What facts about the United States do foreigners not believe until they come to America?
- facts：事实
- foreigners：外国人
Nobody talks about grades here.
- grades：分数
Everyone is highly private about their accomplishments and failures. Someone's performance in any field is their performance alone. This is different compared to India where people flaunt their riches and share their accomplishments with everybody else.
- private：私有
- failures：失败
- accomplishments：成就
- performance： 性能、 演出、 表现、 表演
- field：领域
- filed：字段、已存档
- compared to：以...相比
- flaunt：炫耀
The retail experience is nowhere near as fun/nice as it is in India. Because labor is cheap in India, there is always someone who will act as a "personal shopper" to assist you with holding your clothes, giving suggestions, etc. In America, on the other hand, even if you go to a Nordstrom or Bloomingdales, there is almost nobody to help you out while you're shopping. Shopping in America is more of a commodity / chore than it is a pleasurable activity
- retail：零售
- experience：体验、经历
- near：靠近，跟前
- labor：劳工，劳动
- act：扮演，行动
- assist：帮助，参加
- hold：持有，支持，控制
- suggestions：建议，意见
- on the other hand：另一方面
- even：
adj. [数] 偶数的；平坦的；相等的
adv. 甚至；即使；还；实际上
vt. 使平坦；使相等
vi. 变平；变得可比较；成为相等 - Nordstrom/Bloomingdales ：（百货公司名称）
- commodity：日用品、商品
- chore：杂物，零工
- pleasurable：愉快的
- activity：活动，行为
This may be biased/wrong because I was an intern, but at least in the tech world, nobody wants to put you under the bus for something that you didn't do correctly or didn't understand how to do. People will sit with you patiently till you get it. If you aren't able to finish something within the stipulated deadline, a person on your team would graciously offer to take it off your plate.
- biased：有偏见的
- intern：实习生，助理
- least：最少的
- at least：至少
- tech：技术，科技
- under：根据，低于，在...之下
- correctly：正确的，得体的
- patiently：耐心的
- stipulated：规定的，保证
- graciously：和蔼地，优雅地
- offer：提供，出家
- plate：盘子，板块
The same applies to school. Before I came to the United States, I heard stories about how students at Johns Hopkins were so competitive with each other that they used to tear important pages from books in the library just so other students didn't have access to it. In reality, I experienced the complete opposite. Students were highly collaborative, formed study groups, and studied / did assignments till everyone in the group "got it". I think the reason for this is that the classes are / material is so hard that it makes sense to work collaboratively to the point that students learn from each other.
- applies：申请，适用
- heard：听闻
- Johns Hopkins：（一所大学）
- competitive：竞争激烈的
- access：访问，使用，存取
- In reality：事实上
- experienced：熟练的
- complete：完整的，完成
- opposite：对面，相反的
Strong ethics — everyone has a lot of integrity. If someone cannot submit their completed assignment in time, they will turn in the assignment incomplete rather than asking for answers at the last minute. People take pride in their hard work and usually do not cheat. This is different from students from India and China as well as back home in India, where everyone collaborates to the extent that it can be categorized as cheating.
- ethics：伦理，道德
- integrity：完整，诚实，正直
- complete：完成，完全，彻底
- assignment：任务，作业，分配，赋值
- in time：及时
- turn in：上交，交出
- incomplete：不完整的，不完全的
- rather than：宁愿...而不是
- pride：自豪，骄傲
- cheat：欺骗
- as well as：不但...而且
- collaborates：合作，交互
- extent：程度，范围
- categorized：分类的
- as：
conj. 因为；随着；虽然；依照；当…时
prep. 如同；当作；以…的身份
adv. 同样地；和…一样的
Rich people are thin/ well maintained, poor people are fat. This stems from the fact that cheap food is fatty, rich people don't eat cheap food — they tend to eat either home-cooked food which is expensive or eat at expensive / healthy places. Unfortunately, it is expensive to be healthy in America.
- rich：富有的
- thin：薄的，稀疏的，瘦身
- maintained：保存，维护
- fat：肥胖的
- stems：起源于
- fatty：脂肪的，肥胖的
- tend to：倾向于，常常
- either：或者
- expensive：高价，昂贵的
- unfortunately：不行的，可惜
Fat people are not respected much in society. Being fat often has the same connotations as being irresponsible towards your body. If you're thin (and tall, but not as much), people will respect you a lot more and treat you better. You will also receive better customer service if you're well maintained. This extends my previous point which mentioned that if you're thin, you're statistically likely to be rich. Reason why I know this is that I went down from being 210lbs to 148-150lbs. The way people started treating me when I was thin was generally way better than the way I was treated when I was fat. As a small example, the Starbucks baristas were much nicer to me and made me drinks with more care / love.
