【正文】 r independence from England and established a new nation, the United States of America. In doing so, they created a climate of freedom where the emphasis was on the individual. This is probably the most basic of all the American values, which is also called individualism by scholars. ? Q3: What is your view on American values? What are the effects of American values? ? By freedom, Americans mean the desire and the ability of all individuals to control their own destiny without outside interference. There is, however, a price to be paid for this individual freedom: selfreliance. Individuals must learn to rely on themselves or risk losing freedom. This means achieving both financial and emotional independence from their parents as early as possible, usually by age of means that Americans believe they should take care of themselves, solve their own problems, and “stand on their own two feet.” Q3: What is your view on American values? What are the effects of American values? ? Most Americans believe that they must be selfreliant in order to keep their freedom. If people are dependent, they risk losing freedom as well as the respect of their peers. In order to be in the mainstream of American lifeto have power and/or respect –individuals must be seen as selfreliant. Although receiving financial support from charity, family, or the government is allowed, it is never admired. Many people believe that such individuals are setting a bad example, which may weaken the American character as a whole. ? Q3: What is your view on American values? What are the effects of American values? ? So, it is important to understand what most Americans truly mean when they say they believe in equality of opportunity. They mean that each individual should have an equal chance for success. It helps ensure that the race for success is a fair one and that a person does not win or lose just because of external forces. ? The phrase “going from rags to riches” became a slogan for the great American dream. There is, however, a price to be paid for this equality of opportunity: petition. ? Q3: What is your view on American values? What are the effects of American values? ? People who like to pete and are more successful than others are honored by being called winners. On the other hand, those who do not like to pete and are not successful when they try are often dishonored by being called losers. The pressure to pete causes Americans to be more energetic, but it also places a constant emotional strain on them. When they retire, they are at last free from the pressures of petition. But then a new problem arises. They may feel useless and unwanted in a society that gives so much prestige to those who pete well. This is why older people in the United States do not have as much honor and respect as they do in other less petitive societies. ? Q4: How is the mainstream American culture different from the Chinese culture? ? Open ? Q5: What are the main characteristics of values? ? First, as part of culture, values are learned from people around: family, school, mass media, and so on. Once learned, they tend to be stable and govern people’ beliefs, attitudes, ideas and actions. Second, values are hidden. We do not see them as they exist in our subconsciousness. We are not always aware of them, but we make judgments according to them. ? Q5: What are the main characteristics of values? ? Third , values are pervasive. Each of us has a unique set of individual values, but there are also values that tend to permeate a culture. They are called cultural values. The point we have to keep in mind is that the value of the culture may not be the value of all individuals within the culture. Fourth, values can be pared on a continuum rather than one of only two possible choices. People posses the same values to different degrees. Q5: What are the main characteristics of values? Fifth, values are interrelated. They don’t work alone. For example, the value toward family usually leads to those toward age, status, etc. Finally, values of a culture change just as cultures do. Of course, they change much more slowly than do the way people dress, the artifacts people make, and other parts of a culture that are easily seen. Contradictory values can be found in a particular culture. There is often a gulf between the values that are articulated (idealism) and the values that are acted out (reality). 1. Most Americans would have a difficult time telling you, specifically, what the values are that Americans live by. They have never given the matter much thought. 1. 大多數(shù)美國人在談起其賴以生存的價值觀時會感到力不從心。 3. Although Americans may think of themselves as being more varied and unpredictable than they actually are, it is significant that they think they are. Americans tend to think they have been only slightly influenced by family, church or schools. In the end, each believes, “I personally chose which values I want to live my own life by.” 3. 盡管美國人可能認為他們自己比實際看上去更加變幻莫測，但重要的是他們的確認為自己變幻莫測。在美國，如果某一個行為或某一句話使你感到吃驚，那么你可以將其與下面羅列的價值觀對號入座。因此，僅僅熟悉這些價值觀是不夠的，還必須盡可能做到不因自身經(jīng)歷和文化身份而對這些價值觀有負面和貶損的看法。 7. In the United States, people consider it normal and right that Man should control Nature, rather than the other way around. More specifically, people believe every single individual should have control over whatever in the environment might potentially affect him or her. 7. 在美國 , 人們認為人定勝天 , 而非受制于自然的觀點既正常又正確。 ? Time and Its Control 8. Time is, for the average American, of utmost importance. To the foreign visitor, Americans seem to be more concerned with getting things acplished on time (according to a predetermined sche