DIFFERENT MEANS OF COMMUNICATIONS

1.1. Do the following exercise paying special attention to the sound /m/, sentence stress and nuclear tones.

Arranging to meet

Liz We need to meet some time this weekend to talk about our Math.

Min OK. What are you doing today?

Liz Well, this morning I’ve got a mime class, but I’m not doing

anything this evening. Maybe, at my place later this evening?

Min Mmm – I’m going to the shopping mall this morning with Mom and this evening I’m going ice-skating with Mark. What about tomorrow?

Liz Well, I’m having my hair cut tomorrow afternoon, so that’ll take a

while.

Min What time will you be finished at the hairdresser’s?

Liz About 4 o’clock. What are doing around that time?

Min I don’t know. I might be free.

Liz OK.

Pronunciation Practice.

Read the poem according to the accentual-toneting marking and learn it by heart

4.1. Listen to the dialogue “A Trip to Paris”, mark stresses and tunes according to the model. Practice its reading after the speakers.

A Trip to Paris

Paula Hi Meg!

Meg Paula! It’s great to see you! You look fantastic!

Paula Oh, do I? That’s strange. I should be looking awful.

Meg Why? Have you been ill?

Paula No, not that. It’s just that trip to Paris. It was a nightmare!

Meg Really? You must be joking! Don’t tell me you didn’t have a good time. When you told me you were going I was green with envy.

Paula No wonder, I was so excited I just couldn’t wait to go. Now I wish we’d gone to the Lake District or even just stayed at home.

Meg But what was so bad about it?

Paula Well, in the beginning everything looked all right. Mark’s boss gave him two weeks off without too much trouble, the children went to stay with Mark’s mother, and Sheila - you know, my younger sister - promised to come over to our place to feed the hamster. So we packed our suitcases and set off.

Meg Sounds all right so far.

Paula Yes, but in Dover it turned out that the ferry terminal workers had gone on strike, and we had to wait over eight hours before we could board a ferry.

Meg Oh no!

Paula And that was just the beginning. During the passage the weather turned stormy, and I was terribly sea-sick all the way across the Channel.

Meg Oh, poor you!

Paula Yeah, it was horrid. Then, when we arrived in Calais, it was so late that we had to look for somewhere to spend the night.

Meg Oh dear!

Paula Yes, but that’s not all! On the way to Paris the next day we had a puncture, so Mark had to change the tire, the hotel where we’d booked a room turned out to be terribly noisy, it was pouring with rain most of the time, and some of the galleries I wanted to visit were closed.

Meg Oh no! So what did you do, then?

Paula Well, I ended up shopping for clothes. That’s about the only thing I can’t complain about, but, obviously, it wasn’t cheap, so Mark got furious.

Meg No surprise there!

Paula Hmmm, so in the end, we decided to shorten our stay and left after just ten days. You can imagine our return trip - I was unhappy, Mark was mad at me because of the money, and, when we got home, the flat was flooded.

Meg Flooded?

Paula Yes, we couldn’t believe it! When we were away, Sheila let the hamster out of the cage for a while, and the horrid creature bit through the fridge cable. Of course, she didn’t even notice, but when we got back, there was water all over the kitchen floor and all the food in the fridge had gone off.

Meg What a nightmare!

DIFFERENT MEANS OF COMMUNICATIONS

VOKABULARY, READING AND SPEAKING

1. Read the text and translate it.

Gestures

A gesture is any action that sends a visual signal to an onlooker. To become a gesture, an act has to be seen by someone else and has to communicate some piece of information to them. It can do this either because the gesturer deliberately sets out to send a signal – as when he waves his hand – or it can do it only incidentally – as when he sneezes. The hand-wave is a Primary Gesture, because it has no other existence or function. It is a piece of communication from start to finish. The sneeze, by contrast, is a secondary, or Incidental Gesture. Its primary function is mechanical and is concerned with the sneezer’s personal breathing problem.

Most people tend to limit their use of the term ‘gesture’ to the primary form – the hand-wave type – but this misses an important point. What matters with gesturing is not what signals we think we are sending out, but what signals are being received. The observers of our acts will make no distinction between our intentional Primary Gestures and our unintentional, incidental ones. In some ways, our Incidental Gestures are the more illuminating of the two, if only for the very fact that we do not think of them as gestures. This is why it is preferable to use the term ‘gesture’ in its wider meaning as an ‘observed action’.

A convenient way to distinguish between Incidental and Primary Gestures is to ask the question: Would I do it if I were completely alone? If the answer is No, then it is a Primary Gesture. We do not wave, wink or point when we are by ourselves.

