Background introduction: cultural diversity

Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural decay. The phrase cultural diversity can also refer to having different cultures respect each other's differences. The phrase "cultural diversity" is also sometimes used to mean the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. Globalization is often said to have a negative effect on the world's cultural diversity.

There are many separate societies that emerged around the globe differed markedly from each other, and many of these differences persist to this day. As well as the more obvious cultural differences that exist between people, such as language, dress and traditions, there are also significant variations in the way societies organize themselves, in their shared conception of morality, and in the ways they interact with their environment. Cultural diversity can be seen as analogous to biodiversity.

Para. 1 and Para.2

1.Americans aren’t lucky enough to have any culture—they have zero culture: The United States as an independent country only have a history of 200 years or so. The first settlers on the North American land were people from Europe. Later, immigrants from many other countries crowded into this new country, hence the name “melting pot”, which suggests the mixture of various ethnic groups, customs and cultural features within the society. As it came be called as a country of immigrants and the history is relatively short, some people hold the idea that America just borrows cultures from countries all over the world and then weaves all of them into a hybrid fabric, colorful and diversified yet with nothing of its own.

2.Older Europe of the last thousand years—it’s easy to tell that’s where the great culture was! It is a rule of thumb that people evaluate the cultural legacy and richness of a country by the length of its history. The longer the history is, the more culture it has, the greater its civilization is. Since Old Europe has existed for thousands of years and a lot of social movements or reforms have happened to European countries, compared to short-living America, it has in its possession a rich fund of civilization and cultural legacy for its descendents to learn and appreciate.

3.The age of architecture—just look at the magnificent historical cathedrals and castles.The most magnificent examples of European architecture are cathedrals and castles, which has a lot to do with the historical situation back then. Europe in the past was a continent ruled by the Pope and the king at the same time, that is to say, the religious power and royal power rule together. It was a continent not only highly devoted to religion in spirit but also strictly loyal to the reign of kings or queens and aristocracy in reality. During the Middle Ages, missionaries were quite active in getting people to believe in God, and a growing number of common actually believed in God as a way of relieve the pain or suffering in their daily lives.

Churches as the place for people’s prayers and worship were in huge demand, and therefore, the construction began. A lot of churches and cathedrals were built during that time. Since they were considered as the symbol of the Pope, or the religious power, these building structures were highly refined and magnificent with delicate designs and carvings. On the other hand, the continent was politically ruled by the noble class, who takes elegance and grace as the criteria for everything.

In contrast to the shabby crowded houses of common people, they lived in their comfortable castles, which are richly decorated and splendid in grandeur. Different periods saw the change of people’s taste with different styles of the buildings. Both for their grand style and refined decoration, the cathedrals and castles in the elapse of time have become monuments in European architecture, the most precious cultural legacy.

4.works of world-famous painters and sculptors: Europe has given birth to a lot of famous painters and sculptors, just to name a few here. The most famous Italian painter Leonardo Da Vinci created marvelous works that nobody else can achieve. Among his masterpieces are Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and The Virgin of the Rocks. The famous sculptor at the same period was Michaelangelo, well-known for his sculpture at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican.

5.classical literature and music: In addition to the remarkable art legacy, Europe produced the greatest literary giant ever—William Shakespeare, whose influence goes beyond the continent and time. The versatile author of plays and sonnets are widely read and studied on the earth even today. The other influential literary figures include Dante, author of Divine Comedy 神曲 and Cervantes for the creation of Don Quixote 唐吉坷德.

As for classical music, since Europe prides itself on its highbrow taste and elegant style, recreation like classical music concerts, operas and theatrical plays is among their top interests.

6.logical:following the nature of logic 逻辑的，合理的

7.significant: meaningful, important 意义重大的

8.architecture: buildings and other large structures建筑物.

9.cathedral: a large, important church 大教堂

10.sculptor: one who shapes, or molds with artistic skills 雕塑家

11.museum: a building or institution that preserves and exhibits objects of scientific, historical, or artistic value 博物馆

12.literature: imaginative or creative writing, especially of artistic value 文学

13.interrupt: to stop the action or talking by breaking in 打断，干扰

Now answer the following questions in your own words.

Q: What are the opinions of Alain and Werner on culture?

Alain and Werner felt the age of a culture added the value of its fine arts. There are some elements of culture that are essential to them, such as old painting and sculpture, literature and classical music, the architecture of buildings and structures and things in museums, theater plays and concerts.

