Lesson 7 Roomies：Rx[1]for a Split Society？
By Patrick Hruby
The carpet was clean，the counters clear，the clutter[2]confined to a closet．But the sink was full．So Jesse Mc Laughlin did what he always does：the dishes．By hand．soap，scrub，rinse and repeat．With gusto[3]，almost as if he was having—no，wait．Preposterous．Can＇t be．
Was Mr．Mc Laughlin having fun？
“I actually really enjoy doing dishes，”said Mr．Mc Laughlin，26，a security analyst at the U．S．Patent and Trademark Office．“I don＇t even use the dishwasher too much．There ＇s a satisfaction in seeing something go from a disaster to perfectly clean．”
Mr．Mc Laughlin looked toward the window of his third－floor Arlington[4]apartment．“I love mowing lawns，too，”he said．“I would mow the lawn outside if building management would let me．”
He makes homemade ice cream．Takes out the trash．Vacuums the ceilings．He＇s never short on rent，consistently quick with pizza money．A finalist for an ongoing national Roommate of the Year contest held by the real estate website Apartments．com，Mr．Mc Laughlin isn＇t just to shared housing what Alexander Ovechkin[5]is to hockey．He＇s a precious，overlooked social commodity．An archetypal good roommate．
In fact，Mr．Mc Laughlin＇s current roommate，Lisa Harbin，has only one complaint．
He doesn＇t vacuum the ceilings enough．
“I vacuum them regularly，”said Ms．Harbin，23，Mr．Mc Laughlin＇s girlfriend and a personal assistant．
“Really？”Mr．Mc Laughlin said．“I only do them three to four times a year．”
“I vacuum when you＇re not here，”Ms．Harbin said．
Roommate Roulette[6]
Who doesn＇t need a good roommate？Someone to share laughs，bills and，yes，dust－busting duties？From the Pilgrims on the Mayflower to Joey and Chandler on“Friends，”[7]ours is a cohabitation nation：freshman dorms，summer－intern[8]housing，group houses，minor－league road trips．The young，entry－level masses，yearning to live in the big city．
Studies show that cheery housemates increase our own probability of feeling happy．That healthy diet and exercise habits rub off．That rooming with someone of another race reduces prejudice．As the economy continues to sputter[9]，splitting rent even can make the difference between getting by and getting left behind．
Yet roommates never have been held in lower cultural repute．
Once upon a time，pop culture celebrated living together，even when it wasn＇t perfect．Vive la difference！We had Felix and Oscar[10]，the quintessential odd couple．Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari[11]，dressing up as women．
Then came“The Real World．”[12]The granddaddy of reality television．A series about．roommates．
Mouthy roommates．
Obnoxious roommates．
Rock＇em，sock＇em roommates．[13]
The show embodied a zeitgeist[14]shift．Somewhere along the way—possibly when Jennifer Jason Leigh stabbed her roommate＇s boyfriend with a stiletto heel in“Single White Female，”probably when Kevin almost quit the first season of“The Real World”—the genial roomie of yore was replaced by a more sinister paradigm．The roommate from hell．
Or，as MTV viewers called him，Puck．
The roommate from hell was different．Scary．The dreaded other．She was liable to borrow your jewelry without asking，if not murder your friends，like Leighton Meester in the recent film“The Roommate．”Perhaps she would plan out an adult website business，complete with graphic photos，right there in your shared living room．
And no，the preceding sentence is not the plot of another movie．It＇s an actual story from a Chicago newspaper．
Art imitates life．In the 1960s，Lucy from the comic strip“Peanuts”charged 5 cents for general psychiatric advice；these days，she could retire a billionaire before finishing junior high simply by specializing in roommate－related talk therapy．Go online．At sites including ihatemyroommate．org，anonymous angst radiates from every pixel，with stories of dirty dishes and clogged toilets，untrained puppies and unwanted sexual advances．
