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阅读理解
When I first came to America, I made friends with a neighbour who used to live a couple blocks from my street．We used to visit each other, do some activities, and go out together sometimes．This friend taught me a lot about American culture, but in some cases I had to learn the hard way because we didn't have enough time together as friends for me to learn all about American culture from him．
One day this same friend invited me to a party．It wasn't a real party, it was some kind of informal get－together．Since it was summertime he had a cookout where most of his American friends and relatives were known to me, but there were others I had never met before．
It was the most embarrassing party for me when I noticed that everybody was wearing jeans and simple T－shirts for the day, while I arrived in proper dress with my shoes and my hair all fixed for a fancy party．It was hard to explain my embarrassment to the other guests．When one of them turned around and said,“What nice clothes!What's the occasion!”I felt my face burning hot with embarrassment．I did not answer at all．If she knew how bad I already felt, she wouldn't have come near me．But she did．Maybe she didn't ask intentionally to make me feel bad or uncomfortable, but my reaction had to do with the way I already felt．I could have told her I had to go to another party afterward, but I didn't want to continue the conversation．
Many times I thought about going home and changing, but I knew that they would notice．It would be even worse for me, because I knew they would quickly think that I felt out of place．So I wanted to pretend that I was okay．
I had already realized their customs were different from mine, but after I talked to my friend, I was more convinced(感到信服的)that people here are more casual．They care less about formality, unless it is a special occasion, like a wedding or a very formal invitation．
In contrast, my culture is totally the opposite．For instance, in Cape Verdean culture, if a friend invited me to his house on a special day, even if it is not a real party, one should appear well dressed or otherwise the host will be annoyed thinking you are disrespectful to him or the other guests．We do dress casually for going on picnics or on ordinary days, but not normally to go over to a friend's when invited if other people will be there．
After all, I think that my problem at the party wasn't that I wasn't accepted by the Americans; but my feeling was so bad that I couldn't fit in the group even if nobody noticed, because I was the one who discovered the difference in the first place．It does not matter if people dress differently, but I was the only one different in the group．I felt I was the one who should adjust to their customs．After that, I decided to learn more about American culture, so now I don't have as many problems as I've had in the past．
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