西南大学网络与继续教育学院课程考试试题卷类别： 网教 专业： 英语 课程名称【编号】：跨文化交际【0859】 A 卷大作业 满分：100 分I. Answer the following questions: (50%)1. “Stereotype” is said to be one of the potential barriers of intercultural communication. Whatis “stereotype”? Why we take stereotypes as a barrier of intercultural communication?Stereotype is a complex form of categorization that mentally organizes our experiences andguides our behavior toward a particular group of people. There are a number of reasons thatstereotypes, as a form of classification, hamper intercultural communication. First, stereotypesfail to specify individual characteristics. Second, stereotypes also keep us from being successfulas communicators because they are oversimplified, overgeneralized, and/or exaggerated. Theyare based on half-truths, distortions, and often untrue premises. Therefore, they create inaccuratepictures of the people with whom we are interacting. Thirdly, stereotypes tend to impedeintercultural communication in that they repeat and reinforce beliefs until theyoften becometaken for “truth.”2. As we know, a word in one language does not necessarily have a counterpart in the otherlanguage; words or terms in both languages appear to refer to the same object or conceptonly on the surface, but actually refer to quite different things. Explain the culturaldifferences of the following pairs of words: 龙 vs. dragon, 知识分子 vs. intellectuals, 社会科学 vs. social sciences, 书 vs. book, 狗 vs. dog.In Chinese culture, “龙” is a totem with many royal association, such as “龙颜”，“龙床 ” ， “ 龙 袍” , “ 龙 心 大 喜 ” . However, the associations of “dragon” to Westerners arehorrible, disgusting monsters.Intellectuals, persons who use or work with their intellect, corresponds to “ 知识分子” ，yet there are conceptual difference between them. In Chinese culture “ 知识分子” generallyinclude people who have had a college education: college teachers, medical doctors, scientists,engineers, middle or primary school teachers, college students, and in some rural areas, evensenior high school students are considered “ 知识分子”. In most English speaking countries,however, “intellectuals” would include only people with high academic status such as collegeprofessors. So the English word covers a much smaller group of people than its counterpart inChinese.“ 社 会 科 学 ” covers all the academic fields not included in the natural and appliedsciences. This would include what are called “humanities” in English: language, literature,philosophy, etc,, that is, the branches of learning that deal mainly with the cultural aspects ofcivilization. The English word “social sciences” covers a smaller range of subjects—politicalscience, economics, sociology, etc., branches of learning that are concerned with human society,especially its organization and the relationship of individual members to it.Book: This word refers to “a number of printed pages fastened together and enclosed in acover.” This is universally true. But for the Chinese people books contain knowledge and- 1 - wisdom for people, especially, the youth, to learn, while for English speakers, they express ideasfor people to consider, to agree or disagree, and to comment. So the Chinese people mayspecially respect or even worship books, as shown by the old Chinese sayings: “书中自有黄金屋，书中自有颜如玉”, “读书破万卷，下笔如有神”, etc.Dog: “狗” is very pejorative in meaning in Chinese. This can be readily illustrated by theChinese words and idiomatic expressions in which it is an element: “ 走狗”，“癞皮狗”，“ 狗 嘴 里 吐 不 出 象 牙 ” . In English culture, however, a dog is a pet which can even beconsidered a family member.- 2 - II. Analyze the following cases，and then answer the given questions. (50%) 1. Case 1 Greeting RitualsOn her first business trip to Britain, Lily from China met her British counterpart, Dianna:Lily: Hello, my name is Lily.Dianna: I’m Dianna.Lily: I really like your dress. How much did it cost?Dianna: Well, uh, I, I don’t remember for sure.Lily: Your shoes are nice too. They look expensive. How much did they cost?Dianna: I must be going now. See you later.Lily: Oh, where are you going?Dianna: Oh, sorry (hurriedly leaves).Questions: Why didn’t Dianna tell Lily the prices of her dress and shoes? Why did Diannaleave in a hurry？What should Lily do in greeting and interacting with her business partner?Because it seems to be privacy in the UK, it is not polite to ask the price of dress and shoes. Dianna leave in ahurry ,because she want to avoid Lily. Lily should discuss something great importance,as the weather ect.- 3 - 2. Case 2 Katherine Felt Frustrated and AngryKatherine came to Beijing and found a job as an English teacher in a foreign languageinstitute. Soon after her classes began, she found that her students showed no interest in herteaching style. Quite a few of them avoided attending her class. She was feeling quite upset anddiscouraged so she decided to ask the Director, Prof. Wang reviewed his timetable and suggestedthey meet at ten o’ clock on Thursday morning. When Thursday came, Katherine arrived at Prof.Wang’s office at the exactly ten o’clock finding him talking with another teacher in Chinese.Seeing that she had come, Prof. Wang smiled and gestured her to sit down. Katherine sat downand the professor excused himself and continued to talk with the other teacher. After fiveminutes, he finished his conversation, and apologized to Katherine, and began to focus hisattention on her situation. Prof. Wang showed great concern and asked her what the problemwas. Just as she was discussing her problem, another Chinese teacher interrupted, with a formthat required the Director’s signature. The Director smiled, apologized to Katherine again, andturned to talk with the Chinese teacher in Chinese. Katherine became impatient, and wonderedwhy their discussion should be interrupted since she had made an appointment. Also, she wasupset and frustrated that they continued to speak Chinese in front of her. Although their talkcontinued, she was apparently unhappy about what had happened. Questions: How would you explain the Director’s behavior toward Katherine? How would youmake the Director understand why Katherine felt frustrated and angry?- 4 -