Supplementary Reading

Opponents of globalization are naturally keen to seize upon any event that would appear to support their case, and the terrorist attacks on theUnited Stateson September 11, 2001, seemed to provide one such opportunity. Yet despite some wishing to see an end to globalization it survives alive and well, and with good reason, argues New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman.

Globalization, Alive and Well[1]

Thomas L. Friedman

1     If one were having a contest for the most wrongheaded prediction about the world after 9/11, the winner would be the declaration by the noted London School of Economics professor John Gray that 9/11 heralded the end of the era of globalization. Not only will Sept. 11 not be remembered for ending the process of global financial, trade and technological integration, but it may well be remembered for bringing some sobriety to the anti-globalization movement.

2     (1) If one thing stands out from 9/11, it's the fact that the terrorists originated from the least globalized, least open, least integrated corners of the world: namely, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. Countries that don't trade in goods and services also tend not to trade in ideas, pluralism or tolerance.

3     But maybe the most important reason why globalization is alive and well post-9/11 is that while pampered college students and academics in the West continue to debate about whether countries should globalize, the two biggest countries in the world, India and China — who represent one-third of humanity — have long moved beyond that question. They have decided that opening their economies to trade in goods and services is the best way to lift their people out of abject poverty and are now focused simply on how to globalize in the most stable manner. Some prefer to go faster, and some prefer to phase out currency controls and subsidies gradually, but the debate about the direction they need to go is over.

4     (2) ''Globalization fatigue is still very much in evidence in Europe and America, while in places like China and India, you find a great desire for participation in the economic expansion processes,'' said Jairam Ramesh, the Indian Congress Party's top economic adviser. ''. . . Even those who are suspicious now want to find a way to participate, but in a way that manages the risks and the pace. So we're finding ways to 'glocalize[2],' to do it our own way. It may mean a little slower growth to manage the social stability, but so be it. . . . I just spent a week in Germany and had to listen to all these people there telling me how globalization is destroying India and adding to poverty, and I just said to them, 'Look, if you want to argue about ideology, we can do that, but on the level of facts, you're just wrong.' ''

5     That truth is most striking in Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley, where hundreds of thousands of young Indians, most from lower-middle-class families, suddenly have social mobility, motor scooters and apartments after going to technical colleges and joining the Indian software and engineering firms providing back-room support and research for the world's biggest firms — thanks to globalization. Bangalore officials say each tech job produces 6.5 support jobs, in construction and services.                                6     ''Information technology has made millionaires out of ordinary people [inIndia] because of their brainpower alone —not caste, not land, not heredity,'' said Sanjay Baru, editor ofIndia's Financial Express. ''Indiais just beginning to realize that this process of globalization is one where we have an inherent advantage.''                                                          7    Taking advantage of globalization to develop the Indian I.T. industry has been ''a huge win in terms of foreign exchange [and in] self-confidence,'' added Nandan Nilekani, chief executive of Infosys, the Indian software giant. ''So many Indians come and say to me that 'when I walk through immigration at J.F.K. or Heathrow, the immigration guys look at me with respect now.' The image ofIndiachanged from a third-world country of snake charmers and rope tricks to the software brainy guys.'' (3) Do a majority of Indians still live in poor villages? Of course. Do we still need to make globalization more fair by compelling the rich Western countries to open their markets more to those things that the poor countries are best able to sell: food and textiles? You bet.

8     But the point is this: The debate about globalization before 9/11 got really stupid. Two simple truths got lost: (4) One, globalization has its upsides and downsides, but countries that come at it with the right institutions and governance can get the best out of it and cushion the worst. Two, countries that are globalizing sensibly but steadily are also the ones that are becoming politically more open, with more opportunities for their people, and with a young generation more interested in joining the world system than blowing it up.

1 Culture Notes

Thomas L. Friedman (1953– ): an American journalist, columnist, Marshall Scholar and multi Pulitzer Prize winning author. Friedman graduated summa cum laude (享有最高荣誉) from Brandeis University with a degree in Mediterranean studies and received a master's degree in modern Middle East studies from Oxford. He has served as a visiting professor at Harvard University and has been awarded honorary degrees from severalU.S.universities.

Thomas Friedman's Three Eras of Globalization

(Directions:) Watch the video clip and fill in the blanks of the table.

2 Language Study  

with good reason   with good cause; justifiably  

  *One who hesitates… does so with good reason

   很多居民担心他们的工作是有道理的。

   (=Some residents feared for their jobs, with good reason.)

herald: vt.  announce or signal the approach of

*Halloween heralds the beginning of the dark, cold half of the year.

先知宣告了巴比伦的毁灭。

  (=The prophet heralded the destruction of Babylon.)

If one were having a contest for the most wrongheaded prediction about the world after 9/11, the winner would be the declaration by the noted London School of Economics professor John Gray that 9/11 heralded the end of the era of globalization.

  Translate the sentence into Chinese

   (=如果组织一次对9/11后的世界局势最错误的预言评选的话，冠军将会是著 名的伦敦经济学院教授约翰· 格雷所宣称的9/11预示着全球化时代的终结。)

originate: v. come into being, begin to exist

  *His book originated from a newspaper report.

  所有的理论都来源于实践。

  (=All theories originate from practice.)

globalize: v. make (sth.) become generally accepted all over the world

* The report paints a picture of a world of increasingly globalized education.

总经理强调，要保持全球化生产成本的竞争力。

(=The General Manager stressed the need to globalize production to remain cost-competitive.)

namely: adv.  that is to say  

*There are two ways to slide easily through life: namely, to believe everything, or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.

