Passage1StudyingAbroad:IsItWorththeCost?Studyingabroadcanallowyoutoseetheworldandcreatememoriesthatwilllastalifetime.Buttherearealsodrawbackstoconsiderbeforeyouheadoutaswell.Manyfeelthatyoucan’tputapricetagontheamazinglifeexperienceyou’llgetfromstudyingabroad.Othersmayholddifferentopinions.Here’salistofadvantagesanddisadvantagesofstudyingabroadtoconsiderbeforetakingtheleap.StudyingAbroadadvantages1.Gainanunforgettableexperience.Manypeoplewhohavestudiedabroadsayitwasoneofthebestexperiencesoftheirlives.Itchallengesyoutostepoutofyourcomfortzonewhileseeingtheworldandexperiencingsomethingentirelynew.It’sgreattotakeabreakfromyoureverydaylifetoexperiencesomethingthatnotmanypeoplegetthechancetosee.You’llmeetnewpeoplefromacrosstheglobeandmakelifelongbondsandfriendships.2.Experienceanewculture.There’snobetterwaytoseehowpeopleliveandunderstandaculturethanbylivingthere.Youcanlearnthingsyoujustcan’twhileyousitinaclassroom.Actuallylivinginaforeignplacecangreatlyassistwithlearningthenativelanguage.Livingthereasopposedtovisiting,willgiveyouthechancetogetagenuineexperienceinsteadofatouristexperience.3.Gainalotofskills.Everydaytaskslikereadingamap,exchangingmoneyandlearningtogetaroundonyourownisalifelessonwaitingforyou.Theseskillscantransferovertobeingamoreprofitableemployeelateron.4.Getaneducationwhiletraveling.Simplytakinganextendedtravelbreakorgettingajobabroadisagreatwaytoseetheworld,butwithstudyingabroad,you’llbegaininganeducation.Soyou’llbeearningadegreewhileyou’retravelingtomaximizeyourtimeandmoney.5.Addtoyourresume(简历).Surprisingly,only4percentofU.S.undergradsstudyabroadsoit’sagoodwaytomakeyoustandapartwhenyoubeginyourjobsearch.Manyoftheexperiencesyou’llhaveandskillsyou’lllearnwillboostyourresume.StudyingAbroadDisadvantages1.Itcanendupbeingcostly.Whiletherearemanywaystosaveupforstudyingabroadandyoumayevenbeabletofindscholarshipstohelpyougo,studyingabroadcanbeexpensive.Besidestuition(学费),youalsohavetopaylivingexpenses,travelcostsandothercostsyoumaynothaveexpected.2.Educationstandardsvary.Thevalueofaclassordegreeatoneuniversitycandifferent,andit’snotnecessarilythateveryclassyoutakebenefitsyoualot.3.Ittakesalotofplanningandresearch.Planningtoliveinanothercountrytakesalotofresearchandplanning.Therearemanydocumentstogetinorderandapplicationstofillout.Dependingonwhereyou’reheaded,youmayneedtogetvaccinatedforcountry-specificdiseases.You’llneedtofindaplacetoliveandfigureouthowyou’llgetaround.You’llneedtodoalotofresearchonhowtoprotectyourselffinancially,too.Howwillyourcreditcardsworkabroad,howwillyourphoneplanworkabroad,andhowmuchwillthingscostarejustafewofthethingsyoushouldbeawareofwhileyou’restudyingabroad.4.CommunicationandcustomscanbechallengingImmersingyourselfinanotherculturecanbeexciting,butitcanalsobeextremelychallenging.Communicationcanbedifficultifyoudon’tspeakthenativelanguage,andevenifyoudo,thereisstillachancethatyoucannotunderstandnativespeakers.Anewplacemeansanewwayoflifeanddifferenthabitsandcustomsyou’llhavetogetusedto.Fromhowyoueat,tohowyouspeak,andtowhatyouwear,you’llneedtolearnhowthelocalslive.5.Youreallydon’tknowwhattoexpect.Whileyoumightbedreamingoftheamazingexperienceyou’llhaveabroad,itactuallymaynotbewhatyouexpect.Therecanbemisunderstandingsaboutyourlivingsituation,andnoteveryoneyoumeetisgoingtoturnintoagreatfrienddowntheroad.6.You’realongwayfromhomeinanemergency.Beingsofarawaymaysoundexciting,butitcanbescaryaswell.You’llneedtoknowwhattodoifyougetsickorencounteranotheremergencyabroadsinceyou’realongwayfrompeoplewhocanhelp.Thequalityofmedicalfacilitiesandcaremaybequitedifferentthanwhatyou’reaccustomedto.7.Itcanbedangerous.Dependingonwhereyouare,itcanbeabitofarisk.Inmanycountries,foreignvisitorsoftenfallvictimtoscamsorothertheftcrimes.Travelingalonewhileyouaren’ttoofamiliarwithyoursurroundingscanalsomakeyouatarget.Ofcoursetherearewaystoprotectyourmoneywhiletravelingabroadandtoensureyou’resafetywhiletraveling,butthingscanhappenanywhere.Youwillneedtounderstandhowtoprotectyourselfandwhattodoifyoufallvictimtoacrime.Sobeforeyoumakethedecision,considergoodreasonstogo,whynottogo,andthinkaboutifitisallworthittoyou.Whatareyourpersonaladvantagesanddisadvantagesofstudyingabroad?Questions:1.Whataretheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofstudyingabroad?2.Ifyoucouldstudyanywhereintheworld,wherewillyougo?Why?3.Whatdifficultiesyoumaymeetwithstudyingabroad?
