4月2日 15:38 文化差异(Culture Difference):种族 National race The whole question of the changing role of Blacks in American society as been the subject of newspaper articles around the world so frequently that visitors to the United States do not know what to expect when they arrive. They may be surprised when they see that Blacks and Whites work side by side in offices , factories , and schools across the country . The majority of Blacks in the United States, however, live in and around only a small number of American cities. Many dark-skinned visitors arrive in the United States fearing personal attack or expecting various degrees of racial prejudice. Some forms of discrimination [1] still exist ,unfortunately, especially in the areas of the housing , schools , and jobs . The school equality is still more a dream than a reality. There are still too many areas of the country where Black Americans do not enjoy the same full opportunities as White Americans . However, the vast majority of American s are working , studying , and sharing public places together. This was not true even a few years ago in some parts of the country , but progress is steadily being made . You will be able to observe the improvement in race relations as soon as your plane lands . You will see it in the airport, in public buses and trains , in theaters , restaurants , rest room, in sops and libraries , in offices and factories . Close personal friendships between Blacks and Whites , full trust and social relationships are still not common , except in certain areas, However, even in this - the slowest area of progress-there has been change , especially among young people.[1] discrimination n. 辨别, 区别, 识别力, 辨别力, 歧视Excerpted from " A Guide to U.S.A. ", edited by Li Yang, Li Yi, published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Culture Difference 发表日期:2005-04-22 10:58:52 作者:洪恩在线 It is not a novel knowledge that culture difference exists between eastern and western countries. But not until I heard the lecture given by a Chinese scholar, who has been lived in Australia for several years, did I came to understand thathow different it is. The scholar summarized that we, as Chinese, prefer to think in a spiral, casual way, while western people, more often than not, are fond of a linear, business-is-business way. Supporting the idea, he named out examples he himself experienced while staying in Australia. Here are some excerpts.Firstly, line up matter. If you are in China, it is not rare to see that a crowdof people throng in the supermarket, trying to get service first. People in China do line up, the scholar said in a humorous tone, but they prefer to line up at a horizontal way. In contrast, in western countries, say, in Australia, people always line up, no matter in a big bank or a small grocery store. And they take it for granted. Lining up has long since become part of their life that they scarcely doubt it or grow impatient while doing it.Secondly, first come, first served. Though in words it is a normal principle here in China, it’s mostly not the case in reality. Take an example of what usually happens in a bank. Here when we are in a middle-sized bank, and suppose we aretalking with the cashier, it always tends to have someone butt in, claiming that his or her request takes only one second. And it seems that we have already been accustomed to it. So has the cashier. Butin western countries, it never applies. It is always rude that you butt in while the cashier is serving his customer. No matter how little time your request costs, the cashier, more often than not, is likely to turn you down. Only one customer at a time is his principle.Thirdly, change stuff. Suppose I am in a shopping mall and the stuff I purchase cost me 142 RMB. While lining up at the casher’s and happening to check my wallet, I find I have 200 RMB and two one-yuan coins. What will I do? To give the cashier 200 RMB, or give him 200 RMB and the two one-yuan coins so that he could return me 60 RMB, which is more convenient for both of us.I think when the Chinese were in this situation, they would mostly choose the latter one. But the scholar said, in Australia, they won’t do so. He then told that he himself did try it once, and he thought it was self-evident to do so. But the cashier did not understand. So the scholar latter on summarized that western people are prone to lack of flexibility while doing their work. Then how about us in their eyes? They think we Chinese have a tendency to make things complicate. What an interesting contrast!Here I don’t intend to tell which is better and which is worse. What I try to say is just that we might well be in conformity with the customs and be aware of the culture differences while being abroad. Like the saying goes—while you are in Rome, do as Romans do. If you don’t want to put yourself in the public, bearing all this in mind is perhaps the best policy.CarolineThis article has been read by 276 persons.Copyright: This article was written by caroline. and first posted in HongEn online. The author owns the copyright, and HongEn online owns the right of using it. Any other unit or individual should get the author's approval before using, repasting or quoting. The author will assume all the civil and penal responsibility, directly or indirectly caused by posting the article. The SYSOPs and board masters have the right to reserve or delete the article. Reply|Digest|Return|SearchReplied ArticlesTitle Author Size Post Time Grade Re:Culture Difference tdeanxx(Tim) 1K 05.04.20 01:19 Dear Caroline,I think your scholar friend spent several years in Australia and completely missed the most important value represented in his examples. That value is egalitarianism. The principle that people should be treated equally.When the bank teller insists on attending one customer at a time the principle is not "only one customer at a time" it is "this customer waited in line and so will you, no matter how tall, how well dressed or how loud your voice." And you can be sure if the customer is a poor working man and the impatient man is a well dressed business man, the customer will very bruskly insist on his rights not to be interrupted. A well run bank will have a customer service person who can answer questions, but people doing transactions must wait their turn. My impression of a business or a nation where people are not treated equally in the marketplace and a bully can obtain service without waiting is a place where there is a class oriented culture and/or where one can bribe one …………[文章太长,没有全部显示,点击本文标题阅读全文]Re:Culture Difference caroline.(caroline) 2K 05.04.20 12:25 Dear Tim,The lecture given by the scholar is mainly on English learning. That's for he named such examples. He just aimed to tell the audience how important to understand a culture is, which is different from our motherland.What you said is indeed right. And I am with you on this. The corruption in China is rampant these years, you relate it with class. Well, I haven't thought about it. But I do agree that the idea of class roots in many people's mind.Like the example you took in the article, I almost could be sure that here the cashier would definitely turn to the well dressed business man. You say that the poor working man will insist on his rigts not to be interrupted. But here I guess he would just pretend not to mind it and let it be. I myself experienced this once, in fact. Once I was in a post office to have a package posted. You know, it was crowded inside and the people lined up in a wayward way. So when it was my turn, and when I was just about to tell the man my request, one guy …………[文章太长,没有全部显示,点击本文标题阅读全文]Re:Culture Difference panpanpan 210 05.04.20 08:32 You've got a sharp eye for the human conditions, Tim.--Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back.Learning is like sailing a boat against the current; it either advances or retreats.Re:Culture Difference tdeanxx(Tim) 351 05.04.20 12:47 Dear Panpanpan,I wouldn't have written in such a non-diplomatic fashion except that I wanted tosee what people thought, and that sort of behavior is particularly irritating to me. I will try not to lose my temper when I am in China. I don't want to get"kung fu'd". Great to hear from you, friend. I want to hear more of your thoughts.TimRe:Culture Difference smdyfc(Dont happy) 263 05.04.20 18:05 English is so good!Do you announce some articles more again?Did you graduate?Worker, should have of, all of you have.And have brains!Can come to our company to work?--Power is everything!!Falling behind would be beaten!!I'm never,never,never,never give up!!!Re:Culture Difference spoilme(maple) 804 05.04.22 06:02 "Thirdly, change stuff. Suppose I am in a shopping mall and the stuff I purchasecost me 142 RMB. While lining up at the casher’s and happening to check my wallet, I find I have 200 RMB and two one-yuan coins. What will I do? To give the cashier 200 RMB, or give him 200 RMB and the two one-yuan coins so that he could return me 60 RMB, which is more convenient for both of us.I think when the Chinese were in this situation, they would mostly choose the latter one. But the scholar said, in Australia, they won’t do so. He then told that he himself did try it once, and he thought it was self-evident to do so. But the cashier did not understand. "It won't happen in New York. Maybe the cashers in NY are smarter. :)--Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still.该回答在4月2日 15:41由回答者修改过参考文献: