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21世纪大学英语读写教程第一册 Unit2

时间:2006-02-21 16:00:00

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(单词翻译)

Unit 2

Text A

Listening

First Listening
Before listening to the tape, have a quick look at the following words.

conversation
谈话

comment on
评论

bowling1
保龄球

lane
球道

connect
联系

converse2
交谈

switch
转换

Second Listening
Listen to the tape again. Then, choose the best answer to each of the following questions.

1. What was the main cause of the problem discussed in the listening?
A) She was using a Western style in conversations among the Japanese.
B) She insisted on speaking English even though she was in Japan.
C) She spoke3 the Japanese language poorly.
D) She was an American woman married to a Japanese man.
2. Which of the following comparisons does the listening make about Japanese and Western conversational4 styles?
A) The Japanese style is like tennis and the Western style is like volleyball.
B) The Western style is more athletic5 than the Japanese style.
C) The Japanese style is like bowling and the Western style is like tennis.
D) The Japanese style is like singles tennis and the Western style is like doubles.
3. The author considers the Western conversational style to be ____________.
A) more interactive6 (互动的)
B) louder
C) more personal
D) better
4.The author considers the Japanese conversational style to be ____________.
A) easier to adjust to(适应)
B) more strictly7 (严谨地) organized
C) more traditional
D) better
5.The author concludes that ____________.
A) once you know the differences, it is easy to adjust to them
B) because she is American, she will never really understand Japan
C) life will be much easier for her students than it was for her
D) it remains8 difficult to switch from one style to another

Pre-reading Questions

1.Look at the title and guess what this passage is about.
2. Go over the first paragraph quickly and find out who the author is. Is she a Japanese born and educated in the United States or an American married to a Japanese?
3. Have you ever talked with a native speaker of English? What problems have you encountered in talking with a foreigner?

Conversational Ballgames

Nancy Masterson Sakamoto

After I was married and had lived in Japan for a while, my Japanese gradually improved to the point where I could take part in simple conversations with my husband, his friends, and family. And I began to notice that often, when I joined in, the others would look startled, and the conversation would come to a halt. After this happened several times, it became clear to me that I was doing something wrong. But for a long time, I didn't know what it was.
Finally, after listening carefully to many Japanese conversations, I discovered what my problem was. Even though I was speaking Japanese, I was handling the conversation in a Western way.
Japanese-style conversations develop quite differently from western-style conversations. And the difference isn't only in the languages. I realized that just as I kept trying to hold western-style conversations even when I was speaking Japanese, so were my English students trying to hold Japanese-style conversations even when they were speaking English. We were unconsciously playing entirely9 different conversational ballgames.
A western-style conversation between two people is like a game of tennis. If I introduce a topic, a conversational ball, I expect you to hit it back. If you agree with me, I don't expect you simply to agree and do nothing more. I expect you to add something — a reason for agreeing, another example, or a remark to carry the idea further. But I don't expect you always to agree. I am just as happy if you question me, or challenge me, or completely disagree with me. Whether you agree or disagree, your response will return the ball to me.
And then it is my turn again. I don't serve a new ball from my original starting line. I hit your ball back again from where it has bounced. I carry your idea further, or answer your questions or objections, or challenge or question you. And so the ball goes back and forth10.
If there are more than two people in the conversation, then it is like doubles in tennis, or like volleyball. There's no waiting in line. Whoever is nearest and quickest hits the ball, and if you step back, someone else will hit it. No one stops the game to give you a turn. You're responsible for taking your own turn and no one person has the ball for very long.
A Japanese-style conversation, however, is not at all like tennis or volleyball, it's like bowling. You wait for your turn, and you always know your place in line. It depends on such things as whether you are older or younger, a close friend or a relative stranger to the previous speaker, in a senior or junior position, and so on.
The first thing is to wait for your turn, patiently and politely. When your moment comes, you step up to the starting line with your bowling ball, and carefully bowl it. Everyone else stands back, making sounds of polite encouragement. Everyone waits until your ball has reached the end of the lane, and watches to see if it knocks down all the pins, or only some of them, or none of them. Then there is a pause, while everyone registers your score.
Then, after everyone is sure that you are done, the next person in line steps up to the same starting line, with a different ball. He doesn't return your ball. There is no back and forth at all. And there is always a suitable pause between turns. There is no rush, no impatience11.
No wonder everyone looked startled when I took part in Japanese conversations. I paid no attention to whose turn it was, and kept snatching the ball halfway12 down the alley13 and throwing it back at the bowler14. Of course the conversation fell apart, I was playing the wrong game.
This explains why it can be so difficult to get a western-style discussion going with Japanese students of English. Whenever I serve a volleyball, everyone just stands back and watches it fall. No one hits it back. Everyone waits until I call on someone to take a turn. And when that person speaks, he doesn't hit my ball back. He serves a new ball. Again, everyone just watches it fall. So I call on someone else. This person does not refer to what the previous speaker has said. He also serves a new ball. Everyone begins again from the same starting line, and all the balls run parallel. There is never any back and forth.
Now that you know about the difference in the conversational ballgames, you may think that all your troubles are over. But if you have been trained all your life to play one game, it is no simple matter to switch to another, even if you know the rules. Tennis, after all, is different from bowling.
(801 words)

