It is an independent element, playing the role of an adverbial clause of cause. It can be changed into “Since this is America”.
(2) What is the implication of this statement?
The implication is America is a more open, technologically advanced and creative country which allows people to work on most unimaginable kind of things. At the same time America is a huge market which is able to consume the products of imagination.
(3) passion: a strong emotion that has an overpowering or compelling effect
(4) Since America is an open and technologically advanced country with a large market for unusual things, Tom Sloper found the necessary conditions to design a software program combining computer technology with the rules of mah-jongg. And he was able to sell his product.
49. Why does the author mention small rooms in Asia and country clubs in Beverly Hills?
The author here uses two rhetorical devices: contrast and antonomasia. The small rooms in Asia stand for lower-middle-class people in Asia while the country clubs in Beverly Hills stand for rich people in the United States. A country club admits only members of the club. It is expensive and exclusive. The author here contrasts a number of things: Asia vs. the U.S., Lower-middle-class people vs. rich, upper-class people, men vs. society women.
50. in small rooms that are full of smoke
What does “full of smoke” indicate?
It shows two things: (a) most probably, the players are men; (b) they smoke while playing so the room is stuffy and suffocating. Such a scene can be seen in films produced in Hong Kong, Taiwan or the mainland of China.
It may also imply that the players are not well educated.
51. click: a slight, sharp sound, like that of a door latch snapping into place. In rhetoric, it is called onomatopoeia, meaning the formation of a word by imitating the natural sound associated with the object or action involved such as tinkle, buzz.
52. It is also played by ... Upper West Side.
What do the place names stand for?
They stand for social and economic status. These are upper class residential areas in Los Angeles and New York respectively.
Why does the author mention”country club” and “apartments”?
The author wants to show that mah-jongg is played by rich ladies at social gathering as well as at home.
53. How does Tom Sloper play mah-jongg?
He plays it on the Internet in his office in Los Angeles in the evening.
54. But Tom, 50 ... in the silence of nearly empty office building.
(1) silence: absence of any sound or noise
(2) Why does the author write “a nearly empty”?
Because it is night almost all the office workers have gone home.
(3) Why does the author begin the sentence with a “but”?
It is a contrast, with people playing in Asia or in the U.S. in groups, sitting together.
Para. 15
55. Actually, he only appeared to be alone.
Why does the author say he only “appeared” to be alone?
Tom was alone in the office building but he was playing a game with three other people in three different places. In that sense, he was not alone.
56. His glowing computer screen ... partners ...
他那亮着的计算机屏幕表明麻将已经搓起来了，其他几个参加者都是老牌友……
Para. 16
57. ... with that detached ... machines.
(1) Detached: not involved by emotion, interests, etc.
(2) ... in a friendly way but this friendliness lacks emotion because his interest is in the computer, in those people who are connected with him through the Internet.
Para. 19
58. Tom played on into the night. At least it was night where I was.
(1) At least it was night where I was.至少我所在的地方是晚上。
(2) At least it was night where I was watching him play. The time of play in Germany is nine hours later, in Wales, eight hours later. Minnesota is two hours later and Ohio three hours later.
59. …was up in the cyber sphere far above the level of time zones.
(1) Translate this part into Chinese: 他在网络世界活动，这种活动超越时区。
(2) He was moving around, playing a game through the Internet, with people living in different time zones, thus their activity on the computer broke down time zone limit.
60. How does Tom play mah-jongg on the screen?
He uses a computer and the tiles bounce around the screen. His partners are people in Germany and Wales as well as in Ohio and Minnesota.
He also carries on conversations with the players by typing short comments to them.
He knows his partners well although he has never met them personally.
Para. 20
61. If it seems ... consider China.
(1) What role does this sentence play?
It serves as a transition.
(2) fast-forward blur: moving so fast into the future that outlines are blurred as if images on a video tape being played on fast forward
(3) 如果说西方的生活太超前了，已经看不清轮廓了，那么就看看中国。
62. to unleash: to free from restraint
63. Cosmopolitan magazine, ... every month.
(1) Cosmopolitan:《时尚》杂志
(2) to plunge: to extend far down in a revealing way
(3) neckline: the line formed by the edge of a garment around or nearest the neck
(4) plunging neckline:开领袒胸
(5) 26万中国妇女每个月都在阅读《时尚》杂志，那些开领袒胸的画页及其他内容。
Para. 21
64. Why does the author go to Shanghai to investigate?
Because on the one hand Shanghai is the largest city in China, on the other, it has long been open to the West.
