中國留美本科生眾生相 The China Conundrum（上）>>>>>

DURING this past September’s orientation on the University of Delaware’s Newark campus, Scott Stevens, director of the English Language Institute, stood on stage in front of a mostly filled theater. Behind him, on a large screen, was a stock photo of two white college students seated at desks. The male student was leaning over to look at the female student’s paper. “We are original, so that means we never cheat!” Dr. Stevens told the audience of primarily Chinese students, mixing compliments and warnings. “You are all very intelligent. Use that intelligence to write your own papers.”

在特拉華大學紐瓦克校區(qū)，2011年秋季的新生入學指導(dǎo)會上，該校英語語言學院主任斯考特·史蒂文斯（ScottStevens）站在了濟濟一堂的劇院的舞臺上。他身后的大屏幕上顯示著一張照片：兩名白人大學生坐在課桌邊，男學生探過身子去偷看女學生的試卷。史蒂文斯對主要由中國學生組成的聽眾恩威并施地說：“我們都是很有獨創(chuàng)性的，那就意味著我們永遠不會作弊。你們都很聰明。就用那種聰明去寫你自己的試卷吧?！?/div>

Dr. Stevens has worked at the language institute since 1982. As the program has swelled in the last few years, the institute has outgrown its main building and expanded to classroom space behind the International House of Pancakes on the campus’s main drag. Watching Dr. Stevens over the course of a day, it’s clear that he is a man with more tasks than time. It’s also clear that he’s proud of his well-regarded institute and that he cares about students. He gives out his cellphone number and tells them to call any time, even in the middle of the night, if they need him.

史蒂文斯從1982年起就一直在語言學院工作。在過去幾年中，新生英語補習項目不斷壯大，該研究所的主樓已經(jīng)容納不下，擴展到了校園主道上國際餅屋后面的教室里?？粗返傥乃挂惶斓纳险n安排，顯然他分身乏術(shù)。還有一點也很明顯：他為自己備受尊重的學院感到自豪，并且很關(guān)心學生。他把自己的手機號碼發(fā)給學生，告訴他們，如果需要的話，隨時可以給他打電話，即使是在半夜里。

But he is candid about the challenges Delaware is facing as the population of Chinese students has grown from a handful to hundreds. Confronting plagiarism is near the top of the list. Dr. Stevens remembers how one student memorized four Wikipedia entries so he could regurgitate whichever one seemed most appropriate on an in-class essay — an impressive, if misguided, feat. American concepts of intellectual property don’t translate readily to students from a country where individualism is anathema. (In the language program, Dr. Stevens says there has been no surge in formal disciplinary actions, as instructors prefer to handle questions of plagiarism in the classroom.)

但在談到中國學生從幾個增加到幾百個給特拉華帶來的挑戰(zhàn)時，他也直言不諱。最嚴重的問題是剽竊。史蒂文斯還記得，有個學生背下了4個維基百科詞條，以便在一次課堂論文寫作時選用最合適的一個，這真是一個讓人難以忘懷的“壯舉”，只是力氣沒用在正道上。對于來自視個人主義為異端的國度的學生來說，要接受美式的知識產(chǎn)權(quán)觀念并不容易。（史蒂文斯說，在該語言課程里，并沒有發(fā)生正式紀律處分大幅增加的情況，因為教師們傾向于在課堂里解決剽竊問題。）

Just as an understanding of authorship is bound up in culture, so are notions of authority. “It’s not simply the language and culture but the political element as well,” he says. “We’re well aware that the Chinese are raised on propaganda, and the U.S. is not portrayed very positively. If you’ve been raised on that for the first 18 years of your life, when it comes down to who they trust — they trust each other. They don’t particularly trust us.”

對于著作權(quán)的理解根植于文化之中，對于權(quán)威的認識也是如此。史蒂文斯說：“這不單純是語言和文化的問題，還有政治因素。我們都知道中國人在宣傳中長大，而美國的形象并沒有被描繪得很正面。如果你生命的頭18年都在那樣的環(huán)境下成長，當歸結(jié)到他們要信任誰的時候——他們會互相信任。他們并不特別信任我們?！?/div>

Instead of living with a randomly selected American, Dr. Stevens says, some freshmen will pay their required housing fees but rent apartments together off campus, a violation of university rules. And they rarely attend voluntary functions at the institute. At a gathering this summer, of the nearly 400 students from 40 countries, about 10 were from China. Also, according to Dr. Stevens, students regularly switch classes to be with their countrymen, rather than stay in the ones they’ve been assigned by their advisers.

史蒂文斯說，很多來自中國的大一學生并不和校方隨機選擇的美國學生住在一起，他們會繳納學校要求的住宿費，卻在校外合租公寓，這是違反校方規(guī)定的。他們極少參加語言學院的志愿者活動。在2011年夏季的一次聚會上，有來自40個國家的將近400名學生參加了活動，其中只有10個來自中國。史蒂文斯還說，中國學生還經(jīng)常轉(zhuǎn)班以便和自己的同胞在一起，而不是留在他們的指導(dǎo)老師所指定的班級里。

One of those advisers is Jennifer Gregan-Paxton. Dr. Gregan-Paxton, program coordinator of the business school’s office of undergraduate advising, says she is impressed by the work ethic and politeness of her students from China. They regularly bring her and other professors small gifts to show their appreciation; on a single day recently, she received a folding fan, a necklace and a silk scarf. She’s not surprised that they would want to stick together. “Even if there were Chinese students who wanted to break out of their pack,” she says, “they wouldn’t necessarily get the warmest reception.”

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