unit 2
Culture
Shakespeare
baptized April 26,1564,Stratford-upon-Avon,Warwickshire,Eng,
died April 23,1616,Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeare also spelled Shakspere,byname Bard of Avon,or
Swan of Avon English poet,dramatist,and actor,often called
the English national poet and considered by many to be the
greatest dramatist of all time,
Shakespeare occupies a position unique in world literature,Other
poets,such as Homer and Dante,and novelists,such as Leo
Tolstoy and Charles Dickens,have transcended national
barriers; but no writer's living reputation can compare with that
of Shakespeare,whose plays,written in the late 16th and early
17th centuries for a small repertory theatre,are now performed
and read more often and in more countries than ever before,
The prophecy of his great contemporary,the poet and dramatist
Ben Jonson,that Shakespeare,was not of an age,but for all
time,” has been fulfilled,
It may be audacious even to attempt a definition of his greatness,but
it is not so difficult to describe the gifts that enabled him to create
imaginative visions of pathos and mirth that,whether read or
witnessed in the theatre,fill the mind and linger there,He is a
writer of great intellectual rapidity,perceptiveness,and poetic
power,Other writers have had these qualities,but with
Shakespeare the keenness of mind was applied not to abstruse or
remote subjects but to human beings and their complete range of
emotions and conflicts,Other writers have applied their keenness
of mind in this way,but Shakespeare is astonishingly clever with
words and images,so that his mental energy,when applied to
intelligible human situations,finds full and memorable expression,
convincing and imaginatively stimulating,As if this were not
enough,the art form into which his creative energies went was not
remote and bookish but involved the vivid stage impersonation of
human beings,commanding sympathy and inviting vicarious
participation,Thus Shakespeare's merits can survive translation
into other languages and into cultures remote from that of
Elizabethan England,
Shakespeare’s Four Tragedies,
Hamlet
Othello
King Lear
Macbeth
Shakespeare’s Four Comedies,
The Taming of the Shrew
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Merchant of Venice
Twelfth Night
Finish the Listening section,and
finish the tasks followed,
Culture
Culture & Internet
I,Work with your partner and try to
define the two words,culture” and
“internet”,
II,Try to find the connections between
culture and Internet,(Try to illustrate
it from different aspects)
III,Read through the passage Why
digital Culture Is Good for You in one
minute and make an outline of the
whole passage,
Outline
Why Digital Culture Is Good for You
Topic,In and of itself,the Web is fairly harmless,
Supporting information,
i) The Web simply magnifies what is already there,
ii) The Web can bring out the best in people,
iii) People are judged differently on the Web,
iv) People open up more,
v) We’re connected,
vi) We learn the Power of Words and to be Better
Listeners,
Try to enrich the supporting information with your
own understanding of them,
IV,Go through the text again in five to
six minutes,and finish the exercises
followed,
V,Discuss with your partner,and try to
illustrate the writing style of this
passage,And think about what you
can learn from it,
VI,list any words and expressions you
think beautiful or worthy of
remembering,
Cultural Differences
What kind of culture do they represent
respectively? Lady Liberty
Finished in
1886 and
standing 300
feet high Lady
Liberty is an
essential part of
any visit to New
York,Be
warned though,
that the climb to
the viewing
gallery
is long and
cramped!
In London you can see men
dressed in a red costume like in
this picture,These men are
called Beefeaters and are very
important because they look after
our queen and her jewels,Some
people say this is the nearest
thing to our national costume,
There are many types of dance
in India,from those which are
deeply religious in content to
those which are danced on
more trivial happy occasions,
Classical dances of India are
usually always spiritual in
content,although this is often
true also of Folk dances,
The traditional symbol of Russian culture is Matreshka (also spelled Matryoshka),which is a set
of nesting(嵌套 ) dolls,Most of them are exclusive
author's works made by famous Russian artists,
Every doll (except the last one,the smallest) consists
of two parts,The smaller doll inserts into the bigger
one,Thus dolls (sometimes up to 30) can be
combined inside the biggest doll - Matreshka,
Production of a 30-pieces Matreshka demands a
huge amount of time and effort,The size of the
biggest doll is about 15 inches whereas the smallest -
0,1 inches!
