新視野大學(xué)英語讀寫教程第二冊unit1-b Culture Shock

Section B

Culture Shock

Do you think studying in a different country is something that sounds very exciting? Like many young people who leave home to study in another country, do you think you would have lots of desirable fun? Certainly, it is a new experience, which brings the opportunity of discovering fascinating things and a feeling of freedom. In spite of these advantages, however, there are also some challenges you will encounter. Because your views may clash with the different beliefs, norms, values, and traditions that exist in different countries, you may have difficulty adjusting to a new culture and to those parts of the culture not familiar to you. This is culture shock. Evidently, at least four essential stages of culture-shock adjustment occur.
The first stage is called "the honeymoon". In this stage, you feel excitement about living in a different place, and everything seems to be marvelous. You like everything, and everybody seems to be so nice to you. Also, the amusement of life in a new culture seems as though it will have no ending.
Eventually, however, the second stage of culture shock appears. This is the "hostility stage". You begin to notice that not everything is as good as you had originally thought it was. You become tired of many things about the new culture. Moreover, people don't treat you like a guest anymore. Everything that seemed to be so wonderful at first is now awful, and everything makes you feel distressed and tired.
Usually at this point in your adjustment to a new culture, you devise some defense mechanisms to help you cope and to protect yourself against the effects of culture shock. One type of coping mechanism is called "repression". This happens when you pretend that everything is acceptable and that nothing bothers you. Another type of defense mechanism is called "regression". This occurs when you start to act as if you are younger than you actually are; you act like a child. You forget everything, and sometimes you become careless and irresponsible. The third kind of defense mechanism is called "isolation". You would rather be home alone, and you don't want to communicate with anybody. With isolation, you try to avoid the effects of culture shock, or at least that's what you think. Isolation is one of the worst coping mechanisms you can use because it separates you from those things that could really help you. The last type of defense mechanism is called "rejection". With this coping mechanism, you think you don't need anybody. You feel you are coping fine alone, so you don't try to ask for help.
The defense mechanisms you utilize in the hostility stage are not helpful. If you only occasionally use one of these coping mechanisms to help yourself survive, that is acceptable. You must be cautious, however. These mechanisms can really hurt you because they prevent you from making necessary adjustments to the new culture.
After you deal with your hostile feelings, recognition of the temporary nature of culture shock begins. Then you come to the third stage called "recovery". In this stage, you start feeling more positive, and you try to develop comprehension of everything you don't understand. The whole situation starts to become more favorable; you recover from the symptoms of the first two stages, and you adjust yourself to the new norms, values, and even beliefs and traditions of the new country. You begin to see that even though the distinctions of the culture are different from your own, it has elements that you can learn to appreciate.
The last stage of culture shock is called "adjustment". In this stage, you have reached a point where you actually feel good because you have learned enough to understand the new culture. The things that initially made you feel uncomfortable or strange are now things that you understand. This acquisition of understanding alleviates much of the stress. Now you feel comfortable; you have adjusted to the new culture.
Evidently, culture shock is something you cannot avoid when living in a foreign country. It does not seem like a very helpful experience when you are going through its four stages. However, when you have completely adjusted to a new culture you can more fully enjoy it. You learn how to interact with other people, and you learn a considerable amount about life in a culture that is not your own. Furthermore, learning about other cultures and how to adjust to the shock of living in them helps you learn more about yourself.
Words: 753

NEW WORDS

desirable
a. worth having; be wished for 令人向往的；值得有的；合意的

fascinating
a. having great attraction or delight 有極大吸引力的，迷人的

spite
n. 1. 用于短語 in spite of: not being prevented by (sb./sth.); regardless of 雖然；不顧，盡管
2. [U] desire to hurt, offend another person; ill will 惡意；怨恨

clash
vi. 1. disagree seriously (about sth.) 嚴(yán)重不一致，沖突
2. come together and fight 沖突，交鋒，遭遇
n. 1. serious disagreement; arguing 嚴(yán)重不一致；爭論
2. violent contact; fight 抵觸，沖突

tradition
n. [U, C] beliefs or customs passed down from one generation to the next, esp. without writing; any long-established method, practice, etc. 傳統(tǒng)；慣例

evidently
ad. obviously; it appears that 明顯地

excitement
n. 1. [U] state of strong emotional reaction or feeling, esp. one caused by sth. pleasant 興奮，激動，刺激（尤指令人愉快的事引起的）
2. [C] a thing that excites; an exciting event 令人興奮的事，使人激動的事件

marvelous(英marvellous)
a. surprising; outstanding; wonderful 驚奇的；奇妙的，不可思議的

amuse
vt. 1. make (sb.) laugh or smile 逗……樂（笑）
2. make time pass pleasantly for (sb.) 給……娛樂（消遣）；以……自娛

amusement
n. 1. [C]a thing that makes time pass pleasantly 娛樂（消遣）活動，娛樂品，娛樂場所
2. [U] state of being amused 娛樂，快樂

ending
n. [C] an end, esp. of a story, film or word（尤指故事、影片、戲劇）結(jié)局，結(jié)尾

hostile
a. 1.showing strong hate or objecting to; very unfriendly 懷有敵意的；敵對的
2.of an enemy 敵方的

