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UNIT 2
Text A
PRE-READING TASK
Exercise 1
Before reading the passage, look at these questions. Then try to find the answers as you read it.
1. What is the general meaning of the word "culture"?
2. What does the word "culture" mean for those who study humankind?
What Is Culture?
1. The word "culture" has many different meanings. For example, we sometimes say that people who know about art, music, and literature are cultured. However, the word culture has a different meaning for anthropologists (people who study humankind). To an anthropologist the word culture means all the ways in which a group of people act, dress, think, and feel. People have to learn the cultural ways of their community: they are not something that the people in the group are born with.
2. Instinctive behaviour, on the other hand, is a pattern of behaviour that an animal is born with. Spiders spinning their webs is an example of instinctive behaviour. The mother spider does not teach her babies how to spin webs. (In fact, she is not even there when they are born.) They know how to do it when they are born. This is what we mean by instinctive behaviour.
3. As humans, we learn some of the ways of our culture by being taught by our teachers or parents. We learn more of the ways of our culture by growing up in it. We see how other people in our culture do things, and we do them the same way. We even learn how to think and feel in this way.
4. All human beings have certain basic needs, such as eating, drinking, keeping warm and dry, and so on. However, the way in which they take care of these needs depends on the culture in which they grow up. All cultures have ways of eating, drinking, dressing, finding shelter, marrying, and dealing with death. The foods that we think are good to eat, the kinds of clothes we wear, and how many people we can marry at one time are all parts of our culture.
5. Our own culture seems very natural to us. We feel in our hearts that the way that we do things is the only right way to do them. Other people's cultures often make us laugh or feel disgusted or shocked. We may laugh at clothing that seems ridiculous to us. Many people think that eating octopus or a juicy red piece of roast beef is disgusting. The idea that a man can have more than one wife or that brothers and sisters can marry each other may shock other cultures.
6. Ideas of what is beautiful differ from one culture to another. The Flathead Indians of North America used to bind the heads of babies between boards so they would have long sloping foreheads. In the Flathead culture, long sloping foreheads were beautiful. Other cultures might think that they are strange-looking and unattractive. Many people cut scars into their bodies or tattoo themselves so that others in their culture will think they are beautiful. Objects are inserted in holes in the nose, lips, and ears in a number of different cultures. In many twentieth-century societies, rouge, lipstick, eye shadow, perfume, and hair spray are all used to increase attractiveness.
7. When people die, different cultures dispose of their bodies in different ways. Sometimes bodies are burned. Sometimes bodies are buried in the ground. In many cultures in the past, people were buried with food, weapons, jewellery, and other things that might be useful in the next life. For example, the ancient Egyptians buried people with little human figures made from clay. These clay figures were supposed to work for the dead person in the other world. A religious group called the Parses exposed their dead on platforms for birds to eat. Some people practice a second burial. After the bodies have been in the earth for several years, the bones are dug up and reburied, sometimes in a small container.
8. These are just a few of the many different customs that are found in different cultures. Most of the time, the different ways that are the customs of different cultures are neither right nor wrong. It is simply that different people do the same things in different ways.