65. Buick sales outlet: 别克轿车的销售网点
Para. 22
66. Once a city of elegant ... multilane overpasses.
(1) What kind of contrast is made here?
A contrast is made between old Shanghai and Shanghai in the 1990s.
(2) Which one is the author’s favorite? How do you know?
The author liked old Shanghai more. This can be seen in her choice of words. In describing old Shanghai, she uses “elegant” villas and “imposing” office building, words carrying a positive connotation. In describing current Shanghai she uses infinitives such as to “crowd and jostle” the skyline, “cramp” the ... streets, “choke” the parks and open spaces. These phrases all carry a negative connotation.
(3) What is New Shanghai like under the author’s pen?
(a) Shanghai has ripped itself to ribbons. This is the general description of Shanghai today. While Shanghai’s buildings in the past were elegant and imposing now Shanghai has torn itself into shreds and the result could not have been satisfactory or good.
(b) Everywhere there are soaring skyscrapers. Skyscraper is a word used to show that the building is very high, made of steel and glass, without style or taste. As a result, when you look out, you can only see these tall buildings one after another and the vision is lost — “to crowd and jostle the skyline”.
(c) Shanghai’s roads are narrow. Now with tall buildings on the two sides of narrow and winding streets, you can imagine how suffocating you will feel.
to cramp: to confine; restrain
(d) The few parks and open spaces are surrounded by tall buildings so the word “choke” is used to bring out the feeling.
(e) The traffic is also crowded so the word “crawl” is used together with “multilane overpasses” to show even on the most modern roads, traffic is still very slow.
(f) So the conclusion is: Modernization does not bring beauty and convenience to the people in Shanghai. The high-rises spoil the original beauty of Shanghai. It shows a kind of nostalgic feeling on the part of the author and her reservations about the way Shanghai is being modernized.
(4) In a decade ... presence.
十年中，几十座闪闪发亮的新的高层建筑拔地而起，挤压空间，使人张目不能远眺，使原本狭窄弯曲的街道更嫌压抑，而这些髙耸大楼的存在也使公园和空地感到憋气。
(5) Traffic crawls … overpasses.
即使是在多车道的快速路上，车辆也在爬行。
67. But on the streets ... a surprising $ 100,000.
(1) The connective “but” introduces another contrast, a contrast between the skyscrapers and the people of Shanghai.
(2) Many carry several shopping bags.
What is implied in this statement?
It implies that the purchasing power of people in Shanghai is high.
Women dressed in bright colors, carrying several shopping bags on the Nanjing Road, a shopping center in downtown Shanghai, is a sign of economic prosperity.
(3) boutique: a small shop, or a small department in a store, where fashionable, usually expensive, clothes and other articles are sold
Mall: a completely enclosed, air-conditioned shopping center
Gucci store: 古奇专卖店
(4) … took in a surprising $ 100,000.
The word “surprising” shows the shop did not expect that business could be so good in the first two weeks after its opening. It also shows that in spite of the fact that Gucci is a Western brand name, the name is not unfamiliar to many Shanghai people.
Para. 23
68. What is the main idea of Paragraph 23?
This paragraph tells of changes in the life of ordinary people — changes in the amount of money spent on food, on clothes and in money spent on new items, such as travel.
A recent poll (in 2001) in Beijing shows that the amount of money spent on food makes up only 39.18% of the total family expenditure, as compared with 49.92% five years ago. Clothing makes up 10.01% as compared with 13.55% five years ago. A rising percentage goes to education and health care, a total of 13.64% as compared with 7.79% five years ago.
Para. 24
69. What is the people’s attitude towards possible cultural dislocation?
(1) Why do you think the author raises cultural dislocation here?
This has something to do with the title: goods move, ideas move and cultures change. As a result of economic development, more foreign goods and enterprises have come into China or Shanghai to be more exact. With the development of economy, the life of the people has been improved and people’s attitude towards life has also changed. This might cause cultural dislocation.
