When I first arrived in Australia at the age of 16 to go to high school for one year and live with a host family，I was completely over the moon about everything. I had been planning for many months. And，even though we exchange students participated in a one-day preparatory meeting，culture shock couldn't be avoided.

Those first weeks are so-called "honeymoon phase I" where you are happy to be in that culture.

However，this feeling didn't last forever. After about two months，differences became more evident. I started missing my friends and family more and more. Frustrating thoughts increasingly occupied my head—Nobody really understands me，and my English is not good enough. I wish people would just be able to speak German for one day！I wish public transportation would work the same way as at home！And so on. I knew it was "honeymoon phase Ⅱ".

Over the next few months，though，I slowly and unknowingly entered the "adjustment（适应）phase". I developed my own little routine，learned to adapt to stress through various techniques，and made many new friends. My English improved dramatically！

I understood Australian culture better and better. That was a major breakthrough for me personally. Every day I felt more and more comfortable with my new home. I adopted many new traits（特征）while also keeping earlier ones from my home country. I would often refer to myself as "having a second nationality". This process which happened over my last few months abroad is called the "mastery phase". My happiest moment was when my dear friend one day said during a conversation，"You are Australian now，Jude！You sound just like us！"

I want to point out that the effects of culture shock are different for everyone and can result in different behavior and feelings. The timing of the different phases also varies a lot from person to person. One thing is for sure though —Culture shock is unavoidable and acceptance is the first step towards adjusting better to a foreign culture.

   It was a few days before Christmas many years ago and it looked like it would be a hard one for my family. I lost my job so we didn't have much _______ . My wife and I had saved to buy our young children  some toys , _______ an unexpected car repair took most  of our cash. We decided then that we could only _______ to get one small gift for each of our children.

We arrived at the store and walked past people loading gifts into their cars. I _______ them a bit,because it sure didn't feel like Christmas to me. We hurried into the store past the Salvation Army bell ringer with our heads _______ . I had always enjoyed putting something in his _______ before but wasn't _______ if I could afford this time. We _______ all through the store hoping to find one thing each of our small children would like. _______ , we were able to get them each something sweet. We headed for the ________ ，bought the toys, and were amazed that we even had a few dollars ________ . As we walked out of the store, I stopped and ________ those dollars into the bell ringer's kettle. I didn't have a coin left but that didn't matter. ________ , it felt like Christmas.

I think the wonderful actress, Dale Evans ________ it best when she said,“Christmas is love ________ . Every time we love, every time we ________ ，it's Christmas. ” It doesn't ________ have to be a gift of money either. When we give our time, it's Christmas. When we share our ________ ,it's Christmas. When we give others our ________ and compassion , it's Christmas. When we do ________ at any time to help another, it's Christmas.

   Two old beggars (乞丐) were sitting on a busy street corner of a big city. They watched _______ as a lot of people walked by without looking at them. Sometimes, a kind-hearted woman or a small child would _______ a few coins in the hats in front of them.

Today was not a _______ day for begging. The men were able to _______ enough for a big meal. As it was getting dark, they started to _______ their things.

Just as they were getting ready to leave, they _______ a man walking toward them. He was a _______ man. They could tell that from his fine clothes. The first beggar said to the second with _______, “He’s coming our way!” The man stopped, _______ into his pocket and took something out. What looked like a piece of hard ________, wrapped (包裹) in white paper, hit each of their waiting hats. The rich man turned and ________ his way.

“He could have easily left us a few ________ or a bill, but he laughed at us with a piece of rock candy,” said the first beggar. He looked at the offering ________. “There’s no way we can ________ this — we have no teeth.” With these words, he picked up the thing and threw it away. Then he collected his things and ________ .

The second beggar wanted to do the same, ________ a second thought made him change his ________.“I haven’t had anything like this for ages,” he thought. “How ________ of that man to offer me something so sweet!” With that, he opened the white paper. To his ________, there was no hard rock candy inside. ________, a shiny white pearl (珍珠) worth thousands of dollars fell into his hand.

   I was attending a party one night given in Sir Ross's honor. During the dinner, the man sitting next to me told a humorous story and spoke of the quotation:“There's a divinity（神）that shapes our ends, /Rough-hew them how we will. ”

The storyteller mentioned that the quotation was from the Bible. He was wrong. I knew that； I knew it positively. There couldn't be the slightest doubt about it. And so, to get a feeling of importance and show my high quality, I chose myself as an unwelcome person to correct him. He stuck to his guns. “What? From Shakespeare? Impossible! Absurd ! That quotation was from the Bible. ”

The storyteller was sitting at my right hand, and Frank Gammond, an old friend of mine, was seated at my left hand. Mr. Gammond had devoted years to the study of Shakespeare, so the storyteller and I agreed to leave the question to Mr. Gammond. Mr. Gammond listened, kicked me under the table, and then said ,“Dale, you are wrong. The gentleman is right. It is from the Bible. ”

On our way home that night, I said to Mr. Gammond,“Frank, you knew that quotation was from Shakespeare. ”

“Yes, of course,”he replied. “Hamlet, Act V, Scene 2. But we were guests on a festive occasion, my dear Dale. Why prove to a man he is wrong? Is that going to make him like you? Why not let him save his face? He didn't ask for your opinion. He didn't want it. Why argue with him?”The man who said that taught me a lesson I would never forget. I not only had made the storyteller uncomfortable, but had put my friend in an embarrassing situation. How much better it would have been if I hadn't become argumentative.

Nine times out of ten, an argument ends with each of the contestants（竞争者）more firmly convinced than ever that he is absolutely right. You can't win an argument. You can't because if you lose it, you lose it； and if you win it, you lose it.