时间:2018-12-04 作者:英语课 分类:高级英语 下


英语课

Section C

Adjustment to a New Culture

I had to find more friends. After several weeks in school I knew a couple of students but saw them only a few minutes, perhaps three times a week. I decided 1 to learn a few more names. I came ten minutes early to my News Media 2 and U.S. Government class. Two young women, one black and one white, were already there. I told myself to be aggressive 3 and went up to them.
"Hi." I tried to be casual 4. "My name is Liu Zongren. I come from Beijing, China." I stressed 5 Beijing, hoping that might create some attention.
"Oh, really? How do you find it here? " The white woman seemed interested.
I couldn't understand what she meant. "I came here by plane, of course." I must have looked lost. The white woman added 6 quickly, "I mean, do you like this country?"
"Well, I don't know. " How foolish I was. Why had I said this?
"My name is Ann. This is Geri."
Several other students had arrived by now. I didn't know if the two women wanted to go on talking. I began feeling nervous when I realized I was standing 7 in the middle of the classroom.
Ann started to move away. "Glad to meet you, Mr.— "
"Liu," I said in haste 8, "Just call me Liu. My last, no, my first name is too hard to pronounce."
"Glad to meet you, Mr. Liu," Ann repeated.
"Thank you," I said, my face turning red. I wondered what I had thanked them for, as I made my way to a seat.
After the class began, most of what the professor said escaped my ears and I left as soon as the lecture ended. I had no other class that day and I didn't want to go back to the loneliness of the McKnight house, so I explored around the grounds. Many students were entering a particular lecture hall. I stopped and checked my list of classes. It was a history class. Good.
I went in. I sat in a seat away from the lecture stand. Nobody paid any attention to me. I saw several Asian faces among the crowd. I relaxed, took out my notebook, and opened the school newspaper, pretending 9 to be an old hand. A young man sat down beside me and smiled. It was five minutes until class. Perhaps I could strike up a conversation with this friendly looking man. I started my set introduction 10. "My name is Liu Zongren. I come from Beijing, China."
"Glad to meet you. My name is George Christi." He seemed ready to talk.
"Please write down your name for me." I handed my notebook to him. "You know, it is very hard for me to remember American names without seeing them spelled out." I said this out of a desire to speak two more sentences, rather than as an explanation. I looked at what he wrote. "Is yours the same name as that British woman who writes mystery novels? "
"Sort of," he answered.
Seeing me at a loss 11, he asked, "How do you like the weather here?"
"Much the same as that in Beijing. We have cold winters, too."
"I hope someday I can go to Beijing."
"You'll be welcome. If you wait for two years, I can show you around." I was so very eager to make a friend of him.
Unfortunately, the professor appeared and the class began. I would be sure to come to this class again and locate 12 this friendly person.
I didn't try my luck anymore that afternoon. Instead I found a seat in the library and tried to finish some assignments 13. I took out my books, but my mind refused to absorb anything. I glanced around the library; some students were doing their homework; a few were dozing 14 on the sofa along the wall. Looking at those tired students, I remembered an article in the newspaper had reported that the 1981 fees 15 would be $6,900. How could I blame them for not wanting to talk to me? Costs were so high; they had to put their time and energy into their studies.
I closed my books and began a letter to Fengyun, but couldn't finish it. Sad, I packed up my books and walked slowly back to my room. I knew my sadness came not only from missing 16 my family, but also from the frustration 17 of being unable to learn. People in Beijing must be thinking I was enjoying myself here in the richest country in the world. Yet I was suffering, not because people in America were not accepting me, but because they didn't understand me and didn't seem to care how I felt — and because I didn't understand them, either. After my three classes each day, I walked without aim around the grounds like a lost soul. I had no place to go.
I felt better when dusk 18 fell, knowing that another day had passed.
Words: 817



