新视野大学英语听说2 Unit 1

Good everning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to “International Clock Talk”，our weekly radio program about cultural differences. Today, we are honored to have invited a number of people from different countries to give us their views.

You maybe interested to know that some of our guest arrived at the studio very early, while others turned up at the last minute.

Time, and how different cultures deal with it is what we are going to talk about first. Please stay with us and hear are more about the different views of time. Short Conversations

1. W:It’s time for International Clock Talk, time to discuss how you feel about time. M:Well, since we all come from the same country, I think our views will be similar. Q:Why does the man believe people will have similar views? 2. W:It annoys me the way my foreign friends treat time.

M:I just read a book about this problem. Its entitled International Clock Talk. Q:Which problem is the book about?

3. M:Australians are so relaxed about time! It drives me mad.

W:That’s the way they are. While you’re here, you’ll have to get used to it. Q:What advice does the woman give the man? 4. M:Have you notice differences between our cultures?

W:Sure. In my country, people don’t care about time very much. Here, you take it

seriously.

Q:How do people in the woman’s country feel about time?

5. W:Can you explain why you’re always five minutes late for conferences? M:Oh, I’m sorry. In my country,people are often late.

Q:Why is the man late for conferences?

6. W:What do you appreciate most about life in Germany?

M:German people are rarely late for meetings. I never have to deal with latecomers.

Q:What does the man like best about life in Germany? 7. M:I’ve heard that Chinese people are very relaxed about time.

W:That used to be true. Nowadays, people are increasingly bothered by lateness.

Q:According to the woman, how have Chinese people changed?

8. M:Why did you walk out of the restaurant abruptly? We have just started talking. W:Just started? We were there for two hours! In my country, meals take 15 minutes.

Q:Why did the woman walk out of the restaurant so abruptly?

9. W:What did Mom think about her trip to Russia? I’m so looking forward to hearing

about it.

M:She didn’t say much. When I picked her up at the airport this morning, she was just eager to get home to see dad. She just said the food was great there. Q:What is the relationship between the two speakers?

10.M:It’s only 6:30, and you’re done! I won’t finish work till 10. You’re very

efficient.

W:Well, Tom finished two hours earlier than me. That’s a sign of efficiency in my country

Q:How many hours earlier did the woman finish her work than the man?.

Long Conversation

M:You travel a lot, which peoplo do you think are the most time-concious? W:I think it’s probably the Swedes. M:Really, what make you say that?

W:Well, on my last trip to Sweden, I ordered a taxi to pick me up at my hotel at 6:25 am. I got to the street at 6:27, but the taxi hd already left. M:That’s a little hard to believe. Is it true?

W:Absolutely, everything runs on time there. There’s no room for mistakes. Everyone is very time-conscious!

M:They must seem very stiff and serious.

W:Sure, but once you get to know them, you find them kind, caring people behind their serious faces.

M:This is very different from my experiences travelling in South America. Of sourse, people there are very kind, but they don’t care much about time.

W:I agree. South Americans don’t put very much stress on time. They’re always late for everything, but no one seems to mind. Questions:

1. What does the woman think about Swedish people? 2. How long did the taxi driver wait for yhe woman?

3. Why does the woman say there’s no room for mistakes in Sweden? 4. According to the woman, what are Swedes usually like?

5. What do the man and woman say about people in South America? Passage

The biggist problem in our company has to do with culture, in particular our different ways of looking at time. People from some countries think it’s OK to show up late for a meeting, and some people even don’t think they need to come at all! As president of company, however, it is my responsibility to tell them that this is not acceptable. Whereas in some other countries attending meetings is not considered very important, in this country, especially in this company, meeting must be attended on time. Not being on time causes inefficiency. I spent all night thinking about the exact words that I would use to explain my feelings. I even wrote my words down. I planned to discuss the problem at the meeting today, and entitled my speech”International Clock Talk”. Unfortunately,I have a problem----no one came to the meeting! Questions:

1. What is the company’s greatest problem?

2. Which of the following does the speaker consider is his duty as president of the company?

3. What does lateness cause a decrease in efficiency? 4. What did the company president do the previous night? 5. Why couldn’t the president do what he had planned? Story-retelling

It was not until his third day of class that the professer realized no one understood

what he was saying. In his home country, the U.K.,students often sit quietly and listen to him. But if they had problems, they would speak up. He soon found that Japanese students could be very different.

In his third day of classes, he asked a student a question. The student just gave the professer a blank stare. It was obvious that the student didn’t understand the question, so he put it a different way. When it still wasn’t answered, he asked a completely different question. When the student still didn’t nderstand, the professer asked another student. And when she didn’t understand, the professer asked a third, a fourth and a fifth.

Later that day, after talking to other people at the school, he discovered that often Japanese don’t speak up in class, even when they don’t understand something.

In the months that followed, the professer learned how to encourage his students to speak up more. And he, in turn, changed his teaching style so his students couls gradually understand more. But it took a great deal of work.