This is very high detailed unique work,
Before the painter starts his work the wood turner
makes a "part blank",Every doll is turned by hand
with lathe,All dolls are made from natural wood,After
the pictures are ready,dolls are covered by the
several layers of the lacquer,The lacquer adds glint to
the doll and defends the pictures,
Contemporary Japanese weddings are celebrated in
variety of ways including Shinto,Buddhist,or Christian
style,Many contain elements from traditional Japanese
and western culture,The rituals of cake cutting,
exchanging rings and honeymoons are a few of the
western traditions that have been adopted,The Japanese
wedding I saw took place at a Shinto Shrine,The bride
wore a wedding kimono of white silk and the groom wore a
black kimono decorated with his family crest in white,
Usually,only the bride and group,their immediate families,
and the go-betweens attend the religious part of the Shinto
wedding,A Shinto priest first offers prayers to the deities,
then the groom makes his marriage oath,Next,the couple
performs the Sansan-kudo exchange of nuptial cups,San-
san-ku means 3 * 3 = 9 and the small,medium and large
cups are each brought to the lips three times with one sip
each time,
Have you ever experienced any
kind of culture shock? Tell
your story to your
classmates,
Read through the text Cultural
Differences,and finish the
exercises followed,
Reading Skills Practice
Distinguishing Fact from Opinion
Facts are statements that can be verified – that is,
proven to be true,Opinions are statements that
express subjective feelings,attitudes,or beliefs,
Their truth will have to be proved,
Finish Exercise 15,
Read the text B,Cultural Differences and find all
the statements about opinions,
1,opinion (strange) 2,fact 3,opinion (share a number of
unusual characteristics 4,fact 5,fact 6,opinion (escape
from freedom)
Culture
Shakespeare
baptized April 26,1564,Stratford-upon-Avon,Warwickshire,Eng,
died April 23,1616,Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeare also spelled Shakspere,byname Bard of Avon,or
Swan of Avon English poet,dramatist,and actor,often called
the English national poet and considered by many to be the
greatest dramatist of all time,
Shakespeare occupies a position unique in world literature,Other
poets,such as Homer and Dante,and novelists,such as Leo
Tolstoy and Charles Dickens,have transcended national
barriers; but no writer's living reputation can compare with that
of Shakespeare,whose plays,written in the late 16th and early
17th centuries for a small repertory theatre,are now performed
and read more often and in more countries than ever before,
The prophecy of his great contemporary,the poet and dramatist
Ben Jonson,that Shakespeare,was not of an age,but for all
time,” has been fulfilled,
It may be audacious even to attempt a definition of his greatness,but
it is not so difficult to describe the gifts that enabled him to create
imaginative visions of pathos and mirth that,whether read or
witnessed in the theatre,fill the mind and linger there,He is a
writer of great intellectual rapidity,perceptiveness,and poetic
power,Other writers have had these qualities,but with
Shakespeare the keenness of mind was applied not to abstruse or
remote subjects but to human beings and their complete range of
emotions and conflicts,Other writers have applied their keenness
of mind in this way,but Shakespeare is astonishingly clever with
words and images,so that his mental energy,when applied to
intelligible human situations,finds full and memorable expression,
convincing and imaginatively stimulating,As if this were not
enough,the art form into which his creative energies went was not
remote and bookish but involved the vivid stage impersonation of
human beings,commanding sympathy and inviting vicarious
participation,Thus Shakespeare's merits can survive translation
into other languages and into cultures remote from that of
Elizabethan England,
Shakespeare’s Four Tragedies,
Hamlet
Othello
King Lear
Macbeth
Shakespeare’s Four Comedies,
The Taming of the Shrew
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Merchant of Venice
Twelfth Night
Finish the Listening section,and
finish the tasks followed,
Culture
Culture & Internet
