2017考研英语阅读精选：中国留学生为何自杀?

　　考研英语阅读真题中的文章，多摘自英美主流外刊，有时候你认识所有单词、搞清全部语法还不够，还需要了解英美文化，掌握他们的表达方式，这就是阅读的潜台词。有时候是一些俗语和俚语，有时候是固定搭配，有时候需要借助历史、风俗、文化才能理解某种现象或表达。总之，这些地道的英语文章背后都有潜台词，一般人不容易读出，但往往是理解文章的关键。

　　2017考研复习开启，新东方在线考研分享《2017考研英语阅读精选》，赶快来学习吧！

　　Chinese students under mental pressure overseas

　　中国留学生为何自杀?

　　The sign hanging above the desk of Xiao Lu, a Chinese student at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, read "Perseverance prevails. Never give up." The 28-year-old seemed to have a bright future ahead after finishing his MBA at one of the best business schools in the US and returning home.

　　小鲁是一名就读于芝加哥大学布斯商学院的中国学生，在他的办公桌上方挂着一张纸条，写着“坚持就是胜利，永不放弃!”似乎在这所全美最好的商学院读完MBA并回到中国后，等着这位28岁年轻人的将是一个光明的未来。

　　But Lu’s life ended in the icy waters of Lake Michigan earlier this year. A police investigation found no evidence of homicide, and that instead he chose a higher spot at the lakeside before ending his own life, reported the World Journal newspaper.

　　但是今年早些时候，小鲁的生命在密歇根冰冷的湖水中结束了。据世界日报报道，警方的调查结果排除了他杀的可能，小鲁是自己选择结束自己的生命的。

　　Lu’s mother told media nothing seemed to be wrong when she and her son talked on video chat three days before his death.

　　小鲁的母亲告诉新闻媒体说，在事发前三天和儿子的视频通话中，她没有发现任何异常情况。

　　Lu’s tragedy is not an isolated one.

　　小鲁的悲剧并不是个案。

　　In recent years, as the Chinese upper class has gotten richer, many parents have chosen to send their children abroad. Statistics from Open Door Data show the number of Chinese students studying in the US surpassed 300,000 in 2015.

　　近年来，随着中国的上层社会人群变得越来越富有，许多家长选择把孩子送到国外去读书。从公开数据的统计结果来看，2015年在美中国留学生人数超过了30万人。

　　But Lu’s has not been the only suicide. Li Yangkai, 20, who studied at Johns Hopkins University, jumped from the roof of his apartment building one year ago, after suffering from insomnia and depression. Lin Xu, a 22-year-old student at California State University in Fullerton, jumped from a five-storey building in his school after failing to complete a language project.

　　但小鲁不是唯一一个自杀的中国学生。李阳凯(音)，20岁，曾就读于约翰霍普斯金大学，深受失眠和抑郁症困扰，一年前从公寓楼顶跳下。刘旭(音)，22岁，曾就读于加州州立大学富勒顿分校，因未能完成一项语言项目，从学校一幢五层楼上跳下。

　　Qiu Yan, a US lawyer who has handled several cases involving suicidal Chinese students, said some suffer insomnia and depression when they encounter culture shock, the language barrier, academic pressure and communication difficulties.

　　邱燕(音)是一名美国律师，此前她曾经手过好几起中国学生自杀案件，她表示说一些中国学生在遭遇文化冲击、语言障碍、学业压力和交流困难后，会患上失眠和抑郁症。

　　In the past, the majority of Chinese students in the US were postgraduates, usually self-funded or on scholarships. But with the increasing number of rich Chinese parents ready to foot the bill, students are getting younger.

　　在过去，大部分留美的中国学生都是自费或公费的研究生。但是随着中国富裕的家庭越来越多，越来越多的中国孩子被送出国，留美中国学生的平均年龄越来越小。

　　The percentage of undergraduates has been rapidly increasing, from 14.9 percent in 2005 up to 39.8 percent in 2013, while the rate of graduate students went down from 76.1 percent in 2005 to 43.9 percent in 2013, according to the Open Doors Data. Psychologists say that younger students may be less prepared to cope with the stresses of studying abroad.

　　从公开数据统计结果来看，攻读学士学位的学生人数增长十分迅速，2005年学士学位学生占总留学生的比例只有14.9%，而到2013年却已经激增到了39.8%， 另一方面，硕士学位留学生比例则从2005年的76.1%下滑到了2013年的43.9%。心理学家表示，这些年龄更小的学生们可能还没有准备好应对海外学习的压力。

　　Chinese student Brad Wang, at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told the Global Times that, "it’s not only the language barrier, it also involves culture difference ... the reason we fail to understand lies in that we have not gone through their childhood."

　　就读于芝加哥伊利诺伊大学的中国学生布拉德·王告诉《环球时报》，说：“这并不仅仅只是语言上的障碍，也和中美之间的文化差异有关，我们不能够理解美国文化，因为我们没有经历过美国人那样的童年。”

　　"A smart way to find a shared topic is to learn some American culture, like what cartoons they watch what movies are popular, and try to find the breakthroughs, by starting with mutual topic," Wang added.

　　他补充说道：“有一个寻找共同语言的好方法，那就是学习一些美国文化，了解他们平时看什么动画、什么电影受欢迎等等，然后通过这些共同的话题来寻找突破点。”

　　Different teaching methods in the US and China, although often the factor that attracts students to the US system, can also stress students. Whereas Chinese teaching often focuses on rote learning, American teachers prefer to assign open-ended questions and leave ?essays, which requires a lot of practical research and teamwork. Chinese students often have problems working together, and find longer projects that require their own research hard to finish.

　　尽管一些中国学生会因为截然不同的教学方式而选择到美国读书，但这种和中国完全不同的教育制度有时也会给学生带来巨大的压力。和中国教育强调死记硬背不同，美国老师更喜欢设置一些开放性问题和自由度很高的论文写作，这就要求学生进行大量的实践研究和团队协作。而中国学生经常会在团队协作方面遇到问题，并且难以完成周期很长的自主研究课题。

　　"Chinese students are shy and silent when they are in group meetings, this is a main reason they get lower scores than local students," said another Chinese student Shu Ting, adding "I think the group meetings are also great opportunities to socialize and learn from local students."

　　另一名中国学生舒婷(音)说道：“在小组开会的时候，中国学生总是表现得非常羞涩和沉默，这也是为什么中国学生比本地学生得分低的主要原因。我认为小组开会的时候是一个非常好的机会，可以发展自己的社交人脉，同时也能向本地学生学习。”

　　"Making a reasonable studying plan is very useful," Wang noted, saying that Chinese students have to understand that getting used to an English environment takes time.

　　布拉德·王说中国学生必须明白一件事，那就是熟悉英语环境是要耗费时间的，因此“制定一份合理的学习计划是非常有帮助的。”

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