阅读理解 When I was studying English at a training center in Washington D. C. in 1998, I shared a house with two young Americans, Jim and Steve. Jim was studying French and Steve Chinese, both at the Foreign Service Institute. We shared many things in common, but we also thought and acted quite differently. Steve was interested in speaking Chinese. He always tried every opportunity to talk with me with his very English-like pronunciation. I was often touched by his diligence. However, I wanted to practice English with him, too. So we often spoke at the same time in the other' s mother tongue. Jim was fresh from college and the youngest of the three. He was going out all the time. The only time we met was at breakfast. There was a small round table in our kitchen, where we sat around to enjoy our food. Steve had Chinese fast food such as dumplings or noodles, and I ate bread and boiled eggs. But Jim often just drank a cup of tea because he had nothing in his fridge. He was too busy dating pretty French girls to do any shopping. I often offered him some of my food. But Steve told me in his poor Chinese that I didn' t need to do that. He said that it was Jim' s own fault and that it served him right. Although he was learning Chinese, he still held his American sense of values.
Two years later, I returned to China. The three of us still keep in touch, Jim how works in a travel agency in Paris. He got married to one of the pretty girls. He wrote to tell us that he can now enjoy a delicious breakfast with his beautiful wife every morning in their comfortable living room. Steve wants to work in China. And I' m helping him with this. I have introduced him to the dean of the Oversea Section of our university. He is very interested in Steve. He wants to know if Steve can work here teaching the oversea students Chinese. I have sent the message to Steve. I' m sure he' d be very happy to accept the job. However, I hope he could try harder to improve himself. Otherwise, all the overseas students would speak with his terrible pronunciation!