Cross-Cultural Communications Reading Answers

Feb 8, 2024

Cross-Cultural Communications Reading Answers is a general reading topic. Cross-Cultural Communications Reading Answers have a total of 7 IELTS questions in total. The specified topic generates 1 question type: choose the correct course according to the job role. Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS reading practice papers, which feature topics such as Cross-Cultural Communications Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

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Section 1

Read the Below Passage to Answer the Questions

Cross-cultural Communication: Melvin Schnapper

A. A Peace Corps staff member is hurriedly called to a town in Ethiopia to deal with reports that one of the volunteers is treating Ethiopians like dogs. What could the volunteer do to communicate that? Another foreign volunteer in Nigeria has great trouble getting any discipline in his class, and it is known that the students have no respect for him because he has shown no self- respect. How has he shown that? Neither of these volunteers offended his hosts with words. But both of them were unaware of what they had communicated through their non-verbal behavior. In the first case, the volunteer working at a health center would go into the waiting room and call for the next patient. She did this as she would in America - by pointing with her finger to the next patient and beckoning him to come.

Acceptable in the States, but in Ethiopia her pointing gesture is for children and her beckoning signal is for dogs. In Ethiopia one points to a person by extending the arm and hand and beckons by holding the hand out, palm down, and closing it repeatedly. In the second case, the volunteer insisted that students look him in the eye to show attentiveness, in a country where prolonged eye contact is considered disrespectful.

B.While the most innocent American-English gesture may have insulting, embarrassing, or at least confusing connotations in another Culture, the converse is also true. If foreign visitors were to bang on the table and hiss at the waiter for service in a New York restaurant, they would be fortunate if they were only thrown out. Americans might find foreign students overly polite if they bow.

C. It seems easier to accept the arbitrariness of language - that dog is chien in French or aja in Yoruba - than the differences in the emotionally laden behavior of non-verbal communication, which in many ways is just as arbitrary as language. Secondly, we assume that our way of talking and gesturing is 'natural' and that those who do things differently are somehow playing with nature. This assumption leads to a blindness about intercultural behavior. And individuals are likely to remain blind and unaware of what they are communicating non-verbally, because the hosts will seldom tell them that they have committed a social blunder. It is rude to tell people they are rude; thus the hosts grant visitors a 'foreigner's license', allowing them to make mistakes of social etiquette, and they never know until too late which ones prove disastrous. An additional handicap is that the visitors. have not entered the new setting as free agents, able to detect and adopt new ways of communicating without words. They are prisoners of their own culture and interact within their own framework. Yet the fact remains that for maximum understanding the visitor using the words of another language also must learn to use the tools of non-verbal communication of that culture.

D. Non-verbal communication - teaching it and measuring effect - is more difficult than formal language instruction. But now that language has achieved its proper recognition as being essential for success, the area of non-verbal behavior should be taught to people who will live in another country in a systematic way, giving them actual experiences, awareness, and sensitivity. Indeed, it is the rise in linguistic fluency that now makes non-verbal fluency even more critical. A linguistically fluent visitor may tend to offend even more than those who don't speak as well if that visitor shows ignorance about interface etiquette; the national may perceive this disparity between linguistic and non-linguistic performance as a disregard for the more subtle aspects of intercultural communication. Because non-verbal cues reflect emotional states, both visitor and host national might not be able to articulate what's going on.

E. While it would be difficult to map out all the non-verbal details for every language that the Peace Corps teaches, one can hope to make visitors aware of the existence and emotional importance of non-verbal channels. I have identified five such channels:
kinesic, proxemic, chronemic, oculesic, and haptic. These five channels of non-verbal communication exist in every culture. The patterns and forms are completely arbitrary, and it is arguable as to what is universal and what is culturally defined. Of course, there is no guarantee that heightened awareness will change behavior. Indeed, there may be situations where visitors should not alter their behavior, depending on the status, personalities, and values in the social context. But the approach seeks to make people aware of an area of interpersonal activity that for too long has been left to chance or the assumption that visitors to other countries will be sensitive to it because they are surrounded by it.

Section 2

Questions 27-31

Reading Passage 3 has five sections, A-E. Choose the correct section for each main idea from the list of main ideas given below. Write the correct number; i-vii, in boxes 27-31 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings

i.How Americans would interpret the non-verbal behavior of foreigners
II. How Africans would interpret the non-verbal behavior of American volunteers
iii. Non-verbal behavior of foreigners in Africa
iv. Five channels of non-verbal communication as identified by the writer
v. A word of warning from the writer
vi. Non-verbal fluency as necessary as linguistic fluency
vii. Why one needs to learn about intercultural behavior

Section A

Answer: II
Supporting statement: “........What could the volunteer do to communicate that? Another foreign volunteer in Nigeria has great trouble getting any discipline in his class........”
Keywords: communicate, discipline
Keyword Location: para A, line 3
Explanation: It is given that the people working in Nigeria which is a place in Africa found it difficult to interpret the non-verbal behavior of foreigners.