(2) What is people’s attitude towards possible cultural dislocation?
People do not consider the invasion of foreign goods and change in life that goes with it as a problem. They accept such change and do not feel alarmed.
70. The Chinese … ambiguity.
(1) ambiguity: the quality of allowing of more than one interpretation
(2) 中国人是很善于应对多种可能性的。
Para. 25
71. Potential: this is largely a Western concept
(1) potential: the capacity for use or development
(2) Why is it a Western concept?
Potential is a concept used in physics or electricity which are subjects first studied in the West.
72. ... it’s clear that the truly great leap forward here is at the level of ideas.
It is clear that the real progress, the progress that matters most, lies in the change of ideas.
73. Macbeth: 《麦克白》，莎士比亚四大悲剧之一。整个剧情笼罩在阴森恐怖的气氛中。苏格兰将军麦克白平定叛乱，立功凯旋归来。由于听信女巫的预言，在自己野心的驱使和妻子的怂恿下，利用国王邓肯到自己家中作客的机会，弑君自立。此后，麦克白肆无忌惮地杀害异己，践踏无辜，终使所有重要贵族与他离心离德。最后被邓肯的儿子马尔康和贵族麦克德夫战败而死。麦克白夫人也因感到众人的仇恨和受到自己良心的折磨，最后发疯自尽。全剧主题写人性中善与恶的斗争和不良野心的危害，体现了野心残暴必败，光明正义必胜的信念。
Para. 26
74. Shanghai Theatre Academy: 上海戏剧学院
Para. 27
75. Lighting: the art, practice, or manner of using and arranging lights on a stage
76. The lighting was heavy on shadows, with frequent flashes.
灯光集中在鬼影上，常常夹有闪电。
77. The light went out ... auto-rewind.
灯光媳灭，有一阵子，黑暗中惟一的声音就是一部价格昂贵的照相机自动倒卷时发出的声音。
Para. 28
78. It strained imagination ... sewing machines.
难以想像就是在这个国家，二十年前人们最想要的三样贵重物品是手表、自行车和缝纫机。
Para. 29
79. Early on I realized ... through the wilds of global culture.
(1) compass: 指南针
(2) wilds: a wilderness or wasteland
(3) From the very beginning I knew I need some theory or guideline to help me in my study of global culture or globalization，to guide me through such a great variety of cultural phenomena.
Para. 30
80. What did Toffler mean when he said “order grows out of chaos”?
He meant that significant change came as a result of conflict By conflict he meant wave conflicts, that is, conflicts between modes of production.
81. How does Toffler define the current conflict?
He holds that the current conflicts are not conflicts between East and West, nor between North and South but between dominantly industrial countries and dominantly agrarian countries plus internal conflicts within countries that are partly one and partly the other.
82. What do you think of Toffler’s analysis of conflict and world order?
Toffler holds that conflict takes place between agrarian countries and industrialized countries. But the industrialized countries are the developed countries so it is very similar to the idea of North-South conflict between the developing countries and the industrialized countries. To take out the political element in the conflict is not in accord with real situation and therefore is incorrect. And it is over-simplification to say that world civilizations today can be ascribed to three types: agrarian, industrial and knowledge-based. But it may be valid to say that the problems in various civilizations are rooted in the modes of production.
The trisection-of-power concept fails to take into consideration the distribution of political, economic, military power of the world. So it is not a true reflection of the world situation.
Para. 31
83. How does Toffler define “wave”?
Toffler defines waves as major changes in civilization. The first wave came with the development of agriculture (the use of iron tools in historical materialism); the second with industry; the third is based on information.
Para. 32
84. What is Toffler’s analysis of the current international order?
He holds that the present order is a trisection order. According to him, the agrarian nations are at the bottom, knowledge-based economics on the top, with industrialized countries in between.
Para. 33
85. Is it possible that in the future small groups might be able to use TV to foster their separate distinctive culture and language?
