海外生带你领略异国风光

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作为交换生，可以体验到其他国家的文化，并不一定在交换期间真的学到了很多学术方面的知识，但是对于拓宽自己的视野，领略异国风情，体验不同的文化，了解别人的人生经历来说是有很大的帮助的。

In the waning days of last semester, I asked a student of mine from Renmin University in China to try to round up a few other students from "over there" to talk with me about their experience as exchange students here on my campus.

My student and her three friends (Cathy and Company) all felt that understandings of politeness in college classrooms are different in Taiwan than they are in far flung China.

Cathy and Company said they were not accustomed to seeing so many classmates arrive late for class. Students tend to arrive in class early in China, they told me. One reason is that classroom life at Renmin appears to be more competitive than at my university.

Students in China may be less willing to form close relationships with classmates, the Company said.

Your classmates are not your enemies, but life is a race and your goal is to reach the finish line first. So, protect your own interests and don't give away any secrets.

Our friends from Renmin said they had generally found a warm welcome from both instructors and classmates here. One of Cathy's friends remarked with a sigh, "I envy Taiwan students and feel reluctant to give up my life here and go back."

单词精讲

to wane  (v.)   衰退
After the initial craze about the movie died down, the star's popularity also began to wane.

to tend  (v.)   倾向
Robert tends to put things off till the last minute.

competitive  (adj.)   好竞争的
With the financial crisis, the job market is becoming more competitive.

reluctant  (adj.)   不情愿的
The girl was reluctant to let her brother borrow her valuable book for a project.

to round up   召集
It took some time to round up all the ingredients to make the cookies.

to protect one's own interests   维护自身权益
It is important to protect one's own interests in a culture where dishonesty is acceptable.

warm welcome  热烈欢迎
The crowd applauded to give a warm welcome to the visiting musician.