Culture

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unit 2

• Culture

2
Shakespeare

• baptized April 26, 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon,
  Warwickshire, Eng.
• died April 23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon
• Shakespeare also spelled Shakspere, byname Bard
  of Avon, or Swan of Avon English poet, dramatist,
  and actor, often called the English national poet
  and considered by many to be the greatest
  dramatist of all time.
• Shakespeare occupies a position unique in world
  literature. Other poets, such as Homer and Dante,
  and novelists, such as Leo Tolstoy and Charles
  Dickens, have transcended national barriers but
  no writer's living reputation can compare with
  that of Shakespeare, whose plays, written in the
  late 16th and early 17th centuries for a small
  repertory theatre, are now performed and read
  more often and in more countries than ever
  before. The prophecy of his great contemporary,
  the poet and dramatist Ben Jonson, that
  Shakespeare was not of an age, but for all
  time, has been fulfilled.

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• It may be audacious even to attempt a definition
  of his greatness, but it is not so difficult to
  describe the gifts that enabled him to create
  imaginative visions of pathos and mirth that,
  whether read or witnessed in the theatre, fill
  the mind and linger there. He is a writer of
  great intellectual rapidity, perceptiveness, and
  poetic power. Other writers have had these
  qualities, but with Shakespeare the keenness of
  mind was applied not to abstruse or remote
  subjects but to human beings and their complete
  range of emotions and conflicts. Other writers
  have applied their keenness of mind in this way,
  but Shakespeare is astonishingly clever with
  words and images, so that his mental energy, when
  applied to intelligible human situations, finds
  full and memorable expression, convincing and
  imaginatively stimulating. As if this were not
  enough, the art form into which his creative
  energies went was not remote and bookish but
  involved the vivid stage impersonation of human
  beings, commanding sympathy and inviting
  vicarious participation. Thus Shakespeare's
  merits can survive translation into other
  languages and into cultures remote from that of
  Elizabethan England.

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•  Shakespeares Four Tragedies
• Hamlet
• Othello
• King Lear
• Macbeth
•  Shakespeares Four Comedies
• The Taming of the Shrew
• A Midsummer Nights Dream
• The Merchant of Venice
• Twelfth Night

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•  Finish the Listening section, and finish the
  tasks followed.

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Culture
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Culture Internet

• I. Work with your partner and try to define the
  two words culture and internet.
• II. Try to find the connections between culture
  and Internet. (Try to illustrate it from
  different aspects)
• III. Read through the passage Why digital Culture
  Is Good for You in one minute and make an outline
  of the whole passage.

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Outline

• Why Digital Culture Is Good for You
• Topic In and of itself, the Web is fairly
  harmless.
• Supporting information
• i) The Web simply magnifies what is already
  there.
• ii) The Web can bring out the best in people.
• iii) People are judged differently on the Web.
• iv) People open up more.
• v) Were connected.
• vi) We learn the Power of Words and to be Better
  Listeners.
• Try to enrich the supporting information with
  your own understanding of them.

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• IV. Go through the text again in five to six
  minutes, and finish the exercises followed.
• V. Discuss with your partner, and try to
  illustrate the writing style of this passage. And
  think about what you can learn from it.
• VI. list any words and expressions you think
  beautiful or worthy of remembering.

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Cultural Differences
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What kind of culture do they represent
respectively?
Lady Liberty Finished in 1886 and standing 300
feet high Lady Liberty is an essential part
of any visit to New York. Be warned though, that
the climb to the viewing gallery is long and
cramped!
12
In London you can see men dressed in a red
costume like in this picture. These men are
called Beefeaters and are very important because
they look after our queen and her jewels. Some
people say this is the nearest thing to our
national costume.
13
There are many types of dance in India, from
those which are deeply religious in content to
those which are danced on more trivial happy
occasions. Classical dances of India are usually
always spiritual in content, although this is
often true also of Folk dances.
14
The traditional symbol of Russian culture is
Matreshka (also spelled Matryoshka), which is a
set of nesting(??) dolls. Most of them are
exclusive author's works made by famous Russian
artists. Every doll (except the last one, the
smallest) consists of two parts. The smaller doll
inserts into the bigger one. Thus dolls
(sometimes up to 30) can be combined inside the
biggest doll - Matreshka. Production of a
30-pieces Matreshka demands a huge amount of time
and effort. The size of the biggest doll is about
15 inches whereas the smallest - 0,1 inches!
This is very high detailed unique work. Before
the painter starts his work the wood turner makes
a "part blank". Every doll is turned by hand with
lathe. All dolls are made from natural wood.
After the pictures are ready, dolls are covered
by the several layers of the lacquer. The lacquer
adds glint to the doll and defends the pictures.
15
Contemporary Japanese weddings are celebrated in
variety of ways including Shinto, Buddhist, or
Christian style. Many contain elements from
traditional Japanese and western culture. The
rituals of cake cutting, exchanging rings and
honeymoons are a few of the western traditions
that have been adopted. The Japanese wedding I
saw took place at a Shinto Shrine. The bride wore
a wedding kimono of white silk and the groom wore
a black kimono decorated with his family crest in
white. Usually, only the bride and group, their
immediate families, and the go-betweens attend
the religious part of the Shinto wedding. A
Shinto priest first offers prayers to the
deities, then the groom makes his marriage oath.
Next, the couple performs the Sansan-kudo
exchange of nuptial cups. San-san-ku means 3 3
9 and the small, medium and large cups are each
brought to the lips three times with one sip each
time.
16

• Have you ever experienced any kind of culture
  shock? Tell your story to your classmates.

17

• Read through the text Cultural Differences, and
  finish the exercises followed.

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Reading Skills Practice

• Distinguishing Fact from Opinion
• Facts are statements that can be verified that
  is, proven to be true. Opinions are statements
  that express subjective feelings, attitudes, or
  beliefs. Their truth will have to be proved.
• Finish Exercise 15.
• Read the text B Cultural Differences and find
  all the statements about opinions.

1. opinion (strange) 2. fact 3. opinion
(share a number of unusual characteristics 4.
fact 5. fact 6. opinion (escape from freedom)