Lesson 28
The Perfect Match
Text A
walked intoofficeshook hands withsmiling man named Mr Bleaucher. He was dressed very well, comparedme. He shuffledpilepapers like they were so many pancakes.
"I'm sure you'll be very pleased with her," he said. "She was picked by our compatibility computer outover one hundred ten million eligible womenthe United States. We categorize by race, religion, ethnicregional background. . . " sat there interestedly, wishinghad takenshower beforecame. It wasvery nice office butchair wasn't too comfortable.
"And now . . . " he said. He flung opendoorthe next room likemagician. He neededcape , though.was expectingrabbit butgotsurprise. She was pretty. Really, she was pretty. "Mr Walker, thisMiss DunfieldLaughing Lake, Montana. Miss Dunfield, thisMr Franklin WalkerNew York. " "Really Frank. Franklinsomething else again,"said. I waslittle nervous. She was pretty, you see. Mr Bleaucher leftwe were abletalk. "Hello. " "Hello," she said.
"I'm ... I'm very pleased withchoice,"said.was tryingbe suave. Maybe she didn't like being calledchoice. "I mean - I'm gladway things turned out. " She smiled. She hadnice smile. Good teeth. "Thank you," she said. "So am I. " She was shy. "I'm thirty-one,"blurted out. "Yes ,know , " she said. "It's allthe cards. "
It seemed likeconversation was about over. Everything wasthe cards. So there wasn't really muchtalk about. "How about children?" she said. . "Three. Two boys andgirl. " "That's exactly whatwant," she said. "It's downthe file under `Future Planning' . That one there. "
suddenly noticed that sheafpapersmy hand. Onfirst page was glued an IBM card with vital statistics about her.guessedthing she was holding wassame thingme.began looking throughand so did she. The turning pages madelotnoise. It said she liked classical music. (This was"PreferencesHabits". ) "You like classical music?"asked her.
"Well. . . better than anything else.also havecomplete collectionFrankie Laine records. " "He wasgreat old singer,"agreed. wentlooking throughfileso did she. She liked books , football , sitting nearfrontmovies , sleeping withwindows closed, dogs, cats, goldfish, tuna fish, salami sandwiches, simple clothes, private schoolsthe children (our children, really), livingthe suburbs, art museums. ... She looked up. "It seems we likesame things , " she said.
"The exact same things , "said. readreport titled "Psychology". She was shy, avoided arguments, wasn't outspoken,good mother type. "I'm glad you don't drink or smoke," she said. "I don't.don't like to. Sometimeshave beer, though. " "It doesn't say so down here. " "Well, maybeforgotput that down. "hoped she didn't mind. We finished readingreportseach other. "We're very much alike , " she said.
Alice andhave been marriednine years now. We havethree kids already, two boys andgirl. We livethe suburbs and listena lotclassicalFrankie Laine records. The last time we had an argumenttoo far backremember. We agreepractically everything. She's beengood wife and, ifmay say so, I've beengood husband. Our marriageperfect. We're getting divorced next month.can't stand it.
Text B
Mum's first attempt at match-making endeddismal failure. People say aswoman approaches middle age, she interests herselfyoung people's love affairslikes match-making. If thistrue,hope this first failure would discourage Mum from acquiring such an interest.
really don't know why she should have gonesuch lengthstrybring those two young people together. It wasfruitlessthankless job, doomed fromstart because both parties put impossible demandsthe opposite side. The man, Xiao Liu,about thirtyworksMum's office, apparentlyvery promising young man with an M. A. degree.
Because hevery choosy he has never been ablefindwife andbeginningget worried as he will soon be over thirty. The girl worksDad's office andtwenty-eight. Shealsocollege graduatevery good at her work. Shequite prettyhasvery strong character. She too has not been ablefindhusband because shetoo choosy. Mum had thought innocently that however choosy they might have been, they would surely be satisfied this time. So she invited them overmeetour house. She even wentthe troublecooking themdelicious dinner.
But Mum's pairis were not rewarded.don't know how they appreciated Mum's dinner, liut they certainly didn't appreciate each other. Xiao Wu could only meet twoXiao Liu's numerous demands. Sheprettyshe hascollege degree. But besides that he also wantsgirlbe under twenty-five,be gentledocile,periect housewife. He thought Xiao Wu had too strongcharacterthat he wouldn't be able"control her ".
Onother hand he fared even worseXiao Wu's eyes, having met only oneher demands. Hea post-graduate student whichoneher prerequisites forfuture hus band,this seemsbeonly thinghis favour. She wants her future husbandbe an overseas Chinese, or at leasthave relatives overseas , so that she could go abroad someday.
Also she wantsmanbe around l. 75mheightXiao Liuonly . 68m. I've heard people say that nowadays, girls consider any young man under . 7m assemi-handicapped, Thank God; I'm already l. 73mwith any luckcan grow another 5cm -most respectable height. Butdon't have any relatives abroad though!
