I. Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.
Culture shock is the loss of emotional balance, disorientation, or confusion that a person feels when moving from a familiar environment to an unfamiliar one. When it is a common experience, the degree to which it occurs will vary from one person to another. Individual personality, previous cross-cultural experience, and language proficiency all affect a person's ability to interact socially in the new culture. The basic cause of culture shock is the abrupt loss of all that is familiar, leading to a sense of isolation.
When an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of those familiar signs and hints are removed. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad-minded or good-willed he may be, a series of properties have been knocked from under him. This may be followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety. People react to the frustration in much the same way. First they reject the environment which causes the discomfort: "The ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad."
Another aspect of culture shock is regression. The home environment suddenly assumes a tremendous importance, and everything becomes irrationally glorified. All difficulties and problems are forgotten and only the good things back home are remembered. It usually takes a trip home to bring one back to reality.
Common symptoms of culture shock include the following extremes. These are excessive concerns over delays and other minor frustrations; fear of being cheated, robbed or injured: sleeplessness or a desire to sleep more; and a great longing to go home. Underlying all these is the uncomfortable feeling of not really belonging, of being an outsider.
