首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
How to Get Ready for Studying Abroad It was all so misleadingly simple. I had studied French in college, and my university o
How to Get Ready for Studying Abroad It was all so misleadingly simple. I had studied French in college, and my university o
admin
2011-01-01
133
问题
How to Get Ready for Studying Abroad
It was all so misleadingly simple. I had studied French in college, and my university offered a year abroad in France. My scholarship would apply; credit for courses was assured; advisers were available on campus to discuss passports, visas, shots, international student IDs and driver’s licenses. A charter flight had been booked and housing had been arranged. There was even a list of suggestions for packing. What could be simpler?
Of course, we were told at the orientation meetings that it might be difficult to adjust to a foreign language, strange customs, and the European academic system. I remember paying insufficient attention. "The tour is arranged, " I said to myself. "Everything works out. "
And everything did work out--more or less--but I came across some big surprises. If you are planning to study overseas, let me suggest a few key points to consider before you leave the USA.
Learn the Language
In France, they speak French. Why, then, did I not strive vigorously to learn the language before I arrived? The requirement of two years of college French is minimal. One of my teachers warned that I was only marginally grounded in the language.
But learning to speak French in the US was hard work, so I put it off until I got to France, where I assumed language skills could be acquired effortlessly. Unfortunately, I was so embarrassed by my poor command of the language that I was afraid to speak.
Help came in the form of a Gallic proverb: "In order to speak good French, you have to relax; and in order to relax, you have to drink wine. " At least half of that adage (谚语) proved to be true. The greatest obstacle to learning a foreign language isn’t vocabulary or grammar or pronunciation; it’s self- consciousness. I eventually learned to relax while making ridiculous mistakes.
Don’t Insist on the American Way
Adjusting to another country demands changes in behavior and an open mind. Daily bathing, for example, is an American way of life, while many European cannot imagine why anyone would want to shower more often than once a week. Because I lived in a dorm, I could follow my hygienic habits, and the French theirs. But in some student housing, such freedom wasn’t possible, either because the proprietors (经营者) considered daily showers extravagant or because there were no showers at all.
Social interactions can be a lot more complex. In France, for instance, a woman will not let a man pay for so much as a cup of espresso (浓咖啡) --to do so would be equal to inviting amorous (性爱的) advances. American women were assumed to play by the same rules, whether they knew the rules or not.
On the other hand, the French see absolutely nothing wrong with a group of young men dancing together. We male Americans were not about to dance without women--until one night when we went out on the town with several male French friends, and the lot of them took to the dance floor. Whenever such cultural customs conflicted, I had to choose to remain aloof and risk offending, or embrace their ways. I dance.
Some of these rules and customs can be learned in advance; others are picked up easily abroad. Remaining flexible is the key.
Be Prepared for Independent Study
The cultural difference that jolted me the most was in the university system itself. In Europe, the professor is a man on a pedestal (显要地位), expecting and receiving deference. His contact with students is minimal. Even in the classroom, students neither question nor discuss the material presented.
Attendance at the once-a-week classes is entirely voluntary. No assignments are given. The final exam does not consist of materials presented in lectures. The course is defined not by how much material a professor covers, but by a syllabus which lists the texts, periods, or literary works the student is expected to be familiar with. The classroom is supplemental, a model for the kind of preparation the student should be doing.
Classroom discussion, mid-term exams, threats of pop quizzes, an occasional paper--in short, all those methods of forcing the students to do the work--are missing.
Go the Tourist Route in Moderation
When classes meet infrequently, the lust to wander is hard to resist. Living abroad meant that I could usually take short excursions--a week here, four days there. At Easter I splurged (挥霍)with a 25-day swing (two weeks were a school holiday) through seven European countries. After three weeks, churches, museums, historic sites, even countrysides and people began to run together. I can still recall Florence, one of the first stops on that marathon, in great detail; Munich, one of the last stops, is hazy, indistinct. All in all, the brief trips I made were far more satisfying than my longer expeditions.
