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Unit 12 Culture Shock Lesson 1 Visiting Britain Dear Aunt Mei, I can't believe I've been in London for 6 months already! I certainly owe you an apology for not writing more often. I've just been so busy studying and trying to absorb all the new things around me - I think I'm still experiencing culture shock. There is so much here that is different from home. But you'll soon experience it all yourself! I wish your visit wasn't going to be so brief but there's a lot we can do and see in a week. I'm just so glad you can afford to visit me and I refuse to let you pay for anything while you're here! I don't know what your expectations are of London,but knowing that you've never travelled outside of Asia,I thought I'd tell you a bit about what you can expect to find. First of all, the food. When I first got here, I was amazed to find that London is such an international city. There are people from all over the world living here and as a result, there are many international restaurants. Do you know that almost every town in Britain has at least one Chinese restaurant? But British people hardly ever eat Chinese food for breakfast. You're going to have to get used to bacon and eggs with a few slices of toast for breakfast over here, Aunt Mei! And a word of advice. To avoid getting confused about the British tipping system,you need to check your bill to see if a tip is included or not. If it isn't, I suggest leaving 10% of the bill for the waiter or waitress - even a bit more if the service is good. Talking of money - it's really easy to exchange traveller's cheques at banks or hotels so I advise you to get some of those before you come. I think we should consider staying in the English countryside for a few nights as I know you enjoy hiking. We can wander through the fields and even pick a few mushrooms to have with our breakfast! I have learnt which ones are tasty and safe to eat so we won't risk getting sick! And don't forget a warm coat! It can get pretty cold and foggy in this country. One last thing, I didn't understand British humour at all when I first got here. The British find the strangest things funny! We're certainly more used to Chinese humour so don't be surprised if you hear laughter when you don't think anything's funny. They're not laughing at you! But even though some British people are quite strange,the majority of them are really friendly and I've made some good friends. Anyhow, I'd better get back to work. I am so looking forward to your visit, Aunt Mei! Love Xiaojin. 第12单元 文化冲击 第1课 游览英国 亲爱的梅姨， 真不敢相信我已在伦敦呆了6个月了！ 没有多给您写信非常抱歉。 我一直忙于学习，了解身边的新事物—我觉得自己还在经历文化冲击。 这儿很多事情和国内不一样。 不久您就会亲身体验了！ 我真希望您的来访时间不会这么短，但是一周内我们也有很多事情可以做，有很多地方可以参观。 您能抽时间来看我，我真是太高兴了。 您在这儿期间我不会让您花钱的！ 我不知道您对伦敦有什么期望，但是我知道您从来没有到亚洲以外的地方旅行，所以我想告诉您一些这里的情况。 首先是食物。 我刚到时对于伦敦这样一个国际化的城市感到吃惊。 这里的人来自世界各地，因此有许多各个国家的餐馆。 您知道吗？在英国几乎每个镇子都有一家中国餐馆。 但是英国人早饭不吃中餐。 所以，梅姨，您得适应这里腌肉、鸡蛋加几片烤面包的早饭。 一点建议。 为了避免对英国小费制度的困惑，您要查看帐单上是不是包括小费。 如果不包括，我建议您给服务生或服务小姐留10％ -至可以再多一点儿，如果您认为他们服务得好。 谈到钱，在银行或饭店兑换旅行支票非常容易，所以我建议您来之前准备一些支票。 我知道您喜欢远足，我想我们应该在英国的乡村住几天。 我们可以在田野中漫步，甚至可以采些蘑菇和早饭一起吃！ 我学会了识别那些蘑菇好吃又安全，所以我们不会冒生病的危险！ 别忘记带保暖外衣！ 英国会很冷的，而且多雾。 最后，我刚到时一点儿都不懂英式幽默。 英国人认为最奇怪的事情好笑！ 我们比较习惯中国式的幽默，所以您觉得没什么好笑时听到笑声，不要感到吃惊。 他们不是在笑您！ 虽然有些英国人有点儿奇怪，但是大多数人都很友好，而且我已结交了一些好朋友。 好了，我得回去工作了。 梅姨，我期待着您的来访 爱您的小金 |
