旅行，是一種回歸
In the UK we often equate life experience, especially amongst younger generations, with the number of stamps in your passport. That is to say travel is regarded as an enriching life experience that will make your C.V. stand out amongst the other thousand applicants. Travel is not simply a pursuit of leisure but also "character-building", "defining" and potentially "career-boosting".
I can agree that for most of us at university, we would collectively agree that we have all caught the "travel bug". Most of the people I know here at university experience that same itch to get in a plane, train, bus or car and escape the hectic stress of deadlines and seminars that usually surrounds us. But I don't think, as UK students, we can blame our addiction to international travel simply on a stressful life. Yes I have a lot of things to juggle and it's a fine balancing act managing my part-time job, my degree and my social life to a perfect level. But really I think we are the first generation in a truly open world, where we can get anywhere, see anything and experience every culture under the sun, at the click of a button, the purchase of a ticket.
Many people I met whilst working in China were surprised at the number of countries I'd travelled to, which came as a surprise. Compared to friends and family I consider myself vastly under-travelled. I've yet to even set foot across the pond in the U.S.A and Canada, let alone South America and even within Europe my checklist of destinations is far from complete. But more eye opening for me, I was also met by astonishment at how little geographical traversing I had done within my own borders. This was something I had not really considered before and as I left Beijing I felt an overwhelming appreciation not just for the rich culture of China but also for the diverse localities within the UK. How much of my own country had I really seen and experienced? To those from a place as vast and varied as China, Britain was really so small in comparison and so to have spent 20 years there and not seen every nook and cranny of it was quite surprising.
I spent a while engaged in a conversation with a Chinese colleague over the difference in building style, in architecture from the Highlands of Scotland to the Cornish coast. Now for most people this sounds dreary and dull, and I guess I am biased as a student of history that I find anything remotely historical fascinating. However it was not the geological variety of stone within British cities I found interesting, which even I can agree is hardly a riveting subject. What was curious was that it was something I had never even considered, and yet here was someone intrigued by something I had simply taken for granted.
"Yes." I agreed with her, "It is remarkable to find so much diversity in a country of such modest borders", making a mental note to appreciate these small but wonderful characteristics of my home more often. We continued to discuss the reasoning behind our use of golden Cotswold stone and the white render of the scattered coastal cottages of the Atlantic, yet I was left embarrassed that I could not provide a concrete answer to her question. In China, as well as a wealth of new culture that fascinated me, I discovered that there were parts of the UK's culture, history, the very fabric of my identity that were so different, so unique from China that I also gained a new found interest in my own heritage.
In this respect, travelling enables you with two things. Firstly you develop an overwhelming fascination with new cultures, understanding customs, experiencing cuisines and absorbing the sights and smells of every new city. For many employers this adaptability to new locations is seen as a tremendous asset to your personal résumé. But alongside increased employability, through international, cross-cultural conversations, you develop an interest in your own history, culture, and customs. You return to your home filled with an understanding of other people's fascination with it and imbued with your own sense of intrigue at its peculiarities.
Vocabulary
1. equate: 使等同;stamp: 圖章，印戳。
2. enriching: 使人充實的，使有價值的;C.V.: <拉丁>簡歷(curriculum vitae);applicant: 申請人。
3. pursuit: 追求;potentially: 潛在的;career-boosting: 利于職業(yè)發(fā)展的，boost意為“推動，促進”。
4. collectively: 全體地，共同地;travel bug: <口>旅游癖，旅游癮。
5. itch: 欲望，渴望;hectic: 忙碌的;seminar: 研討會。
6. addiction: 上癮，沉溺。
7. juggle: 盡力對付，力圖使平衡。
8. vastly: 極大地;under-travelled: 旅行少的，不常旅行的。
9. 我甚至還沒有去過大西洋彼岸和加拿大，更不要說南美了，而且就算是歐洲我也還有很多地方沒有去過。across the pond: 在大西洋彼岸;checklist: 清單。
10. 但更讓我吃驚的是，我竟然連自己的國家都沒去過幾個地方。eye opening: 令人驚奇的;astonishment: 震驚;traversing: 穿越。
11. overwhelming: 巨大的，勢不可擋的;locality: 地點，地區(qū)。
12. nook and cranny: 角角落落。
13. architecture: 建筑式樣;Highlands of Scotland: 蘇格蘭高地，位于歐洲北部大不列顛島西北部，由古老、分裂的高原組成，許多人將其稱為歐洲風景最優(yōu)美的地區(qū);Cornish coast: 康沃爾海岸。康沃爾是英國英格蘭西南端的郡，海岸線美麗曲折，是著名景點之一。
14. dreary: 沉悶的，枯燥的;biased: 有偏見的，片面的;remotely: 遙遠地;fascinating: 迷人的。
15. geological: 地質學的;riveting: 吸引人的。
16. intrigue: 使感興趣，使好奇;take for granted: 認為理所當然。
17. remarkable: 非凡的，引人注目的;modest: 不太大的;make a mental note: 牢記，銘記。
18. Cotswold stone: 科茨沃爾德石，礦石的一種，因其盛產地在英國科茨沃爾德而得名;render: 抹墻的灰泥;scattered: 散落的;cottage: (鄉(xiāng)村、農場的)小屋，村舍;concrete: 具體的，確切的。
19. 我被豐富的中國文化深深吸引，與之相比，我發(fā)現英國的一些文化、歷史和我的個人屬性是如此迥然不同，以至于我對自己的文化傳統(tǒng)也產生了新的興趣。fabric: 結構，構造;heritage: 遺產(指國家或社會長期形成的歷史、傳統(tǒng)和特色)。
20. in this respect: 從這方面來說;overwhelming: 壓倒性的，勢不可擋的;cuisine: 烹飪;absorb: 吸引，全神貫注。
21. tremendous: 極好的，了不起的;asset: 有價值的人或物。
22. employability: 就業(yè)能力，受聘價值。
23. imbue: 灌輸，深深影響;peculiarity: 獨特性;intrigue: 激起興趣;peculiarity: 特性，特質。
