If a business wants to sell its products internationally, it had better do some market research first. This is a lesson that some large American corporations have learned the hard way. What's in the name? Sometimes the problem is the name. When General Motors introduced its Chevy Nova into Latin America, it overlooked the fact that Nova in Spanish means "It doesn't go". Sure enough, the Chevy Nova never went anywhere in Latin America. Translation problems Sometimes it is the slogan that doesn't work. No company knows this better than Pepsi-Cola, with its "Come alive with Pepsi!" campaign. The campaign was so successful in the United States , Pepsi translated its slogan literally for its international campaign. As it turned out , the translations weren't quite right. Pepsi was begging Germans to "Come out of the grave " and telling the Chinese that "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave." A picture's worth a thousand words Other times, the problem involves packaging . A picture of a smiling baby has helped sell countless jars of Gerber baby food. When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in African countries, the picture on the jar shows what the jar has in it, for many people there can't read. Twist of fate Even the culture and religious factors and pure coincidence can be involved. Thorn McAn shoes have a Thorn McAn "signature" inside. To people in Bangladesh, which is a Muslim country, this signature looked like Arabic script for the word Allah. In that country, feet are considered unclean, and Muslims felt the company was offending God's name by having people walk on it. From the text we learned that _ . A) Chevy Nova was brought in Latin America B) General Motors did the best market research of all companies C) Pepsi still sold well in China owing to the translation problems D) the "Come alive with Pepsi" campaign worked well in the US
D
Here is a question I have often asked at dinner parties: You're on an island with only one other person, your best friend. He's dying of cancer. In his final days, he tells you, "I have 100,000 dollars in a bank back home. When I die, make sure my son goes to medical school." Then he dies. But his son is a no-good playboy who has no interest in going to medical school and will waste that money away in a very short time. But your son is entering college, and he is willing to become a doctor. Which one do you give the money to for medical school? I've asked this question of everyone from the president of a famous university to an ordinary young soldier, and it has never failed to get a discussion going. Everyone has an opinion, most of them different, but all of them correct. Sometimes this one topic lasts the whole evening. What the writer often says at dinner parties is _ . A) not a true story B) a true story C) a strange story D) just a joke
A
Q: When I was a foreign teacher in China, every day I taught English to my students and they taught me about China. One day the topic turned to saying "I love you". I was shocked to learn that not one of my students had said this to their mothers, nor had their mothers said it to them. "Does your mom love you?" "Of course "they answered. "How do you know ?"was my logical question. They responded that their mons cooked and always told them what they were doing wrong to show their caring. I was stunned .So mon's cooking and criticzing read out as "I love you ". "Then how do you say 'I love you 'to her?" They agreed that getting good grades, followed by god jobs would be how they showed their love. I come from a culture where most people are expressive enough, so I repeated these queries in classes over time. Gradually, I began to get different response. Some of them had exchanged those sentiments with their moms. One of my favorite stories of change came from a girl. When she came home from university, her mother met her at the door and hugged her. This had never happened before, but her mom said, "Now that you have gone I have more time to myself. I noticed that in some places mothers and children hug each other and I decided it was a good idea and that I would begin hugging you." In my family we all say "I love you" a lot .While it is true that we often say the words without having great depth of feelings at that moment, it is almost like a blessing we give each other. Those three little words carry a world of meaning ,even when said as a greeting, but most especially if they are the last words we say to or hear from those we love. Chinese people prefer to show love by _ . A) saying "I love you" B) cooking C) getting good grades D) doing something helpful;
A: D
Ideas about polite behavior are different from one culture to another. Some societies, such as America and Australia for example, are mobile and very open. People here change jobs and move house quite often. As a result, they have a lot of relationships that often last only a short time, and they need to get to know people quickly. So it's normal to have friendly conversations with people that they have just met, and you can talk about things that other cultures would regard as personal. On the other hand there are more crowded and less mobile societies where long-term relationships are more important. A Malaysian or Mexican business person, for example, will want to get to know you very well before he or she feels happy to start business. But when you do get to know each other, the relationship becomes much deeper than it would in a mobile society. To Americans, both Europeans and Asians seem cool and formal at first. On the other hand, as a passenger from a less mobile society puts it, it's no fun spending several hours next to a stranger who wants to tell you all about his or her life and asks you all sorts of questions that you don't want to answer. Cross-cultural differences aren't just a problem for travelers, but also for the flights that carry them. All flights want to provide the best service, but ideas about good service are different from place to place. This can be seen most clearly in the way that problems are dealt with. Some societies have 'universalist' cultures. These societies strongly respect rules, and they treat every person and situation in basically the same way. 'Particularist' societies, on the other hand, also have rules, but they are less important than the society's unwrinen ideas about what is right or wrong for a particular situation or a particular person. So the normal rules are changed to fit the needs of the situation or the importance of the person. This difference can cause problems. A traveler from a particularist society, India, is checking in for a flight in Germany, a... People like Malaysians prefer to associate with those A) who will tell them everything of their own B) who want to do business with them C) they know quite well D) who are good at talking
C