U1

Preview

Communicating successfully with people from different cultures can be a real challenge. Cultural differences may lead to tensions, arguments, and even wars between peoples and nations. We bear equal responsibility for teaching people of different cultures about our culture and in turn learning about theirs. We cannot expect people from other cultures to understand ours automatically. Probably the best strategy for coping with the various impacts of culture shock is to make a conscious effort to adjust to the new culture, though it may require personal awareness, patience, and perseverance.

Para.8

Some new arrivals will come from cultures where it is considered impolite to work too quickly. Unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, it seems in their eyes as if the task being considered were insignificant, not worthy of proper respect. Assignments are, consequently, given added weight by the passage of time. In the US, however, it is taken as a sign of skillfulness or being competent to solve a problem, or fulfill a job successfully, with speed. Usually, the more important a task is, the more capital, energy, and attention will be poured into it in order to “get it moving”.

U3

Preview

As cultural exchange deepens, the number of marriage across nations is increasing. However, such marriage tends to bring about problems and even meet with opposition from family members, mainly due to cultural difference. As you will see in this unit, Gail’s parents opposed her marrying Mark, a guy of different race and culture. And Rich’s first meet with his future mother-in-law turned out a failure. Read on to find more.

Para.3

Gail and I had no illusions about what the future held for us as a married, mixed couple in America. The continual source of our strength was our mutual trust and respect.

U4

Preview

  • Every man is a poet when he is in love.
  • Love makes the world go round.
  • Love me, love my dog.
  • You don’t love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her.
  • Absence to love is what wind is to fire. It extinguishes the small; it inflames the great.
  • To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
  • Friendship is like earthenware: Once broken, it can be mended. Love is like a mirror: Once broken, that ends it.

    Para.4

    But when he asked her for a photo, she declined his request. She explained her objection: “If your feelings for me have any reality, any honest basis, what I look like won’t matter. Suppose I’m beautiful. I’d always be bothered by the feeling that you loved me for my beauty, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose I’m plain. Then I’d always fear you were writing to me only because you were lonely and had no one else. Either way, I would forbid myself from loving you. When you come to New York and you see me, then you can make your decision. Remember, both of us are free to stop or to go on after that—if that’s what we choose…”

    U6

    Preview

    Do you think a person’s name and appearance affect his or her life? Have you ever liked or disliked someone just because of his or her name, or have you ever judged someone by appearance? The fact is quite some people do. They believe a person’s name will have an effect on his or her career, success or future life, and they think how a person looks just has similar effects. Read the texts and find more in this respect.

    Para.8

    Though your parents probably meant your name to last a lifetime, remember that when they picked it they’d hardly met you, and the hopes and dreams they valued when they chose it may not match yours. If your name no longer seems to fit you, don’t despair; you aren’t stuck with the label. Movie stars regularly change their names, and with some determination, you can, too.

    U7

    Preview

    Life is more demanding today than it ever has been. There are greater pressures at work, greater expenses at home and in general more things that need to be done in one day than what can be accomplished in two. This leads to tremendous amounts of stress in our lives, and that stress can affect our health. But it doesn’t have to. Reducing stress may be a matter of making a conscious effort to decide what we really need to do. Sometimes a little bit of organization can help us finish the important tasks more efficiently while putting some other things aside. How to achieve a balance between life and work is a lesson we must learn.

    Para.5

    Eliot says researchers have found that stressed people have higher cholesterol levels, among other things. “We’ve done years of work in showing that excess alarm or stress chemicals can literally burst heart muscle fibers. When that happens it happens very quickly, within five minutes. It creates many short circuits, and that causes crazy heart rhythms. The heart beats like a bag of worms instead of a pump. And when that happens, we can’t live.”
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