New Words

conversational
a. 会话的,交谈的

conversation
n. an informal talk in which people exchange news, feelings, and thoughts 谈话; 会谈

ballgame
n. any game played with a ball 球类活动

gradually
ad. in a way that happens or develops slowly over a long period of time 逐渐

startle
vt. make suddenly surprised or slightly shocked 使惊吓,使惊奇

halt
n. a stop or pause 停住,停止
v. stop (使)停住,(使)停止

handle
vt. deal with 处理,应付

unconsciously
ad. not consciously 无意识地,不知不觉地

challenge
vt. 向…挑战;对…质疑
n. 挑战;质疑

disagree
vi. (with) have or express a different opinion from sb. else 有分歧,不同意

response
n. an answer; (an) action done in answer 回答;回应;反应

original
a. first; earliest 起初的;原来的

bounce
vi. (of a ball) spring back or up again from the ground or another surface (球)弹起,(球)反弹

objection
n. sth. that one says to show that he /she opposes or disapproves15 of an action, idea, etc. 反对,异议

forth
ad. forward; out 向前;向外

responsible
a. having the job or duty of looking after sb. or sth., so that one can be blamed if things go wrong 须负责的,有责任的

bowling
n. 保龄球

relative
a. having a particular quality when compared with sth. else 相对的,比较的
n. a member of one's family; relation 亲属;亲戚

previous
a. coming before in time or order 先前的,以前的

junior
a. of lower rank or position; younger 级别或地位较低的,年资较浅的;年少的,较年幼的

bowl
vt. 把(球)投向球瓶

lane
n. 球道;车道;胡同,小巷

pin
n. 球瓶;大头针,别针

register
vt. record 记录,登记

suitable
a. 合适的;适当的

impatience
n. 不耐烦;急躁

*snatch
vt. get hold of (sth.) hastily; take in a hurry, esp. forcefully 抓住;夺,夺得

alley
n. 小巷,小街,胡同;球道

bowler
n. 投球手

apart
ad. into pieces 成碎片

parallel
a. running side by side but never getting nearer to or further away from each other 平行的,并列的

switch
vi. change 改变,转移

Phrases and Expressions

Join in
take part in (an activity) 参加,参与

come to a halt
stop 停住,停止;停顿

even if/though
in spite of the fact that; no matter whether 即使;尽管

just as
正如;同样地

back and forth
来回地,反复地

and so on
and other things of this kind 等等

knock down
make (sth.) fall by hitting or pushing it 击倒;撞倒

fall apart
break; fall to pieces; end in failure 破裂;破碎;以失败告终

call on /upon
formally ask (sb.) to do sth. 号召;请求

refer to
mention; speak about 谈到,提及

after all
when all is said or done 毕竟

Proper Name

Nancy Masterson Sakamoto
南希·马斯特森·坂本


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1 bowling cxjzeN     
n.保龄球运动
参考例句:
  • Bowling is a popular sport with young and old.保龄球是老少都爱的运动。
  • Which sport do you 1ike most,golf or bowling?你最喜欢什么运动,高尔夫还是保龄球?
2 converse 7ZwyI     
vi.谈话,谈天,闲聊;adv.相反的,相反
参考例句:
  • He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
  • I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。
3 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
4 conversational SZ2yH     
adj.对话的,会话的
参考例句:
  • The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
  • She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。
5 athletic sOPy8     
adj.擅长运动的,强健的;活跃的,体格健壮的
参考例句:
  • This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
  • He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。
6 interactive KqZzFY     
adj.相互作用的,互相影响的,(电脑)交互的
参考例句:
  • The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
  • This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。
7 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地
参考例句:
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
8 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
9 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
10 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
11 impatience OaOxC     
n.不耐烦,急躁
参考例句:
  • He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢,他显得不耐烦。
  • He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。
12 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
13 alley Cx2zK     
n.小巷,胡同;小径,小路
参考例句:
  • We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
  • The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。
14 bowler fxLzew     
n.打保龄球的人,(板球的)投(球)手
参考例句:
  • The bowler judged it well,timing the ball to perfection.投球手判断准确,对球速的掌握恰到好处。
  • The captain decided to take Snow off and try a slower bowler.队长决定把斯诺撤下,换一个动作慢一点的投球手试一试。
15 disapproves 2409ec34a905c5a568c1e2e81c7efcdc     
v.不赞成( disapprove的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • She disapproves of unmarried couples living together. 她反对未婚男女同居。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Her mother disapproves of her wearing transparent underwear. 她母亲不赞成她穿透明的内衣。 来自辞典例句

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