来自世界不同地方的六位学生在美国相遇。他们都是交换学生，到美国大学就读一个学期，学习英语，了解美国文化，同时修专业课程。英语“日常会话” (Everyday Conversations)系列围绕这六位学生在美国的经历展开。这套材料适于中级或中级以上英语水平的学生使用。
在今天的对话中，两个学生（Peter and Jana）谈起他们对家乡和本国语言的思念。
Peter: Hi Jana. Long time no see. What’ve you been up to?
Jana: Just studying a lot.
Peter: You seem a little down. Is everything okay?
Jana: Yeah, everything is okay. Thanks for asking. Sometimes I get a little homesickand miss my family and my language. I didn’t realize how important my home language is to me. It’s really part of who I am.
Peter: I definitely understand that. Even though my parents and sisters aremultilingual, we usually only speak our first language with one another.
Jana: But you don’t seem to ever miss your home language.
Peter: Of course I do! But this is a very multicultural campus and city. There are people here who speak your home language. It has helped me to find people who speak my first language. We get together every couple of weeks to talk.
Jana: I’m glad you understand. Part of me thinks I am a failure or I’m notacclimating to the U.S. if I don’t speak English all the time.
Peter: Nonsense! All of our languages are part of who we are and part of our identities. We can’t ignore that.
让我们来学习一些词语（也可阅读英文解释）：
Long time no see：好久不见。这是一种英语口语表达方式，用在与很长时间未见面的人相遇的时候。
What’ve you been up to? ：是英语口语的一种非正式问话，意思为“你近来在干什么？”
To seem or be a little down 的意思是，好像有点低沉/情绪不高。
Homesick：想家，思乡。前面通常用“是”动词be或者动词feel（感觉）。例如： She is homesick. （她想家了。）I feel homesick.（我想家。）
形容词multilingual用来指熟练掌握两种以上语言的人。
形容词multicultural的意思是多种文化的 ，可以形容融合多种文化的环境或者有多种文化背景的群体。
To acclimate: 指适应一个新地方或新环境。常见的用法是acclimate+to+地点或环境。例如：She is acclimating to the new city. （她正在适应她的新城市。）He quickly acclimates to the cultures of other countries.（他对其他国家的文化适应很快。）
在这个对话里， nonsense表示说话人认为前面的说法完全不对。 .
有兴趣听更多英语对话吗？请浏览“英语学习”专题网页。
Six students from around the world meet. What do they have in common? They are all exchange students studying at a U.S. university for a semester. Throughout the semester, they learn more English, learn about U.S. culture, and learn more about their fields of study. This series of Everyday Conversations is about these six students and their experiences during a semester at a university in the U.S. These conversations are for intermediate-level English-language learners or higher.
In this conversation, students (Peter and Jana) talk about missing their home countries and their home languages.
Peter: Hi Jana. Long time no see. What’ve you been up to?
Jana: Just studying a lot.
Peter: You seem a little down. Is everything okay?
Jana: Yeah, everything is okay. Thanks for asking. Sometimes I get a little homesickand miss my family and my language. I didn’t realize how important my home language is to me. It’s really part of who I am.
Peter: I definitely understand that. Even though my parents and sisters aremultilingual, we usually only speak our first language with one another.
Jana: But you don’t seem to ever miss your home language.
Peter: Of course I do! But this is a very multicultural campus and city. There are people here who speak your home language. It has helped me to find people who speak my first language. We get together every couple of weeks to talk.
Jana: I’m glad you understand. Part of me thinks I am a failure or I’m notacclimating to the U.S. if I don’t speak English all the time.
Peter: Nonsense! All of our languages are part of who we are and part of our identities. We can’t ignore that.
Now let’s review the vocabulary.
Long time no see is an expression in spoken English. It is said when you see someone you haven’t seen for a relatively long period of time.
What’ve you been up to? is a question used in informal spoken English. It means What have you been doing recently?
To seem or be a little down means to seem or be a little sad or less happy/energetic than usual.
Homesick is the state of being sad because one is away from one’s family and home. Usually, the verbs used with homesick are be and feel. For example: She is homesick. I feel homesick.
A person who is multilingual is able to speak and understand more than two languages at a high level.
Multicultural: relating to or including people who have many different customs and beliefs.
To acclimate means to adjust or adapt to a new place or situation. Often, acclimateis followed by the word to plus a place or situation. For example: She is acclimating to the new city. He quickly acclimates to the cultures of other countries.
In this context, nonsense is used to show that the speaker thinks the previous statement is untrue.
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