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新视野大学英语Book2.1-B Text Culture Shock

2008-10-20 20:17阅读：

http://blog.sina.cn/dpool/blog/u/1098522603

Culture Shock

Do you think studying in a different country is something that sounds very exciting? Like many young people who leave home to study in another country, do you think you would have lots of desirable fun? Certainly, it is a new experience, which brings the opportunity of discovering fascinating things and a feeling of freedom. In spite of these advantages, however, there are also some challe
nges you will encounter. Because your views may clash with the different beliefs, norms, values, and traditions that exist in different countries, you may have difficulty adjusting to a new culture and to those parts of the culture not familiar to you. This is culture shock. Evidently, at least four essential stages of culture-shock adjustment occur.
The first stage is called “the honeymoon.” In this stage, you feel excitement about living in a different place, and everything seems to be marvelous. You like everything, and everybody seems to be so nice to you. Also, the amusement of life in a new culture seems as though it will have no ending.
Eventually, however, the second stage of culture shock appears. This is the “hostility stage.” You begin to notice that not everything is as good as you had originally thought it was. You become tired of many things about the new culture. Moreover, people don’t treat you like a guest anymore. Everything that seemed to be so wonderful at first is now awful, and everything makes you feel distressed and tired.
Usually at this point in your adjustment to a new culture, you devise some defense mechanisms to help you cope and to protect yourself against the effects of culture shock. One type of coping mechanism is called “repression.” This happens when you pretend that everything is acceptable and that nothing bothers you. Another type of defense mechanism is called “regression.” This occurs when you start to act as if you are younger than you actually are; you act like a child. You forget everything, and sometimes you become careless and irresponsible. The third kind of defense mechanism is called “isolation.” You would rather be home alone, and you don’t want to communicate with anybody. With isolation, you try to avoid the effects of culture shock, or at least that’s what you think. Isolation is one of the worst coping mechanisms you can use because it separates you from those things that could really help you. The last type of defense mechanism is called “rejection.” With this coping mechanism, you think you don’t need anybody. You feel you are coping fine alone, so you don’t try to ask for help.
The defense mechanisms you utilize in the hostility stage are not helpful. If you only occasionally use one of these coping mechanisms to help yourself survive, that is acceptable. You must be cautious, however. These mechanisms can really hurt you because they prevent you from making necessary adjustments to the new culture.
After you deal with your hostile feelings, recognition of the temporary nature of culture shock begins. Then you come to the third stage called “recovery.” In this stage, you start feeling more positive, and you try to develop comprehension of everything you don’t understand. The whole situation starts to become more favorable; you recover from the symptoms of the first two stages, and you adjust yourself to the new norms, values, and even beliefs and traditions of the new country. You begin to see that even though the distinctions of the culture are different from your own, it has elements that you can learn to appreciate.
The last stage of culture shock is called “adjustment.” In this stage, you have reached a point where you actually feel good because you have learned enough to understand the new culture. The things that initially made you feel uncomfortable or strange are now things that you understand. This acquisition of understanding alleviates much of the stress. Now you feel comfortable; you have adjusted to the new culture.
Evidently, culture shock is something you cannot avoid when living in a foreign country. It does not seem like a very helpful experience when you are going through its four stages. However, when you have completely adjusted to a new culture you can more fully enjoy it. You learn how to interact with other people, and you learn a considerable amount about life in a culture that is not your own. Furthermore, learning about other cultures and how to adjust to the shock of living in them helps you learn more about yourself.
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文化冲突

 你认为在异国留学是一种听上去非常让人兴奋的事情吗？ 你认为你会像许多离家去另一个国家学习的年轻人一样会得到许多令人向往的乐趣吗？ 这当然是人生新的经历，它会给你带来机会, 去发现许多迷人的东西, 获得一种自由感。 然而尽管有这些好处，你也会遇到挑战。 因为你的观点可能会与存在于不同国家的不同信念、准则、价值观念和传统发生冲突。 在适应一种新的文化及该文化中你不熟悉的那些部分时，你也许会遇到困难。 这就是文化冲击。很明显，在人们适应文化冲击的过程中至少会出现四个主要阶段。
第一阶段叫做“蜜月期”。 在这一阶段里，你会感觉到生活在一个不同国度里很兴奋，而且每一样东西看上去都妙不可言。 你什么都喜欢，而且好像每个人都对你很好。 另外，新的文化中的生活乐趣好像是无穷无尽的。
然而文化冲击的第二阶段最终还是出现了。 这是 “敌意阶段”。 你开始注意到并不是每样东西都如你原先认为的那样好。 你会对新的文化里的许多东西都感到厌倦。 此外，人们也不再把你当作一个客人来对待了。 所有最初看上去非常好的东西现在变得让人讨厌了，而且每一样东西都使你感到苦恼和厌倦。
通常在你适应一种新的文化的过程中步入这一阶段时，你会想出一些帮助你对付和保护自己免受文化冲击的影响的保护性办法。 其中有一种办法叫做“压抑法”。 当你假装所有的东西都是可以接受的，没有什么东西令你感到烦恼的时候，你就是在用“压抑法”。 另一种保护性办法称做”倒退法”。 当你的行为举止开始显得比你实际年龄要小的时侯，你是在用这第二种办法。这时, 你的行为举止像一个小孩。 你把什么都忘记掉，而且有时你会变得粗心大意和不负责任。 第三种保护性办法叫做”孤立法”。 你宁可一个人待在家里，不想和任何人交流。 你想把自己孤立起来以避免文化冲击的影响，至少你是这样认为的。 孤立法也许是人们用来对付文化冲击的最糟糕的办法之一，因为你把那些能真正帮助你的东西和你隔离开来了。 最后一种保护性办法叫做“排斥法”。 这一办法让你觉得自己不需要任何人帮助。 你觉得你可以独自把事情对付得很好，所以你就不想求助于人。
你在敌意阶段中使用的这些办法并不能解决问题。 如果你仅仅是偶尔使用一下其中一个应付办法来帮助你生存下去，这也无妨。 但是你必须谨慎，这些办法可能会真的使你受到伤害，因为它们会阻碍你对新的文化作出必要的调整。
在你对付过了自己的敌对情绪后，你就会开始认识到文化冲击的短暂性。 然后你就会步入被称为“恢复期”的第三阶段。 在这个阶段里，你会开始变得积极起来，而且你会努力去理解所有你不理解的东西。 整个形势开始变得对你有利了，你会从前面两个阶段中出现的症状中恢复过来。而且你开始使自己适应新的准则、新的价值观念，乃至这个新的国家的各种信念和传统。 你开始明白，虽然这种新的文化的特点和你自己的文化的特点有所不同，其中也必定有着值得你学习和欣赏的东西。
文化冲击的最后一个阶段被称为“适应阶段”。 在这个阶段里你达到了真正感觉良好的境界，因为你已经学到了很多东西, 已经能理解这新的文化了。 最初使你感到不舒服或陌生的东西，现在已成了你能理解的东西了。 这种理解会减轻你的许多压力。 现在你感到舒服，你已经适应了新的文化。
很显然，文化冲击是一种生活在异国他乡的人们无法避免的东西。 当你在经历文化冲击的这四个阶段时，它似乎并不是一件有益的事。 然而，当你完全适应了某一种新的文化时，你会更加充分地喜爱这种文化的。 你学会了如何和他人交流，而且你还了解了大量与自己不同文化背景的人们的生活情况。 此外，了解其它各种文化以及当你生活在其中时懂得如何去适应所受到的冲击，可以帮助你更好地了解你自己。


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