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MyNewRoommate

Itwasmyfirstdayattheinstitute．Igotintothebuildingwhere1wasgoingtolive．Myeyessearchedcarefullyfromthedoorofonebedroomtothatofanotherformynamewhichoughttohavebeenpastedonthedoorofoneofthesebedrooms．AtlastIfoundit．OnsteppingintothebedroomIfoundtherewasalreadyinitastudentwhowasmakinghisbed．

Havingexchangedwithmeafewwordsofgreetings，heresumedhisarrangementofbeddingandnolongerpaidanyattentiontome．“Whatastuck-upfellow．”Ithoughtandbegantosurveytheroom．Itlookedquitesimilartoanyotherbedroominthebuilding．Eventhefurnitureinallbedroomswasuniform．Itseemedmybedroomhadalreadybeenthoroughlycleanedbymynewroommate．

Hewasthin，shortanddark-skinned．Hishairlookedlikeabundleofstraw．Hisdirtyclothesandlusterlesseyesclearlyindicatedthathehadhadalongjourney．Hisclothesweremadeofcheapcloth．Hiscoatwastooshort，andthelegsofhistrousersweretooloose．Heworeapairofunfashionablerubbershoes．Thushedidnotlooklikeasmartfreshmanata11.“Ayokel,”Iconcluded．

Thesecondtimehespoke，hisaccenttoldmethathewasfromthesouth．“MayIhelpyougetyourluggagefromtheoffice?”

IdidnotdeclinehishelpbecauseIreallyneededit．Hewasquickinmovement．Hewalkedoutoftheroomandwassoonfaraheadofmeinthecorridor．“Agoodguy,”Isaidtomyself．“Iwillmakefriendswithhim．”Ihurriedandcaughtupwithhim．

MyEnglishTeacher

Ilikemostofmyteachersincollege．Theywere，forthemostpart，friendlyandcompetent,willingtohelpstudents．Ilikedthem—butIdon’trememberthemverywell，exceptforMr.Jones，myfreshmanEnglishteacher．Hewasanenthusiastic，sensitiveman，whoknewhissubjectandwasdeterminedthatwewouldlearnitandloveit,too．

Mr.Joneswasatall，slendermaninhismid-fortieswithgray,thinninghair．Perchedprecariouslyonhisnose，hisglassesgavehimaseriouslook．Buttheydidn’tremaintherelong，forhewasalwayseithertakingthemoffandpolishingtheirtwopiecesofglassorputtingeitherofthetwoearpiecesinhismouthwhenhewasmeditatingaresponsetosomequestionraisedbyastudent．Whenonhiswaytoourclassroom，healwayscarriedtwoorthreebookswithstripsofpaperstickingoutofthem，whichwereformarkingthepassageshewantedtoreadtous．Iremember,too，hiscardigansweaters．Hemusthavehadadozenofthem．Onrainydayshewouldhaveablueraincoaton．Butwhatismosttenaciousinmymemoryishissmile．Whenhesmiled，hiswholefacelitup；hiseyessparkled．Hissmilemadeyoufeelgood，atease，andsomehowreassured．

Thoughhabituallyfriendlyandateasewitheverybody,hewasabitpriminclassroom，andhecouldbestemonoccasions．Henevercalledusbyourfirstnames．Heobviouslyenjoyedhisworkandlovedhisstudents，buthekepthisdistance．Heneverdeliberatelyorpubliclyembarrassedastudentbyusingsarcasticlanguage．Neverthelesshecoulddistinctlyrevealhisdispleasureinhisownway．He’dlooksteadilyatanoffendingstudentforquiteafewfreezingseconds．Thatwasusuallyenoughforthelittleculprittobecowed．Butifitdidn’twork，he’dsaysomethingtothestudentinaloweredtoneofvoice．Hedidn’tdothisoften,though．

Mr.Joneshadpersonality,integrity,vitality—a11ofwhichmadehimpopular；butwhatIlikedmostabouthimwasthathewasafineteacherItwastruethathecaredabouthisstudents，buthecaredmoreaboutteachingthemhissubject．Andthatmeanthomework，lotsofit，andpopquizzesnowandthentokeepthemcurrentonthe

