1、成人学位英语课文TextssixtenUnit Six Culture And Media文化与传媒It is easy to think of examples of culture but difficult to define the term. The British musician and artist Brian Eno had a try, suggesting that “Culture is what we dont have to do”. We can explain his definition by considering how much culture is a
2、 part of the smallest details of our lives: we have to eat, but we dont have to eat rice as Japanese sushi or Spanish Paella; we have to walk, but we dont have to dance Cowboy line dances or Viennese waltzes. Whatever we dont strictly have to do, from food to fashion to furniture, becomes part of ou
3、r individual cultures.文化这个词，给它举例容易，但给它下定义却不容易。 英国音乐家和艺术家布莱恩伊诺认为：“所谓文化是我们没必要刻意去做些什么”。我们可以这样来解释他的定义：文化是我们生活的最小的细节，我们必须吃，但不一定吃米饭（不必像日本人必须吃寿司及西班牙人必吃海鲜饭一样）：我们必须走路，但不一定要跳舞；即使跳舞也未必都跳牛仔系列舞蹈或维也纳圆舞曲。无论我们随意做什么，从食品到服装再到家具，都是我们个人文化的一部分。Culture often results from a problem-solving activity. When the Indian peasan
4、t woman prepares her food, the dried dung of cows serves as fuel. It is an easily available fuel source in a country lacking extensive forests or coal and oil deposits. Such fuels would, in any case, be too expensive. And because dried cow dung burns slowly and evenly at a low temperature, the woman
5、 can leave the cooking fire unattended and go to work in the field while the evening meal slowly simmers.文化来源于解决问题的活动。印度的农妇准备食物时，干牛粪是她的燃料。对于缺乏丰富的森林、煤炭和石油资源的国家来说，干牛粪是一种容易获得的燃料。在如何情况下这种燃料也过于昂贵。而且因为干牛粪燃烧缓慢，低温均匀，女人可以离开炉火到田里干活，任由晚餐慢慢煨熟。In China, where coal has been the principal cooking fuel for centurie
6、s, a different cuisine has emerged. Coal produces extremely high heat for a short period of time. Dishes cooked using coal ideally feature foods cut into small pieces and quickly stir-fried. Food cultures have emerged not just from the ingredients available locally, but also the tools and methods av
7、ailable to prepare them.在中国，煤炭一直是几个世纪以来烹饪各种美食的主要燃料。煤炭在很短的时间内能产生非常高的热量。用煤来煮菜最好是把食物切成细小块并迅速翻炒。饮食文化不仅来自在当地现有的材料中，而且还来自炒菜工具和备菜的方法中。Although many of the reasons for the development of these culture food practices are changing, people still rely on parts of them. Home chefs in India and China are both inc
8、reasingly likely to use microwave ovens to heat up pre-made foods but still favor curries and diced vegetables and meat respectively.尽管这些饮食文化的发展有很多原因，实际情况一直在变化，但人们对其中部分饮食文化仍有依赖。印度和中国的家庭厨师使用微波炉来加热预制食品的情况频率越来越高，但仍分别青睐于咖喱、蔬菜丁和肉类。Shifts in traditional culture are influenced by technology, as well as the
9、 media. Media includes not just traditional news sources such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television, but also movies, which often depict cultures in positive and sometimes negative ways. In whatever form, media increasingly informs and shapes opinion around the world and works in several wa
10、ys to spread cultures, to destroy them and to preserve them.传统文化的迁徙既受技术影响，也受媒体的影响。媒体不仅仅包括诸如报纸，杂志，广播和电视等传统的新闻来源，还包括电影。电影以积极或有时以消极的方式体现文化。无论以什么形式，媒体提供的信息越来越多地改变人的观念，并同时用几种方式传播文化、破坏文化和保存文化。The most striking example of media spreading culture has been in the international adoption of rock and roll music
11、. Although record producers have tried to make money by selling advertising alongside music videos, the real impact has been a grass roots movement among young people who have heard new sounds that they relate to and have adopted. Often this virus - like adoption of rock and roll music had been mode
