中學(xué)生去加拿大留學(xué)：如何生活

You are in Middle School in China and you know what it is like. Perhaps some of you wonder what it is like in Canada. I'll try to tell you.

In Canada we call grades ten， eleven and twelve high school and it is very similar to your middle school in many ways. Students go to school，many wish they didn't have to，they complain1 about too much homework，some students do well and others do not. In other words it's just like China.

There are， however， important differences.As in China，a Canadian high school can be a private2 school but more likely， is a public school. However， neither kind of high school has gates and guards so they look different.School usually begins between eight and eight thirty in the morning but ends by about three or three thirty in the afternoon and students don't go to school on weekends. There are usually fewer than 30 students in a class.Students have two to three hours of homework every night and their parents must help them balance3 their time so they get enough exercise and rest along with all the work. There is less memory work in Canada and more teaching by explaining.

One big difference is that rules for Canadian students are much less strict. Public school students do not wear uniforms4 and their teachers begin to treat them less like children and more like adults.

This can be a problem for many students because it means they must take the responsibilitys for learning themselves. This is because university in Canada is very hard and classes are large. Teachers there make information available to students but whether the student learns it or not is up to him. We say 'you can lead a horse to water but you can not make it drink'. We can give information to students but we can not force them to learn， so we don't try. They must do it themselves.

Most Canadian high school students are very social because they are also learning to get along with other people. Most have girlfriends or boyfriends with whom they go on dates on the weekends，sometimes going to a show or to a party. Many students also have part-time jobs to make a little money. Some help look after other children，deliver newspapers or work on Saturdays in a store or restaurant. It is good life experience.

Still，there is more that is the same than that is different. Canadian students like television，music videos and sports. They are curious about what school life is like in China and other countries. They want to get a good job when they grow up， make lots of money and have nice things. They are not very different from you.

因?yàn)槟阍谥袊?guó)上中學(xué)，所以你知道中國(guó)的中學(xué)是怎么回事。可能你們當(dāng)中有些人想知道加拿大的中學(xué)是什么樣子的。我來告訴你吧。

在加拿大我們稱10年、11年和12年為高中，它在許多方面與你們的中學(xué)很相似。學(xué)生們?nèi)ド蠈W(xué)，但很多學(xué)生并不愿意上。他們抱怨家庭作業(yè)太多，有人做得好，有人做不好。換句話說，這與中國(guó)的情況相似。

不過，也有一些重要的差別。像在中國(guó)一樣，加拿大中學(xué)可以是私立學(xué)校，但大多數(shù)是公立學(xué)校。不管怎樣，兩類中學(xué)都沒有門，(加拿大學(xué)校沒有圍墻，沒有門，而是一個(gè)開放式的社區(qū)的一部分)也沒有門衛(wèi)，所以它們看上去是不同的。學(xué)校通常在上午8:00到8:30之間開始上課，下午3:00到3:30放學(xué)，周末不上課。通常每個(gè)班學(xué)生不到30人。學(xué)生每晚要做兩到三個(gè)小時(shí)的家庭作業(yè)，而父母必須幫助他們分配好時(shí)間，這樣，他們?cè)谧鏊泄φn以外，有充分的鍛煉和休息。加拿大死記硬背的功課少，老師主要是通過講解來傳授知識(shí)。

另一個(gè)較大的差別是，加拿大學(xué)生的條條框框沒有那么嚴(yán)格。公立學(xué)校的學(xué)生不穿制服，老師也開始更像對(duì)待成年人一樣對(duì)待他們，而不像對(duì)待小孩那樣。對(duì)很多學(xué)生來說，這可能是一個(gè)問題，因?yàn)檫@意味著他們必須擔(dān)負(fù)起自己學(xué)習(xí)的責(zé)任。之所以要如此是因?yàn)榧幽么蟮拇髮W(xué)課程很難，班級(jí)也大，老師為學(xué)生提供知識(shí)和信息，至于學(xué)生學(xué)不學(xué)那就要看他自己了。我們說“師傅領(lǐng)進(jìn)門，修行在個(gè)人?！蔽覀兛梢越o學(xué)生提供知識(shí)和信息，但是我們不可能逼著他們?nèi)W(xué)，所以我們不會(huì)那么做。他們必須自己來學(xué)。

大多數(shù)加拿大中學(xué)生擅于社交，因?yàn)樗麄円惨獙W(xué)習(xí)怎樣與人相處。大多數(shù)人各自都有男、女朋友，他們周末約會(huì)，有時(shí)看一場(chǎng)演出或去參加一個(gè)聚會(huì)什么的。許多學(xué)生還有一份兼職工作，賺點(diǎn)小錢。一些學(xué)生幫忙照看孩子，送送報(bào)紙或者周六在商店或餐館干點(diǎn)活。這是良好的生活體驗(yàn)。

不過，相同之處大于不同之處。加拿大學(xué)生也喜歡看電視，喜歡音樂電視和體育活動(dòng)。他們也對(duì)中國(guó)或其他國(guó)家的學(xué)校生活感到好奇。他們也想在成年后得到一份好工作、賺大錢、擁有美好的事物。這與你們沒什么不同。

注釋:

1.complain vi.~about抱怨，發(fā)牢騷，訴苦

2.private adj.私立的，私營(yíng)的，民間的

3.balance vt.使平衡，使均衡

4.uniform n.制服，(特定階層或團(tuán)體等使用的)特種衣服

5.responsibility n. 責(zé)任，責(zé)任感