Perhaps. Once 500 channels were available costs would be greatly reduced. In the U.S. government licensing insistence on some TV access being reserved for broadcasts in the public interest would help a small group, say the Navaho Indians with about 40,000 speakers of their tribal language, to transmit programs in that language. But there are also political and cultural constraints. Some linguists predict that many of the languages used today would become extinct in the not too faraway future.
Para. 34
86. “Yes,” Toffler says. “ ... not of the past.”
(1) What is Toffler’s view on the changes of culture as a result of the third wave?
Toffler holds that in the future, there will not be just one culture but the cultures that remain will not be the same. They have been reformed.
(2) What is meant by Toffler when he says that you will be the Chinese of the future, not of the past?
When he says Chinese, he is not talking about the people but the Chinese culture. Of course the Chinese culture in the information age cannot be the same as the culture in Confucian times.
Para. 35
87. It is cheaper for businesses ... at home.
Is this statement true? Comment on this statement.
It is true. This is called brain drain. Many third world countries are experiencing such a brain drain. When we say that in the Silicon Valley of the United States many scientists and engineers are of Chinese or Indian origin, we are talking about brain drain. Every year, about one-third of the university graduates from some of China’s top notch universities apply for visas to the United States. This is another proof of China’s universities undertaking the responsibility of laying the groundwork for talented people who will work in U. S. high-tech industries.
88. For the Japanese ... way of thinking.
What can we deduce from this statement? What is the old way of thinking?
The Japanese are very traditional in their thinking. That is why you find life-long service in one Japanese firm and the employees are proud of such an arrangement. Loyalty to the firm is constantly stressed. The idea that ones fate is in one’s own hands is alien to Japanese corporate culture, but appropriate to American culture with its emphasis on individualism.
Para. 36
89. It’s a reality, not a choice.
(1) What is the function of the statement?
It serves as a recapitulation of the idea stated in Paragraph 2 and a re-emphasis of the point that globalization is already a matter of life. It also serves as a bridge leading to the discussion of the driving force of globalization.
90. What is the main idea of this paragraph?
The main idea is there will not be a uniform world culture in the future; the cultures will coexist and transform each other.
91. The late philosopher Isaiah Berlin ... something else ...
(1) to aspire (to): to be ambitious to get or do something, esp. something lofty or grand; to yearn
utopian: 乌托邦式的
(2) What does utopian ideal refer to?
It is not clear but it may refer to a uniform world culture.
(3) The late philosopher Isaiah Berlin thought that a society should not pursue certain unrealistic good but should aim at achieving something more practical, more down-to- earth.
(4) What was this something Berlin had in mind?
Perhaps he was pointing out that we should not pursue uniformity but we should cultivate tolerance towards diversity.
Para. 37
92. sterile: not stimulating
infant: in a very early stage
congregation: an assembly of people for religious worship or teaching
identity: the condition or fact of being a specific person or thing;individuality
to intone: to utter or recite in a singing tone or in prolonged monotones
penitence: sorrow over having sinned or done wrong
93. Why does the author mention her experience at a Jewish gathering in Shanghai? What does she want to prove?
She wants to use the incident to prove different cultures can co-exist and learn from each other while maintaining their own identity.
A Jewish gathering on the eve of Yon Kippur, a Jewish Holy Day, in Shanghai, a Chinese city is evidence of cultural co-existence.
That the author, neither Chinese nor Jewish, felt at home at the Jewish gathering is another example. The author’s conclusion is: there are things in one culture which are shared by other cultures. In other words, there are things in common in all cultures. This is the basis for mutual understanding and co-existence.
Para. 38
94. They received ... own identity.
他们从当地文化吸收了不少东西，但仍然保持了自己的本色。
Para. 39
95. The penitence ... universal.
The way of showing repentance might be peculiar to the Jews, but the strong desire of gaining forgiveness from God is common, shared by all.