Mum was most annoyed,put allblamethe girl. "What more does she want? She should realize that she's already 28she'll never find such an eligible young man again. " Mum never mentionedword about Xiao Liu's own objections."Who told youhelp such an arrogant young man? Xiao Wua hundred times better than he is. Any sensible young man would have jumped atchance. " "Jump atchance !bet you wish you could jump atchance yourself ! " Dad didn't know whetherlaugh orbe angry.
Additional Information
A 50-year-old woman could not help crying when she heardstory written by her husband overradio, recallingearly daystheir marriage. The story by Shen Lijun,senior lecturer atChangsha Commercial Schoolthis capitalHunan Province , depicted how he , thencollege graduate, metmarriedwife, Long Huilan, when he was labelledright-wingerforcedworka neighbourhood factorythe 960s.
Shen said, "In those days,dared not falllove with any girls becausemy inferior political status,marriedfirst girl who was willing. " The couple confessed they did have differencesinterests. After Shen becamelecturer, mosthis visitors were intellectuals, Long said. "After serving themcuptea,had nothingsaysat aside. Becausetheir cultural background,could not getwordedgeways duringchats. Byby,cameseegap between us. "
AccordingShen, he andwife also had different waysteach their children. "I did not likeway she treated our children: spoiling themthen beating them if they did not study well or listenher. "But whenevercome across contradictions with my wifedaily life," Shen explained, "I likerecall those dayshardship we shared together,this has becomespiritual supportus. "
Shena typical example amongmiddle-aged peopleChina , an official ofChangsha City Radio said. The radio has openedspecial programmehelp middle-aged couples deepen their love by reviewingpastexchanging experiences. The programme has become popular with listenershas received hundredsletters from people from all walkslife.
He Yingcai,judgethe Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court, said middle-aged couples accountone thirdthose marriedthe province. Traditionally,marriageyoung people was arranged by their parentscouples paid more attentioneach other's family backgroundpolitical affiliation than their own feelings. Asresult, many couples have no feelingseach other, though they have been marriedyears.
Accordingstatistics, about one quarterthe 27, 000 couples divorced last year were middle-aged. Rong Xiuqin, an officialthe Hunan Provincial Women's Federation,said althoughdivorce rate among middle-aged peoplelower than among peopleother ages, this does not mean that their family lives are harmonious. Forsaketheir children, many people trymakebestit.
"Itour duty to.help them form harmonious families because social stability dependsthe stabilityfamilies," she said. Tang Xiying,sociologist specializingmarriagewomen, noted that Chinese families may not be.formedthe basisfeelings, but feelingseach other arekeystabilizingfamily.
The Perfect Match
Text A
walked intoofficeshook hands withsmiling man named Mr Bleaucher. He was dressed very well, comparedme. He shuffledpilepapers like they were so many pancakes.
"I'm sure you'll be very pleased with her," he said. "She was picked by our compatibility computer outover one hundred ten million eligible womenthe United States. We categorize by race, religion, ethnicregional background. . . " sat there interestedly, wishinghad takenshower beforecame. It wasvery nice office butchair wasn't too comfortable.
"And now . . . " he said. He flung opendoorthe next room likemagician. He neededcape , though.was expectingrabbit butgotsurprise. She was pretty. Really, she was pretty. "Mr Walker, thisMiss DunfieldLaughing Lake, Montana. Miss Dunfield, thisMr Franklin WalkerNew York. " "Really Frank. Franklinsomething else again,"said. I waslittle nervous. She was pretty, you see. Mr Bleaucher leftwe were abletalk. "Hello. " "Hello," she said.
"I'm ... I'm very pleased withchoice,"said.was tryingbe suave. Maybe she didn't like being calledchoice. "I mean - I'm gladway things turned out. " She smiled. She hadnice smile. Good teeth. "Thank you," she said. "So am I. " She was shy. "I'm thirty-one,"blurted out. "Yes ,know , " she said. "It's allthe cards. "
It seemed likeconversation was about over. Everything wasthe cards. So there wasn't really muchtalk about. "How about children?" she said. . "Three. Two boys andgirl. " "That's exactly whatwant," she said. "It's downthe file under `Future Planning' . That one there. "
suddenly noticed that sheafpapersmy hand. Onfirst page was glued an IBM card with vital statistics about her.guessedthing she was holding wassame thingme.began looking throughand so did she. The turning pages madelotnoise. It said she liked classical music. (This was"PreferencesHabits". ) "You like classical music?"asked her.
"Well. . . better than anything else.also havecomplete collectionFrankie Laine records. " "He wasgreat old singer,"agreed. wentlooking throughfileso did she. She liked books , football , sitting nearfrontmovies , sleeping withwindows closed, dogs, cats, goldfish, tuna fish, salami sandwiches, simple clothes, private schoolsthe children (our children, really), livingthe suburbs, art museums. ... She looked up. "It seems we likesame things , " she said.
"The exact same things , "said. readreport titled "Psychology". She was shy, avoided arguments, wasn't outspoken,good mother type. "I'm glad you don't drink or smoke," she said. "I don't.don't like to. Sometimeshave beer, though. " "It doesn't say so down here. " "Well, maybeforgotput that down. "hoped she didn't mind. We finished readingreportseach other. "We're very much alike , " she said.
