下Unit7 French and English.pptVIP

French and English By G. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 —1936) G. K. Chesterton, British man of letters, was a journalist, a scholar, a novelist, a short-story writer, and a poet. His works of social and literary criticism include Robert Browning (1903), Charles Dickens (1906), and The Victorian Age in Literature (1913). Even before his conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1922, he was interested in theology and religious argument. His fiction includes The Napoleon of Notting Hill (1904), the popular allegorical novel The Man Who Was Thursday (1908), and his most successful creation, the series of detective novels featuring the priest-sleuth Father Brown. Topics for discussion 1 In what respects are the British people different from the French people? How do they differ from the Chinese people? 2 How do you think a nation has fostered and formed its distinctive and dominant characteristics? 3 Do you think that some cultures are better or more advanced than others? Why? 4 What is the right attitude towards cultural diversity in the world in your opinion? Social background of the text It is commonly thought that diversity is the source of happiness. To guarantee diversity we must pay due respect to peculiarities of a man, a nation, or anything else. We ought not to take our own peculiar traits as the measure to eveluate those of others. However, sometimes, even if we have the good intention to respect peculiarities of others, we might come across problems, or even make mistakes, in realizing what peculiarities are. Overgeneralization and irresponsible labelling are two common blunders which might be great obstacles to achieving truth as well as to communication. Definition of Culture Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called the way of life for an entire society.As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, reli