Para. 40
96. Linking is humanity’s ... destiny.
相互联系是人类自然的欲望，是其共同的命运。
97. They are the powerful cords of the heart.
这种连接靠的是强有力的心灵的纽带。
98. How does the author conclude the article? What do you think of her conclusion?
In the concluding remark, the author makes clear her view of globalization. She points out the reason why globalization is inevitable—linking is humanity’s natural impulse. Here two words are worthy of our attention. The author is not talking about merging or fusion but linking and she says linking is a natural human desire. In other words, it is not something imposed on humanity. From this careful choice of words we get to know that there will not be a McWorld but a coexistence of transformed cultures, and these cultures are brought together not just by technology of business but more importantly by common aspiration and shared values. The concluding paragraph is short, consisting of four sentences (42 words). But they bring out important ideas which, in turn, are linked with the Shanghai experience. Therefore, the development of ideas and the conclusion emerge naturally and logically.
Translation of the Text
商品流通、人员流动、观念转变、文化变迁
埃拉·兹温格尔
1. 今天我们正经历着一种世界范围文化巨变的阵痛，一种习俗与追求的结构性变化，用社会学家奇特的词汇来称呼这种变化，就叫“全球化”。对于政治、商贸、保健及娱乐领域的巨大变化，这个词并不贴切。“现代工业已建立了世界市场。已建立的所有旧的国民工业被其产品不仅在国内而且在世界各地范围内销售的新兴工业所取代。人们用新的需求取代原有的需求，用外地的产品满足自己的需求。”卡尔.马克思和弗雷德里希·恩格斯早在150年前就在《共产党宣言》中写下了这些。他们那时的陈述描绘了现在生活中的普遍事实。
2. 对此人们有何感受很大程度上取决于他们的生活所在地和所拥有的金钱数。然而，正如某篇报道所述，全球化“是一种事实，而不是一种选择”。早在第一批骆驼商队冒险出外经商前至今，人们一直在编织着商贸和文化相互间的交往。在19世纪，邮政服务、报纸、横跨大陆的铁路及巨大的蒸汽轮船带来了根本变化。电报、电话、收音机和电视把个人和外部世界更紧密地连在一起，这种联系更为复杂、不那么直接也不易察觉。现在，计算机、互联网、移动电话、有线电视和相对便宜的喷气式飞机空运加速了这种联系并使这种联系更加复杂。
3. 然而，产生这种变化的动力是一致的：商品流通、人员流动、观念转变、文化变迁。不同的是这些变化的速度和范围。电视机拥有5,000万用户用了13年时间，互联网只用了5年时间。
