Unit 5

Text A

Pre-reading Activities

1. As you listen to the passage, write down the idioms and expressions that match each definition below. Warning: One of the definitions fits two expressions that you'll hear.
______ a) a child who learns to survive by observing life on city streets
______ b) competitive strategies used in business
______ c) 100% American
______ d) unhealthy food
______ e) a popular American dessert
______ f) an activity, decision, problem, etc., that concerns only family members

2. How would you answer Li's last question?

The ABCs of the U.S.A.: America Seen with European Eyes

Michael Dobbs

America can be a strange experience for a foreigner. My wife and I arrived in the United States in January after seven years overseas — four in France, three in Poland. From the jumble of first impressions, we compiled an A-to-Z explanation of why America can be such a foreign country to those who arrive here from Europe.
I should explain at the outset that I am from Britain, but my Florida-born wife Lisa is as American as apple pie. In our list, however, A doesn't stand for apple pie. It stands for:
Ambition. In the Old World, people are taught to hide it. Here it's quite proper to announce that you're after the boss's job or want to make a million dollars by the age of 30.
Breakfast. The American habit of conducting business at breakfast has reached Europe, but I doubt it will ever really catch on. In France and Britain, breakfast is a family affair. Here, it's become part of the power game.
Credit Cards. You really can't leave home without them. It's interesting, and somewhat frustrating, to discover that bad credit is better than no credit at all: I was refused a VISA card on the grounds that I didn't have a credit profile.
Dreams. The American Dream is still very much alive. Dreaming great dreams is what keeps American society going — from the waitress who wants to become a car dealer to the street kid who wants to become a basketball star. Europeans dream dreams too, but don't seem to believe in them so much.
Exercise. A couple of years ago I came to Washington with some French journalists. As our bus passed a health club on the way to the hotel, the French visitors cheered at the sight of body-conscious Americans bending, stretching and leaping around. America's obsession with physical fitness really amuses — and puzzles — Europeans.
First names. In Europe, people progress in a natural and orderly way from the use of last names to the use of first names. Here, it's first names at first sight. This can cause confusion for Europeans. With everyone on a first-name basis, how can you tell your acquaintances from your friends?
Gadgets. These can be addictive. It's difficult to imagine now how we survived for so long without automatic ice machines and microwave ovens.
Hardware Stores. If I were in charge of arranging the programs of visiting delegations from lessdeveloped countries, I'd include a compulsory visit to a hardware store. These temples of American capitalism reveal a whole range of American values, from the do-it-yourself pioneer spirit through a love of comfort that absolutely astonishes most foreigners.
Insurance. Americans have policies to cover every possible risk, no matter how remote. So far, we've refused supplementary insurance for our car radio, death insurance for our mortgage and accident insurance for our cat. It gives us a feeling of living dangerously.
Junk food. Anyone who wants to understand why Americans suffer from higher rates of cancer and heart disease only has to look at what they eat.
Ketchup. I had to come to America to discover that it can be eaten with anything — from French fries to French cheese.
Lines. American lines — beginning with the yellow line at immigration control — are the most orderly in the world. The British queue, once internationally renowned, has begun to decay in recent years. The French queue was never very impressive, and the Italian line is simply a mob.
Money. In Europe, everybody likes money, but no one shows it off. Unless it's been in the family for several generations, there's often an assumption that it was acquired dishonestly. In America, no one cares how you got it.
No smoking. No longer just a polite request in America, this phrase has become the law. Nobody would dare ask a Frenchman to put out his Galoise in a restaurant.
Oliver North. What other major Western democracy lets army officers take over foreign policy? A hero for some, a traitor for others, Ollie (see First Names) is an example of an American recklessness that awes and alarms Europeans.
Patriots. They exist everywhere, of course, but the American version is louder and more self-conscious than the European. In Britain, it's taken for granted that politicians love their country. Here, they're expected to prove it.
Quiet. American cities are quieter than European cities — thanks to noise controls on automobiles and to recent environmental legislation. This was a major surprise for someone brought up to assume that America was a noisy place.
Religion. The idea of putting preachers on TV is alarming to Europeans. It's even more alarming to see them in action.
Sales. Ever since arriving in Washington, we've been hurrying to take advantage of this week's unrepeatable offer, only to discover that it's usually repeated next week. We're just catching on that there's always an excuse for a sale.
Television. That grown-ups can watch game shows and sitcoms at 11 AM amazes me — but the national habit, day or night, is contagious. I recently found myself nodding in agreement with a professor who was saying that American kids watch too much television. Then I realized that I was watching him say this on television.
Ulcers. See Work.
Visas. Americans don't need visas to visit Britain (or most European countries, for that matter). To enter the United States, I had to sign a document promising that I would not overthrow the government by force and had no criminal record. One wonders if many terrorists and criminals answer "yes" on these questionnaires.
Work. People in less developed countries often imagine that they can become rich simply by emigrating to America. But America became a wealthy society through work, work and more work. It's still true.
X-rated movies. We have them in Europe too, but not on motel-room TVs.
Yuppies. The European counterpart remains a pale shadow of the all-American original. The animal seems more ambitious, and more common, on this side of the Atlantic.
Zillion. What other nation would invent a number that's infinitely more than a billion? America may not always be the best, but it certainly thinks big.
(1,030 words)

New Words

jumble
n. a confused or untidy group of things 雜亂的一堆

* compile
vt. produce by putting together many pieces (e.g., of information) 匯編；編制

outset
n. beginning 開始；起始

ambition
n. strong desire for success, power, money, etc. 對（成功、權力、金錢等的）強烈欲望，野心；雄心

profile
n. 1. a short article or programme which describes a person's life and character 傳略，人物簡介
2. a side view, esp. of sb.'s head; a shape of sth. seen against a background 側面，側影；輪廓
vt. 1. 寫…的傳略
2. 給…畫側面像；描…的輪廓

* dealer
n. a person whose business involves buying and selling 商人；證券經紀人

journalist
n. a person who works on a newspaper or magazine and writes articles for it 新聞記者；報紙撰稿人

journal
n. 1. a magazine for people with a particular interest 雜志，期刊
2. an account which one writes of one's daily activities 日志；日記

leap (leapt or leaped)
vi. jump high in the air or jump a long distance 跳躍
n. a sudden jump or movement; a sudden increase in number, amount, etc. 跳躍；激增

* obsession
n. a fixed idea from which the mind cannot be freed 著迷；困擾

physical fitness
healthy body conditions 身體健康

amuse
vt. make (sb.) laugh; cause to spend time in a pleasant way 逗樂；給…提供娛樂或消遣