New Words
cultured
a. (of people) refined; cultivated 有修养的，有教养的
anthropologist
n. 人类学家，学人类学的学生
humankind
n. (= mankind) 人类
cultural
a. of or involving culture 文化的，文化上的
instinct
n. 1.本能
2.天性, 直觉
instinctive
a. 本能的，天生的
pattern
n. the way in which something happens or develops 方式,型
spider
n. 蜘蛛
spin
v. 1.(蜘蛛)结(网)
2.纺
web
n. 网
basic
a. 基本的，初步的
shelter
n. 1. 掩蔽,保护
2.躲避处,隐蔽处
disgust
v. 使厌恶
disgusted
a. 感到厌恶，反感
shock
v. 1.(使)震惊,
2.(使)震动
shocked
a. 感到震惊的
octopus
n. 章鱼
juicy
a. 多液汁的
roast
a. cooked in an oven, etc. 烤过的
v. to cook (meat, etc.) in an oven or in front of a fire 烤,炙(肉)
disgusting
a. 令人厌恶的，令人作呕的
differ
v. not to be the same as; be unlike 不同, 有异
bind
v. (bound) to tie or fasten, e.g. with rope 绑,缚,系
slope
v. (使)倾斜
n. 1. 倾坡，倾面
2. 倾斜，斜度
sloping
a. 斜的，倾斜的
forehead
n. 前额
scar
n. 疤，伤痕
tattoo
v. 文身, 在...上刻花纹
insert
v. to put, fit, place something into something or between two things 插入, 嵌进
rouge
n. 胭脂，口红
v. 涂胭脂，抹口红
lipstick
n. 唇膏
perfume
n. 香水，香料
spray
n. 喷雾，用作喷雾的液体
dispose
v. to get rid of someone or something that one does not want or cannot keep 处理,处置
weapon
n. the thing designed or used for causing physical harm 武器,兵器
jewel(l)ry
n. 宝石饰物，珠宝，饰物
clay
n. 粘土，陶土
dead
a. no longer alive 死的
expose
v. 1. to uncover or leave uncovered or unprotected 使暴露,使遭受
2. to make known (something secret); reveal 揭穿(秘密),暴露
burial
n. 埋葬，葬礼
container
n. a box, bottle, etc. in which something is kept, transported, etc. 容器(箱、瓶等)
Phrases and Expressions
be born with
与生俱来
at one time
同时,曾经有一个时期
feel in one's heart
心里觉得
laugh at
因...而笑,嘲笑
differ from...to
一方与另一方(在意见方面)持不同看法
dispose of
处理,处置,清除
Proper Names
the Flathead Indian
扁头印第安人
Egyptian
埃及人,埃及(人)的
the Parsee
n. 帕西人
Text B
PRE-READING TASK
Exercise 1
Before reading the passage, go over the food list to decide which you think is good to eat
(√)and which is bad to eat
(×)
1. tomatoes 6. rats（鼠）
2. pork （猪肉） 7. termites （白蚁）
3. beef 8. fish
4. mutton （羊肉） 9. dogs
5. butterfly （蝴蝶） 10.ducks
Now compare your choice with your neighbours' and give your reason for your choice.
Food and Culture
1. We all have ideas about what kinds of foods are good to eat. We also have ideas about what kinds of foods are bad to eat. As a result, people from one culture often think the foods that people from another culture eat are disgusting or nauseating. When the famous boxer Muhammad Ali visited Africa, for example, one member of his group became quite sick when he saw someone pick up a butterfly and eat it. Many people would find it disgusting to eat rats, but there are forty-two different cultures whose people regard rats as appropriate food.
2. Some people in Africa think African termites make a delicious meal. Many other people would probably be sick if they had to eat termites, but one hundred grams of termites contain more than twice as many calories and almost twice as much protein as one hundred grams of cooked hamburger.
3. However, food likes and dislikes do not always seem related to nutrition. For example, broccoli is first on a list of the most nutritious common vegetables, but it is twenty-first on a list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat. Tomatoes are sixteenth on the list of the most nutritious vegetables, but they are first on the list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat.
4. But dislike is not the only reason why some cultures will not eat a certain food. In some cultures, certain foods are taboo. Taboo is a word from the language of the Fiji Islands that is used to describe something that is forbidden. Some foods are taboo in certain religions, but there are also other food taboos that are not connected to a religion. We do not usually think about why certain things are taboo in our culture. We may not even know why they are taboo. Anthropologists try to discover the hidden reasons for taboos. For example, the sacred cows of India are well known. Cows can go wherever they want to in the streets of India, and they can eat anything they want from the supplies of the foodsellers on the street. As a result, the cows are a problem. However, no one in India will kill them or eat them. It is taboo to do so. This custom seems strange to other people, but anthropologists believe that there are reasons for it. First, cows are valuable because the farmers need them to help plow their fields. Second, cow manure is used as a fertilizer on the fields. In India, many farmers cannot afford to spend money on fertilizer. Third, the cow manure can be dried and burned to make cooking fires. Therefore, farmers that kill their cows for meat soon find that they cannot plow or fertilize their fields or make a cooking fire.
