描述英语

MyNewRoommate

Itwasmyfirstdayattheinstitute．Igotintothebuildingwhere1wasgoingto

live．Myeyesarchedcarefullyfromthedoorofonebedroomtothatofanotherfor

mynamewhichoughttohavebeenpastedonthedoorofoneofthebedrooms．At

lastIfoundit．OnsteppingintothebedroomIfoundtherewasalreadyinitastudent

whowasmakinghisbed．

Havingexchangedwithmeafewwordsofgreetings，heresumedhis

arrangementofbeddingandnolongerpaidanyattentiontome．“Whatastuck-up

fellow．”Ithoughtandbegantosurveytheroom．Itlookedquitesimilartoanyother

bedroominthebuilding．Eventhefurnitureinallbedroomswasuniform．Itemed

mybedroomhadalreadybeenthoroughlycleanedbymynewroommate．

Hewasthin，shortanddark-skinned．Hishairlookedlikeabundleofstraw．His

dirtyclothesandlusterlesyesclearlyindicatedthathehadhadalongjourney．His

clothesweremadeofcheapcloth．Hiscoatwastooshort，andthelegsofhistrours

weretooloo．Heworeapairofunfashionablerubbershoes．Thushedidnotlook

likeasmartfreshmanata11.“Ayokel,”Iconcluded．

Thecondtimehespoke，hisaccenttoldmethathewasfromthesouth．“May

Ihelpyougetyourluggagefromtheoffice?”