Para. 3 and Para.4

1.object: to present an opposing argument 反对

2.The real beginning of culture—I mean, significant civilization—was in the Middle East and Africa over five thousand years ago: Despite the heated argument on this topic, the speaker here thinks that the beginning of culture was the civilization in the Middle East and Africa, which includes Nile Civilization and Mesopotamian civilization fostered by the two rivers, Tigris and Euphrates. As a matter of fact, academic debate over the four great civilizations has never stopped. Scholars hold different views on the history and significance of each civilization. The generally accepted ideas in the academic study about the four great civilizations are like this:

First, Nile Civilization over 6000 years ago

Second, Mesopotamian Civilization over 5000 years ago, as mentioned here

Third, Indian Civilization over 4000 years ago

Fourth, Yellow River Civilization over 3000 years ago

3.magnificent architecture and art: People in the Middle East produced a lot of architectural wonder, like Egyptian Pyramids, the Great Sphinx and so on. The sculpture, carving, relief works and clay figures and so on are now gems of artistic works of humanity.

4.amazing scientific and technological discoveries: It refers to the inventions by people in Ancient Middle East and Africa, which are further exemplified in the following part of the paragraph.

5.They figured out how to write: People living around the two rivers, the Sumerians 苏美尔人, invented the first characters in human history—cuneiform. This writing form is the unique invention of the Sumerians and best reflects their civilization, and most important, it contributed to the development of human writing language. Later, the Egyptians invented the world-famous hieroglyphics, which is quite close to the modern writing system.

6.do mathematics: Ancient Egyptians managed their countries on mathematics. They paid laborers according to the amount of work they had done. They could calculate the area of their fields and house, the numbers of bricks needed for a house, the capacity of a barn, and so on. They had already grasped the basics in mathematical calculation, such as plus, minus, multiplication, etc. And the great pyramids stand as a testament to their highly advance geometry.

7.they studied astronomy: They studied the law of the universe and learned information about weather by observing the changes in the sky. Based on the study on the movement of the celestial bodies天体 in the universe, they got sense of time and measured it by days, months and years. So the invention of calendar depends on astronomy. They can even foretell the fate of a person or the development of a situation just by studying the constellations in the night sky. According to Egyptians’ observation, there are altogether twelve constellations: The Nile（尼罗河—月亮之神）, Amon-Ra（阿孟．雷—太阳之神）, Mut（玛特--大地之母），Geb（吉伯--大地之神）, 埃及星座∶Osiris（欧西里斯—智能之神）, Isis（伊西丝--魔法女神）, Thoth（透特—鸟形魔法神）, Anubis （阿努比斯—狗形神）, Horus（欧罗斯—锐智之眼）, Seth（赛特—宇宙生命之神）, Bastet（贝丝蒂—猫面女神）, Sekhmet（赛克麦特—狮子女神）.

8.invented the calendar: The ancient Egyptians also invented not only the modern 365 day calendar but the leap year system as well. Ancient civilizations recorded and marked time using a lunar calendar system. A solar system established calendar, based on twelve months of 30 days each, with five extra days, was first conceived of by the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians also devised the leap year calendar of adding an extra day every fourth year in the year 238 B.C.

9.ancient religions: Throughout the ancient Middle East, various religions and forms of worship sprang up or evolved at different times. Many of these are mentioned in Biblical accounts and in the records of the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Babylon. The origin of Christianity lied in the Middle East, as the Bible was first written by Jews who lived in that region.

10.achievements: something accomplished successfully 成就，成绩

11.humanity: the human race 全人类

12.legacy: something handed down from an ancestor from the past 遗产

13.the really important science and technology began to develop in Asia and the Americas. According to this speaker, Asian people came up with some of the most significant discoveries and inventions in human history, such as the four great inventions in China—printing, paper, gun-powder, and compass. All of them greatly facilitated human life and contributed to the development of society and culture. On the other hand, the Americans in the past and present showed to the world a series of inventions under the effort of many famous scientists from Franklin’s lightning rod, Edison’s light bulb, Wright brothers’ airplane, to modern xerography, computer and the communication giant—internet. Each of them enabled the whole society to step forward and improved people’s living.

14.the ancient Chinese were building walled cities, they organized the first governments. With strong awareness of power and class, Chinese people were among the first nation to establish a complex system to strengthen the position and power of the upper class. This intense concept of power led them to build up the first country under the slavery system, Xia, right after the death of the democratic ruler YU. In order to protect his kingdom and establish his prestige, the emperor set up a series of organizations and institutions to control and manage common people to make sure they were as meek as lambs to his rule. The form of government came into being for this need, and cities and fortresses were built to protect his palace and throne. For thousands of years, China was controlled and ruled by this highly centralized power system.