4. 对这种变化并不是人人满意。一些西方社会学家、人类学家和为数不少的外国政治家认为文化。克隆是他们所认为的麦当劳、可口可乐、迪斯尼、耐克和MTV“文化轰炸”的结果，也是英语语言本身的结果，因为现在全球多于五分之一人口都或多或少地讲英语。不管他们的背景和纲领如何, 这些对全球化持反对态度的人深信西方的影响——往往等同于美国的影响——会把文化上的差异一一压平。就像一位观察家所说的，最终产生一个麦当劳世界，一个充斥美国货和体现美国价值观的世界。
5. 反映公众情绪(或得到公众支持)的派别不断滋生以便利用持此观点的国民的焦虑和不安。在闭关锁国和发展经济两种政策并存并争取其主控地位的中国，《中国可以说不》这本新书成为畅销书，这本书对中国人的盲目崇洋媚外心理进行了，批驳，建议中国游客不要乘坐波音777飞机，还建议烧掉进口的好莱坞大片。
6. 对西方文化影响持斥责态度的人中有许多西方人．而哈佛人类学家詹姆斯·沃森并不是其中一员。他说：“我知道现在中国农村人的生活比30年前的好多了。中国越来越开放，部分原因是出于中国老百姓的要求。他们想成为世界的一部分——我要说全球观念在中国是民主的重要动力。人们需要冰箱、音响和CD机。‘远在中国的那些人应该继续过着落后的生活，而我们却可以使用淋浴器，过着舒适的现代生活’。我认为不说这种话是一种道义。”
7. 经过几个多月的研究和旅行，我发现西方化是一种内部充满矛盾的现象，在特别怪异之人中占有一席之地。西方文化批评家斥责可乐和好莱坞，却不斥责器官移植和计算机。西方文化支持者指出继续努力保护环境，但他们不提西方文化中不那么健康的一面，譬如香烟和汽车，就在发展中国家急切地接纳这些东西时，它们已带来很坏的后果。显然，西方化既不会直达地狱，也不会直通天堂。
8. 不过我也发现文化就如同构成文化的民族一样，善于随机应变，富有弹性而且不可预测。在洛杉矶，世界文化堕落明显的源头，我看到的差异要比我想像的多——在好莱坞高中学生说32种完全不同的语言。在上海，我发现“芝麻街”这一电视节目已被中国教育家重新改组，用以传授中国人的价值观和传统习惯。一位教育家对我说：“我们借用美国盒子，装进去的是中国内容。”在有400多种语言和几种纪律严明的宗教的印度，麦当劳供应的是羊肉汉堡而不是牛肉汉堡，还为那些最正统的印度人提供素食菜谱。
9. 许多既有时间又有钱的青少年——全世界共有8亿——是融合全球文化的关键及主要力量之一。孩子们爱旅行、闲逛，重要的是他们买东西。很遗憾我没能发现哪个青少年第一个倒戴垒球帽，哪个青少年第一个模仿他，但是我确实知道最先出现在市内黑人区的说唱乐就是在有叛逆精神的白人青少年开始买票观看时才开始赚大钱的。然而，人们又会如何预测孩子们需要什么呢?许多公司迫切想要了解孩子们的需要，因此出现了顾问，他们预测将来的趋势，被称之为“猎酷者”。阿曼达·弗里德曼一天上午向我讲述了其中的奥秘。
10. 阿曼达22岁，在其基地设在纽约的一家叫作“青年情报”的公司工作，她到洛杉矶进行调查，调查的结果要通报给公司很多重要的客户。她留着披肩的棕发，穿着一条长及膝盖的织锦短裙。在我看来，阿曼达打扮得很酷，但她自己并不这样认为。她说：“我的工作有趣之处就在于做此工作你不必扮酷，你得有眼光。”
11. 我们去了一家小一点的，50年代式样的餐馆，这家餐馆位于好莱坞东面一个比较破落的区域，这个区域刚刚成为时尚聚集点。然后我们去逛了几家旧货店。阿曼达说：“如果人们买不起，那它就不会流行起来。”
12. 现在她看到将要形成的流行趋势了吗？“家正在成为一个社交的地方，眼下旅行正热——人们到某地去，买回来许多东西。”
13. 她最后说：“现今创新极为困难，因此最容易的办法就是把现存的东西捏在一起，拿出一个新玩意儿来。融合将会成为人人都要使用的大词，将来会有越来越多的毫不相关的东西融合在一起，如西班牙乐和蓬克乐。”