IdidnotdeclinehishelpbecauIreallyneededit．Hewasquickin

movement．Hewalkedoutoftheroomandwassoonfaraheadofmeinthe

corridor．“Agoodguy,”Isaidtomylf．“Iwillmakefriendswithhim．”Ihurried

andcaughtupwithhim．

MyEnglishTeacher

Ilikemostofmyteachersincollege．Theywere，forthemostpart，friendlyand

competent,willingtohelpstudents．Ilikedthem—butIdon’trememberthemvery

well，，myfreshmanEnglishteacher．Hewasanenthusiastic，

nsitiveman，whoknewhissubjectandwasdeterminedthatwewouldlearnitand

loveit,too．

asatall，slendermaninhismid-fortieswithgray,thinning

hair．Perchedprecariouslyonhisno，hisglassgavehimariouslook．Butthey

didn’tremaintherelong，forhewasalwayithertakingthemoffandpolishingtheir

twopiecesofglassorputtingeitherofthetwoearpiecesinhismouthwhenhewas

meditatingarespontosomequestionraidbyastudent．Whenonhiswaytoour

classroom，healwayscarriedtwoorthreebookswithstripsofpaperstickingoutof

them，whichwereformarkingthepassageshewantedtoreadtous．Iremember,too，

hiscardigansweaters．Hemusthavehadadozenofthem．Onrainydayshewould

haveablueraincoaton．Butwhatismosttenaciousinmymemoryishissmile．When

hesmiled，hiswholefacelitup；hiyessparkled．Hissmilemadeyoufeelgood，

atea，andsomehowreassured．

Thoughhabituallyfriendlyandateawitheverybody,hewasabitprimin

classroom，andhecouldbestemonoccasions．Henevercalledusbyourfirst

names．Heobviouslyenjoyedhisworkandlovedhisstudents，buthekepthis

distance．Heneverdeliberatelyorpubliclyembarrasdastudentbyusingsarcastic

language．Neverthelesshecoulddistinctlyrevealhisdispleasureinhisownway．He’d

looksteadilyatanoffendingstudentforquiteafewfreezingconds．Thatwas

usuallyenoughforthelittleculprittobecowed．Butifitdidn’twork，he’dsay

somethingtothestudentinaloweredtoneofvoice．Hedidn’tdothisoften,though．

adpersonality,integrity,vitality—a11ofwhichmadehimpopular；

butwhatIlikedmostabouthimwasthathewasafineteacherItwastruethathe

caredabouthisstudents，buthecaredmoreaboutteachingthemhissubject．Andthat

meanthomework，lotsofit，andpopquizzesnowandthentokeepthemcurrentonthe

reading．Helecturedoccasionallytoprovidebackgroundinformationwheneverwe

movedontoanewliteraryperiod．Afterabriefglanceathisnotes，he’dbeginto

movearoundashetalkedtotheblackboardtothewindow,backtothe1ectem．But

hepreferreddiscussion，aSocraticdialogue．He’dwriteveralquestionsontheboard

forthenextday’sdiscussion，andhe’dexpectyoutobepreparedtodiscussthem．He

directedthediscussion,buthedidn’tdominateit：forhewasagoodlistenerandmade

sureweallhadachancetorespond,whetherwewantedtoornot．Ifhewasplead

witharespon，he’dnodhisheadandsmile．Occasionallyhe’dreadastudent’ssay,

praisingitsgoodpointsandthenwinkingatthewriterashepasditback．Buthe

wastough-minded，too，asIsuggestedbefore．Hereallynailedyouforsloppywork

orinattention．WhenyougotanAfromhim，youreallyfeltgood，forhewasn’tan

easygrader．Weudtocomplainabouthisgradingstandards，usuallytonoavail,

thoughhewouldchangeagradeifhethoughthehadbeenunfair．

asacompetentteacher．Heknewwhathewasdoinginclassroom，

andhecouldconducthisclassverywell．Butwhatwasmoreimportantwasthathe

madehisstudentsfallinlovewiththecourheoffered．Heledustotakethe

initiativeindelvingintoitonoutown．

MariakAnagian

Shewasninety-twoyearsoldwhenImether,agentle，diminutiveladyin

Europeandress．Herfacewasdeeplylined，andhercoargreyhairhadyellowed

withtheyears．ShespokesoftlyinaquiveringvoiceinhalfEnglishandhalf

American．Hergnarledhandstestifiedtotheyearsofhardworkonthefarminher

homeland．Yet．inherdarkeyesandinhergentlemannertherewasachildlike

simplicityasshetoldmeherstory．Ithought“shehasthewisdomthatcomeswith

yearsofexperienceandthegentlepurityofachild—thatwasawonderfulbutstrange

combinationoftraits．”Iknewthatlwouldneverforgether．

HernamewasMariakAnagianWhenshewasayoungwoman，herhomeland

wasinvadedbyforeigntroops．Shehadbeenkeepinghouforherfather,brothers，

husband，andhertwoyoungchildren．Onedayshereturnedfromthemarketand

foundthemutilated（残缺不全的）bodiesofherfatherandoneofherbrothersonher

doorstep．Theywereamongthemanyvictimsofthewar．Mariak’shusbandwasmuch

olderthanshe，andhesoonsuccumbedtotherigorousdemandsoffieldworkand

mentalstrain，leavingMariakaloneintheworldtotakecareofhertwosmall

children．Manyofthetown’speoplehelpedher,andshewasabletoproduceenough

onthesmallfarmtofeedherfamily．Shortlyaftertheturnofthecentury,herdaughter

marriedandwenttoAmerica．Afewyearslater，Mariak’sdaughternthersome

moneywhichenabledhertocometotheUnitedStates．ThusMariakcametolivein

theUnitedStatesforthirtyyears．

AsMariaktoldherstory,hereyesgrewlargewithfearandherbreathquickened

withexcitement．Thenshewept．Afterashorttime，shesatsilentlywithherhead

bowed．Suddenly,sherofromthechair,liftedherskirttojustaboveherankles，and

begantodanceinshort，jerkysteps．Shesangalmostinaudiblyinhernative

language，butIknewitwasachildren’ssong．Hersimplemelodyandsimpledance

stepsweretypicallythoofanaveragechild．Hereyesshonewithyouthfulgaiety,

andhervoicewaslightandhappy．Hergrandsonappearedatthistime，spoketoher

affectionately,andledherawayfromtheroom．

MyDormitoryBedroom

MydormitorybedroomonthecondfloorofBienvilleHallissmalland

clutteredup．Itsdarkgreenwallsanddirtywhiteceilingmakeitlookgloomyandthus

evensmallerthanitis．Onenteringthebedroom．onewouldfindmybedisrightinhis

waybecauittakesuphalfoftheroom．Thetwolargewindowsovermybedare

obstructedfromviewbythegoldenheavydrapes．Againsttheleftwallisalargebook

caextendingintothecomerwhichisbehindtheheadofmybed．Thebookcais

crammedwithpilesofsheetsofpaper,books，andknickknacks．Wedgedinbetween

thebookcaandthewalloppositethebedisasmallgreymetaldesk．Nearthedesk

standsabrownwoodenchairwhichfillsuptheleftendoftheroom．Stuffedunderthe

deskisawastepaperbasketoverflowingwithtompiecesofPaperandrefu．The

wallabovethebookcaanddeskiscompletelytakenupwithtwosmallposters．On

therightsideoftheroomisanarrowclotwithclothes，shoes，hats，tennisracquets，

andboxesbulgingoutofitsslidingdoors．Everytime1walkoutofmybedroom．I

thinktomylf,NowIknowwhatitisliketoliveinaclot．”

