雅思阅读天天练题集6

　　This reading test contains 10 questions. You shouldspend about 20 minutes on this task. Read thepassage below and answer questions 1-10.

　　What you need to know about Culture Shock

　　Most people who move to a foreign country orculture may experience a period of time when theyfeel very homesick and have a lot of stress anddifficulty functioning in the new culture. This feeling isoften called "culture shock" and it is important tounderstand and learn how to cope with cultureshock if you are to adapt successfully to your newhome's culture.

　　First of all, it's important to know that culture shock is normal. Everyone in a new situation willgo through some form of culture shock, and the extent to which they do is determined byfactors such as the difference between cultures, the degree to which someone is anxious toadapt to a new culture and the familiarity that person has to the new culture. If you go, forexample, to a culture that is far different from your own, you're likely to experience cultureshock more sharply than those who move to a new culture knowing the language and thebehavioural norms of the new culture.

　　There are four general stages of cultural adjustment, and it is important that you are aware ofthese stages and can recognise which stage you are in and when so that you will understandwhy you feel the way you do and that any difficulties you are experiencing are temporary, aprocess you are going through rather than a constant situation.

　　The first stage is usually referred to as the excitement stage or the "honeymoon" stage. Uponarriving in a new environment, you'll be interested in the new culture, everything will seemexciting, everyone will seem friendly and helpful and you'll be overwhelmed with impressions.During this stage you are merely soaking up the new landscape, taking in these impressionspassively, and at this stage you have little meaningful experience of the culture.

　　But it isn't long before the honeymoon stage dissolves into the second stage—sometimes calledthe withdrawal stage. The excitement you felt before changes to frustration as you find itdifficult to cope with the problems that arise. It seems that everything is difficult, the languageis hard to learn, people are unusual and unpredictable, friends are hard to make, and simplethings like shopping and going to the bank are challenges. It is at this stage that you are likelyto feel anxious and homesick, and you will probably find yourself complaining about the newculture or country. This is the stage which is referred to as "culture shock".

　　Culture shock is only temporary, and at some point, if you are one of those who manage tostick it out, you'll transition into the third stage of cultural adjustment, the "recovery" stage.At this point, you'll have a routine, and you'll feel more confident functioning in the newculture. You'll start to feel less isolated as you start to understand and accept the way thingsare done and the way people behave in your new environment. Customs and traditions areclearer and easier to understand. At this stage, you'll deal with new challenges with humourrather than anxiety.

　　The last stage is the "home" or "stability" stage—this is the point when people start to feel athome in the new culture. At this stage, you'll function well in the new culture, adopt certainfeatures and behaviours from your new home, and prefer certain aspects of the new culture toyour own culture.

　　There is, in a sense, a fifth stage to this process. If you decide to return home after a longperiod in a new culture, you may experience what is called "reverse culture shock". This meansthat you may find aspects of your own culture "foreign" because you are so used to the newculture that you have spent so long adjusting to. Reverse culture shock is usually pretty mild—you may notice things about your home culture that you had never noticed before, and someof the ways people do things may seem odd. Reverse culture shock rarely lasts for very long.

　　Do the following statements agree with the information given in the article?

　　In boxes 1-10 on your answer sheet write

　　TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information

　　FALSE - if the statement contradicts the information

　　NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this

　　1. Some people will find the process of adapting to a new country easier than others.

　　2. Knowing about these four stages will help people adjust to a new culture more quickly.

　　3. People can ease culture shock by learning about the language and customs before they go to the new culture.

　　4. Culture shock is another name for cultural adjustment.

　　5. The first stage is usually the shortest.

　　6. In the first stage, people will have a very positive impression of the new culture.

　　7. Many people will leave the new culture while they are in the second stage.

　　8. By the third stage, people do not experience any more problems with the new culture.

　　9. In the fourth stage, people speak the new language fluently.

　　10. Reverse culture shock is as difficult to deal with as culture shock.

　　Answers

　　1.TRUE

　　2.NOT GIVEN

　　3.TRUE

　　4.FALSE

　　5.NOT GIVEN

　　6.TRUE

　　7.NOT GIVEN

　　8.FALSE

　　9.NOT GIVEN

　　10.FALSE