14. 洛杉矶是融合中心，各种文化在这里交汇并有所改变。以汤姆·斯洛珀和麻将为例：汤姆是个计算机怪才，同时还是个麻将迷。由于这是美国，所以他找到了把这两种爱好结合在一起的方式并把自己的成果出售。他设计了一个人们可以在互联网上玩麻将的软件程序，这个程序叫做“上海：帝国”。玩这种老式中国麻将既需要技巧又需要运气。亚洲人仍然在小屋子里玩麻将，屋子里弥漫着烟雾，到处都能听到麻将牌相互撞击所发出的不绝于耳的喀哒声。玩家们精神高度集中。居住在比弗利山（美国加利福尼亚州西南部城市，好莱坞影星集居地）和曼哈顿上西城公寓里的有钱女人们也在俱乐部里玩麻将。然而，一天晚上，在洛杉矶，50岁的汤姆一个人坐在办公桌旁，在寂静、空旷的办公大楼里玩麻将。
15. 事实上，他只是看上去是一个人。他那亮着的计算机屏幕表明麻将已经玩起来了，其他几个参与者都是老牌友。他们是德国人“蓝鲸”、俄亥俄州的拉斯和住在明尼苏达州的美籍华人弗雷迪。我们一边谈着话，汤姆一边毫不费力地在玩麻将。
16. 汤姆对我的态度很友好，但那是那种超然的友好，他的兴趣在连线的计算机上。他对我说：“我已掌握了11种麻将的玩法。在美国有几种不同麻将的玩法。我们常打中国式麻将。”
17. 我看着小小麻将牌像纸牌一样在屏幕上弹来弹去。汤姆边玩边打字，和牌友简短交流牌局情况。
18. 他和真人打过麻将吗？他回答说：“打过。一周一次，晚上在办公室，周四中午。”这时，屏幕上出现一个新名字。“是弗雷迪的母亲。不可能是，他们在维加斯。噢！一定是他姐姐。TJ也在线，她是威尔士人，一个真正的夜猫子。她快结婚了，现在与她未婚夫一起生活。有时她未婚夫起床对她说：‘离开那讨厌的电脑！’”
19. 汤姆继续玩，一直到深夜。至少我所在的地方是深夜。他——一个美国人，和德国人、威尔士人、俄亥俄人还有明尼苏达人一起玩中国游戏，他在网络世界活动，这种活动超越时区。这是他从未谋面的那些人的王国，对他来说，那些人要远比他的左邻右舍更真实。
20. 如果说西方的生活太超前了，已经看不清轮廓了。那么就看看中国。从1978年经济改革搞活市场至今的20年时间，许多中国城市居民的生活有了极大的改善。最近对12个主要城市进行了，调查，数据显示97％的调查对象拥有电视机，88％拥有电冰箱和洗衣机。另一项调查显示农民每年的食肉量增加了48％，水果增加了400％。26万中国妇女每个月都在阅读《时尚》杂志，那些开领袒胸的画页及其他内容。
21. 我到上海去调查在世界人口最多国家的最大城市里文化趋势如何出现。上海也是对西方开放最久的城市，譬如通用汽车公司早在1929年就在上海设立。如今，通用汽车投资1.5亿美元在上海建立了中国最大的中美合资新厂。
22. 上海曾是一座建有雅致的别墅和庄严的办公大楼的城市，但现在却是一座带状城市。10年中，几十座闪闪发亮的新的高层建筑拔地而起，挤压空间，使人张目不能远眺，使原本狭窄弯曲的街道更显压抑。而这些高耸大楼的存在也使公园和空地感到憋闷。即使是在多车道的高架桥上，车辆也在爬行。然而，街上的妇女着装色彩艳丽，特别是在街道两边布满精品店和时装店的南京路上，许多妇女手里拎着多个购物袋。在刚开业的两周时间里，古奇专卖店的营业额为十万美元，令人惊讶不已。
23. 法国时装杂志Elle中国版的总编吴颖说：“也许现在的年轻女性不了解过去。10年前我决不会想到我会穿这样的衬衫(那是一件红白相间的紧身圆点花纹衬衫)。那时人们买衣服时考虑的是它能穿多久，家庭主妇把每月的工资主要用来买食品。而现在买食品只需一小部分工资，因此她会考虑着装和旅行。现在有冰箱，我们也不必天天买食品。”
24. 至于由此可能带来的文化错位问题，一位年轻的德国商人说：“上海人认为这不是问题。中国人是很善于应对多种可能性的。人们接受了它。‘很难，但还可以，那有什么？”’
25. 潜力：这主要是西方概念。不谈古奇专卖店和摩天大楼，真正的巨大飞跃体现在观念上。我只有在亲眼目睹了澳门的休考克戏剧协会在当地上演的莎土比亚戏剧《麦克白》时才真正领会了这一点。
26. 在上海戏剧学院，我和来自全中国文学与戏剧专业的大约30名教授和学生一起坐在折叠椅上观看演出，演出场地大约有半个垒球场那么大。翻译张芳小声对我说：“我帮不了什么忙；我不懂广东话，这里许多人都不懂。”
