Unit 4 The Multicultural society Text A America as a Collage Text B What’s American about America?...

Unit 4 The Multicultural Unit 4 The Multicultural societysociety

Text A America as a CollageText A America as a Collage

Text B What’s American about Text B What’s American about America?America?

Part I Pre-reading TaskPart I Pre-reading Task Text A America as a Collage Collage - A picture or

design created by adhering such basically flat elements as newspaper, wallpaper, printed text and illustrations, photographs, cloth, string, etc., to a flat surface,

What is “collage”? 拼贴画

CollageCollage when the result becomes

three-dimensional, and might also be called a relief sculpture. Most of the elements adhered in producing most collages are "found" materials. Introduced by the Cubist artists, this process was widely used by artists who followed, and is a familiar technique in contemporary art.

"Collage" was originally a French word, derived from the word coller, meaning "to paste."

Further explanationFurther explanation 1) An artistic composition of materials and

objects pasted over a surface, often with unifying lines and color.

拼贴画通常以统一的线条和色彩，在画面上拼贴各种原料和物体的艺术拼合作品

2) The art of creating such compositions. 拼贴艺术创作这样的拼贴作品的艺术 3) An assemblage of diverse elements: 杂烩各种不同成分的集汇：

Some samples of collageSome samples of collage

Some samples of collageSome samples of collage

Part II Pre-reading questions Part II Pre-reading questions Listen to the recording two or three times

and then think over the following questions:

1.What happened when Juanita Brooks applied for a job more than 50 years ago?

2.What changes enabled Juanita Brooks to claim to be both black and white?

Keys: 1.The school principal offered to kee

p her biracial background secret. 2.Changes in federal guidelines for c

ollecting statistics, allowing people to identify themselves as of more than one race.

Part III Text OrganizationPart III Text Organization

1.The text can be divided into three parts.

Parts Paragraphs Main ideas

Part one

Paras1-5

America is not declining, but is in the process of creating a new collage-like civilization.

Parts Paragraphs Main ideas

Part two

Paras 6-21 Los Angeles is a good example of such a collage.

Part three

Paras 22-24

There is something in America that acts as “glue” to piece different parts together to make the American collage: the chance to try.

2. Things of symbolic value2. Things of symbolic value

Things of symbolic

value

Standing for

Los Angeles a new civilization

a PC company in Orange county

a fusion of Third World cultures with the most modern mentalities and technologies

Things of symbolic values

Standing for

a person born in Los Angeles( according to Jose Vasconcelos)

a citizen of the world

America in the eyes of immigrants

a place where you always have a chance to try

America is a place where you America is a place where you always have a chance to tryalways have a chance to try

Part IV Language pointsPart IV Language points

1.in decline/on the decline: losing strength; declining

e.g. He is still one of the world’s most popular baseball players, but his game is in decline.

As she was getting older, her mental powers were on the decline.

2.debt: a sum of money that you owe

e.g. He had enough money to pay off his father’s debts.

3.characteristic: special mark or quality

e.g. Genes determine the characteristics of every living thing.

A prominent characteristic of language is that the relation

between a linguistic sign and its meaning is arbitrary.

4.paralyze:make ineffective; make (sb.) lose the ability to move part or all of the body

e.g. He had a minor stroke in 1987,

which left him partly paralyzed.

The explosion killed about two hundred people and paralyzed part of the city’s transportation system.

5. thesis: an idea or theory that tries to explain why sth. Happens; a long piece of writing about a particular subject that you do as part of a university degree such as an MA or a PhD

E.g. Their main thesis is that inflation is caused by increase in the money supply.

He was awarded his PhD for a thesis on industrial robots.

6.historical: concerning past events; based on the study of history

E.g. Is Macbeth a real historical figure? Musems collect objects of scientific, aesth

etic, or historical importance.

7.precedent: earlier happening, decision, etc. taken as an example or rule for what comes later

e.g. The trial could set an important precedent for dealing with large numbers of similar cases.

The appointment of female commander of a navy warship is without precedent.

8. have a/the sense that: feel/believe/realize that

e.g. As soon as we had the sense that something was wrong, we moved the children away.

We have the sense that one month’s preparation is far from enough if we want to accomplish the project.

9.for the first time: never before

e.g. Korea entered into the quarter-finals in the World Cup for the first time.

Airplanes were used in a major military

campaign for the first time during World War I.

10. leave behind: cause (sth.) to remain; fail or forget to bring or take

e.g. I am afraid we’ll have to leave the dog behind at home.