- respected：受尊重的
- society：社会
- often：常常
- connotations：内涵，含蓄
- irresponsible：不负责的
- towards：朝着，迈向，态度
- tall：高个
- as much：也
- respect：尊重
- treat：治疗，对待，看待
- receive：收到，得到，接受
- customer：顾客，家伙
- extends：延伸，扩展，继承
- previous：在...之前
- point：要点，表明
- mentioned：提到，描述，提及
- statistically：统计的
- likely to：可能
- reason：理由，原因，说服
- generally：通常
- starbucks：星巴克
- baristas：咖啡师
- care：关怀，照料
Girls are not very promiscuous, contrary to most Hollywood films
- promiscuous：混杂的，各式各样的,滥交
- contrary：相反的
Almost every single person in America has __access to basic food, clothing, water and sanitation. __I haven't been to states like Louisiana and cities like Detroit, but from what I can tell, nobody is scrambling for the basic necessities required for sustenance.
- single：单一的，独身
- access：使用，
- sanitation：卫生
- states：州，声明
- Louisiana：美国路易斯安那州
- Detroit：底特律
- scrambling：混乱的，不规则的
- necessites：必需品
- required：必须的，需要的
- sustenance：食物，生计
Dearth of African Americans in technical fields. This probably stems from the fact that they aren't given enough opportunity, broken families, etc. I'm pretty sure you can extend upon this if you'd like.
- fields：田里，领域
- dearth：缺乏，饥馑
- african：非洲的，分粥人
- technical：工艺的，技术上的
- probably：大概，或许
- enough：足够的
- opportunity：时机，机会
- pretty：可爱的，漂亮的
- extend：延伸，扩展
- upon：在...上，根据
It's expensive to have brick houses in America, contrary to India where brick houses are the norm
- expensive：昂贵的，高价
- brick：砖块
- contrary：相反的
- norm：规范，基准
Emphasis on physical fitness / being outdoorsy — this is more of a California thing but I noticed families going on biking trips, boat trips, hiking, camping, barbecuing, etc. Americans take pride in the natural beauty of their surroundings and tend to make the most of itEmphasis on physical fitness / being outdoorsy — this is more of a California thing but I noticed families going on biking trips, boat trips, hiking, camping, barbecuing, etc. Americans take pride in the natural beauty of their surroundings and tend to make the most of it
- emphasis：重点，强调
- fitness：健康，适合
- outdoorsy：户外的
- California： 加利福尼亚
- trips：旅行
- boat：船
- hiking：徒步旅行
- camping：露营
- barbecuing：烧烤
- pride：骄傲，自豪
- natural：自然的
- surroundings：周围的，环境
- tend to：趋向，
- itEmphasis：
- fitness：健康的，适当的
Americans waste a lot of food. It is very easy to buy in bulk because it's so much cheaper and as a result a lot of wastage occurs.
- waste：浪费
-bulk：体积，容量，大部分 - wastage：消耗量，损耗
- occurs：发生，出现
Obsession with coffee — Starbucks, Dunkin' etc is crowded with office-goers and students every morning. I don't understand why they can't drink or make coffee before leaving for work. Such a waste of money! ($5/day * 5days / week * 52weeks/year)!
- obsession：痴迷
- crowd：人群，拥挤
- office-goers：喝咖啡一族
Split families, not having married parents, etc is not seen differently than the contrary.
- split：分离
- contrary：相反的
Support towards the LGBT community — it's fairly normal to be part of the LGBT community; it's not considered a mortal sin if you like someone in your own gender or if you aren't comfortable being male/female/etc. Proof of this is the LGBT Pride Day held in every city etc.
- towards：朝着，向着
- LGBT：同性恋
- community：社区，联盟
- fairly：相当的，公平的，
- considered：经过深思熟虑的，被尊重的
- mortal：凡人，世间
- sin：罪恶，犯罪
- gender：性别
- comfortable：舒适的
- proof：证明
- pride：自豪，骄傲
- held：要保留，
Smoking weed is seen the same as smoking cigarettes.
- smoking weed：吸大麻
- cigarettes：香烟