21世纪大学英语读写教程第二册03

UNIT 3

Text A

Pre-reading Activities
First Listening
1. As you listen to the tape the first time, fill in the missing parts in the blanks.
A) Jack is interested in a job as an ________ manager located in _______.
B) His qualifications include _______ years of experience knowing how to use ________.
C) He believes that people are _______ everywhere.

Second Listening
2. What is the disagreement about? Whose opinion do you agree more with? Why?

The Tale of a Cultural Translator

Joint ventures involving Western and Japanese companies often run into conflicts — a multitude of little things that escalate into big emotional battles in which all the parties keep exclaiming: "What's wrong with them!? Can they understand that ...?!" But because the conflicts are mainly due to cultural differences, neither side can understand—unless they have a "cultural translator".
The first cultural translator I ever met was an installation engineer, George by name, who worked for an American company where I was the director of international operations. The company had just started a joint venture with a Japanese firm, and the American management needed someone to train the Japanese employees in its unique technology. George's solid understanding of the equipment, its installation and use made him the best-qualified employee for the job, so everyone was happy when George accepted a two-year contract for temporary transfer to Japan.
From the start, George was well accepted by all the Japanese employees. Japanese managers often distrust anyone sent to represent US owners, but George was so naturally nonassertive that no one could see him as a threat to their careers. So they felt comfortable asking his advice on a wide range of matters, including the odd behavior of their partners across the ocean. Engineers throughout the company appreciated George's expertise and his friendly and capable help, and they got into the habit of turning to him whenever they had a problem — any problem. And the secretaries in the office were eager to help this nice bachelor learn Japanese.
Sooner than anyone expected, the company became a profitable, thriving and growing venture. George's first two-year contract came to an end. By then, he could speak good Japanese, and had picked up Japanese habits. He drank green tea at all hours, ate rice at every meal and had even learned to sit properly on Japanese tatami mats. So when George was offered a second two-year Japanese contract, he accepted at once. Another contract followed, and George's love affair with Japanese culture continued.
But as George's sixth year in the country was coming to an end, an unexpected difficulty became apparent: The Japanese engineers had surpassed George in their knowledge of the rapidly - changing technology. He had nothing left to teach them.
Was this the end for poor George? Was there nothing more he could offer to the now-mature joint venture he had served so loyally? Would he have to leave the country he had come to love? No! Faced with the threat of an unwilling departure from Japan, George reinvented himself as a "cultural translator".
The idea came to George one day when the Japanese joint-venture president was — again — offended by a message from the American management. As usual in such situations, he stormed into George's office and threw the message in front of him in a fury. And George, as usual, read the message and explained in his calm manner what the Americans had really meant by it, not what it sounded like in the context of Japanese culture.
Fortunately for everyone, both the Japanese and American sides of the joint venture had heard enough horror stories about cultural conflicts to recognize the value of George's skills, so when he proposed this new position for himself, the idea was quickly approved. The wisdom of this decision was proved again and again over the years.
At times something far more important than good English was needed. One such case was when the Japanese accountant had to explain the $46,534 spent on 874 December-holiday presents. Or there was the time when the Japanese personnel manager had to justify keeping a chemist on the payroll even though the company no longer needed his expertise. In cases like these, everyone turned to George.
Somehow or other, he made their messages sound at least halfway sensible to Americans. And when there was something that even George couldn't "translate" into American - style sense, he would write, "This will sound crazy, but you should go along with it anyway."
It worked the other way around, too. When the American managers visited Japan, George accompanied us everywhere to ensure that we didn't do or say anything too stupid from the Japanese viewpoint. Whenever we did that anyway, he came to the rescue at once: "What they really mean is...." Whole multitudes of difficulties never arose thanks to George's skill at smoothing over small conflicts before they became big, emotional and costly.
Since leaving that company in George's capable hands, I've advised many firms on international operations. And my first recommendation is always the same: Don't worry about language problems — the first thing you need is a cultural translator.
(776 words)