hostility
n. 1. [U] being hostile (to sb./sth.) 敵意，敵對，敵視
2. [U] being against 抵制，反對
3. (pl.) acts of war; fighting 戰(zhàn)爭；戰(zhàn)斗

moreover
ad. (used to introduce sth. new that adds to or supports the previous statement) further; as well as; in addition 再有；此外；而且

distress
n. 1. [U] (cause of) great pain, sadness, suffering, etc. 痛苦，苦惱，憂傷（的原因）
2. [U] suffering (caused by lack of money, food, etc.) （缺錢、缺食物造成的）窮苦，貧困
3. [U] state of being in danger or difficulty and requiring help 危險，危難
vt. cause distress to (sb./sth.) 使痛苦，使悲痛，使憂傷，使貧困

devise
vt. think out (a plan, tool, etc.) 想出（計劃），發(fā)明（設(shè)備、工具）

mechanism
n. 1. [C]【心】心理機(jī)制
2. [C] method or steps for getting things done 手法，技巧，途徑
3. [C] working parts of a machine, etc. 機(jī)械裝置，機(jī)件

cope
vi. (with) manage successfully; be able to deal with sth. difficult （成功地）應(yīng)付，能對付

▲repression
n. 1. [U]control or preventing【心】壓抑（把本能的欲望和沖動，尤與一般公認(rèn)的行為標(biāo)準(zhǔn)相沖突的，壓抑于潛意識中），壓抑作用，壓抑機(jī)制
2. [U] cruel and severe control 鎮(zhèn)壓，抑制

■regression
n. [U] return to a former state 【心】 回歸，倒退（指當(dāng)個人追求的愿望得不到滿足或受嚴(yán)重挫折時，即以與其年齡不相稱的發(fā)展早期的某些原始的幼稚行為來適應(yīng)當(dāng)前，由意識狀態(tài)倒退到無意識狀態(tài)的一種變態(tài)心理現(xiàn)象。）

isolate
vt. put or keep sb./sth. entirely apart from other people or things; separate sb./sth. 使孤立；使隔絕，使隔離

isolation
n. [U] isolating or being isolated 隔離，孤立，分解，分離

avoid
vt. 1. keep oneself away from (sb./sth.) 避開，逃避
2. stop sth. happening; prevent 避免；防止

reject
vt. 1. refuse to accept (sb./sth.) 拒絕，不接受
2. throw (sth.) away as not to be used, chosen, done, etc. 拋棄，丟棄
n. [C] rejected person or thing 被棄或被拒的人或物

rejection
n. [U, C] rejecting or being rejected 拒絕，被拒，拋棄，被棄

helpful
a. giving help; useful 有幫助的；有益的

recognition
n. 1. [U] the state of being accepted as legal, real, or valuable 承認(rèn)，認(rèn)可
2. [U] the fact of knowing sb. or sth. 認(rèn)出，認(rèn)識
3. [U] reward or honor 酬謝，賞識，表彰

recovery
n. 1. [U] (sing.) return to a normal state 恢復(fù)，復(fù)原，痊愈
2. [U] getting back 尋回，追回，收復(fù)

comprehension
n. 1. [U] (power of) understanding 理解（力），領(lǐng)悟
2. [U, C] exercise aimed at improving or testing one's understanding (written or spoken) （書面或口頭）理解力練習(xí)，理解力測驗

favorable (英favourable)
a. 1. helpful; suitable 有幫助的；適宜的
2. giving or showing agreement 贊同的

symptom
n. 1. [C] a change in the body that shows an illness 癥候，癥狀
2. [C] a sign of the existence of sth. wrong （壞事物存在的）跡象，征兆，征候

distinction
n. 1. [C] special element, special or unique quality 個性，特征
2. [C, U] a difference or contrast between one person/thing and another 區(qū)分，區(qū)別
3. [U] a quality of excellence 卓著，盛名

appreciate
vt. 1. understand and enjoy (sth.); value highly 欣賞，賞識
2. understand (sth.) with sympathy 理解，意識到，懂得
vi. increase in value 增值，漲價

acquisition
n. 1. [U] action of gaining 獲得，得到
2. [C] a thing gained, esp. sth. useful 獲得物（尤指有用的東西），添加物

▲alleviate
vt. make sth. less serious; ease 減輕；緩和

furthermore
ad. in addition; moreover 此外，還有

PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS

adjust to
become or make suited (to new conditions) 使適應(yīng)（新環(huán)境），適應(yīng)

be familiar to
well known to; often seen or heard by 為……所熟悉的；常見（聽）到的

culture shock
confusion caused by contact with a culture other than one's own 文化沖擊，文化震撼（在陌生的文化環(huán)境中不知所措）

in the stage
in a part of activity or a period of development 在……階段，在……時期

be tired of
be impatient or fed up with (sb./sth.) 討厭，不耐煩，厭煩

separate from
(cause things or people to) divide 使分離，分開

prevent from
stop (sb. or sth.) from (doing sth.) 阻止，防止

deal with
take action on; manage 處理，對付

come to
reach a certain state 達(dá)到某狀態(tài)

recover from
return to a normal state from 從……恢復(fù)到正常狀態(tài)

go through
experience; finish certain stages 通過；完成（某階段）