Most people who move to a foreign country may experience a period of time when they have a lot of stress in the new culture. This feeling is often called “culture shock” and it is important to learn how to deal with culture shock. First of all, you should know that everyone in a new situation will go through some form of culture shock. There are four general stages of cultural adjustment(适应).

    The first stage is usually referred to as the honeymoon stage. Upon arriving in a new environment, you'll be interested in the new culture. Everything will seem exciting, and everyone will seem friendly and helpful.

    The second stage is called the withdrawal stage. The excitement that you felt before changes to frustration(沮丧) as you find it difficult to deal with new problems. The language is hard to learn; friends are hard to make; simple things like shopping and going to the bank are challenges. It is at this stage that you are likely to feel anxious and homesick.

If you are one of those who manage to stick it out (坚持下来), you will enter the third stage—- the recovery stage. At this point, you'll feel more confident in the new culture. You'll start to understand and accept the way things are done and the way people behave in your new environment.

The last stage is the stability stage—- this is the point when people start to feel at home in the new culture. At this stage, you will behave well in the new culture, and prefer some aspects(方面) of the new culture to your own culture.

    There is, in a sense, a fifth stage to this process. If you decide to return home after a long period in a new culture, you may experience what is called “reverse culture shock”. This means that you may find aspects of your own culture “foreign”, because you're so used to the new culture. Reverse culture shock is usually pretty mild(温和的) and doesn't last for very long.

    When I was 10 years old, I tried out for the cheerleading squad. I had taken gymnastics classes for two years to prepare for these tryouts. However, I didn't make the team. It was a heavy blow to me. I cried all night.

    Kids today won't experience that kind of rejection. They're growing up in “everybody gets a turn” world where every child gets a chance to kick the ball, sing the song, and win the award. But that's not always such a good thing.

    Parents have become fearful of letting kids fail, thinking that our children are easily hurt and will never recover from anything—that's a serious problem. Last week, my 7-year-old daughter didn't get into the school play. At first, I was upset by it. How would she react? When I gave her the news, I was ready to hug her and cry with her. She looked at me, made a slight face and said, “That's too bad. What's for dinner?”

    It clearly wasn't the end of her world. Maybe if we let our kids experience rejection once in a while, we'd realize they are much stronger than we think. Kids need to be able to handle disappointments; doing so helps them to prepare for real life. Most importantly, rejection carries the possibility not only for growth and can also motivate kids to try harder the next time.

    Rejection is pain. There is no way around that. How will our kids ever discover their true talents if we don't let them? Instead of complaining, maybe we should consider rejection an opportunity.

    Being organized is an important skill for school and life．When you're well organized, you can stay focused，instead of spending time hunting things down．

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} For schoolwork, it means having one notebook or place where you store all your assignment，so you know what you have to do and when. Keeping all your school work neat and in a specific place—these are the main parts of organization.

        For home stuff, being organized means having a place to put your things and putting them back as you go. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It means keeping your schoolbag，your shoes, and your clean underwear in the same places so you always know where to find them.

    Planning is part of being organized, too. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Calendars，lists，and schedules can help you plan. You can buy or draw a calendar and keep it near your workplace. Making a schedule or “to-do” list for yourself is a good idea. Looking at your list helps you keep track of what you need to do. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Check off things when you've done them. Use your list to help you decide which thing is the most important to work on first.

    {#blank#}5{#/blank#} But once you're organized，it feels great．The less time you spend hunting around for things or panicking about homework，the more time you have for better things，like reading a good book or playing.

A. Planning means deciding what you will do and when you will do it.

B. First，you should get your schoolwork organized.

C. Add new things as you get assignments.

D. You will benefit a lot from a good habit.

E. What does it mean to be organized?

F. It takes some extra efforts to organize yourself and your stuff.

G. It means hanging your coat up instead of dropping it on the floor or throwing it on a chair.

My Favourite Books

    Jo Usmar is a writer for Cosmopolitan and co­author of the This Book Will series(系列)of lifestyle books. Here she picks her top reads.