Moreover, all that art and history can become a blur (模糊的东西) if you don’t know what you are seeing. When touting Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur and Montmartre, the Louvre, I could respond to their beauty with considerable respect but no much understanding. I wished I had taken a general course in art and history before going to Europe.
Stay Loose
Because we had come for an extended stay and spoke ( at least haltingly) the language, many opportunities for making friends were opened up to us. We met French undergraduates in university classes and at the student restaurants where we ate all our meals. Others came to the meetings of a Franco-American club, which also arranged parties, dances, evenings of entertainment, and sporting events to bring Americans and French together.
Some strong attachments were formed, but we naturally met with some anti-American sentiment as well. The best course was to ignore it, but discussions with fellow students about American political actions and policies were inevitable.
To adjust to another country calls for changes in behavior and ______.
选项
答案
an open mind
解析
根据首句Adjusting to another country demands changes in behavior and an open mind可知本题答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/8Ay7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Welovewhatwecandowithourcomputers,yetwhenitcomestoreading,giventhechoice,mostpeoplepreferprintingtheirmat
A、Hedoesn’tagreewiththewoman.B、Heagreeswiththewoman.C、Thenewspaperisresponsibleforenvironmentalprotection.D、Th
PeopleintheUnitedStateshonortheirparentswithtwospecialdays:Mother’sDay,onthesecondSundayinMay,andFather’sD
PeopleintheUnitedStateshonortheirparentswithtwospecialdays:Mother’sDay,onthesecondSundayinMay,andFather’sD
A、Atalibrary.B、Atastore.C、Atabank.D、Atauniversityclass.C推理判断题。文中出现了passbook(银行存折),deposit(存款),savingaccount(储蓄帐
Cultureisthetotalsumofallthetraditions,customs,beliefs,andwaysoflifeofagivengroupofhumanbeings.Inthissen
A、Usefulskills.B、Appliedcourses.C、Findingajob.D、Workingclosewiththeteachers.C
Inrecentyears,moreandmoreforeignersareinvolvedintheteachingprogramsoftheUnitedStates.Boththeadvantagesandth
The【B1】______profession,or"showbusiness",attractsmanyyoungpeople.【B2】______,onlyveryfewcanhopetobecomefamousand【
A、Theairportisclosedduetobadweather.B、Theflightisfollowingitsregularschedule.C、Theplanewillreturntoitspoint
随机试题
关于急性肾衰竭下列哪项是不正确的
患者赵某,男性,63岁。心悸时作时止,少寐多梦,伴有口干苦,痰多色黄,小便短赤,大便秘结,舌质红,苔黄腻,脉弦滑。其治疗应首选的方剂是
急性有机磷中毒的特效解毒剂是
A.苯酚B.亚硫酸氢钠C.盐酸利多卡因D.羧甲基纤维素钠E.枸橼酸可作为混悬剂的是
某水体受生活污水及含大量有机物的工业废水的严重污染,已超过了水体的自净能力,水质已严重恶化,水中溶解氧含量几乎测不出,并已有变黑发臭现象,此时水巾进行的净化过程主要为
患者男性,55岁,入院诊断为慢性细菌性痢疾,需行灌肠治疗,护士应指导患者采取
关于我国期货合约名称的表述,不正确的有()。[2010年6月真题]
F公司是一家商业企业,主要从事商品批发业务,该公司2018年实际和2019年预计的主要财务数据如下:其他资料如下:(1)F公司的全部资产均为经营性资产,流动负债均为经营性负债,长期负债均为金融性负债,财务费用全邵为利息费用;估计债务价值时采用账面价值
从所给的四个选项中,选择最合适的一个填入问号处,使之呈现一定的规律性:
王某系一所高校的学生,她曾与一社会青年董某发生恋爱关系,后王某发现董某属游手好闲的“小混混”,遂决定与其中断恋爱关系。但董某却不愿就此罢休,他多次约王某出来遭到拒绝,就经常在校园内对王某进行骚扰。一日,董某打电话威胁王某说,让她下课后到老地方见,否则将对王
最新回复
(
0
)