Section B

Answer: I
Supporting statement: “........While the most innocent American-English gesture may have insulting, embarrassing, or at least confusing connotations in another Culture, the converse is also true........”
Keywords: insulting, culture
Keyword Location: para B, line 1
Explanation: It is given that the most innocent people in America have a gesture which is unacceptable or insulting to the people who do not live in America.

Section C

Answer: VII
Supporting statement: “........This assumption leads to a blindness about intercultural behavior. And individuals are likely to remain blind and unaware of what they are communicating non-verbally,........”
Keywords: blindness, unaware
Keyword Location: para C, line 5
Explanation: It is given that the people who are unaware about intercultural behavior are not going to understand physical language.

Section D

Answer: VI
Supporting statement: “.......Non-verbal communication - teaching it and measuring effect - is more difficult than formal language instruction. But now that language has achieved its proper recognition as being essential for success.........”
Keywords: communication, recognition
Keyword Location: para D, line 1
Explanation: It is given that non verbal communication is as important as verbal communication. It is given that along with verbal communication the physical gestures are also important for achieving success.

Section E

Answer: IV
Supporting statement: “.......I have identified five such channels: kinesic, proxemic, chronemic, oculesic, and haptic..........”
Keywords: kinesic, oculesic
Keyword Location: para E, line 4
Explanation: It is given that the author has identified five channels for gestures. They are kinesic, proxemic, chronemic, oculesic, etc

Questions 32-36

Choose the correct letter A. B, C or D. Write the correct letter in boxes 32- 36 on your answer sheet.

In Ethiopia, to call someone, one can _______

point at them with one finger
call out their name aloud
beckon them with head movement
beckon with whole arm and hand.

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “......In Ethiopia one points to a person by extending the arm and hand and beckons by holding the hand out, palm down, and closing it repeatedly......”
Keywords: beckons, palm
Keyword Location: para 2, line 1
Explanation: It is given that in the city of Ethiopia, to call someone people use to extend their arms and hand, palm down and closing it repeatedly.

The assumption that leads to an ignorance about intercultural behavior is. ________

our own cultural practices are normal and natural
we need not know what we are communicating non-verbally
we are allowed to make mistakes in social etiquette
we can notice and learn new non-verbal behavior in a new environment.

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “........Secondly, we assume that our way of talking and gesturing is 'natural' and that those who do things differently are somehow playing with nature. This assumption leads to a blindness about
intercultural behavior.........”
Keywords: natural, blindness
Keyword Location: para C, line 3
Explanation: It is given that the people have agreed to the fact that the way of interaction such as gestures and other non verbal things are normal. Hence they cannot accept intercultural behavior.

Which one of these is not listed as part of the suggested training in non-verbal behavior? _______

real experience
critical attitude
enhanced awareness
heightened sensitivity

Answer: B
Explanation: Critical attitude has not been listed as a part of training in non-verbal behavior.

A linguistically fluent visitor to a new country is likely to offend the locals if ._______

they are ignorant about the local social etiquette
they show off their linguistic skills to locals
they do not use their linguistic skills
Their non-verbal cues reflect their emotional states.

Answer: A
Supporting statement: “........It is rude to tell people they are rude; thus the hosts grant visitors a 'foreigner's license', allowing them to make mistakes of social etiquette, and they never know until too late which ones prove
disastrous........”
Keywords: etiquette, disastrous
Keyword Location: para C, line 9
Explanation: It is given that the people who are not local are not able to know the social etiquette followed at that place. Hence people may get offended.

Which one is not true about the five channels of non-verbal communication? _______

Visitors can be made aware of their existence.
Visitors can be shown their emotional importance.
They exist in every culture.
Being aware of them will change interpersonal behavior.

Answer: D
Supporting statement: “....... But the approach seeks to make people aware of an area of interpersonal activity that for too long has been left to chance.........”
Keywords: interpersonal, activity
Keyword Location: para E, line 9
Explanation: It is given that the five channels of interpersonal activity are needed to make people aware of their change in interpersonal behavior.

Questions 37-40

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3? In boxes 37-40 on your answer sheet, write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information FALSE if the statement contradicts the information NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

One of the Peace Corps volunteers was understood as treating the Ethiopians like dogs.

Answer: TRUE
Supporting statement: “........A Peace Corps staff member is hurriedly called to a town in Ethiopia to deal with reports that one of the volunteers is treating Ethiopians like dogs........”
Keywords: staff, volunteers
Keyword Location: para A, line 1
Explanation: It is given that the Peace Corps volunteers used to treat the people of Ethiopians as dogs.

In a New York restaurant, banging on a table to call for service is usual.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement: “........visitors were to bang on the table and hiss at the waiter for service in a New York restaurant, they would be fortunate if they were only thrown out........”
Keywords: hiss, fortunate
Keyword Location: para B, line 4
Explanation: It is given that the people at New york restaurant, who bang on tables for service are thrown out in the worst case.

A foreigner's license allows visitors to make mistakes when traveling in a new country.

Answer: FALSE
Supporting statement: “.......hosts grant visitors a 'foreigner's license', allowing them to make mistakes of social etiquette.........”
Keywords: mistakes, etiquette
Keyword Location: para C, line 9
Explanation: it is given that the foreigner license only allows people of other countries to make mistakes on social etiquette.