UNIT 1 - 東吳大學首頁



UNIT 10

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PAGE 117. EXERCISE F.

Conversation 1

M: Did you hear that my brother got laid off last week?

F: Are you serious? That’s terrible!

M: I know. They’re closing his factory and moving all the jobs overseas. So now practically the whole town is out of work.

Conversation 2 [M = Brazil]

F: How was your trip?

M: Frankly, it was a little shocking. I wasn’t expecting the people there to be so poor.

F: Things were pretty bad, huh?

M: Well, I mean, many of the people we met didn’t have the most basic necessities like clean water, food, medicine, shelter.

Conversation 3 [M = England; F= England]

M: How come you’re buying that beef? This one is so much cheaper.

F: I never buy foreign beef.

M: Why not? It’s almost half the price.

F: I don’t care about the cost. In other countries, they treat beef with growth hormones, which can cause cancer. I just don’t feel it’s safe. I’ll stick with the local stuff, even if it’s more expensive.

Conversation 4 [M2 = Chinese]

M1: Do you think it would be worth putting money into a horse farm in Ireland?

M2: Definitely. I know someone who did that a few years ago, and he made a huge profit.

M1: How would you like to go in on an investment with ,?

M2: Maybe. Do you happen to have a copy of the report?

PAGE 118. EXERCISE A and B.

Speaker 1 [M = Arabic]

M: I really love watching Hollywood movies, American and British TV shows, the news on BBC and CNN—it really maximizes the amount of time I get to hear spoken English. Sure, there’s always something I don’t understand. Look, I don’t think I could ever know every word or expression there is to know in English, but it really feels good to be able to understand as much as I do. As a matter of fact, when I watch TV shows in English, I try to learn all the latest expressions so I can use them and sound up-to-date, and I try to improve my pronunciation as well. To me, being able to speak English makes me feel really good.

Speaker 2 [F = Russian]

F: I use English as a tool. I have to communicate with people from all over the world, so it’s just a necessity in my life. But I really couldn’t care less about U.S. or British culture. I mean, it’s interesting, but I don’t really have time to spend learning about it. What good does knowing about U.S. culture do me if I’m using English to communicate with someone from China, right? And I certainly don’t need to sound like a native speaker. Just give me the vocabulary and grammar I need. Like I said, it’s a tool for me to utilize as I see fit.

Speaker 3 [M = Korean]

M: I know a lot of people think English has kind of taken over the world—that it’s basically an extension of the dominance of the United States economically and culturally. I mean, after all, you see evidence of this dominance everywhere—in movies, clothing, fast foods— you name it. But actually I don’t see English that way. It seems to me that using English is a way of neutralizing communication. I mean, it makes people more equal. For example, I’m Korean. And if you’re, say, from the United Arab Emirates, we don’t have to negotiate which language we’re going to use—whose language is going to be the “important” one. If we use English, neither of us is on top, so to speak. It really is the language of international business, not U.S. business—in the best sense.

Speaker 4 [F = Italian]

F: I’m glad I learned English because it’s really helped me a lot. I’m able to keep up with international journals and attend international conferences in my field. But from what I hear, English may not always be the number one international language. You know, a century ago, everyone needed to speak French to get along in the world. So who’s to say English will always be the language to learn? For instance, they say Chinese may one day surpass English as the primary language of the Internet. And with China becoming the dominant Asian economy, who knows? Maybe we’ll all be speaking and reading Chinese someday.

PAGE 121. EXERCISE C.

Report 1

F: According to an annual report prepared by the Worldwatch Institute, we need to pay attention to the impact of increased consumption on the environment. Worldwide, nonessential goods are still purchased primarily by the United States and Western Europe, but developing countries such as China and India are quickly catching up. Globalization is making goods and services previously out of reach in developing countries much more available. Items that were once considered luxuries in these countries, such as televisions, cell phones, and computers, are now viewed as necessities, and the increased production of these goods is putting more pressure on the Earth’s supplies of water and natural resources. Gary Gardner, director of research for Worldwatch, believes we need to figure out how we can provide all people with an adequate standard of living, using the lowest amount of resources. If we fail to do this, supplies of natural resources may be threatened.

Report 2

M: Given the fact that globalization has been such a controversial topic over the last decade, it’s somewhat surprising to find out that, generally speaking, people around the world seem to be welcoming it. This is according to the Pew Global Attitudes Project, which conducted its research in over 44 countries around the world. However, research also showed that people continue to be concerned about worsening problems in their lives—lower incomes, deteriorating working conditions, higher health-care costs, and the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Yet, despite that, people are not inclined to blame such troubles on globalization.

Report 3 [F = England]

F: Starbucks Coffee Company, the U.S.—based company that has opened its highly recognized coffee shops worldwide, is celebrating its thirtieth birthday today. The first Starbucks opened in the city of Seattle, and since then, the company has grown to over 4,600 stores in 21 countries on four continents. From Switzerland to Saudi Arabia to Korea, Starbucks has changed the way the world sees coffee. Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz describes their success this way: “Starbucks has a universal language because of the quality of the coffee, the social atmosphere, the romance—all of these things are as relevant in Singapore and China as they are in Zurich or Seattle.” Starbucks also presents itself as a socially conscious company, giving to local charities and working to preserve the environment. The company is hopeful that its image will also catch on in Latin America, where coffee is already a way of life.

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