I first met Steve Jobs years ago at a yard pool party. I was {#blank#}1{#/blank#} excited and embarrassed by the chance to meet him in person that I could hardly whisper my name when we {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(introduce). I watched as he swam in the pool with his son, like a regular guy, a good dad {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(have) fun with his kids.

    The second time I met him was when our children started going to school together. He was sitting in the classroom while {#blank#}4{#/blank#}rest of us were pretending that having Steve Jobs in the room was {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (total) normal. It was one Halloween when I realized he actually knew my name, {#blank#}6{#/blank#} made me a little surprised. {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(dress) like a monster, he was decorating a scary house with his wife. As I walked by with my son, Steve smiled and said, “Hi, Lisen”, My son thought I was the {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(cool)mom in town when he realized Steve Jobs knew me.

    {#blank#}9{#/blank#} then on, when I saw him holding his meetings in our neighborhood, I didn't hesitate to smile and say hi. Steve always {#blank#}10{#/blank#} (return) the greetings, proving that while he may have been a genius, he was also a good neighbor.

    I always sit down comfortably in the barber's shop and listen patiently {#blank#}1{#/blank#} my barber(理发师). He either explains the current political situation and women's fashions or tells me jokes which I {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(hear) at least five times already. In twenty {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(minute), I get a great deal of information as well as a hair-cut.

    But last week our conversation was very short indeed. We heard loud cries of “fire!”{#blank#}4{#/blank#}(come) from upstairs. All of the customers and barbers made up their minds {#blank#}5{#/blank#} (escape) from the shop immediately.

    We were {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(certain) a funny sight to passers-by! I had a white sheet round my neck and my hair {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(be) half cut. My barber was close behind me with a comb and a pair of scissors in his hands. One of the customers {#blank#}8{#/blank#} had sat next to me was not so {#blank#}9{#/blank#}(luck). There were still soap bubbles on one side of his face and his barber ran after him holding a shaving-brush in one hand and a razor in the {#blank#}10{#/blank#}!

    Learning{#blank#}1{#/blank#} new language is not easy, but a Chinese in Washington D.C. says he knows how to make it less {#blank#}2{#/blank#}(difficulty). Li Lei teaching Chinese to children says, “The magic key to {#blank#}3{#/blank#}(teach) a language is culture.”

    Li came to Washington through the State Department's Teachers of Critical Language Program, which brings teachers from China and Egypt to America. One of the goals of the program is {#blank#}4{#/blank#}(help) American students learn Chinese and Arabic.

    The program helps the teachers and students learn about the {#blank#}5{#/blank#}(culture) of other countries. Li says learning languages helps students learn {#blank#}6{#/blank#}(much) about the world.

    Spanish is the native language of many of Li's students at Cooke Elementary School, so many of {#blank#}7{#/blank#}(they) are learning English and Chinese at the same time.

    Li {#blank#}8{#/blank#}(explore) the local Chinese community and many other cultures in Washington so far. He says the children at the school, some of {#blank#}9{#/blank#} are as young as five years old, might not remember all of the Chinese characters he teaches them, and that they might even forget his name. And he hopes that they will always remember him {#blank#}10{#/blank#} a teacher they liked and respected.