15.the native peoples of the Americas had very, very old civilizations and societies. Although a lot of people say Native Americans are backward and primitive, they do have a rich heritage, which is full of wisdom and experience. One example from their culture can illustrate the wisdom or thought buried in their culture. In Native American culture, there is a type of story called the trickster stories, in which a man dressed in half white and half black will go between two travelers. The “trickster” will ask each of them the same question, “What is the color of my dress?” Naturally the two travelers usually got into fight as one says white and the other black. Upon their argument and fighting, the trickster will take his leave and leave there to figure out the answer for themselves. The story is very simple; however, the meanings embedded in it are plentiful and thought-provoking.

16.ancient: of great age, very old 年代久远的,古老的

17.achievements: something accomplished successfully 成就，成绩

18.civilization: an advanced state in the development of human society, marked by progress in various fields of the social life 文明

19.astronomy: the scientific study of matter in outer space 天文学

20.calendar: a table showing the months, weeks, and days in one specific year 日历. In China, we have two kinds of calendar: solar calendar 阳历 and lunar calendar阴历.

21.legacy: something handed down from an ancestor from the past 遗产

22.religion: a personal or institutionalized system rooted in belief and worship 宗教

23.first-class: the highest, best. 一流的. It is a compound adjective with an adjective and a noun. Words of the same kind includes high-class (高级的), large-scale (大规模的), full-time(专职的), long-term (长期的).

24.historical: 历史(上)的, 有关历史的

25.significant: meaningful, important 意义重大的

26.ancient: of great age, very old 年代久远的,古老的

27.amazing: wonderful, superb 令人惊异的

Q: Summary Kamil and Jade’s opinions on culture.

They most valued the ancient civilizations of the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. They thought “a cultural legacy” include magnificent architecture and art, scientific discoveries and invention, writing and mathematics and the study of astronomy.

Para. 5 - Para.8

1.contradiction: contrariness 矛盾，冲突

2.Grin: to laugh while showing the teeth 咧嘴而

3.enthusiastic: having enthusiasm热心的, 热情的

4.came alive: become active活跃起来

5.bright Hawaiian shirts: As most part of the island belongs to the tropical climate, people wear T-shirts and skirts or shorts for the major part of a year. Hawaiian people are warm-hearted and passionate people, always filled with enthusiasm and energy. They like singing and dancing in a group in the evening around a pile of bonfire. Outgoing and active, they prefer bright colors for their dresses so as to show their warm and energy inside. As now it is a famous tourist resort, these bright-colored shirts become the hottest item on the tourists’ purchase list for the shirts suggest the local culture and exotic experience. Nowadays, people call these shirts as “Aloha shirts”.

Q:What do Kevin and Ken think about the modern culture?

They are happy that modern culture is worldwide and similar all over the planet. The most important things are food from global chains, the media of movies, TV and the Web and advertising for clothes and other things.

Para. 9

Q: What was Monika’s concept of culture?

Monika preferred cultural diversity to sameness. Her opinions were about greetings, including titles and names, relationships and other social rules formality in contrast to informality directness and indirectness in language body language and movements everyday and special occasion customs.

1.irritated: angry, or annoyed恼怒的,生气的.

2.it’s important for people to greet one another in various ways, and they need to use different titles and follow a variety of social rules in their relationships. As the customs of a people are formed in a social environment during a historical period, each group has its distinctive way about how things go around, which is their culture. As people from different regions or societies come to know each other, they realize their difference. Here in the sentence is just one example of their difference, which is exhibited in ways of greeting.

In China, people are used to greeting each other by saying 到哪儿去，吃了吗，去哪儿呀 or 忙着哪. Many of this kind of casual greetings cannot be translated literally into English and used as greetings. Otherwise, misunderstanding may occur. If you ask an American “Have you eaten yet?”, he will think that you want to invite him to have a dinner, or he will think you are jeering at him for lack of money. Besides, when the Chinese meet familiar persons, they will ask about private topics in English people’s opinion such as salary, marriage and age.

The English people greet each other with “Good morning (afternoon, evening)” or “Lovely weather, isn’t it?” or “Hello”. There are some other fixed expressions that are used almost exclusively to greet each other in English. “How do you do” is used between strangers when they are introduced to each other. “How are you” is a very common expression of greeting and the speaker is not really concerned about the hearer’s state of health when he says this, and thus the common reply to it is “Fine, thank you”.

Para. 10 - Para.13

Q: In what ways did the group members discuss their ideas and opinions with one another?

They discussed their ideas and opinions proudly and with emphasis, strongly and forcefully. Someone stated in a loud voice and someone in a soft voice.

1.contradict: to be contrary to 驳斥，否认，违背

2.rude: lacking education or knowledge, ill-mannered 无教养的, 没文化的, 没礼貌的,粗鲁的