143 赴美的交换留学学生告别美国

143  赴美的交换留学学生告别美国

Foreign Exchange Students Say Good-bye to US
Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
11 Jul 2001 08:49 UTC

Each year, thousands of foreign exchange students arrive in the United¹ States to attend U.S. schools and live with American families. At the end of the year come 1)bittersweet 2)departures and 3)tearful 4)farewells.
Eighteen-year-old Chiara Valentini of Rome, Italy, says she experienced² 5)culture shock when she first arrived in the United States. She expects to feel it a second time when she gets home to Italy. Ms. Valentini 6)reminisces about her year as an exchange student in Reno, Nevada, the new friends she made and the family she lived with. "I went to a wonderful family, who accepted me as a daughter and made this year 7)unforgettable for me," Chiara says. "The sad part was leaving all the friends I made and my [host] family, and the cultural shock that I'm going through as soon as I go back home. I know that it's going to be hard."
Ms. Valentini completed her fourth year of high school in the United States. She was one of 2,500 students, aged³ 15 through 18, who were placed in U.S. homes by American Field Service (AFS). That organization was formed to 8)recruit volunteer 9)ambulance drivers World War I, and it continued to send volunteers to serve in successive⁴ conflicts⁵. In 1947, AFS initiated⁶ exchange programs for high school students, placing them with host families to experience local culture.
The organization now has student-exchange programs in more than 50 countries, including South Africa, the home of Vuyo Mjekula. The high-school student from Johannesburg says her year in California⁷ had its highs and lows, but most of her experiences were good ones.
The good part was meeting all these American people, and of course the [other] exchange students, and being welcomed into a family, and just becoming a part of this new culture and opening your mind," Vuyo says. "I really enjoyed it. The bad part was just adjusting⁸. But that only lasted a little while, and overall⁹, it was a great experience."
Laura Garay of Paraguay says her U.S. host family in Reno, Nevada, became a second family during her year in America. "You have your real family, but you come here and they [your host family] just became part of your life," Laura says. "You say 'mom, dad,' your brothers, your sisters. They are just like the same."
Mennat-alah El Dorry of Cairo¹⁰ had a similar experience during her year in Soledad, California. "The good part was my host family," Mennat-alah said. "They welcomed me with open arms. They took me as one of their own, they were just lovely. And the bad part was, I guess, leaving. There were good times and bad times."
The Egyptian student says she experienced culture shock, however. When she saw the open exchanges between male and female¹¹ students in her California high school, she says, it was 10)unlike 11)behavior in Egypt, and it took some getting used to.
Jennifer Perry of Adelaide, Australia, says one thing about the United States surprised her during her year in 12)suburban Los Angeles. "It surprised me how much Americans love foreigners," Jennifer said. "In some countries, the people aren't as receptive to outsiders, but here in America, they hear your accent, and they're like [they say], 'that's so cool [that's great]. Where are you from?'"
There were hugs and tears all around as these students boarded buses and headed for the airport. Francesco Stenico, an exchange student from Italy, said he felt both sad and happy to leave his friends and 13)host family to return to friends and family at home. Chiara Valentini had the same feelings, but says she is making plans to return to California for summer 14)vacation next year.

(1) bittersweet[5bItEswi:t]adj.又苦又甜的, 苦乐参半的
(2) departure[dI5pB:tFE(r)]n.启程, 出发, 离开
(3) tearful[5tIEfJl]adj.含泪的
(4) farewell[feE5wel]n.辞别, 再见, 再会
(5) culture shock n. 文化冲击
(6) reminisce[remI5nIs]v.回忆
(7) unforgettable[QnfE5^etEb(E)l]adj.忘不了的, 令人难忘的
(8) recruit[rI5kru:t]n.新兵, 新会员vt.使恢复, 补充vi.征募新兵, 复原
(9) ambulance[5AmbjJlEns]n.战时流动医院, 救护车
(10) unlike[Qn5laIk]adj.不同的, 不相似的prep.不象...,和...不同
(11) behavior[bI5heIvjE(r)]n.举止, 行为
(12) suburban[sE5b:bEn]adj.郊外的, 偏远的
(13) host[hEJst]n.主机,主人,旅馆招待vt.当主人招待
(14) vacation[vE5keIF(E)n; (?@) veI-]n.假期, 休假v.<美>度假, 休假

 

1 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。

2 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。

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 successive   

adj.接连的，连续的，相继的

参考例句：

• He won three successive matches.他连胜三场比赛。
• In memory,instructions are stored in a sequence of successive bytes.在记忆体中，指令被存放在一个连续的字节序列中。

5 conflicts   

冲突( conflict的名词复数 )； 战斗； 相互干扰； 矛盾

参考例句：

• Conflicts among the various groups do not augur well for the future of the peace talks. 各派之间的冲突对和平谈判不是一个好兆头。
• Such was the ideal; the occasional conflicts were due to human imperfection. 这样的分工是完美的，偶尔的冲突是人类的缺点所致。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

6 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

7 California   

n.加利福尼亚(美国)

参考例句：

• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。
• We were driving on a California freeway.我们正沿着加利福尼亚的一条快车道驾车行驶。

8 adjusting   

n.调节（作用）；校准；调整；调制v.（改变…以）适应，调整，校正( adjust的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Adjusting your tie is often a sign of nervousness. 调整自己的领带通常是心情紧张的迹象。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Paul smooth the comforter, adjusting it carefully about his father's neck. 保罗展开围巾，小心地盖到父亲的脖子周围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？

10 Cairo   

n.开罗(埃及首都)

参考例句：

• They get onto the plane at Cairo.他们在开罗上飞机。
• Cairo is the capital of Egypt.开罗是埃及的首都。

11 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。