Reading and comprehension

The global village

MODERN LIVING | LIFESTYLE

The term global village was first popularized by the Canadian writer Marshall McLuhan in the early ⁦1960s⁩. He described how communications technology was transforming the world into something more like a village, in which people could communicate and pass on information quickly and easily. And this, remember, was many years before the Internet was widely used.

The word globalisation is also older than most people think. It appeared, with more or less the same meaning as it has today, as early as the ⁦1940s⁩. It is true, though, that it wasn’t until the second half of the ⁦1980s⁩ that it became common, at first in the area of economics and business, and then in other academic fields. By the ⁦1990s⁩, it seemed as if everyone was talking about it.

We may now have reached a point when it is so much a part of our lives that we no longer think about it very much. If you tell a group of young business students that they’re going to discuss globalisation, the chances are that they won’t see the point. Far from being a new idea, it now simply describes the way things are.

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UNIT

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2 Read the text. Then complete the tasks on page 33.

1 Look at the pictures. Then discuss the questions below in pairs or small groups.

1. Have you heard of the words global village and globalisation? When do you think they began to be used?

• about ten years ago
• about twenty-five years ago
• over fifty years ago

2. Which picture gives a positive impression and which gives a negative impression? What message do you think each picture is trying to give?

1 Choose the correct meaning for these words and phrases from the text.

1. term (line 1) A name for an idea

B period of time

2. transforming (line 2) A taking from one place to another

B completely changing

3. widely (line 5) A not exactly

B commonly, often

4. the chances are (line 13) A it is likely

B there are opportunities

5. see the point (line 13) A understand the idea

B know the purpose

6. Far from (line 13) A Instead of

B A long distance from

2 Use the words and phrases in Part ⁦1 to⁩ complete the sentences.

1. We’ll never succeed, so I don’t ___ of continuing.
2. He left home an hour ago, so ___ that he’ll be here soon.
3. She’s a popular singer in her own country, but not ___ known outside it.
4. A lot of money was spent on ___ the land into a children’s play area.
5. criticising his ideas, I strongly agree with most of them.
6. He may use a different ___ to describe it, but he’s really talking about the same thing as other writers.

3. ‘The term global village was first popularized in the early ⁦1960s⁩.’ The suffix -ize (or -ise) changes an adjective into a verb and adds a meaning. To globalize (something) is to become or to make something more international. What does the verb popularize mean?

4 Decide whether the statements are TRUE or FALSE. Write the phrase or sentence from the text that helped you to decide.

1. The writer seems to think Marshall McLuhan’s idea was ahead of its time.

TRUE FALSE

2. The word globalisation was widely used from the ⁦1940s⁩ onward.

3. Young business students often think globalisation isn’t worth discussing.

3. Discuss the question in pairs or small groups.

How has globalisation affected your lives as young people?

There are some who question whether globalisation is really something new. After all, they argue, if you look at what was happening in the ⁦18th⁩ and ⁦19th⁩ centuries, or even earlier, doesn’t it seem very similar? Companies in Europe and North America, supported by their governments, were opening up the rest of the world, searching for cheap raw materials. They transported these back to their own factories and produced manufactured goods, then sold them at a huge profit. The world became linked by trade and business.

In a sense, this view is correct, but what it underestimates is the scale and speed of the changes that have taken place in the last thirty years or so. And the key role in these changes is that of computer technology, because it underlies all of them. Thanks to developments in digital technology, for example, it is now possible to move vast amounts of money around the world in seconds. Currency trading now goes on almost ⁦24 hours⁩ a day, and it has been estimated that the amount of money traded has gone up by several thousand per cent in the last forty years. Decisions taken in a stock market* in one country can have a disastrous effect on countries on the other side of the world, and entire national economies can be destroyed almost overnight.

What we are seeing today clearly is something different and new. It affects us all, and it relates not just to areas like trade, business and economics, but also to culture, entertainment, what we eat, how we communicate with each other and even how we see ourselves, our relationships and our lives.

*stock market = place where people buy and sell shares and currency

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1 ‘[They were] searching for cheap raw materials. They transported these back to their own factories and produced manufactured goods.’

Add these words to the table in the correct column . (One word can go in both columns.)

coal paper cotton silver plastic glass wood

RAW MATERIALS MANUFACTURED GOODS

1. What do the pictures show?
2. How do you think the pictures might be connected with the topic of globalisation?
3. Which effects of globalisation do the pictures show?

• culture ▸ technology ▸ economics ▸ business

2 Read the article. Then complete the tasks below.

2 ‘The world became linked by trade and business.’

‘The key role is that of computer technology.’

1. Link and key are both normally used as nouns. What kind of words are they used as in the text?
2. In what way can trade link the world?
3. If something is described as a key part / point / question, etc., is it just important or the most important thing?

3 Find these words in the text. Then choose the correct meaning for each one.

1. underestimates (line 6) A gives too little importance to

B falls below

2. taken place (line 7) A been replaced

B happened

3. vast (line 9) A unusual

B very large

4. currency (line 9) A at the moment

B money used by a particular country

5. entire (line 13) A whole

B early

4 Use the words in Part ⁦3 to⁩ complete the sentences.

1. They travelled for weeks through the ___ desert.
2. I need to get some foreign ___ before my long business trip.
3. He always how long it takes to finish the work.
4. My grandfather lived in the same village for his ___ life.
5. A lot of changes have ___ in the town since we moved here.

5 Answer the questions.

1. What makes recent changes different from what has happened before?
2. Why is technology so important to these changes?
3. What disadvantage of instant currency movement does the text mention?
4. Why is globalisation important for everyone?

