Welcome back to the hot topic of studying abroad！ Last time, we talked about the general "soft- ware" needed to havea{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(success)  studying experience overseas, {#blank#}2{#/blank#}refers to the ability to understand western culture,  and problem solving skills when {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(face)  critical situations, etc.

      Now,1 will dig deeper into the concept of software".Everyone is talking about culture shock nowa-days, but you may wonder what itactually {#blank#}4{#/blank#}_(mean). Simplyput:  culture shock is the diffi-cultypeople may experience when being exposed and adjusting to a {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (remarkable) different new culture. Usually, people often go._{#blank#}6{#/blank#} four distinct phases: the honeymoon phase, thene-gotiation phase, the adjustment phase and the mastery phase. Culture shock can happen immediately upon your {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(arrive) in the country.

For international students, perhaps the most direct impact of culture shock is the variety of accents, especially in multicultural countries {#blank#}8{#/blank#}the U.S. Canada or Australia.There are two main reasons: Firstly, these countries have highly diversifiedgroups of residents from different cultural{#blank#}9{#/blank#}(background). Secondly,  there are many international students fromall around the world every year studying in these countries, so you shouldn'tbe surprised {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(find) allkinds of unfamiliar accents around the university campus.

    A dog entered a butcher's（肉贩）shop with a note in his mouth. The note read, “$10 of lamb chops (羊排），please.”

    The butcher was very{#blank#}1{#/blank#}(surprise). He took the money, put a bag of chops in the{#blank#}2{#/blank#}(dog) mouth, and then he closed the shop{#blank#}3{#/blank#}(quick). He followed the dog and watched him wait for a green light. Then the dog crossed the road to a bus stop. He checked the timetable and sat on the bench. When a bus arrived, the dog checked the number and got{#blank#}4{#/blank#}it.

    As the bus traveled out into the countryside, the dog enjoyed the scenery. After{#blank#}5{#/blank#} while, he stood on his back paws (爪子）{#blank#}6{#/blank#} (push) the “stop” button. Then the butcher followed {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(he) off.

    The dog ran up to a house and dropped his bag on the ground. He went back down the path, took a big run, and{#blank#}8{#/blank#} (throw) himself against the door. No answer. He repeated the action a few times. Then a big man opened the door {#blank#}9{#/blank#} started complaining(抱怨) about the dog and beating him.

    Seeing this, the butcher ran up and shouted at the man, “What are you doing? This dog is a genius!” The man replied, “Genius? No way! He has forgotten his key for the{#blank#}10{#/blank#}(four) times this month!”

    I won't call myself the most accomplished person when it comes to {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (hold) chopsticks. In fact, I'm pretty sure that my technique looks clumsy at times. I tend to hold {#blank#}2{#/blank#} (I) in the middle, more beginner than expert.

    Still, since I eat almost every meal with the eating utensil(器皿)of choice in China it's not uncommon for a new friend or acquaintance to come to a simple {#blank#}3{#/blank#} (conclude) after observing me that my Chinese husband, Jun, must {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (show) me how to use them.

    They are wrong. I've used chopsticks ever since I was a teenager, a time when my sister and mother were both fond of Chinese cuisine and introduced me {#blank#}5{#/blank#} many new dishes, along with the {#blank#}6{#/blank#} (prefer) utensils in China. We always kept bamboo chopsticks along with our {#blank#}7{#/blank#} (knife), forks and spoons, ready for whenever we happened to have Chinese food for dinner. It was my closest family {#blank#}8{#/blank#} observed my first mistakes I made in using chopsticks.

    Plus, I lived over two years in China before Jun and I started dating and I {#blank#}9{#/blank#} (expect) to use chopsticks in almost every restaurant, stand and bar. Trust me, when you're hungry you figure out pretty fast what it takes to down(咽下) {#blank#}10{#/blank#} meal with these utensils.

    We could learn vocabulary while we are asleep. Researchers showed it is possible {#blank#}1{#/blank#} (learn) new information while sleeping deeply, and recall this information later. They did tests to see {#blank#}2{#/blank#} a person could remember new words and their translations while sleeping. The answer is yes. The language areas of the brain remember vocabulary during sleep, especially during deep sleep. While sleeping, our brain switches on for about half a second and then switches{#blank#}3{#/blank#} for half a second. The active state {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(call) "up-state". This is how our brain could learn new vocabulary.

    A short trailer (预告片) has attracted huge attention on China's social media platform, with many netizens {#blank#}1{#/blank#}(regard) the short video as the "best commercial video of 2019". It tells a {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(touch) story that highlights Chinese families.

    In the beginning, {#blank#}3{#/blank#} senior man named Li Yubao living in a remote rural area asked his grandson on the phone what gifts he wanted for the Spring Festival, only {#blank#}4{#/blank#} (hear) the word "Peppa" due to the poor mobile signal. Therefore, the man began his journey to discover who Peppa is. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} the help of neighbors, he found the answer, created a Peppa Pig model using metals, and {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(surprise) his grandson.

    The 5-minute trailer is advertising the upcoming animated film Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year, {#blank#}7{#/blank#} is set to hit big screens on Feb 5, the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Pig. The short video encourages people working outside to return home often and accompany their family {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(member) to spend a happy and warm Spring Festival holiday.

    "After watching it, I want to go back to my hometown {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(immediate). I {#blank#}10{#/blank#}(be) away from my home for almost one year, and I miss my family very much," said a Sina Weibo user.