I arrived at the meeting to find I’d left my notes behind.

11.mentality:characteristic attitude of mind; way of thinking

e.g. Can you understand the mentality of someone who likes to watch animals fighting each other?

Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.

12.plural: involving more than one person or thing or different kinds of people or things

e.g. His government has pledged to move the country towards a plural democracy.

A plural form of a noun is the form that is used to refer to more than one person or thing.

Data is the Latin plural form of datum.

13.unbelievable:extremely surprising ; very difficult to believe and therefore probably untrue

e.g. Dealers were paying unbelievable prices for her painting.

Her excuse for being late for class was totally unbelievable.

14.immigrant:a person who moves as a settler to another country

e.g. Historically, the United States has attracted vast numbers of immigrants from around the globe.

It was estimated that more than 11 out of every 20 New Yorkers were immigrants or the children of immigrants.

American children of different American children of different originsorigins

15.network:connected system

e.g. The Internet is composed of many interconnected computer networks.

Most personal computers communicate with each other and with larger networks, such as the Internet, by using the ordinary telephone network.

16.constructive:having a useful purpose; helpful

e.g. Criticism is welcome only when it is constructive.

After their meeting, both sides described the talks as frank, friendly and constructive.

17.cooperation:working or acting together for a common purpose

e.g. The mission of the United States is to maintain world peace, develop good relations between countries, promote cooperation in solving the

world’s problems, and encourage respect for human rights.

The European Union is an organization dedicated to economic cooperation among European nations.

18.conception: idea about what sth. is like or understanding of sth.; process in which sb. forms a plan or idea

e.g. Their conception of love seems to be

very different from our own.

I had no conception of the finished product.

The symphony is admirable in conception.

19.destructive:causing destruction

e.g. Technology can be conceived as both a creative and a destructive process.

The strong EL Nino which occurred between 1982 and 1983 was the most destructive

in more than a century.

20.Show up: put in an appearance; be present

e.g. If I don’t show up for class this morning, I’ll be kicked out.

He always shows up in a fancy car.

21.offend: hurt the feelings of; give offence to

e.g. Richard was deeply offended that people thought he’d faked the story.

He apologized for his comments and said he had no intention of offending the professor.

22.In the …sense: as far as…is concerned

e.g. In the academic sense, this article is not well written.

In the environmental sense, your plan to build a chemical factory is a disaster,

whatever the economic benefits may seem to be.

23.religion: a belief in the life of the spirit and usually in one or more gods; a particular system of this belief and all the ways of expressing your love for your god, ceremonies, and duties that are connected with it

e.g. Philosophy comprised all areas of

speculative thought and included the arts, sciences, and religion.

Buddhism is the most widely distributed of the Asian religion.

24.From the perspective of: from the viewpoint of

e.g. From the perspective of women, the article is well worth reading.

The novel Harry Potter is written from the perspective of a child.

25.submerge:(cause to) go under the surface of water; cover or completely hide

e.g. Submarines are designed to submerge and surface, and to maneuver quietly underwater to avoid detection.

Some archeological treasures will be submerged in the construction of the

Three Gorges Dam.

26.ethnic:of a race or the races of mankind

e.g. Although America’s culture is becoming more uniform, its society remains a diverse mix of ethnic, racial, and religious groups.

Long-held ethnic tensions escalated into a violent armed conflict.

27.essential:fundamental; most important; necessary (followed by to/for sth.)

e.g. Most teachers agree that play is an essential part of a child’s development.

Is money essential to happiness?

It is essential that you arrive on time.

28.combination: joining or putting together; state of being joined

e.g. It is the combination of wit and political analysis that makes his articles so readable.

All genetic traits result from different combination of gene pairs, one gene

inherited from the mother and one from the father.29.stagnant: unchanging; still and stalee.g. Thousands of disputes between

management and labor resulted from stagnant wages coupled with inflation.

They tried to drain stagnant pools where mosquitoes breed.

30.destiny:fate e.g. She wanted to be an artist, but destiny

decreed that she should become a doctor.

We are masters of our own destiny.

31.discourage: take away the courage or confidence of

e.g. Michael was discouraged by repeated failures that he decided to give up his project.

Many people were discouraged by the seemingly endless economic depression.

