Question

Many foreign students report feeling lonely or unwelcome in Australia. Those feelings are among the reasons why Australia is taking a close look at its international education industry. But wherever international students go, making friends may not always be easy. Elisabeth Gareis of Baruch College in New York surveyed 454 international students. They were attending four-year colleges and graduate schools in the American South and Northeast.

Students from English-speaking countries and from northern and central Europe were more likely to be happy with their friendships. But 38% of the international students said they had no close friends in the United States. And half of the students from East Asia said they were unhappy with the number of American friends they had. Thirty percent said they wished their friendships could be deeper and more meaningful.

Professor Gareis says, “Students from East Asia have cultures that are different on many levels from the culture in the United States. There are also language problems, and maybe some social skills, such as small talk, which are possibly not as important in their native countries, where it's not as important to start friendships with small talks. Many East Asian students blamed themselves for their limited friendships with Americans, for not speaking the language well enough and for not knowing the culture well enough.

VOA's Student Union blogger Jessica Stahl did her own survey to find out how American students and foreign students relate to each other. More than 100 students, about half of them American, answered her online questions.

Half of the international students and 60% of the Americans said they related as well or better to the other group than to their own group.

Professor Gareis says: "International students who make friends with host nationals are, overall, more satisfied with their stay in the host country. They have better language skills, they have better academic performance and they have better attitudes toward the host country."

1.What can be the best title for the text?

A. Making Friends Is Not Always Easy for Foreign Students

B. Students from East Asia Are Not Good at Making Friends

C. International Education Industry in Australia and America

D. The Relation between Foreign Students and Host Countries

2.Professor Gareis tends to think that ___________.

A. culture shock should be blamed for many levels of American culture

B. foreign students don’t know small talks mean a lot to Americans

C. foreign students should learn some basic social skills first of all

D. foreign students have difficulty making friends for different reasons

3.How did Jessica Stahl carry out her survey?

A. By doing questionnaires from Students Union

B. By asking questions on the Internet

C. By forming the students into groups

D. By doing a survey through VOA

4.Which of the following statements will the writer probably agree with?

A. International students like to make more friends in their own group

B. International students are more likely to remain in the host country after graduation

C. Students who make more friends at home have better academic performance

D. Students who make friends in their host countries feel happier with their experience

Answer 1