27. 我原以为自己能看个八九不离十，结果却只能辨认出三个女巫。这几个人用了近一个小时的时间转圈、跳来跳去、用长棍子相互威胁打来打去。灯光集中在鬼影上，常常夹着闪电。语言不是问题，因为演员主要是在咆哮和尖叫。后来他们背对观众，一些人用广东话叫喊着。灯光熄灭，有一阵子，黑暗中惟一的声音就是一部价格昂贵的照相机自动倒卷时所发出的声音。
28. 这是中国吗？这可以是西方的任何一所大学校园。这样的表演即使是现在也难以想像。令人难以想像的是就是在这个国家，20年前人们最想要的一种奢侈品是手表、自行车和缝纫机。
29. 许久以来我认识到我需要某种指南针来指引我穿越全球文化的荒原。因此在洛杉矶时，我找到阿尔文·托夫勒．1970年他的《未来的冲击》一书出版。此后近30年，他提出并完善了一些有趣的想法，他在与夫人海蒂合著的《第三次浪潮》一书中详述了这些想法。
30. 我问他人们对以前并不知道的将来现在又了解多少呢？他马上就做出了回答：“人们都知道秩序产生于混乱。没有冲突就不可能有大的改变。尤其是在俄罗斯或中国这样的国家。不是东方和西方的冲突，也不是南北之间的冲突。而是以工业为主和以农业为主的国家间的冲突，或处在转型期的国家间的冲突。”
31. 他进一步解释说，浪潮就是文明的重大变化。第一次浪潮指的是农业发展，第二次指工业。今天我们正处在第三次浪潮之中．主要指信息业。1956年开始产生新事物，就是出现了新文明。托夫勒说：“就是在那一年美国服务业和信息业的工人超过了蓝领工人。1957年苏联人造地球卫星升空。随后航空商业化、电视普及、计算机开始被广泛应用，随之而来的就是文化变迁。”
32. 他继续说到：“现在世界权利正在发生三等分变化。农业国在底层，工业国在中间，发展知识经济的国家在上面。”在有些国家，如巴西，三种文明并存，相互冲撞。
33. 托大勒说：“我们会看到文化上有很大变化。你一打开电视，就能收看用母语播放的尼日利亚和斐济电视节日。”一些专家还预测未来电视有500个有线频道，少数群体可以用这种电视发展自己独立的、与众不同的文化和语言。
34. 托夫勒还说：“人们要问，我们会经历第三次浪潮而继续保持中国特色吗？ 会的，会有由自己核心文化构成的独特文化，但那是未来的中国文化，而不是过去的中国文化。”
35. 相互联系：全球文化传播最终就意味着相互联系。商品会继续流动——从1987年剑1995年，加利福尼哑州经济部多出口了200％的产品，爱达荷商业部多出口了375％。人员流动：从国外引进商业雇员比在国内培训工人便宜。观念转变：在日本，玩互动电子游戏长大的一代至少在网络世界体验到了新的可能性。大前研一在一本书中写道：“玩这种游戏向人们传递着一个模糊的信息，就是人们有可能主动操纵自己的处境，因此就会改变自己的命运。对日本人来说．这完全是一种新的思维方式。”
36. 变化：变化是一个事实，而不是一种选择。那么真正的驱动力是什么呢？各种文化并没有更加一致；相反。新趋势和旧趋势相互转变。已故的哲学家以赛亚·柏林认为一个社会应该追求一些别的东西，而不是某种乌托邦式的理想。他在自传中写道：“不是我们持一致意见，而是我们相互理解。”
37. 10月的某个晚在上海，我和一群人在一间又小又闷的宾馆会议室里相聚。那是犹太赎罪日前夜。参加聚会的有许多西方国家的外交官、教师和商人，还有携带可爱孩子的漂亮女士、单身男士和年轻的父亲。夏勒姆·格林伯格是位年轻的以色列犹太人，娶了个美国太太。他是第一次作为拉比(犹太教巾负责执行教规、律法并主持宗教仪式的人)主持这种刚刚开始定期举行的新年宗教集会。
38. 格林伯格拉比说：“犹太人遍布世界各地，这是犹太历史的一部分。他们从当地文化吸收了不少东西，但仍然保持了自己的本色。”
39. 庄严的礼拜仪式在继续，经过几千年和上百种外同文化的影响都未曾改变。他吟诵：“啊，上帝啊!给我一颗纯净的心，恢复我健康的心灵!”我既不是犹太人也不是中国人，但坐在这里我一点都不觉得陌生．感觉就像在家里一样。忏悔可能具有犹太特色，但是渴望得到上帝的原谅却是普遍的。
40. 全球文化并不仅仅意味着拥有更多的电视机和耐克鞋。相互联系是人类自然的欲望，是其共同的命运。但是连接全球人类的纽带并不只是技术或商业，这种连接靠的是强有力的心灵的纽带。
