“You are going abroad and will live there? Oh, wonderful! You are so lucky.”
Perhaps your family and friends said similar things to you when you left home. But is it true all the time? Is your life in the new country always wonderful and exciting?
Specialists say that it isn’t that easy to get used to life in a new culture. “Culture shock” (冲击) is the term specialists use when talking about the feelings that people have in a new environment. “There are three stages of culture shock,” say the specialists. In the first stage, the newcomers like their new environment. Then, when the fresh experience dies, they begin to hate the city, the country, the people, and everything else. In the last stage, the newcomers adapt to their surroundings and finally enjoy their life there.
Culture shock arises from many obvious factors. The weather may be unpleasant. The customs may be different. The public service systems such as the telephone, post office, or transportation may be difficult to work out. Even the simplest things become headaches. Still worse, the language may be difficult.
Who feels culture shock? Everyone does in this way or that. But culture shock surprises most people. Very often the people having the worst culture shock are those who never had any difficulties in their home countries and were successful in their community. Coming to a new country, these people find they do not have the same established positions. They find themselves without a role, almost without an identity. They have to build a new self­image.
Culture shock leads to a feeling of disorientation (迷惘). This feeling may be homesickness. When homesick, people feel like staying inside all the time. They want to protect themselves from the strange environment, and create and escape inside their room for a sense of security. This escape does solve the problem of culture shock for the short term, but it does nothing to make the person familiar with the culture. Getting to know the new environment and gaining experience are the long term solutions to the problem of culture shock.
小题1:When people move to a new country, they ________.

A．find their new life always wonderful and exciting.

B．dislike the new surroundings from the beginning.

C．quickly get accustomed to the new culture there.

D．will get used to the new life with certain difficulty.

小题2:Based on the passage, which of the following results from culture shock?

A．weather conditions and customs

B．public service and transportation

C．feeling homesick and disoriented

D．language communication issues

小题3:According to the passage, the more successful you are at home, ________.

A．the fewer difficulties you will meet with abroad

B．the more problems you may have to face abroad

C．the greater success you are likely to make abroad

D．the less homesick you will eventually feel abroad

小题4:Which of the following statements is correct according to the passage?

A．Cultural shock affects and surprises those who live in a new culture.

B．A new culture makes everything difficult except the simplest things.

C．Since culture shock is painful, we can never get over it completely.

D．Escaping by staying inside does solve the problem of culture shock.