12、rated and redefined, such as often incorporating traditional instruments to accompany the usual guitars and drums.媒体传播文化的最显著的例子要数摇滚乐在世界的流行。虽然唱片制作人试图通过销售音乐视频广告来赚钱，真正的影响却是在年轻人当中形成了草根运动，这些年轻人喜欢听并播放与他们有关的音乐。通常现在播放的摇滚乐的节奏已经缓和且优雅了，还经常结合传统乐器吉他和鼓的伴奏。However, such pan-cultural phenomena run the risk of margi
13、nalizing traditional musical arts. It only takes a generation or two for a musical tradition to disappear if older practitioners die before passing on their skills to the young. When a new cultural phenomenon moves in and dominates, it can suppress an existing culture.不过，这种泛文化现象存在着传统音乐艺术边缘化的危险。如果老医生
14、死亡之前没把他们的技能传给青年人，他们的技术就会在一两代人中消失，传统音乐的命运也是如此。当一个新的文化现象出现并占主导地位时，它可以抑制现有的文化。But media can also have an opposite role, helping to preserve culture. By documenting declining cultural practices such as various art forms in film and print, media has not only preserved these cultural practices, but also h
15、elped to popularize and develop them. One example of this is the spread of Asian martial arts, through movies.但是，媒体也有相反的作用，它有助于保护文化。面临消亡的文化行为通过各种艺术形式如电影和各种印刷品得以作为档案保存。媒体不仅保存了这些文化行为，而且有助于普及和发展这些文化。其中的一个例子就是通过电影传播的亚洲武术。Martial arts have been practiced in China and the rest of Asia for thousands of yea
16、rs. In the past century or so, they had limited impact internationally, mostly through traveling martial arts masters who would sometimes demonstrate their abilities in touring shows. However, with the advent of cinema, movie stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Lee began to make martial art
17、s popular among countless young viewers. Through such movies people were exposed to martial arts as well as other things Asian started spread. Today, interest in martial arts continues and almost any action movie you might see is likely to feature at least one martial arts sequence.武术已经在中国和亚洲的其他国家流行
18、了几千年。在过去的一个世纪左右，他们在国际的影响有限，有时一些武术大师主要通过巡回演出形式来展示他们的能力。然而，随着电影的出现，像李小龙，成龙，李连杰等电影明星开始使武术在无数的年轻观众中受到欢迎。人们通过这些电影亲眼看到了武术，不知自己如何才能习得如此本领。对武术以及亚洲其它事物的兴趣迅速传播开来，今天，武术的兴趣仍在继续，几乎所有的你可能会看到动作片很可能至少展示一个武术序列特征。As foreigners influenced by movies come to Asia to learn about martial arts, they often pick up other cul
19、tural ideas and customs as well and return home with them, often adapting them to their own circumstances and tastes. In this way, media has ultimately helped culture not just to spread, but also to evolve into new and interesting form.受电影影响来亚洲学习武术的外国人，他们除了学习武术还经常学习其他文化观念和习俗，并把这些文化观念和习俗带回家，常常使它们适应自己
20、的情况和口味。这样，媒体最终不仅让文化得到了传播，而且还使文化变成新的和有趣的形式。New Wordsdetail / / n 细节，具体情况individual / / adj. 个别的，单独的，个人的dung / / n. 家畜粪便fuel / / n. 燃料deposit / / n. 堆积物，沉淀物；存款；定金 v. 放置；存储；使沉积unattended / / adj. 无人照顾的，未被注意的simmer / / vt. 慢煮，煨，炖cuisine / / n. 烹饪法，菜肴，菜系emerge / / vi. 呈现，浮现，暴露，形成stir-fried / / adj. 用旺火煸的
21、，用旺火炒的ingredient / / n. 配料，配方；成分，因素chef / / n. 主厨，厨师长curry / / n. 咖喱，咖喱粉dice / / v. 把食物切成方块，切成丁respectively / / adv. 各自地，分别地shift / / v. n. 变化，移动，移位；轮班depict / / v. 描述，描写preserve / / v. 保护，保留adoption / / n. 采用；收养alongside / / prep. 在旁边，与并排grass roots / / n. 基层，基层群众；基础virus / / n. 病毒moderate / / adj.