Alice andhave been marriednine years now. We havethree kids already, two boys andgirl. We livethe suburbs and listena lotclassicalFrankie Laine records. The last time we had an argumenttoo far backremember. We agreepractically everything. She's beengood wife and, ifmay say so, I've beengood husband. Our marriageperfect. We're getting divorced next month.can't stand it.
Text B
Mum's first attempt at match-making endeddismal failure. People say aswoman approaches middle age, she interests herselfyoung people's love affairslikes match-making. If thistrue,hope this first failure would discourage Mum from acquiring such an interest.
really don't know why she should have gonesuch lengthstrybring those two young people together. It wasfruitlessthankless job, doomed fromstart because both parties put impossible demandsthe opposite side. The man, Xiao Liu,about thirtyworksMum's office, apparentlyvery promising young man with an M. A. degree.
Because hevery choosy he has never been ablefindwife andbeginningget worried as he will soon be over thirty. The girl worksDad's office andtwenty-eight. Shealsocollege graduatevery good at her work. Shequite prettyhasvery strong character. She too has not been ablefindhusband because shetoo choosy. Mum had thought innocently that however choosy they might have been, they would surely be satisfied this time. So she invited them overmeetour house. She even wentthe troublecooking themdelicious dinner.
But Mum's pairis were not rewarded.don't know how they appreciated Mum's dinner, liut they certainly didn't appreciate each other. Xiao Wu could only meet twoXiao Liu's numerous demands. Sheprettyshe hascollege degree. But besides that he also wantsgirlbe under twenty-five,be gentledocile,periect housewife. He thought Xiao Wu had too strongcharacterthat he wouldn't be able"control her ".
Onother hand he fared even worseXiao Wu's eyes, having met only oneher demands. Hea post-graduate student whichoneher prerequisites forfuture hus band,this seemsbeonly thinghis favour. She wants her future husbandbe an overseas Chinese, or at leasthave relatives overseas , so that she could go abroad someday.
Also she wantsmanbe around l. 75mheightXiao Liuonly . 68m. I've heard people say that nowadays, girls consider any young man under . 7m assemi-handicapped, Thank God; I'm already l. 73mwith any luckcan grow another 5cm -most respectable height. Butdon't have any relatives abroad though!
Mum was most annoyed,put allblamethe girl. "What more does she want? She should realize that she's already 28she'll never find such an eligible young man again. " Mum never mentionedword about Xiao Liu's own objections."Who told youhelp such an arrogant young man? Xiao Wua hundred times better than he is. Any sensible young man would have jumped atchance. " "Jump atchance !bet you wish you could jump atchance yourself ! " Dad didn't know whetherlaugh orbe angry.
Additional Information
A 50-year-old woman could not help crying when she heardstory written by her husband overradio, recallingearly daystheir marriage. The story by Shen Lijun,senior lecturer atChangsha Commercial Schoolthis capitalHunan Province , depicted how he , thencollege graduate, metmarriedwife, Long Huilan, when he was labelledright-wingerforcedworka neighbourhood factorythe 960s.
Shen said, "In those days,dared not falllove with any girls becausemy inferior political status,marriedfirst girl who was willing. " The couple confessed they did have differencesinterests. After Shen becamelecturer, mosthis visitors were intellectuals, Long said. "After serving themcuptea,had nothingsaysat aside. Becausetheir cultural background,could not getwordedgeways duringchats. Byby,cameseegap between us. "
AccordingShen, he andwife also had different waysteach their children. "I did not likeway she treated our children: spoiling themthen beating them if they did not study well or listenher. "But whenevercome across contradictions with my wifedaily life," Shen explained, "I likerecall those dayshardship we shared together,this has becomespiritual supportus. "
Shena typical example amongmiddle-aged peopleChina , an official ofChangsha City Radio said. The radio has openedspecial programmehelp middle-aged couples deepen their love by reviewingpastexchanging experiences. The programme has become popular with listenershas received hundredsletters from people from all walkslife.
He Yingcai,judgethe Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court, said middle-aged couples accountone thirdthose marriedthe province. Traditionally,marriageyoung people was arranged by their parentscouples paid more attentioneach other's family backgroundpolitical affiliation than their own feelings. Asresult, many couples have no feelingseach other, though they have been marriedyears.
Accordingstatistics, about one quarterthe 27, 000 couples divorced last year were middle-aged. Rong Xiuqin, an officialthe Hunan Provincial Women's Federation,said althoughdivorce rate among middle-aged peoplelower than among peopleother ages, this does not mean that their family lives are harmonious. Forsaketheir children, many people trymakebestit.
"Itour duty to.help them form harmonious families because social stability dependsthe stabilityfamilies," she said. Tang Xiying,sociologist specializingmarriagewomen, noted that Chinese families may not be.formedthe basisfeelings, but feelingseach other arekeystabilizingfamily.