环球英语 — 288：Culture Shock

　　Voice 1
Hello, I’m Rachel Hobson.
Voice 2
And I’m Ruby¹ Jones. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
A young man steps out of a large, grey building. The weather is very bad - windy, cold and wet. But the young man does not have a raincoat to wear. And he has never felt so cold in his life. He is afraid that he will be late for class. He looks around for some directions. But all the buildings look the same. Finally, he sees some people coming towards him. He knows that he should ask them for help. But his courage disappears. The students run past him, laughing - they do not notice how sad the young man looks. Everyone seems to know where to go and what to do - except for him. He feels lonely and worried. He thinks about his family and how far he is from home. And he remembers his father’s words to him before he left - about how lucky he is to have a chance to study in the United³ Kingdom! But the young man does not feel very lucky. All he wants is to go home.
Voice 2
Every year, thousands of foreign students go to study in the United Kingdom. And the majority of them experience the same kind of feelings as the young man in the story. Also, the same feelings would affect a UK person going to live and work in India. These students have all come from their own culture - where they know the traditions and the way of behaving correctly. Then, they find themselves having to survive in another culture - a different world where they do not yet know all the rules! Social scientists call these feelings of loneliness and worry, “culture shock”.
Voice 1
Kalervo Oberg was the person who first used the phrase⁴, “culture shock”. He was a Canadian social scientist. He studied human behaviour in different situations. Oberg spent time observing foreigners coming to a new country. He described culture shock:
Voice 3
“Culture shock happens when people lose the signs of social behaviour that they know... These signs are the thousand and one [1,001] ways we learn how to act in every day life. It is knowing when to shake hands, for example. Or, knowing what to say when we meet people. Knowing when to accept or refuse if someone invites you to do something. Knowing when people are joking or when they are serious.”
Voice 1
Oberg noticed that there seemed to be a number of steps in the process of culture shock. First, there is the honeymoon⁵ period - this is when everything in a new situation is fresh and exciting. Everyone seems friendly and welcoming.
Voice 2
The second step is crisis⁶ or rejection⁷. Things are no longer so exciting. People notice more the differences between their own culture and the new one. And these differences become difficult to deal with. People can react⁸ in two ways to this step - try to change their way of doing things or return home.
Voice 1
Oberg calls the third step regression. People only remember the good things about their home culture. They no longer try to learn the language or traditions of their new situation. They only mix with people from their country.
Voice 2
Adjustment is the fourth step. People finally begin to fit into the new culture. Differences no longer trouble them as much. And they feel more that they belong to their new situation.
Voice 1
Nipan Maniar is from India. In the year 2000, he went to the United Kingdom to study. He found his new life so strange that he cried. He said:
Voice 4
“I found some parts of British culture very different. When I first saw a man and woman kissing in public, for example, I was really shocked. Also, going out to drink socially with people. This was very different to my own culture in India. Alcohol⁹ is banned in Gujarat where I come from. So the drinking alcohol culture came as a shock to me.”
Voice 1
But Nipan did not lose courage. He decided¹⁰ to do something to help other students in his position. He had an idea about what he could do. And he talked about it to the international office at his university and the British Council¹¹. The result? The development of a mobile¹² telephone game called, C-Shock. Nipan describes the game as a mobile-mother for new foreign students. He says,
Voice 4
“I thought it would be great to have a learning¹³ device¹⁴ to help people deal with culture shock. If you have not experienced¹⁵ such things before, it is hard to know how to react or behave in a correct way.”
Voice 2
But how does the game C-Shock work? Well, it begins with an imaginary¹⁶ situation from the student’s first day at university. The student sees a map showing all the university buildings. He or she then has to find the correct path to different places in the university. The student can also see images of situations that may cause culture shock - for example, a man and woman holding hands in public. The student then has to react to these images. The game rates the student’s reaction between the scores of 1 - very good - and 100 - very bad!. Students can play the game as many times as they like. The more they see the images, the less shocked they will be. The aim of C-shock is to reduce the student’s culture shock level to zero.
Voice 1
The C-Shock game also contains helpful information for new students - such as police and emergency telephone numbers. Nipan Maniar can see other future uses for the game too:
Voice 4
“Students could use C-Shock to teach them how to join the right university classes. It could help them with basic information like finding¹⁷ out where their nearest bank is. We could even develop the game to include a whole city guide. So, the new student has this learning tool to help him quickly settle¹⁸ into a new city.”
Voice 1
Nipan believes that a game like C-Shock is the way forward for foreign students. And he is looking for a business to invest¹⁹ money into the C-Shock project. He says,
Voice 4
“Using mobile phone games to communicate with people and educate in this way is a new idea. I expect many other universities will use this idea in the future.”
 

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

4 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

5 honeymoon   

n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月

参考例句：

• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。
• The happy pair are leaving for their honeymoon.这幸福的一对就要去度蜜月了。

6 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

7 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

8 react   

vi.起反应，起作用；反抗，起反作用

参考例句：

• She didn't look up or react in any way.她既不抬头，也没有任何反应。
• How did he react to your suggestion?他如何对待你的建议？

9 alcohol   

n.酒精，乙醇；含酒精的饮料

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors.法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。
• The alcohol is industrial.这些酒精是供工业用的。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• 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。

11 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

12 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

13 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

14 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

15 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

16 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。

17 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

18 settle   

vi.安家；定居；停留；vt.使定居；安排；解决

参考例句：

• I have to settle my affairs before leaving here.离开这儿以前，我得把一些私人的事情安排妥当。
• She has decided how she should settle the matter.她已做出决定如何来了解这件事。

19 invest   

v.投资；投入(时间等)；授予，赋予

参考例句：

• I have decided to invest in a new car.我已经决定买一辆新汽车。
• The best time to invest is now.现在是投资的最佳时机。