【正文】 or not and, if it is, how intercultural it may be, may depend on the cultural and social backgrounds of the two persons. If they are from drastically different cultures, munication between them is surely intercultural and may be very intercultural. If they are from the same culture, munication between them may be little intercultural.The following is tentatively suggested for measuring the interculturalness of the cases of munication, and the cases are presented from the most intercultural to the least intercultural:Communication between a Chinese university student and an American professor。 more interactions would lead to greater understanding of each other.(Commonality precedes)Con: People are shaped by different environments they find themselves in, therefore, the differenceoverrides. (Differences precedes)Possible Arguments for Pro:Human beings tend to draw close to one another by their mon nature. We all share the mon basic needs.Rapid expansion of worldwide transportation and munication networks have made it far easier than ever before for people throughout the world to contact with one another.The process of globalization may reduce the regional differences between people all over the world. We are all members of the “global village”.Economic interdependence in today’s world requires people of different countries to interact on an unprecedented scale, and more interaction will result in more similarity among people.More and more people from various cultures have to work and live together and they will adapt to each other to such an extent that cultural differences between them may no longer matter.Possible Arguments for Con:People throughout the world may be similar in many aspects, but differences in habits and customs keep them apart.Though the basic human needs are universally the same, people all over the world satisfy their basic mon human needs in different ways.As our society is being more and more diversified, differences between people tend to grow larger in some aspects.It is differences between people that underlie the necessity of munication, and it does not follow that munication which may increase the possibility of understanding between people will always reduce differences.People nowadays are more likely to try to maintain their unique cultural identities when they find themselves living closely with people of other cultures.From the two seemingly opposite viewpoints, we can learn something that we should keep in mind when we are involved in intercultural munication. First, all human beings share some mon heritages that link us to one another. To some extent, people throughout the world are pretty much alike in many aspects, and that has formed the very basis on which it is possible for people of various cultures to municate. However, what we have to realize is that there are also vast differences between people from various cultural groups. To really understand a person whose cultural background is different from yours can be very difficult, for both you and that person may be subconsciously influenced by each one’s own cultural upbringing. In a sense, what we should do in intercultural munication is to treat people of other cultures both as the same with and as different from us.Reading IIThe Challenge of GlobalizationComprehension questionsWhy does the author say that our understanding of the world has changed?Many things, such as political changes and technological advances, have changed the world very rapidly. In the past most human beings were born, lived, and died within a limited geographical area, never encountering people of other cultural backgrounds. Such an existence, however, no longer prevails in the world. Thus, all people are faced with the challenge of understanding this changed and still fast changing world in which we live.What a “global village ” is like?As our world shrinks and its inhabitants bee interdependent, people from remote cultures increasingly e into contact on a daily basis. In a “global village”, members of once isolated groups of people have to municate with members of other cultural groups. Those people may live thousands of miles away or right next door to each other.What is considered as the major driving force of the post1945 globalization?Technology, particularly telemunications and puters are considered to be the major driving force.What does the author mean by saying that “the ‘global,may be more local than the ‘local”，?The increasing global mobility of people and the impact of new electronic media on human munications make the world seem smaller. We may municate more with people of other countries than with our neighbors, and we may be more informed of the international events than of the local events. In this sense, “the ‘global，may be more local than the ‘local，.Why is it important for businesspeople to know diverse cultures in the world?Effective munication may be the most important petitive advantage that firms have to meet diverse customer needs on a global basis. Succeeding in the global market today requires the ability to municate sensitively with people from other cultures, a sensitivity that is based on an understanding of crosscultural differences.What are the serious problems that countries throughout the world are confronted with?Countries throughout the world are confronted with serious problems such as volatile international economy, shrinking resources, mounting environmental contamination, and epidemics that know no boundaries.What implications can we draw from the case of Michael Fay?This case shows that in a world of international interdependence, the ability to understand and municate effectively with people from other cultures takes on extreme urgency. If we are unaware of the significant role culture plays in munication, we may place the blame for munication failure on people of other cultures.What attitudes are favored by th