Photocopiable
READING
A. We’ve all got a deeply rooted cultural heritage which
influences the customs and conventions that shape our lives. And
we’re all aware that our culture can be very different from others.
What is commonplace in one country (for example, greeting by
shaking hands) is inappropriate in another. There are, and there
will always be, long-standing conventions that are peculiar
to a certain culture, and unheard of, or even weird, in others.
However, as the world shrinks, and people are increasingly
interacting with other nationalities, our conventions and customs
are blurring or feeding into and being adopted by other cultures.
In addition to this, advanced technology is bringing with it a sea-
change in behaviour and convention, which is producing a culture
all of its own. Who would ever have thought that it would be the
norm to see people sharing a table but conducting various
conversations simultaneously on their phones? And no one raising
an eyebrow! Fascinating, isn’t it? How far will cultures merge or
adapt and change over the next few decades? That is going to be
interesting.
B. As I see it, our culture shapes how we view the world (and
our place in it), how we approach problems, the respect we show
for others and a lot more that we just don’t think about. And
today, the need for understanding of other cultures and learning
from them is becoming ever more important if we want to solve
the global problems we are facing together, such as climate
change. Exposure to different cultures helps us all to appreciate
the diversity in the world. It helps us understand other people and
makes us realise that there is more that links us than separates
us. We start to challenge our way of thinking and view life from
different perspectives. Our traditional way of approaching things
isn’t always the best way – and definitely not the only way!
Learning from other cultures helps us to establish new ways of
thinking and problem solving. Above all it minimises the notion
of stereotypical behaviour and teaches us that, irrespective
of our cultural heritage, we are all individuals, aren’t we?
Understanding other cultures will eventually reduce the fear that
comes with not knowing, and can play an enormous part in
Source: Pearson Education
Photocopiable
READING
reducing tensions between certain cultures that share the same
space.
Exercise 1: Read the posts from an online discussion board (A and B). Decide
whether the following statements are TRUE (T), FALSE (F) or NOT GIVEN
(NG).
1. Greeting by shaking hands can be popular in one culture, but may not be
suitable in another culture.
2. Today, the cultural difference will be much bigger as the world shrinks.
3. Over the next few decades, cultures will be completely changed, leading to
cultural loss of some countries.
4. Dealing with some common global problems requires our understanding of
cultures.
5. Exposure to cultural diversity can stimulate stereotype and bias.
6. The fear of having no knowledge about cultures will be an enormous part in the
future.
Exercise 2: Match the words and phrases in bold in the posts with their meanings
(1–7).
1. fixed thinking about certain cultures and how they act
2. done often, therefore not unusual
3. originating from far in our past
4. unaffected by
5. existing for a long time
6. special to
Source: Pearson Education
Photocopiable
READING
ANSWER KEY
Exercise 1:
1-T 2-F 3-NG 4-T 5-F 6-NG
Exercise 2:
1-stereotypical 2-commonplace 3-deeply rooted
4-irrespective of 5-long-standing 6-peculiar to
Source: Pearson Education