6 What do these words, highlighted in the text, refer to?

1. even earlier (line 2) [earlier than when?]
2. these (line 4)
3. them (line 5)
4. these changes (line 7) [which changes?]
5. it (line 8)

7 Which sentence is the best summary of what the text says about globalisation?

A Globalisation is simply a continuation of what was already happening hundreds of years ago.

B Despite what some people argue, there are important differences between recent developments and what happened in the past.

C The main advantage of globalisation is that it has made trade much easier and quicker.

1. If we look at culture in its widest sense, the spread of a global culture is clear. The range of consumer goods available in shops in most countries is getting wider and more international, and the same company names appear everywhere. The same big-name films are shown in the world’s cinemas. It seems that young people in nearly every country are listening to Afro-American rap or hip-hop music (or a local variation of it). The nature of fame itself has become international: there are many places where people are more likely to recognize the face of Nelson Mandela than their own neighbours.
2. Perhaps the best example is in the area of food and drink. In most large cities, people can choose to eat not just in Indian, Italian and Chinese restaurants, but Thai, Arab or Caribbean ones too. Meanwhile, Coca Cola is drunk almost everywhere, and the global spread of American-style fast food seems impossible to stop. Every day, around ⁦70 million⁩ people eat food from McDonald’s, in over ⁦100 countries⁩. Economists even use something called the Big Mac index to compare the purchasing power of world economies.
3. Again, though, there are different views of this process. Some believe that, like the economic changes, these cultural changes are just a continuation of a process that began years ago. And among those who accept that we are seeing something new, there is disagreement about whether the developments are positive or negative. Are they a sign of increasing Americanization, or is this a two-way exchange? Are traditional local cultures being killed by an international culture that is the same everywhere, or are they simply changing and adapting in a natural way?

1 Look again at the last paragraph of the article in Period 2. Then discuss the questions below in pairs or small groups.

1. What effects has globalisation had on everyday life in Palestine? Think about:

• food ▸ culture ▸ entertainment
• shopping ▸ family life

2. Of all these effects, which are positive, and which are negative?

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

2 Read the continuation of the article. Which of the effects you discussed are mentioned?

3 Answer the questions.

1. What can now be bought in shops around the world?
2. What does the example of Nelson Mandela show?

3. What, it appears, cannot be prevented?
4. Which phrase means ‘the same thing happening as in the past’ (paragraph 3)?

5. What do people still argue about, even though they agree that globalisation is different from what has happened before?

4 Discuss the questions in pairs or small groups.

1. Do you listen to rap or hip-hop music? Is there an Arabic or Palestinian version of this kind of music?
2. Can you explain how the ‘Big Mac index’ compares the purchasing power (how much can be bought) with different currencies?
3. What is your answer to the two either/or questions at the end of the text?

5 Read about the author of a book called Globalization and its Discontents*. From the title of the book, would you expect it to be for or against globalization?

*discontents = people who are not happy or satisfied with something

Joseph E. Stiglitz (born 1943) is an American economist and a professor at Columbia University. He received the Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences in 2001. During his career, he has been a senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank and chairman of the US president’s Council of Economic Advisers.

Online Book Reviews

With his background, Joseph Stiglitz is in a good position to explain how globalisation works. You might expect him to be a supporter of the way the world has been going for the last forty years, but instead he is extremely critical.

This book is now over thirteen years old. The main reason why I’ve only given it a 4-star review is that I suppose there must be more up-to-date books out there, but if there are I haven’t read them. And I’m not sure if they would be able to offer such a clear picture of how globalisation is failing the world’s poor, harming those it claims to be trying to help.

The story he tells is now a well-known one. In country after country, organizations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund lend money to governments on the condition that they ‘reform’ their economies. These so-called reforms always involve selling public services to private companies and opening up the economy to large multinational companies*. And, of course, these companies are based in the rich countries that have most of the power in the World Bank and IMF.

As I say, it’s an old story, but Stiglitz’s book is still worth reading for its inside knowledge and its very readable style, which makes it easy to read even for those of us who aren’t economists. I have to say I was rather disappointed by this book. The first two chapters are interesting enough, but after that it gets stuck in too much detail. If you don’t know much about economics, you’ll probably want to stop reading before your head starts hurting.

I carried on, hoping to read something about the cultural effects of globalisation or the damage it’s doing to the environment, but nothing appeared. The author seems to have forgotten the second part of his own title (the part that reads ‘… and its Discontents’). People all over the world feel so strongly that they take to the streets in protest against what globalisation is doing to the world. Is that because they disagree with the economic theory behind it?

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*multinational companies = large companies that are based in many different countries, not just one

Book Reviews

1 Read two online reviews of Globalisation and its Discontents. Then complete the tasks on page 39.

www.onlinebookreviews.com

1 Decide whether the statements are TRUE or FALSE. Write the phrase or sentence from the text that helped you to decide.

1. The writer of the first review didn’t give five stars because he knows there are better books available.

2. The first reviewer suggests that globalisation works in favour of rich countries and large companies.

3. The first reviewer says that the book was written mainly for specialists in this subject.

4. The second reviewer suggests that the book’s title is not a good one.

5. The reviewers agree that only other economists would fully understand the book.

6. Both reviewers seem to be against globalisation.

2 Answer the questions.

1. The verb reform means to change something that is not working properly. Which two ways does the first reviewer use to suggest that this isn’t the best way to describe the economic changes recommended by the World Bank and IMF?
2. In what way does Joseph Stiglitz have ‘inside knowledge’?
3. What two areas does the second reviewer think are missing from the book?
4. The second review ends with a question. What answer do you think the writer expects?

3 Discuss whether this sounds like a book you would like to read (if there was a translation into Arabic).

It sounds too technical for me. I’ll find something else on this topic.

It’s good to read an expert’s opinion so I’d be interested in reading it.