MyDormitoryBedroom

MydormitorybedroomonthesecondfloorofBienvilleHallissmallandclutteredup．Itsdarkgreenwallsanddirtywhiteceilingmakeitlookgloomyandthus

evensmallerthanitis．Onenteringthebedroom．onewouldfindmybedisrightinhiswaybecauseittakesuphalfoftheroom．Thetwolargewindowsovermybedareobstructedfromviewbythegoldenheavydrapes．Againsttheleftwallisalargebookcaseextendingintothecomerwhichisbehindtheheadofmybed．Thebookcaseiscrammedwithpilesofsheetsofpaper,books，andknickknacks．Wedgedinbetweenthebookcaseandthewalloppositethebedisasmallgreymetaldesk．Nearthedeskstandsabrownwoodenchairwhichfillsuptheleftendoftheroom．StuffedunderthedeskisawastepaperbasketoverflowingwithtompiecesofPaperandrefuse．Thewallabovethebookcaseanddeskiscompletelytakenupwithtwosmallposters．Ontherightsideoftheroomisanarrowclosetwithclothes，shoes，hats，tennisracquets，andboxesbulgingoutofitsslidingdoors．Everytime1walkoutofmybedroom．Ithinktomyself,NowIknowwhatitisliketoliveinacloset．”

Subways

Subwaysarelong，dark，gloomy,sootytunnelsundertheground．Trainswithmanycarsclatteronsteeltracksthroughthesetunnels．Theautomaticdoorsopennoisily,oneateachendandanotherinthemiddleofthecar．Thetrainshavebrightelectriclightsandlongbenchesforpassengers’comfort．Therearemanycolorfulpostersonthedampmetalwallsofthetrains．Someadvertisetoothpasteforthefamily．Manyposterspleadforsupportforcharityorganizations．Alotofpostersurgesubwayriderstobuyaspeciallime-scenteddeodorantoraparticularlemon-oilhafttonic．Afewpostersaskreaderstobuythissoaporthatshoepolish．Mostoftheridersreadtheposters．Afewofthemreadbooksornewspapers．Notmanyriderstalktotheirfellowtravelersastheyburrowthroughtheearthfromoneendofthecitytoanother．

ASpringMorning

Itwasearlyinamorninginspring．Thesunwasjustscramblingupwardfromtheeasternhorizonandsheddingvermilionsteakstopenetratetheambientcloudsthatweredriftingacrossthesky．Soonthecampuswasbathedinthefirstraysofthesun.Thenthelake，thetreesandthebambooslookedasiftheywereallgilded．Thegroundwascoveredwithtendergrassesandthebeadeddewdropsstoodontheirtipsandwerereadytoreflectthenascentsunshine．

Birdsflewaboutinthewoods，twitteringrestlessly．Someboystudentswhowereabsorbedinreadingleanedagainsttreeswithbudspeepingoutfrombeneaththegraybark．AcoupleofgirlstudentswerereadingfromtheirEnglishtextbooksaloudwhilewalkingupanddownthegravelpatharoundthelakewhereasortofstreamrosetoformswirlsofthinmist．Itwasreallyamorningofbeauty,vigorandhope．

APleasantSummer

Whatcanaptlycharacterizeapleasantsummershouldconsistofsuchasbrightsunshine，refreshingbreeze，andcomfortablewarmth．Inapleasantsummer,whenthebreezeissoothing，whentheblueskyisheartening，andwhenthewhitecloudsarenurturingyourreverie，youcannotrefrainfromimaginingthatyouareoverwhelmedwithheavenlybliss．Theinvigoratingairandtheintoxicatinglandscapeareallwhatyouneedtomakeyourselffeelirresistiblyfascinatedwithyourownlife．Giventhemall，whatelsedoyouneedtomakeyourlifemoreworthliving?Noneindeed!

Thebeautifullandscapepampersyou．Thehighmountainsinthedistance，thecrystallinebrookmeanderinginyourvicinity,theverduresurroundingyou，thefragrantflowersnoddingtoyou，thebirdscirclingoverhead，thelittlewildbeastsskitteringawayintowilderness，areallpleasingsightstoyourmindandtheeyes．Awalkalongapondcoveredwithsweetlily—flowersorteemingwithvariousaquaticgrowthsisalsoaverygoodpastime．

Eventhoughitisratherwarmindaytime，mostnightsinapleasantsummercanbeextremelyenjoyablewithstarstwinklingintheskyandtheshiningmooncascadingaprofusionoflightontotreetops．Thesoothingbreezecaressesyourfacelovingly．Musicalcicadasaresingingmerrilyfromthebranchesoftrees．Whatelsedoyouwantofasummer1ikethis!Nothingelseindeed!