Matilda

Roald Dahl

    I once wrote a paper on the influence of fairy tales on Roald Dahl's writing and it gave me a new appreciation for his strange and delightful words. Matilda's battles with her cruel me parents and the bossy headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, are equally fumy and frightening, but they're also aspirational.

After Dark

Haruki Murakami

    It's about two sisters­Eri, a model who either won't or can't stop sleeping, and Mari, a young student. In trying to connect to her sister. Mari starts changing her life and discovers a world of diverse "night people" who are hiding secrets.

Gone Girl

Gillian Fynn

    There was a bit of me that didn't want to love this when everyone else on the planet did but the horror story is brilliant. There's tension and anxiety from the beginning as Nick and Amy battle for your trust. It's a real whodunit and the frustration when you realize what's going on is horribly enjoyable

The Stand

Stephen King

    This is an excellent fantasy novel from one of the best storytellers around. After a serious flu outbreak wipes out 99.4% of the world's population, a battle unfolds between good and evil among those let. Randall Flagg is one of the scariest characters ever.

    Shellharbour City Library provides a range of Library Special Needs Services for people who are unable to access our library service in the usual way. As long as you live in Shellharbour City, we'll provide a full range of library services and resources including:

    ● Large printed and ordinary printed books

    ● Talking books on tape and CD

    ● DVDs and music CDs

    ● Magazines

    ● Reference and information requests

You will be asked to complete a "Statement of Need" application form which must be signed by a medical professional.

    Home delivery service

    Let us know what you like to read and we will choose the resources for you. Our staff will deliver the resources to your home for free. We also provide a service where we can choose the resources for you or someone instead of you chooses the things from the library. You can also choose the resources you need personally.

    Talking books and captioned videos

    The library can provide talking books for people who are unable to use printed books because of eye diseases. You don't have to miss out on reading any more when you can borrow talking books from the library. If you have limited hearing which prevents you from enjoying movies, we can provide captioned videos for you at no charge.

    Languages besides English

    We can provide books in a range of languages besides English. If possible, we will request these items from the State Library of NSW, Australia.

    How to join?

    Contact the Library Special Needs Coordinator to register or discuss if you are eligible (合适的) for any of the services we provide­Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 9am­5pm on 4297 2522 for more information.

2024 TFK Poetry Contest

Call all poets! Time for Kids has a challenge for you: write a funny, rhyming poem. Enter the Time for Kids Poetry Contest! As fewer and fewer children are interested in writing poetry of their own, Time for Kids decides to organise and sponsor such a contest to change the situation.

Contest Rules

1. How to enter This contest begins on March 6, 2024 and ends on July 24, 2024. To enter, mail the following information to 1271 Avenue of the Americas, 32nd Floor, New York: 

(a) an original and previously unpublished poem that has a humorous and rhyming scheme;

(b) entrants' first name only and a parent's mail address. Limit one entry per person.

2. Judging All entries will be judged by poet Kenn Nesbitt, based on the following criteria: creativity and originality(50%), use of language and rhymes(25%) and appropriateness to the theme of the contest(25%). The length of the entry will not be taken into consideration.

3. Prizes Our judges will select four semi-finalists(半决赛选手) from which one grand prize winner and three finalists will be chosen. The one grand prize winner will receive an online class visit from Children's Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt and a signed copy of his newest book of poetry, The Armpit of Doom: Funny Poems for Kids, approximately value at $275. The three finalists will each get a signed copy of The Armpit of Doom: Funny Poems for Kids, and both their poems and that of the grand prize winner will be published on our website.

4. Eligibility(参赛资格) Open to legal citizens of the 50 States and the District of Columbia who are primary school students and are 8 to 13 years old at the time of entry.

5. Winner's list For names of the winner and finalists, visit our website (after August 1, 2024).