2019高中英语Unit12CultureShockSectionⅠWarm_up

Unit 12 Culture Shock

The other day I announced that I would go abroad for further study right after my college education. My decision evoked (引起，唤起) the immediate objection of my family: Why? Why should I borrow a huge sum of money for overseas study while I might receive the same education at home at a relatively (相对地) low cost? My answer is: in addition to knowledge, I can gain experience that those who stay at home will never have.

First, experience is the opportunity for the real­life use of foreign languages. While a person can study a foreign language at home, the effect can never be compared with constant use of the language in everyday life. There is no better opportunity to improve second­language skills than living in the country in which it is spoken.

Second, living and studying abroad offers me a different perspective (角度) of the world. On a university campus, foreign students are likely to come across their counter­parts from different countries and areas and are exposed to different ideas and values. This helps me to have a better understanding of different societies and inevitably (必然地) see my own country in a new light (以新的眼光)．

Third, overseas experience, disappointing and painful as it may be, is helpful. A person going abroad for study often experiences much more difficulty — difficulty in adapting to a new culture and in dealing with all problems alone. Yet, the difficulty, coupled with the frustration brought on by culture shock, is a rewarding experience for one’s future life and development of personality (个性)．

Although going abroad is expensive and perhaps painful, the payoff (回报) is worthwhile. For the benefit is not merely knowledge gained, but the experience desirable in one’s personal life.

Section_ⅠWarm­up & Lesson 1 —Pre­reading

[原文呈现]

Dear Aunt Mei，

I can’t believe I’ve been in London for 6 months already! I certainly owe①you an apology② for not writing more often. I’ve just been so busy studying and trying③to absorb④all the new things around me —I think I’m still experiencing⑤culture shock.There is so much here that is different from home. But you’ll soon experience it all yourself! I wish⑥ your visit wasn’t going to be so brief⑦ but there’s a lot we can do and see in a week. I’m just so glad you can afford⑧ to visit me and I refuse to let you pay for anything while you’re here!

I don’t know what your expectations⑨ are of London, but knowing that you’ve never travelled outside of Asia⑩， I thought I’d tell you a bit about what you can expect to find⑪.

[读文清障]

①owe/əʊ/vt.欠(情、债等)

owe ... to sb./owe sb....欠某人……，把……归功于某人

②apology/ə'pɒlədʒi/n.道歉，认错

make an apology to sb. for (doing) sth.因(做了)某事向某人道歉

③be busy doing sth.忙于做某事

④absorb/əb'sɔːb/vt.理解，掌握；吸收

be absorbed in全神贯注于……

⑤experience v．体验，经历；n.[U]经验；[C]经历

⑥wish后接从句，从句要使用虚拟语气。表示与现在相反的假设时，从句中的谓语动词应使用过去式。

⑦brief/briːf/adj.短暂的，简短的briefly adv.短暂地，简短地

⑧afford vt.抽得出(时间)

afford to do sth.抽得出时间做某事

⑨expectation/ˌekspek'teIʃn.期待的事物，预期

⑩现在分词短语作原因状语。

⑪I'd tell you a bit about ...是thought的宾语从句，省略了that；该从句中又含有what引导的宾语从句，作介词about的宾语。