他懂三个国家的外语，即：日语、英语和法语。

(=He knows three foreign languages, namely Japanese, English and French.

stable: adj. firmly fixed; not likely to move, change or fail

*More and more nomads have settled down and led a stable life.

慢下来, 以稳速回答问题。

(=Slow down, and answer questions at a stable pace.)

  NB: stability 是“stable” 的名词形式， 意为 “the state or quality of being stable”

phase out: bring or come to an end, one stage at a time

*Citing its high cost at a time of tight budgetary constraint, the University of Illinois will phase out an art history program.

即显(Polaroid film)胶片早已被淘汰。

(=Polaroid film was phased out long ago.)

currency: n. money in actual use

*Germany once had a solid economy, good fiscal and monetary policies，and a hard currency.

你的外币账户允许以美元、英镑和欧元提款。

  (=Your foreign currency account allows withdrawal in USD, GBP and Euros.)

subsidy: n. monetary assistance granted by a government in support of an enterprise regarded as being in the public interest

*An increasing number ofChinaexport products are facing anti-subsidy lawsuits in foreign countries.

    补助金只提供购买3500元以下的电脑。

    (=The subsidy was offered only for purchases of computers below 3500 yuan. )

fatigue: n. great tiredness, usu. resulting from hard work or exercise

*The plane crash was most probably caused by metal fatigue.

    他被劳累拖垮了。

       (=He was worn down with fatigue.)

in evidence: plainly visible; easily seen or noticed

   * As there was a pattern in evidence in all these murders, we’re quite sure they were committed by the same person.

这位女演员确信她的订婚戒指是引人注目的。

(=The actress made sure that her engagement ring was in evidence.)

participation: n. the act of taking part in or sharing in sth.  

* There is need for more infected persons with HIV/AIDS to come out in the open and take active participation in activities to raise people’s awareness.

    课堂参与占期末成绩的20%。

       (=Participation in class accounts for 20% of your final grade.)

''Globalization fatigue is still very much in evidence in Europe and America, while in places like China and India, you find a great desire for participation in the economic expansion processes,'' said Jairam Ramesh, the Indian Congress Party's top economic adviser.

Translate the sentence into Chinese

(=“全球化疲劳在欧美仍很显著，而在中国和印度这样的地方，你会发现人们急 切地想参与到经济扩张进程中来，” 印度国大党的首席经济顾问杰伦· 兰密施说。)

so be it: (used to express acceptance, esp. of a situation one is not entirely happy with) I accept it as it is  

*If it’s your wish, so be it.

没有什么好做的。就这样吧。

   (=There is nothing better to do. So be it.)

add to: increase

* The strike is adding to the chaos, but it is not causing it.

大米的价格最近几月急速上涨，增添了穷人的痛苦。

(=Rice prices have risen sharply over recent months, adding to the pain of the poor.)

software: n. computer programs

   * Indiais said to turn out more software engineers than any other country.

    小公司需要更便宜的软件。

(=Small companies need cheaper software.)

inherent: adj. existing as a natural and permanent feature or quality of sb./sth.  

  * Weight is an inherent property of matter.

 对美的渴望使我们所有人与生俱来的。

(=The desire for beauty is inherent in us all.)

advantage: n. sth. that puts you in a better position than others

  * There is an advantage to being multilingual.

   天气对我们的小组有利。

(=The weather is of advantage to our team.)

Collocation:

take advantage of            利用；占便宜

to advantage                            使最好方面突出，有利地，有效地

a majority of: the greater number or part of  

*A new poll shows that a majority of New Yorkers support gay marriage.

大多数的公司禁止在工作期间登陆社会网站。

(=A majority of companies prohibit social networking websites at work.)

you bet: (used for saying “yes” in an emphatic way) you can be sure

   *--Are you a fan of Michael Jackson?  --You bet!

   你发誓这是一个阴谋。

       (=You bet it’s a conspiracy.)

upside: n. an advantageous aspect

  * The upside of the whole thing is that we got a free trip to Africa.

 恼人的是我们星期四才能旅行, 但好处是票价会更便宜。

(=It’s annoying that we can’t travel until Thursday, but the upside is that the fare’s cheaper then.)

NB: upside 的反义词是 “downside”, 意为 “不利方面，缺点”。例如：The downside of the book is that it is written in a rather boring style. 这本书的缺点是，它的写作风格太单调。

blow up: damage or destroy violently

* We need to blow up the old bridge and build a new one.

海盗威胁要炸毁船只。

       (=The pirates threatened to blow up the ship.)

Globalization has its upsides and downsides, but countries

            that come at it with the right institutions and governance

            can get the best out of it and cushion the worst.

 (=全球化有优点也有缺点，但如果参与全球化的国家有恰当的制度和管理，它

   们就能从中获得最大的好处，并且能缓和最不利的方面造成的影响。)

3 Comprehension Task---Group Discussion

 (Directions:) Watch the video clip entitled “American Born Chinese (ABC)” and discuss in the group the following questions.

1. Do you know anyone who      is an ABC? Say sth. of him/her.

2. Are there any      differences between a Chinese and an ABC? What do you think are the      differences?

With the globalization, is it helpful to be an ABC? Why or Why not?

[1] This text is taken from The New York Times, published: September 22, 2002.

[2] glocalize: the word is coined by the speaker, roughly meaning: adapt the process of globalization to the local conditions so as to make it manageable and profitable.