Unit2 阅读技能突破
时文领读:
主题:人与社会—历史、社会与文化
体裁:说明文
词数:393
难度:中
阅读用时:8分钟
背景导入:我们的地球上大概有190个国家和70亿人口,因此必然有多种不同的文化存在。每一种文化都有自己的特色,那么如何应对“文化冲突”,实现文化和谐呢?通读全文,你会明白“不同的文化之间没有优劣之分,只有特色之别。只有在交流互鉴中才能共同发展,才能推动人类社会不断进步”。
阅读技巧:训练学生分析长难句的能力,进而准确地理解文章细节和把握文章的中心内容。
原文:
With approximately 190 countries and 7 billion people on Earth, it is not hard to imagine that many diverse cultures exist. In the US, the cultural landscape has been shaped by Native Americans and by African, Latin American, and Asian countries. This is the reason why the term “melting pot” fits this country, as different cultures have contributed distinct flavours.
Like many others, I came to this country when I was young. While we adapted to most cultural norms here in the US, some of us have kept a few from our origins, and this has been the beauty of this country—it lets you assimilate easily in its culture, while keeping your distinct identity. Tome, cultural diversity means merging different cultures: not only introducing good aspects of your culture to others, but also accepting the positives of a new culture.
Culture shapes our identity and influences our behaviour, and cultural diversity makes us accept, and even to some extent, integrate and assimilate into other cultures. Cultural diversity has become very important in today’s world. By learning about people of different cultural backgrounds, we can broaden our horizons, have better interpersonal dialogues and communicate more on a personal level. We need to start thinking about the positives of different cultures. Sometimes a person might not know very much about geography or history but by mingling and mixing with people from other cultures, they are given the opportunity to possibly learn about the geography, religions and customs of different countries. Being open to learning about different cultures can also encourage people to have diverse friend groups.
For those who want to learn about other cultures but do not know where to start, a great place to start is picking up a book and reading about the cultures that interest them, or doing research online from reputable sites. The best way to learn, though, is through face-to-face interaction with a person of the culture you would like to learn more about.
In today’s world, if we are all able to respect and know about other cultures, and respect their values and beliefs, life would be easier for most of us, and we can learn a lot of good things from each other. I know that I have learnt a lot in this process, and I continue to learn each and every day.
①landscape n.景色;景观
②norm n.规范;标准
③assimilate vt.& vi.吸收;(使)同化
④merge vt.& vi.融合
⑤integrate vt.& vi.(使)融入;(使)合并
知识点击
With的复合结构作状语
why 引导定语从句
as引导原因状语从句
While引导让步状语从句
while keeping...为现在分词短语作状语
mean doing sth意味着做某事
shape our identity塑造我们的身份
assimilate into other cultures被其他文化同化
by doing sth 为介词短语作方式状语
to possibly learn...为不定式短语作定语
Being open to...为动名词短语作主语
who引导定语从句
pick up拿起;提起
that引导定语从句
the way to do...做…的方法
though可以作副词,前面常有逗号,常放在句中或句尾,表示转折
you would like ...为省略了关系词that/ which的定语从句
【译文】
地球上大约有190个国家和70亿人口,不难想象有许多不同的文化存在。在美国,其文化景观是由印第安人和非洲、拉丁美洲以及亚洲的国家塑造的。不同的文化造就了不同的特色,这就是“大熔炉"这个词适合这个国家的原因。
像许多其他人一样,我年轻时就来到了这个国家。虽然我们适应了美国的大多数文化规范,但我们中的一些人保留了一些我们原有的文化习惯,这就是这个国家的美丽之处——它让你在保持自己独特身份的同时,轻松地融入它的文化。对我来说,文化多样性意味着融合不同的文化;不仅是向他人介绍你本国文化的好的方面,而且也要接受新文化的积极方面。
文化塑造我们的身份,影响我们的行为;文化多样性使我们接受其他文化,甚至在某种程度上与其他文化融合并被同化。文化多样性在当今世界已变得非常重要。通过了解不同文化背景的人,我们可以开阔我们的视野,更好地进行人际对话,在个人层面上进行更多的交流。我们需要开始思考不同文化的积极因素。有时,一个人可能对地理或历史不太了解,但通过与其他文化的人交际来往,他们有机会和可能性去了解不同国家的地理、宗教和风俗习惯。乐于学习不同的文化也可以鼓励人们结交不同的朋友群体。
对于那些想了解其他文化,但又不知道从哪里开始的人来说,一个很好的起点就是拿起一本书,阅读那些使他们感兴趣的文化,或者在知名网站上进行在线研究。不过,最好的学习方法是与具有你想了解更多的那种文化背景的人进行面对面的交流。
在当今世界,如果我们都能够尊重和了解其他文化,尊重他们的价值观和信仰,我们大多数人的生活会变得更轻松,并且我们可以从彼此身上学到很多有益的东西。我知道我在这个过程中学到了很多,而且我每一天都在继续学习。