Once I start looking for them, I realise these moments are everywhere.

One day, Im
sitting in a coffee shop in London having a cup of Italian espresso served by an Algerian
waiter, listening to the Beach Boys playing in the background. Another day, Im eating in
a restaurant in New Delhi that serves Lebanese food to the music of a Filipino band, in
rooms decorated with a vintage poster for a blues concert in New Orleans.

These are globalisation moments. We are in the middle of a worldwide change in

cultures a transformation of entertainment, business and politics. Popular culture has
crossed borders in ways we have never seen before. According to social scientists, our
world is shrinking. In Japan, people have become fanatics of flamenco and there are
hundreds of dance schools around the country. In the last few years, dozens of top
Spanish flamenco artists have given performance there. Its a huge and growing market.
Meanwhile, in Denmark people have discovered a new interest in Italian food, and pasta
imports have grown fivefold over the last decade. And the classic American blonde
Barbie doll now comes in about 30 national varieties, including new additions this year of
Austrian and Moroccan.
How do people feel about globalisation? It depends to a large extent on where they live
and how much money theyve got. However, globalisation, as one report has stated, is a
reality, not a choice. Humans have always developed commercial and cultural
connections, but these days computers, the Internet, mobile phones, cable TV and cheaper
air transport have accelerated and complicated these connections. Nevertheless, the basic
dynamic is the same: Goods move. People move. Ideas move. And cultures change. The
difference now is the speed and the extent of these changes. Television had 50 million
users after thirteen years; the Internet had the same number after only five years. But now
that more than one fifth of all the people in the world speak at least some English, critics
of globalisation say that we are one big McWorld.

But I have discovered that cultures are as resourceful, resilient and unpredictable as the
people who compose them. In Los Angeles, I saw more diversity than I thought possible
at Hollywood High School, where the student body represents 32 different languages. In
Shanghai, I found that the television show Sesame Street has been redesigned by Chinese
educators to teach Chinese values and traditions. Weve taken an American box, one
told me, and put Chinese content into it. In India, where there are more than 400
languages and several very strict religions, McDonalds serves mutton instead of beef and
offers a vegetarian menu acceptable to even the most orthodox Hindu.

So whats next? Its the eve of the millennium and the remote Himalayan country of
Bhutan has just granted its citizens access to television the last country on the planet to
do so. The outside world has suddenly appeared in shops and living rooms across the
land. What will happen now when an isolated and deeply conservative society is
exposed to hip hop and MTV?
 UNIT 2: PERFORMANCE

READING: A world together

Task 1: Choose the correct answer.

What is the main idea of the article?

A. Globalisation is suitable for developing country.

B. Globalisation takes place in every cultures.

C. People have developed a strong connection by the use of the Internet.

D. A story tells us about the authors travelling.

Task 2: Which paragraph talks about these things? You can use one
paragraph more than one.

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

Paragraph 4

Paragraph 5

1. American products in other countries

2. globalisation in the future

3. the speed of the globalisation process

4. a fast food product served in India

5. a diversity of languages in school

6. the country that allow its people to watch TV

Task 3: Decide whether the following statements are True or False.

1. Drinking a cup of Italian espresso served by an Algerian waiter in London is a

globalisation moment.

2. Dance schools in Japan have attracted lots of talented Swedish performers.

3. Globalisation easily thanks to the developments of commerce and culture.

4. Chinese people have used an American channel that helps students to learn a
foreign culture.

Task 4: Choose the correct answer.

Which of these statements agree with the article?

A. Its hard to find examples of globalization in everyday life.

B. Globalisation is not a new phenomenon, but the speed of change these days is
new.

C. Some people think that globalisation is a negative thing.

D. The author thinks that world cultures cannot resist Western influences.