双语新闻：留学生的烦恼
留学生活看起来多姿多彩、令人艳羡，但其实烦恼也不少。近日，来自YouTube网站上的一组视频试图解释外国留学生是如何在美国学校中艰难立足的。
Ye Du and Cecilia Miao arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, in 2009 feeling alone and anxious. They spoke only broken English and knew nothing about their new community.
2009年时，杜叶(音译)和塞西莉亚•苗(音译)怀着孤独与焦虑来到美国威斯康辛大学求学。他们说着一口蹩脚的英语，对新的人际关系一窍不通。
Four years later, reported the Wisconsin State Journal, the two journalism majors are channeling their feelings of isolation into a series of YouTube videos to educate their American peers about themselves. These videos explain many of the social and cultural misunderstandings that prevent foreign students, especially those from China, from integrating with the slang-speaking, party-going Americans.
据《威斯康星日报》报道称，这两位新闻系学生于四年后在YouTube上传了一系列抒发留学生孤立感的视频，希望借此能让美国的小伙伴们可以了解一个真实的自己。由于社交与文化上存在诸多误读，使得许多留学生(尤其是中国留学生)无法与爱说俚语、派对不断的美国人融洽相处，而这些视频针对这些误读一一做了解释。
According to the Institute of International Education in the US, foreign students are flocking to the US’ higher education system in greater numbers than ever before, particularly from Asia. Since 2007, the number of Chinese students in the US has grown by around one-fifth or more each year. In the 2011/2012 academic year, 194,029 students from China were enrolled in higher education in the US — an increase of 23 percent from the year before.
根据美国国际教育协会发布的数据显示，赴美接受高等教育的留学生人数比以往都要多，尤其是亚洲留学生人数。自2007年开始，赴美中国留学生人数以超过20%的增长率迅速增加。2011-2012学年，被美国高等教育机构录取的中国学生数量达到19.4029万人，较前一年增长23%。
But cultural barriers still remain. A recent study published in The Journal of International and Intercultural Communication found that nearly 40 percent of overseas students have no close American friends and would like more meaningful interactions with their American peers.
然而文化壁垒仍然存在。根据发表在《国际及跨文化交流》杂志上的一项崭新研究表明，超过40%的海外留学生没有美国好友;并且他们希望可以和美国当地学生展开更深度的交流互动。
According to the study, the biggest group to express dissatisfaction came from China and other East Asian countries (nearly 30 percent). Language and shyness were cited by 46 percent of all students as causes.
该研究还发现，表达不满的学生主要来自中国和东亚国家(约占总人数的30%)。46%的受访者将其归咎于语言和害羞。
Many also blamed Americans or US culture, the most common reasons being “superficiality” (cited by 32 percent) and not being open-minded or interested in other cultures (25 percent).
还有很多人将这种现象归咎于美国人或是当地文化，最常见的理由是他们“肤浅”(32%受访者用到这个词)，对异国文化不够包容、缺乏求知欲(25%的受访者如是说)。
However, a Voice of America survey suggests the problem can run both ways, according to international education news website The Pie News. About 40 percent of American students polled said they found it difficult to relate to overseas students, also citing language and cultural barriers.
而据国际教育新闻网The Pie News报道称， “美国之音”的一项调查显示，这个问题双方都难逃其责。受访的美国学生中有40%的人表示和外国留学生难以沟通，他们也同样提到了语言以及文化壁垒。
Du and Miao’s videos aim to break down some of the barriers. One video explains why Chinese students prefer to speak Mandarin among themselves rather than English. Aside from the obvious reason that it’s their native language, Chinese students are taught English to pass tests, not to chat conversationally, so they don’t feel confident about their oral English.
杜叶和塞西莉亚•苗制作的视频旨在打破其中一些壁垒。一段视频解释了中国学生聚在一起喜欢说中文而不是英文的原因。除了“中文是母语”这个显而易见的原因之外，由于中国学生学的是应试英语，而并非口头交流，所以他们对自己的口语没信心。
Another video explains why Chinese students don’t like going to parties. It’s not only because they place a higher value on studying, they also don’t like being “treated like this alien person who doesn’t know how to have fun” in drink-fueled social situations.
还有一段视频解释了中国学生为什么不喜欢参加派对。不仅仅只是由于他们更重视学业，更是因为他们不希望在这种推杯换盏的社交场合，因不善玩乐而显得自己格格不入。
Failure to adapt can be harmful to the academic and career development of international students. According to Southern Metropolis Daily, a recent data from Ivy League universities shows that one in four Chinese students attending these universities drop out before they graduate.
如果留学生无法适应当地文化，那么就会对个人学业以及事业发展造成不良影响。据《南方都市报》报道，由常青藤联盟发布的一组数据显示，有四分之一在常春藤大学就读的中国留学生在毕业前辍学。