22、 适度的，适中的，合理的incorporate / / v. 合并，结合accompany / / v. 陪伴，伴随，与同时发生pan-cultural / / adj. 泛文化的phenomena / / n.(pl.) 现象phenomenon(sing.)marginalize / / v. 使处于社会边缘；忽视，排斥dominate / / v. 支配，占优势suppress / / v. 压制，抑制；禁止document / / n. 文件，公文 v. 记录，记载（详情）decline / / v. 倾斜，衰退popularize / / v. 宣传，推广，普及martial / /
23、 adj. 战争的；尚武的martial arts n.(pl.) 武术demonstrate / / v. 示范，证明，论证advent / / n. （尤指不寻常的人或事）出现，到来feature / / v. 以为特色；起重要作用；（在电影中）使成为主要节目sequence / / n. 顺序，次序；一系列，一连串；一组镜头Phrases and Expressionsthink of 想起，有的看法result from 由产生in any case 无论如何cut into 切成，分成incorporate to 结合；纳入run the risk of 冒的险pass on to
24、传递with the advent of 随着的出现be exposed to 遭受，暴露于pick up （自然而然地）学会（语言、技能等）adapt (oneself) to 使适应（新情况）；改编，改写evolve into 慢慢形成注释：1. Brian Eno 布莱恩*埃诺，英国现代著名音乐家，情景音乐大师。作为伟大的革新派流行音乐家，埃诺以其在1978年左右推出的Music for Film等专辑创造了Ambient （氛围音乐）。在轻轻律动的电子乐演奏中，埃诺取消了传统乐曲中的主线式发展结构，使一种复杂的音乐听起来只是一种简单的音乐背景。2. Sushi寿司（日本米食）：包在海藻
25、里的凉的煮熟小米饼，上面抹醋，顶上盖有或四周包有生鱼片或熟鱼片、鸡蛋或蔬菜。3. Paella西班牙式什锦蒸饭：一种用米、蔬菜、肉、鸡以及海味等多种混合物蒸出来的什锦饭。4. Cowboy line dances牛仔排排舞：一种有群体精神的现代舞蹈，有着强劲节拍的音乐和动作轻松的舞步。5. Vienness waltzes 维也纳华尔兹。华尔兹舞：一种首拍强的三拍舞蹈。Exercises. Reading ComprehensionDirections: Answer the following questions according to the information in the tex
26、t.1. What is culture according to Paragraph 1?Culture can be defined as “what we dont have to do”.2. What does the author intend to prove by using examples of cooking fuel in India and China?Culture often results from a problem-solving activity.3. What causes the shift of traditional culture?Shifts
27、in traditional culture are often influenced by technology, as well as media.4. In how many ways does media influence culture? Give an example for each.Media spread cultures, to destroy them and preserve them.1) Media spreads culture.Example: the international adoption of rock and roll music.2) Media
28、 destroy culture.- when old practitioners die before passing on their skills to the young.- when a new dominant culture comes in and suppresses the existing culture.3) Media preserve culture.- by documenting declining cultures in film or print, i.e. martial arts.5. What is the “pan-cultural” phenome
29、non?A phenomenon that includes all cultures. VocabularyDirections: Fill in the blanks with the words or phrases given below, change the form where necessary.emerge respectively incorporate moderate shift dominate popularize demonstrate advent run the risk of expose adapt(oneself) feature shift pick
30、up1. Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazils birth rate because they popularize birth control measures.2. Without proper lessons, you could pick up a lot of bad habits when playing the piano.3. The advent of Internet technology has transformed the way people communicate with each other.4. After
31、the rain, the sun emerged from behind the clouds.5. As soon as spacemen leave the atmosphere they are exposed to the radiation from the sun but their spacesuits or the walls of their spacecraft, if they are inside, do prevent a lot of radiation damage.6. Specialists in intercultural studies say that it is not easy to adapt(oneself) to living in diff
