I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled (贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.

War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.

The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute but for a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled under her covers, sobbing. Obviously, that was something she should not go through phone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart.

Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn't notice Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me, “Thanks.”

Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn't always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.

Yours,

Li Hua

   The degree of individual freedom that exists in America seems loose and therefore uncomfortable to many visitors，while in many countries，people will tell you what they think you want to hear，whether it is true or not. To them，this is the _____ thing to do. To Americans，it is considered confusing — even dishonest — to _____ telling the true facts，_____ avoiding the truth is done only to be polite. It is helpful to remember that different cultures _____ some matters more important than others. To Americans，however，_____ and truth are the most important. One of the worst things that can be _____ about someone in America is that“you cannot trust him”.

_____ such differences in values among the many cultures of the world，it is _____ that misunderstandings will occur.“How far is it to the next town？”an American asks a man standing at the edge of a road. In some countries，because the man _____ that the traveler is tired and ______ to reach the next village，he will politely say,“______ down the road.”He thinks this is more encouraging, gentler, and therefore the ______ the traveler wants to hear. So the American drives alone for many more hours before he comes to the village. The traveler is ______, feeling“tricked”. He thinks that the man has lied to him ______ because he must have known quite well what the ______ is.

If a visitor to the United States asked an American standing at the edge of a road how far the next town was, the American would think it dishonest if he said it was near ______ he knew it was really 24 miles away. Although he, too, would be ______ to the tired traveler, he would say,“You have a long way to go yet; it is ______ 24 miles more.”The traveler might be disappointed, but he would know what to ______, and there would be no ______.