5. Another example is that Americans do not eat dogs, although people from some other cultures regard them as good food. In the United States, dogs are very important to people as pets. They are usually regarded as part of the family, almost like a child in some cases. In addition, dogs have value as protection against criminals. Thieves will not usually enter a house where there is a dog because the dog will bark and possibly attack a stranger who is trying to get into a house. Apparently, the dog's place in society as a companion and as a protection against criminals makes the dog taboo as food.
6. The taboo against eating pork occurs in more than one culture. There is some evidence that some ancient Egyptians did not eat pork. The ancient Israelites also regarded pork as taboo. One explanation for the pig-eating taboo is that pork that is not cooked sufficiently may spread a disease called trichinosis. However, most people no longer think that this is a good explanation for the pork taboo.
7. Anthropologists believe that most food likes and dislikes are a result of the ways of life of different people. Some people live in areas where there are both large animals and many insects. It is difficult for these people to kill large animals, and it requires a lot of energy. It is easier for them to use insects for food because it is not difficult to catch insects and it does not require a lot of energy. Nomadic people who move around will not want to keep pigs for food. People will not eat pets such as dogs. Americans eat a lot of beef because there is plenty of land for raising cattle and their meat can be shipped cheaply for long distances by railroads.
New Words
nauseating
a. 令人作呕的
boxer
n. a person who fights (someone) with the fists, esp. as a sport 拳击手
butterfly
n. 蝴蝶
rat
n. 鼠
regard
v. to consider or think about someone or something in the specified way 把...视为,把...认为
appropriate
a. suitable, right and proper 合适的
termite
n. 白蚁
delicious
a. giving pleasure, esp. to the senses of taste and smell 美味的,可口的
gram
n. 克(重量单位)
calorie
n. 卡路里，卡 (热量单位)
protein
n. 蛋白质
hamburger
n. 汉堡包，汉堡牛肉饼
dislike
n. the feeling of not liking 不喜欢,反感
v. not to like 不喜欢,反感
nutrition
n. 营养物，食物
broccoli
n. (一种)花椰菜
nutritious
a. of high value as food 有营养的,营养价值高的
taboo
n. (某些文化中的)禁忌，忌讳
a. 禁忌的，忌讳的;禁止的
forbid
v. (forbade / forbidden) to make (something) difficult or impossible; prevent or not allow 禁止,不许可
sacred
a. 神圣的
wherever
ad. in any place 在任何地方
manure
n. 肥料，粪肥
fertilizer
n. 肥料(天然或人造肥料)
afford
v. (usu. with can, could, or be able to) to have enough money, time, space, etc. for (a specified purpose) (常与can, could 或 be able to 连用 ) (有足够的钱或时间等)能做
fertilize
v. 使肥沃，使多产
pet
n. 宠物
criminal
n. a person who commits a crime or crimes 罪犯
a. 犯了法的，与犯罪有关的
bark
v. (指狗)吠，叫
companion
n. a person or an animal who goes with, or spends much time with another 同伴,伴侣
pork
n. 猪肉
evidence
n. the information that gives a reason for believing something or proves something 证据,根据
sufficient
a. enough 足够的,充分的
sufficiently
ad. 充分地
trichinosis
n. (医)旋毛虫病，毛线虫病
insect
n. 昆虫
nomadic
a. 1.游牧部落的
2.流浪的
Phrases and Expressions
as a result
因此,作为结果
pick up
拾起,拿起
regard...as
认为...是,把...当作
in some cases
在某些情况下
in addition
另外
plenty of
大量的,足够的
Proper Names
Muhammada Ali
穆罕默德.阿里(美国拳击运动员, 1942-)
the Fiji Islands
斐济群岛
India
印度
Israelite
犹太人,希伯来人,古以色列人
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