1 decided
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
2 media
n.(medium的复数)媒体,新闻媒介,传播媒介
  • The local media reported rioting across the country.当地媒体报道了全国范围的骚乱。
  • His latest movie is being hyped up by the media.他新近的电影正被媒体大肆炒作。
3 aggressive
adj.侵略的,好斗的;敢作敢为的
  • You'd better keep the two aggressive boys apart.你最好把那两个好斗的男孩分开。
  • These fish are very aggressive.这些鱼极具攻击性。
4 casual
adj.漠不关心,冷漠的;随便的,非正式的;偶然的,碰巧的
  • He earns a living by casual labour.他靠做临时工为生。
  • The guests wore casual clothes.客人们穿着便服。
5 stressed
adj.紧张的,有压力的
  • Loud music makes me stressed out.大声的音乐让我很紧张。
  • He stressed that we should always be honest.他强调我们应该永远诚实。
6 added
adj.更多的,附加的,额外的
  • They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
  • The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。
7 standing
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
8 haste
n.匆忙,急速;草率;v.赶快;匆忙
  • In his blind haste he almost ran into the river.他匆匆忙忙地几乎跑到河里去了。
  • The contract says the work must be completed with all possible haste.合同上写明这项工作必须尽快完成。
9 pretending
v.假装( pretend的现在分词 );伪装;(尤指儿童)(在游戏中)装扮;自诩
  • He deceived her by pretending to be a famous movie star. 他冒充著名电影明星来骗她。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • "We have a mission to perform. Quit pretending." cried he angrily. 他生气地高喊一声:“我们有任务, 别装蒜。” 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
10 introduction
n.(to)介绍;传入,引进;导言,导论,绪论
  • The introduction tells you how to use the book.引言告诉你怎样使用这本书。
  • A letter of introduction will ensure you an interview.凭一封介绍信准保会接待你。
11 loss
n.损失,遗失,失败,输,浪费,错过,[军]伤亡,降低
  • His death was a great loss to the country.他的逝世对这个国家是一大损失。
  • Because of the continued loss,the factory closed down.由于连续亏损,工厂关闭了。
12 locate
vt.查找…的地点;使…坐落于,位于;vi.居住下来,定居
  • The head company decided to locate in Qingdao.总公司决定设在青岛。
  • The general tried to locate the enemy's site.那位将军想找出敌人营地的位置。
13 assignments
n.分配( assignment的名词复数 );工作;任命;归属
  • You will need to complete three written assignments per semester. 你每学期要完成三个书面作业。
  • Headquarters was swamped by an avalanche of applications for battle assignments. 请战书像雪片似地飞向指挥部。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
14 dozing
费用; (加入组织或做某事付的)费( fee的名词复数 ); 专业服务费; 咨询费; 报酬
  • Employees are reimbursed for any legal fees incurred when they relocate. 员工调往异地工作时,他们可以报销由此产生的所有法律服务费用。
  • As a scholar you will not have to pay college fees. 作为接受奖学金的学生,你不必付大学的费用。
15 missing
adj.遗失的,缺少的,失踪的
  • Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具,看有无丢失。
  • All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了,就短他一个。
16 frustration
n.挫折,失败,失效,落空
  • He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
  • He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
17 dusk
n.薄暮,黄昏,幽暗
  • The park closes at dusk.公园在黄昏时关闭。
  • At dusk bats appear in vast numbers.蝙蝠于傍晚时分大批出现。
学英语单词
2'-phosphodiesterase
a cutie pie
abnormal focal length
aggregation of individual preferences
air inlet valve of dredger's deliving pipeline
air-guns
alcala de la selva
archeri
Ariquemes
assinie
Auberger blood group system
Banbayan Pt.
bar rack
be food for worms
between-class correlation
Brachypodium sylvaticum
calex
capon test
carbon steel
catch copy
Central I.
chantha
chromophobic
couchful
day disk
deformational stress
detonation point
deutscheland
drive out of
duramatral
echymose
Elephanta Island
expected yield
fadged
fermentation inhibitor
floating point unit
folded and grooved seam
go hard or go home
half titles
harker lines
hideosities
Higher bid
imperialls
insinuate
iris detachment
Jeans viscosity equation
lactocidin
lbgs
lead metasilicate
left atrium failure
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
lock cylinder
loi-cadre
M.H.R.
macromitrium ferriei
marie dolores eliza rosanna gilberts
membranogenesis
mesh side cutter
Minskian
nodes
nonitemized
normal congruence
observantially
order parameter
pachometers
papular pruritic gloves and socks syndrome
paroxysmal coliky pain
patent licence-agreement
Phulsāri
pioneering work
plain ashlar
plant ledger card
pork fillet
preconising
PSD (power spectral density)
ragtop
relish
residual valency
Santa Maria, I.
satish
scientific data processing
search and seizure
Seawater Quality Standards
sharpness of focusing
side-by-side
Simonart band
Sleepwell
smazes
spherochromatism
starch slurry
stop-and-direction-indicator-lamps
storage cathode ray tube
sweetkin
tabby-cats
teamkillers
tetracontagons
tip clearance area
Tossåsen
uppermost part
us sea
water ejection tube
you're a star