How the Americans View Friendship

　　Steve and Yaser ‵first met｜in their chemistry class｜at an American university. Yaser was an ‵international student｜from Jordon. He wanted to learn ‵more｜about American culture｜and hope that he and Steve would become ‵good friends. At first, Steve seemed ‵very friendly. He always greeted Yaser ‵warmly before class. Sometimes he offered to study with Yaser. He ‵even invited Yaser｜to eat lunch with him. ‵But after the semester was over, Steve seemed more distant.①The two former classmates｜didn’t see each other very much｜at school. One day Yaser decided to call Steve. Steve didn’t seem ‵very interested｜in talking to him. Yaser was ‵hurt｜by Steve’s change of attitude. “Steve said we were friends.” Yaser complained, “and I thought friends were friends｜for ever.” Yaser is a little ‵confused. As a foreigner, he doesn’t understand the way｜Americans view friendship. Americans use the word “friend”｜in a ‵very general way. They may call ‵both casual acquaintances｜and close companions “friends”.② These friendships are based on ‵common interests. When the shared activity ‵ends, the friendship may ‵fade. Now as Steve and Yaser｜are no longer classmates, their “friendship”｜has changed. In some cultures｜friendship means a ‵strong life-long bond｜ between two people. In these cultures｜friendships develop ‵slowly, since they are built to last. American society is one of ‵rapid change. Studies show｜that one out of five American families ‵moves every year. American friendships develop quickly, and they may change｜just as ‵quickly. People from the United States｜may at first seem friendly. Americans often chat ‵easily with strangers. But American friendliness｜is not always an offer of ‵true friendship. After an experience like Yaser’s｜people who’ve been in this country for only a ‵few months｜may consider Americans to be fickle. Learning how Americans view friendship｜can help non-Americans avoid misunderstandings. It can ‵also make them｜make friends the American way. [320 words]

　　美國人的友誼觀

　　史蒂夫和亞瑟第一次見面是在美國一所大學的化學課上。亞瑟是來自約旦的外國留學生，他想更多地了解美國文化，并希望能和史蒂夫成為好友。起初，史蒂夫顯得很友好，上課前他總是熱情地與亞瑟打招呼。有時他主動提出與亞瑟一起學習，甚至還邀請亞瑟共進午餐。但學期結束后，史蒂夫顯得比較冷淡了。①這兩位先前的同班同學在學校不再經常見面。有一天，亞瑟決定給史蒂夫打個電話，可史蒂夫似乎不大愿意與其交談。史蒂夫態(tài)度的改變讓亞瑟感到受了傷害。“史蒂夫說過我們是好朋友，”亞瑟抱怨說，“我本來以為是朋友就永遠是朋友。”亞瑟有些不解。作為一個外國人，他不理解美國人對友誼的看法。美國人對“朋友”一詞的使用非常廣泛。他們可能把偶然相識的人和親密的伙伴都稱之為“朋友”。②這些友誼都是基于共同的興趣。當這些原來共同從事的活動不復存在時，友誼也可能隨之淡化。現(xiàn)在亞瑟和史蒂夫不再是同學，所以他們的“友誼”已經發(fā)生了變化。在有些文化中，友誼意味著維系兩個人之間牢固的持續(xù)終生的紐帶。在這些文化中，友誼發(fā)展得很慢，因為人們是在建立持續(xù)終生的感情。而美國社會是個快速變化的社會。有研究顯示，每年每五個美國家庭中就有一家遷移。美國人的友誼建立得非常快，其變化也同樣快。從美國來的人給人的第一印象是很友好。美國人常隨意與陌生人交談。然而美國人的友好并不總是真正友情的表示。來到美國才幾個月的外國人在經歷了一次如同亞瑟這樣的經歷之后，可能會認為美國人易變。了解美國人對友誼的看法，有助于非美國人避免誤解，還可以幫助他們學會以美國方式與美國人交朋友。

Competition

　　It is a plain fact that we are in a world where competition is going on in all areas and at all levels.This is exciting.Yet, on the other hand, competition breeze a pragmatic attitude.People choose to learn things that are useful,and do things that are profitable.Todays' college education is also affected by this general sense of utilitarianism. Many college students choose business nor computing programming as their majors convinced that this professions are where the big money is. It is not unusual to see the college students taking a part time jobs as a warming up for the real battle.I often see my friends taking GRE tests, working on English or computer certificates and taking the driving licence to get a licence. Well, I have nothing against being practical. As the competition in the job market gets more and more intense, students do have reasons to be practical. However, we should never forget that college education is much more than skill training. Just imagine, if your utilitarianism is prevails on campus, living no space for the cultivation of students' minds,or nurturing of their soul. We will see university is training out well trained spiritless working machines.If utilitarianism prevails society, we will see people bond by mind-forged medicals lost in the money-making ventures;we will see humality lossing their grace and dignity, and that would be disastrous.I'd like to think society as a courage and people persumed for profit or fame as a horese that pulls the courage.Yet without the driver picking direction the courage would go straight and may even end out in a precarious situation .A certificate may give you some advantage, but broad horizons, positive attitudes and personal integrities ,these are assets you cannot acquire through any quick fixed way.In today's world, whether highest level of competition is not of skills or expertise , but vision and strategy. Your intellectual quality largely determinds how far you can go in your career.

Chinese Undergraduates in the US

　　Each year, elite American universities and liberal arts colleges, such as Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Amherst and Wellesley, offer a number of scholarships to Chinese high school graduates to study in their undergraduate programs. Four years ago, I received such a scholarship from Yale.

　　What are these Chinese undergrads like? Most come from middle-class families in the big urban centers of China. The geographical distribution is highly skewed, with Shanghai and Beijing heavily over-represented. Outside the main pool, a number of Yale students come from Changsha and Ningbo,swhereseach year American Yale graduates are sent to teach English.

　　The overwhelming majority of Chinese undergraduates in the US major in science, engineering or economics. Many were academic superstars in their high schools - gold medallists in international academic Olympiads or prize winners in national academic contests. Once on US campuses, many of them decide to make research a lifelong commitment.

　　Life outside the classroom constitutes an important part of college life. At American universities the average student spends less than thirteen hours a week in class. Many Chinese students use their spare time to pick up some extra pocket money. At Yale, one of the most common campus jobs is washing dishes in the dining halls. Virtually all Chinese undergraduates at Yale work part-time in the dining halls at some point in their college years. As they grow in age and sophistication, they upgrade to better-paying and less stressful positions. The more popular and interesting jobs include working as a computer assistant, math homework grader, investment office assistant and lab or research assistant. The latter three often lead to stimulating summer jobs.

　　Student activities are another prominent feature of American college life. Each week there are countless student-organized events of all sorts - athletic, artistic, cultural, political or social (i.e. just for fun). New student organizations are constantly being created, and Chinese undergrads contribute to this ferment. Sport looms much larger on US campuses than in China. At Yale, intramural sports from soccer to water polo take place all year long; hence athletic talent is a real social asset. One of the Chinese students at Yale several years ago was a versatile sportsman. His athletic talents and enthusiastic participation in sporting events, combined with his other fine qualities, made him a popular figure in his residential college.