Subways

Subwaysarelong，dark，gloomy,sootytunnelsundertheground．Trainswith

manycarsclatteronsteeltracksthroughthetunnels．Theautomaticdoorsopen

noisily,oneateachendandanotherinthemiddleofthecar．Thetrainshavebright

electriclightsandlongbenchesforpasngers’comfort．Therearemanycolorful

postersonthedampmetalwallsofthetrains．Someadvertitoothpasteforthe

family．Manyposterspleadforsupportforcharityorganizations．Alotofpostersurge

subwayriderstobuyaspeciallime-scenteddeodorantoraparticularlemon-oilhaft

tonic．Afewpostersaskreaderstobuythissoaporthatshoepolish．Mostoftheriders

readtheposters．Afewofthemreadbooksornewspapers．Notmanyriderstalkto

theirfellowtravelersastheyburrowthroughtheearthfromoneendofthecityto

another．

ASpringMorning

Itwaarlyinamorninginspring．Thesunwasjustscramblingupwardfromthe

easternhorizonandsheddingvermilionsteakstopenetratetheambientcloudsthat

weredriftingacrossthesky．Soonthecampuswasbathedinthefirstraysofthesun.

Thenthelake，thetreesandthebambooslookedasiftheywereallgilded．Theground

wascoveredwithtendergrassandthebeadeddewdropsstoodontheirtipsandwere

readytoreflectthenascentsunshine．

Birdsflewaboutinthewoods，twitteringrestlessly．Someboystudentswhowere

absorbedinreadingleanedagainsttreeswithbudspeepingoutfrombeneaththegray

bark．AcoupleofgirlstudentswerereadingfromtheirEnglishtextbooksaloudwhile

walkingupanddownthegravelpatharoundthelakewhereasortofstreamroto

formswirlsofthinmist．Itwasreallyamorningofbeauty,vigorandhope．

APleasantSummer

Whatcanaptlycharacterizeapleasantsummershouldconsistofsuchasbright

sunshine，refreshingbreeze，andcomfortablewarmth．Inapleasantsummer,whenthe

breezeissoothing，whentheblueskyisheartening，andwhenthewhitecloudsare

nurturingyourreverie，youcannotrefrainfromimaginingthatyouareoverwhelmed

withheavenlybliss．Theinvigoratingairandtheintoxicatinglandscapeareallwhat

youneedtomakeyourlffeelirresistiblyfascinatedwithyourownlife．Giventhem

all，whateldoyouneedtomakeyourlifemoreworthliving?Noneindeed!

Thebeautifullandscapepampersyou．Thehighmountainsinthedistance，the

crystallinebrookmeanderinginyourvicinity,theverduresurroundingyou，the

fragrantflowersnoddingtoyou，thebirdscirclingoverhead，thelittlewildbeasts

skitteringawayintowilderness，areallpleasingsightstoyourmindandtheeyes．A

walkalongapondcoveredwithsweetlily—flowersorteemingwithvariousaquatic

growthsisalsoaverygoodpastime．

Eventhoughitisratherwarmindaytime，mostnightsinapleasantsummercan

beextremelyenjoyablewithstarstwinklingintheskyandtheshiningmoon

cascadingaprofusionoflightontotreetops．Thesoothingbreezecaressyourface

lovingly．Musicalcicadasaresingingmerrilyfromthebranchesoftrees．Whateldo

youwantofasummer1ikethis!Nothingelindeed!

ATeaspoon

Ateaspoonisautensilforscoopingupandcarryingsmallamountsofsomething.