Part V TranslationPart V Translation

Directions: Translate the following passage into English, using the words and phrases given below.

constructive cooperation destructive

from the perspective of inevitably

paralyze plural religion ethnic

原文原文 亨廷顿（ Huntington) 教授的论文使我深受启发。

他认为，在一个多元化社会里，不同意见是不可避免的。关键在于怎样正确对待不同意见，使之发挥建设性、而非破坏性的作用。

他还说，在一个多元化社会里，我们必须注重人际关系，强调合作，多从他人视角考虑问题。如果某些群体自视高人一等，不尊重其他种族或宗族，那么整个社会有可能陷入瘫痪。

我相信，要是我们把上述想法付诸实践，那我们就有可能创造出一种新的文明。

TranslationTranslation

Professor Huntington’s paper greatly inspired me. According to him, in a plural/ pluralistic society, there will inevitably be different opinions. The key is to deal with them in such a way that they can play a constructive rather than destructive role.

He argues that in a plural/pluralistic society we must stress/attach importance to interpersonal relationships, cooperation,

and looking at issues from the perspective of other people. If some groups regard themselves as superior and treat other ethnic groups or religions with disrespect, the whole society may be paralyzed.

I am convinced that if we put into practice the ideas mentioned above, then there is the possibility of creating a new civilization.

Text B What’s American about Text B What’s American about America?America?

Black woman and wBlack woman and white womanhite woman

Part VI Comprehension Check:Choose the best answers for each of the fol

lowing:1.Detroit is____. a. is a legendary city b. mysterious c. pluralistic d. famed of its poets

2. The professor from Yale was_____.

a. African

b. white

c. black

d. Yoruban

3. We can infer that the author feels_____.

a. European culture is inferior to all others

b. nations need to defend their culture against

c. mixing elements of different cultures should be welcomed

d. traditions are best left unchanged

4. It has been argued that the Iroquois____.

a. were influenced by Benjamin Franklin

b. should be considered part of Western civilization

c. adopted the settlers’ system of government d. influenced the system of government

developed by European settlers5.The author considers the belief that Western

civilization is the greatest achievement of mankind is likely to lead to____.

a. prejudice and discrimination b. a better understanding of history c. greater tolerance d. no harm

6. What makes Canada and America unique, according to the author, is their_____.

a. spirit of optimism

b. level of democracy

c. mixing of different cultural influences

d. artistic achievements

Keys: 1.c. 2.b. 3.c 4.d. 5.a. 6.c.

Part VII key words exercises:Part VII key words exercises:

contrary memorial dwell mysterious

live on shortly after lead to applaud

blur presumably entity what of

dwarf in exile derive originate

ethic category misery streak

Fill the gaps with words or phrases listed above. Change the form where necessary.

1. Our school promotes a(n) ___of service to

the community.2. A heavy statue was stolen from the

war__in King’s Gardens four weeks ago.3. You __in the past and you’ll never go

forward.4. His father died in__ circumstances, and

there remains a possibility that it was murder.

5.__ to popular belief, moderate exercise actually decreases your appetite.

6.She tends to __ the distinctions between family and friends, taking people as her brothers and sisters.

7.__they can afford to buy an apartment, or they wouldn’t be looking.

8.Her slender figure __by the large frame of Yao Ming, a giant of a man, her former student and

now the famous basketball player.9.Much useful research can __from the

idea that just turns up, the observation of something that happens in the street which triggers off a line of thought.

10.When she finished, the audience stood to __her unforgettable act of courage.

11.We do not __ the same sense of meaning from a bee’s dance as its

companion do.12.This year’s Better Environment Awards f

or Industry include a new__: for companies with bright ideas on recycling waste.

13.The last time anyone saw her was__ 7p.m.last Friday, when it was getting dark and she was returning to catch the cable car.

14.He made a fortune in car sales, but all that money seemed to have brought him nothing but sadness and __.

15.I have been an organic farmer for twenty-five years, and look upon nature as an integrated and living __based on an amazingly intricate and balanced plan.

16.This is not the first time Mr. Gordon has shown his brutal__.

17.The events of that year will always __in my memory as among the happiest of my life.

18.It’s possible that the recent decline in profitability will __ a trade recession in the coming year.

19.The former king, currently living __in Switzerland, was denied a visa.

20.And if he did, __it?

keyskeys

1.ethic 2.memorial 3.dwelled

4.mysterious 5.contrary 6.blur

7.Presumably 8.was dwarfed 9.derive

10.applaud 11.originate 12.category

13.shortly after 14.misery 15.entity

16.streak 17.live on 18.lead to

19.in exile 20.what of

End End

That’s the end of Unit 4

Thank you very much for your appreciation