Symbolic Gestures

A Symbolic Gesture indicates an abstract quality that has no simple equivalent in the world of objects and movements.

Many people would understand these temple-forefinger actions, but others would not. They would have their own local, gestures, which we in our turn would find confusing, such as tapping the elbow of the raised forearm, flapping the hand up and down in front of half-closed eyes, rotating a raised hand, or laying one forefinger flat across the forehead.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that some signals mean totally different things in different countries. To take one example, In Saudi Arabia stupidity can be signaled by touching the lower eyelid with the tip of the forefinger. But this same action, in various other countries, can mean disbelief, approval, agreement, mistrust, skepticism, alertness, secrecy, craftiness, danger or criminality.

So we are faced with two basic problems where Symbolic Gestures are concerned: either one meaning may be signaled by different actions, or several meanings may be signaled by the same action, as we move from culture to culture. The only solution is to approach each culture with an open mind and learn their Symbolic Gestures as one would their vocabulary.

2. Answer the questions.

1) What do a sneeze and a wave of the hand have in common?

2) What kind of gesture is a yawn?

3) What kind of gesture is a raised fist?

4) Write down three more examples if incidental gestures.

5) Write down three more examples of primary gestures.

6) What is the ‘local gesture’ for stupidity in your country?

7) How does the writer suggest one should learn the gestures of different cultures?

3. Write down the unknown words and learn them.

4. Read and translate the text.

A world guide to good manners

(How to not behave badly abroad)

Travelling to all corners of the world gets easier and easier. We live in a global village, but how well do we know and understand each other? Here is a simple test. Imagine you have arranged a meeting at four o’clock. What time should you expect you foreign business colleagues to arrive? If they’re German, they’ll be bang on time. If they they’re American, they will be 15 minutes late, and you should allow up to an hour for the Italians.

When the European Community began to increase in size, several guidebooks appeared giving advice on international etiquette. At first many people thought this was a joke, especially the British, who seemed to assume that the widespread understanding of their language meant a corresponding understanding of English customs. Very soon they had a lot to learn about how to behave with their foreign business friends.

For example:

* The British are happy to have a business lunch and discuss business matters with a drink during the meal; the Japanese prefer not to work while eating. Lunch is a time to relax and get to know one another, and they rarely drink at lunchtime.

* The Germans like to talk business before dinner; the French like to eat first and talk afterwards. They have to be well fed and watered before they discuss anything.

* Taking off your jacket and rolling up your sleeves is a sign of getting down working in Britain and Holland, but in Germany people regard it as taking it easy.

* American executives sometimes signal their feelings of ease and importance in their offices by putting their feet on the desk whilst on the telephone. In Japan, people would be shocked. Showing the soles of your feet is the height of bad manners.

The Japanese have perhaps the strictest rules of social and business behavior. Seniority is very important, and a younger man should never be sent to complete a business deal with an older Japanese man. The Japanese business card almost needs a rulebook of its own. You must exchange business cards immediately on meeting because it is essential to establish everyone’s status and position.

When it is handed to a person in a superior position, it must be given and received with both hands, and you must take time to read it carefully, and not just put it in your pocket! Also the bow is a very important part of greeting someone. You should not expect the Japanese to shake hands. Bowing the head is a mark of respect and the first bow of the day should be lower than when you meet thereafter.

The Americans sometimes find it difficult to accept the more formal Japanese manners. They prefer to be casual and more informal, as illustrated by the universal “Have a nice day!” American waiters have a one-word imperative “Enjoy!” The British, of course, are cool and reserved. The great topic of conversation between strangers in Britain is the weather – unemotional and impersonal. In America, the main topic between strangers is the search to find a geographical link. “Oh, really? You live in Ohio? I had an uncle who once worked there.”

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

Here are some final tips for travelers.

* In France you shouldn’t sit down in a café until you’ve shaken hands with everyone you know.

* In Afghanistan you should spend at least five minutes saying hello.

* In Pakistan you mustn’t wink. It is offensive.

* In the Middle East you must never use the left hand for greeting, eating, drinking, or smoking. Also, you should take care not to admire anything in your hosts’ home. They will feel that they have to give it to you.

* In Russia you must match your hosts drink for drink or they will think you are unfriendly.

* In Thailand you should clasp your hands together and lower your head and your eyes when you great someone.

* In America you should eat your hamburger with both hands and as quickly as possible. You shouldn’t try to have a conversation until it is eaten.

16. Retell the text in 10-15 sentences.

Date: 2014-12-22; view: 1719