ATeaspoon

Ateaspoonisautensilforscoopingupandcarryingsmallamountsofsomething.Ithastwojoinedparts:aflat,narrow,taperedhandle,bywhichitisheld,andashadow,ovalbowltodipandcarryliquid,foodorothermaterials.Thehandleisaboutfourincheslong.Itarchesslightlyupwardatthewideend.Itcurvessharplydownwardatthenarrowend.Theshapeofthehandleallowsittofiteasilyinthehandwhenitiscorrectlyheldrestingacrossthethirdfingerandgraspedbetweenthethumbandfirstjointofthefore-fingeroftherighthand.Whenthebowlislevelthehandlepointsupwardatashallowangle.Aspoonisusuallymadeofmetalorsomeotherhard-wearing,unbreakablematerial.

RogerH.Garrison,“ATeaspoon”inAGuidetoCreativeWriting

TheEarliestCoinsinChina

OfthevariouscurrenciesinancientChina,theroundbronzecoinwithasquareholeinthecenterwasbyfarthemostcommon.Theearliestcoinsinthisform,knownasQinbanliang,wereaproductofChina’sfirstcentralizedkingdom,theQindynasty,establishedbyQinShiHuangin221B.C.BeforetheQindynasty,Chinesecurrencyhadtakenmanyforms.Coinsshapedlikevariousitemsofclothing,farmimplements,orkniveswereincirculation,buttheywerecostlyandhardtoproduce,anddifficulttocarryandtransport.Thenewcoinswereagreatimprovement–theywererelativelysimpletocastandcouldbestrungtogetherforeaseoftransportation.ThenewcoinsalsohadaparticularphilosophicalsignificancetotheancientChinese,whomadethecoinstosymbolizetheirbeliefthatheavenwasroundandtheearthassquare,andthatheavenshelteredtheearthandallthingsintheuniversewereunited.ThisconceptofunitywasimportanttotheQinemperors,whoruledoveraunifiedChinaandbelievedtheirpowergreatenoughtospreadtothefourcornersoftheearth.

Thecoinsalsohadgreataestheticappeal.Theywerethoughttorepresenttherelationshipbetweenmanandnature.Commonlyfoundinnature,thecirclerepresentsfreedom,comfort,andease;whereasthesquareisseenassomethingman-made,asymboloflaw,order,andrestraint.

AWetSundayinaCountryInn!

AwetSundayinacountryinn!Whoeverhashadthelucktoexperienceonecanalonejudgeofmysituation．Therainpatteredagainstthecasements；thebellstolled

forchurchwithamelancholysound．Iwenttothewindowsinquestofsomethingtoamusetheeye；butitseemedasifIhadbeenplacedcompletelyoutofthereachofallamusement．Thewindowsofmybed．roomlookedoutamongtiledroofsandstacksofchimneys．whilethoseofmysitting．roomcommandedafullviewofthestableyard．Iknowofnothingmorecalculatedtomakeamansickofthisworldthanastableyardonarainyday．Theplacewaslitteredwithwetstrawthathadbeenkickedaboutbytravelersandstable-boys．Inonecomerwasastagnantpoolofwater,surroundinganislandofmuck；therewereseveralhalf-drownedfowlscrowdedtogetherunderacart，amongwhichwasamiserable，crest．fallencock，drenchedoutofalllifeandspirit；hisdroopingtailmatted，asitwere，intoasinglefeather,alongwhichthewatertrickledfromhisback；nearthecartwasahalf-dozingcow,chewinghercud，andstandingpatientlytoberainedon，withwreathsofvaporrisingfromherreekinghide；awall-eyedhorse，tiredofthelonelinessofthestable，waspokinghisspectralheadoutofawindow,withtheraindrippingonitfromtheeaves；anunhappycur,chainedtoadog-househardby，utteredsomethingeverynowandthenbetweenabarkandayelp：adrabofakitchenwenchtrampedbackwardsandforwardsthroughtheyardinpatterns，lookingassulkyastheweatheritself；everything，inshort，wascomfortlessandforlorn，exceptingacrewofhardenedducks，assembledlikebooncompanionsroundapuddleandmakingariotousnoiseovertheirliquor．

AnOpenRobbery

Theexpensiveshops