I,Work with your partner and try to
define the two words,culture” and
“internet”,
II,Try to find the connections between
culture and Internet,(Try to illustrate
it from different aspects)
III,Read through the passage Why
digital Culture Is Good for You in one
minute and make an outline of the
whole passage,
Outline
Why Digital Culture Is Good for You
Topic,In and of itself,the Web is fairly harmless,
Supporting information,
i) The Web simply magnifies what is already there,
ii) The Web can bring out the best in people,
iii) People are judged differently on the Web,
iv) People open up more,
v) We’re connected,
vi) We learn the Power of Words and to be Better
Listeners,
Try to enrich the supporting information with your
own understanding of them,
IV,Go through the text again in five to
six minutes,and finish the exercises
followed,
V,Discuss with your partner,and try to
illustrate the writing style of this
passage,And think about what you
can learn from it,
VI,list any words and expressions you
think beautiful or worthy of
remembering,
Cultural Differences
What kind of culture do they represent
respectively? Lady Liberty
Finished in
1886 and
standing 300
feet high Lady
Liberty is an
essential part of
any visit to New
York,Be
warned though,
that the climb to
the viewing
gallery
is long and
cramped!
In London you can see men
dressed in a red costume like in
this picture,These men are
called Beefeaters and are very
important because they look after
our queen and her jewels,Some
people say this is the nearest
thing to our national costume,
There are many types of dance
in India,from those which are
deeply religious in content to
those which are danced on
more trivial happy occasions,
Classical dances of India are
usually always spiritual in
content,although this is often
true also of Folk dances,
The traditional symbol of Russian culture is Matreshka (also spelled Matryoshka),which is a set
of nesting(嵌套 ) dolls,Most of them are exclusive
author's works made by famous Russian artists,
Every doll (except the last one,the smallest) consists
of two parts,The smaller doll inserts into the bigger
one,Thus dolls (sometimes up to 30) can be
combined inside the biggest doll - Matreshka,
Production of a 30-pieces Matreshka demands a
huge amount of time and effort,The size of the
biggest doll is about 15 inches whereas the smallest -
0,1 inches!
This is very high detailed unique work,
Before the painter starts his work the wood turner
makes a "part blank",Every doll is turned by hand
with lathe,All dolls are made from natural wood,After
the pictures are ready,dolls are covered by the
several layers of the lacquer,The lacquer adds glint to
the doll and defends the pictures,
Contemporary Japanese weddings are celebrated in
variety of ways including Shinto,Buddhist,or Christian
style,Many contain elements from traditional Japanese
and western culture,The rituals of cake cutting,
exchanging rings and honeymoons are a few of the
western traditions that have been adopted,The Japanese
wedding I saw took place at a Shinto Shrine,The bride
wore a wedding kimono of white silk and the groom wore a
black kimono decorated with his family crest in white,
Usually,only the bride and group,their immediate families,
and the go-betweens attend the religious part of the Shinto
wedding,A Shinto priest first offers prayers to the deities,
then the groom makes his marriage oath,Next,the couple
performs the Sansan-kudo exchange of nuptial cups,San-
san-ku means 3 * 3 = 9 and the small,medium and large
cups are each brought to the lips three times with one sip
each time,
Have you ever experienced any
kind of culture shock? Tell
your story to your
classmates,
Read through the text Cultural
Differences,and finish the
exercises followed,
Reading Skills Practice
Distinguishing Fact from Opinion
Facts are statements that can be verified – that is,
proven to be true,Opinions are statements that
express subjective feelings,attitudes,or beliefs,
Their truth will have to be proved,
Finish Exercise 15,
Read the text B,Cultural Differences and find all
the statements about opinions,
1,opinion (strange) 2,fact 3,opinion (share a number of
unusual characteristics 4,fact 5,fact 6,opinion (escape
from freedom)
