《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》20 Features of American Campus Life (I)

　　Unit 20

Features of American Campus Life (I)

-- Busyness

American students are typically very "busy". Undergraduate students often have part-time jobs in addition to their studies. Some even have two or three part-time jobs to earn money to support their studies. Graduate students have large quantities of material to study, and may also have jobs (graduate assistantships and others) and families. This busyness limits their time for social activity and for incorporating new people into their social circles.

-- Male-female Relationship

Male and female American students associate with each other rather freely. (This does not mean they are all readily available for sexual activity, as the media sometimes imply, although an estimated 75 per cent of American undergraduates are sexually active.) Many view "the college years" as a natural time in life for finding a spouse 1. Even if they are not seeking a marriage partner, they try to become acquainted with members of the opposite sex.

-- Freedom

As is clear from their politicians' speeches, Americans prize "freedom". This "freedom" means living without significant constraints 2 on their behavior. In the political area "freedom" means the relative absence of governmental regulation of their lives. In the social area, it means the relative absence of confining roles and expectations.

-- Presence of Disabled People

Students from China are often startled to see on US campuses people who are in wheelchairs, are blind and have a dog leading them from place to place, or are otherwise "physically 3 challenged". Various federal, state, local, and institutional laws and policies prohibit discrimination against disabled people. The disability may be physical -- for example, having paralyzed legs, blindness, or deafness -- or mental -- for example, depression, or a learning problem such as attention-deficit disorder 4. Thus, disabled people are to be found among the students and teachers of most US institutions of higher education.

-- Weekdays vs. Weekends

American students and Americans in general have the idea that weekends are the time for socializing. Weekdays and evenings are reserved for studying or some other more serious activity. Traditionally, "the weekend" mean Friday night, Saturday daytime and evening, and Sunday daytime. Among American undergraduate students, though, "weekend" may now include Thursday night (and sometimes even Wednesday night as well). So they might go "out" for three consecutive 5 nights -- Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Graduate students in general have more responsibilities and presumably more maturity 6, so their socializing is more likely to be limited to Friday nights and Saturdays.