Ithastwojoinedparts:aflat,narrow,taperedhandle,bywhichitisheld,anda

shadow,ovalbowltodipandcarryliquid,dleisabout

essharply

peofthehandleallowsittofiteasilyinthehand

whenitiscorrectlyheldrestingacrossthethirdfingerandgraspedbetweenthethumb

ebowlislevelthehandle

isusuallymadeofmetalorsomeother

hard-wearing,unbreakablematerial.

on,“ATeaspoon”inAGuidetoCreativeWriting

TheEarliestCoinsinChina

OfthevariouscurrenciesinancientChina,theroundbronzecoinwithasquare

liestcoinsinthisform,known

asQinbanliang,wereaproductofChina’sfirstcentralizedkingdom,theQindynasty,

theQindynasty,Chinecurrency

hapedlikevariousitemsofclothing,farmimplements,

orkniveswereincirculation,buttheywerecostlyandhardtoproduce,anddifficult

coinswereagreatimprovement–theywererelatively

coins

alsohadaparticularphilosophicalsignificancetotheancientChine,whomadethe

coinstosymbolizetheirbeliefthatheavenwasroundandtheearthassquare,andthat

nceptof

unitywasimportanttotheQinemperors,whoruledoveraunifiedChinaandbelieved

theirpowergreatenoughtospreadtothefourcornersoftheearth.

rethoughttoreprentthe

lyfoundinnature,thecirclereprents

freedom,comfort,andea;whereasthesquareisenassomethingman-made,a

symboloflaw,order,andrestraint.

AWetSundayinaCountryInn!

AwetSundayinacountryinn!Whoeverhashadthelucktoexperienceonecan

alonejudgeofmysituation．Therainpatteredagainstthecaments；thebellstolled

forchurchwithamelancholysound．Iwenttothewindowsinquestofsomethingto

amutheeye；butitemedasifIhadbeenplacedcompletelyoutofthereachofall

amument．Thewindowsofmybed．roomlookedoutamongtiledroofsandstacks

ofchimneys．whilethoofmysitting．roomcommandedafullviewofthestable

yard．Iknowofnothingmorecalculatedtomakeamansickofthisworldthana

stableyardonarainyday．Theplacewaslitteredwithwetstrawthathadbeenkicked

aboutbytravelersandstable-boys．Inonecomerwasastagnantpoolofwater,

surroundinganislandofmuck；therewereveralhalf-drownedfowlscrowded

togetherunderacart，amongwhichwasamirable，crest．fallencock，drenchedout

ofalllifeandspirit；hisdroopingtailmatted，asitwere，intoasinglefeather,along

whichthewatertrickledfromhisback；nearthecartwasahalf-dozingcow,chewing

hercud，andstandingpatientlytoberainedon，withwreathsofvaporrisingfromher

reekinghide；awall-eyedhor，tiredofthelonelinessofthestable，waspokinghis

spectralheadoutofawindow,withtheraindrippingonitfromtheeaves；anunhappy

cur,chainedtoadog-houhardby，utteredsomethingeverynowandthenbetweena

barkandayelp：adrabofakitchenwenchtrampedbackwardsandforwardsthrough

theyardinpatterns，lookingassulkyastheweatheritlf；everything，inshort，was

comfortlessandforlorn，exceptingacrewofhardenedducks，asmbledlikeboon

companionsroundapuddleandmakingariotousnoiovertheirliquor．

AnOpenRobbery

TheexpensiveshopsinafamousarcadenearPiccadillywerejustopening．At

thistimeofthemorning，thearcadewasalmostempty．Mr．Taylor,theownerofa

jewelryshop，wasadmiringanewwindowdisplay．Twoofhisassistantshadbeen

workingbusilysince8o’clockandhadonlyjustfinished．Diamondnecklacesand

tingshadbeenbeautifullyarrangedonabackgroundofblackvelvet．Aftergazingat

thedisplayforveralminutes．Mr．Taylorwentbackintohisshop．

Thesilencewassuddenlybrokenwhenalargecar,withitsheadlightsonandits

hornblaring，roareddownthearcade．Itcametoastopoutsidethejeweler’s．Oneman

stayedatthewheelwhiletwootherswithblackstockingsovertheirfacesjumpedout

andsmashedthewindowoftheshopwithironbars．Whilethiswasgoingon，

Mr．Taylorwasupstairs．Heandhisassistantsbeganthrowingfurnitureoutofthe

window．Chairsandtableswentflyingintothearcade．Oneofthethieveswasstruck

byaheavystatue，buthewastoobusyhelpinghimlftodiamondstonoticeany

pain．Theraidwasalloverinthreeminutes，forthemenscrambledbackintothecar

anditmovedoffatafantasticspeed．Justasitwasleaving，Mr．Taylorrushedoutand

ranafteritthrowingashtraysandvas，butitwasimpossibletostopthe

thieves．Theyhadgotawaywiththousandsofpoundsworthofdiamonds．