For one contributor，the only thing worse than a roommate from hell was said roommate“moving out”，he trashed the room，stole my leftover pizza，left air fresheners plugged into every socket—and he knew I am allergic He left the carpet in what I can only assume is a health－hazardous condition，black marks on the wall，broke the blinds in his room；I＇m actually scared to touch anything in his bathroom；there＇s bits of weed and stem[15]in every dresser drawer．To top things off[16]，he went into my room and stole＄500—the same amount as his damage deposit．”
“Since I entered this contest，six or seven people have come up to my desk at work，”Mr．Mc Laughlin said．“It＇s always a roommate horror story．Some have been ridiculous．”
To wit[17]：Mr．Mc Laughlin works with Mark Evers，52，an information systems analyst from Bethesda．Years ago，Mr．Evers rented a spare bedroom to a student couple．The pair was friendly but messy，prone to leaving dirty dishes and pots strewn across the common kitchen．
Mr．Evers would scrape and scrub，then ask the couple to do the same．The messes continued．Eventually，he started preparing meals and storing them in the refrigerator，telling the couple simply to use the microwave and place the plates in the dishwasher．
Oh，and when the couple placed their broken－down automobile on blocks in the home ＇s driveway—and days of inactivity became weeks—Mr．Evers fixed their car．
“The thing is，you have to work with people and give them breathing space，”Mr．Evers said．“Make them comfortable．We parted on great terms．”
Does that make Mr．Evers a better roommate than Mr．Mc Laughlin？
“I guess，”Mr．Mc Laughlin said with a laugh．“Or it might be kind of passiveaggressive．”
When Mr．Mc Laughlin was studying abroad in South Africa，he lived in a house with 10 other people．The group mostly got along．However，a few of them threw a large party[18]without asking for their housemates＇permission—and days later，the house was robbed．
“Off went six laptops，iPods，cameras，”Mr．Mc Laughlin said．“The thieves got in through an entrance that you wouldn＇t know about without already being inside the house．I guess you could blame it on my roommates．”
Did Mr．Mc Laughlin blow up at them？
“You have to pick your fights[19]，”he said．
Mr．Mc Laughlin＇s attitude is admirable．It＇s also quaint．Today＇s prospective coinhabitors increasingly are adopting a variation on Ronald Reagan＇s old maxim regarding the Soviet Union and arms control．
Trust，but verify．
Couples sign prenuptial[20]agreements．Roommates use detailed written agreements that cover everything from food sharing and pets to overnight guests and recreational drug use．Welsh[21]on the cable bill？See you in small claims court．
Meanwhile，renters and colleges alike are using technology to make the roommate selection process less random．Websites such as URoomSurf．com employ the matchmaking model of online dating：Users complete questionnaires about study habits，sleep schedules，musical tastes and the like，then receive lists of like－minded potential housemates．
The goal？Avoid the roommate from hell．And the moderately annoying roommate from somewhere just north of purgatory[22]．Encase an otherwise risky experience in bubble wrap[23]．
Mr．Mc Laughlin has never used an electronic roommate service．But he sees the appeal．
“Finding someone through Craigslist[24]，you＇re leaving yourself to chance，”he said．“That＇s real hit－or－miss[25]．”
（The Washington Times，July 29，2011）
Key Words：
1．Pilgrims on the Mayflower：指1620年乘坐“五月花”号三桅船到达北美的英国清教徒。五月花号（Mayflower）以运载一批分离派清教徒到北美建立普利茅斯殖民地并在该船上制定《五月花号公约》而闻名。1620年9月16日，部分分离派由于受英国国教的残酷迫害，在牧师布莱斯特率领下乘五月花号前往北美；于感恩节后在普利茅斯登陆前，由分离派领袖在船舱内主持制定共同遵守的《五月花号公约》，从而奠定了新英格兰诸州自治政府的基础。
2．Small claims court：小额索偿法庭。20世纪60年代初以来，为解决法官人数偏少而案件又不断增加，导致审判效率低下的问题，美国很多州建立了小额索偿程序，以便简便、快捷、成本低廉地审结当事人的小额民事纠纷。尽管各地规定不尽相同，但总体而言，小额索偿法庭的诉讼双方较少聘请律师和陪审团，借此缩减成本和审理时间。
3．Ronald Reagan：罗纳德·威尔逊·里根，1911年2月生于伊利诺伊州坦皮科，2004 年6月卒于加州洛杉矶贝莱尔；第33任加利福尼亚州州长，第40任总统（1981年—1989年）。他也是一名伟大的演讲家。在踏入政坛前，里根也担任过运动广播员、救生员、报社专栏作家、电影演员、电视节目演员和励志讲师，并且是美国影视演员协会（Screen Actors Guild）的领导人；被媒体誉为“伟大的沟通者”（The Great Communicator）。历任总统之中，他就职年龄最大，也是唯一一位演员出身的总统。他是中美两国建交后首位在任时访华（1984年4月26日至5月1日）的美国总统。
Questions：
1．Do you think American society is a split one？Why？
2．What role can room－sharing practices play in healingAmerica＇s socio－cultural wounds？
3．What steps should one take in order to forge a harmonious relationship with roommates in the United States？
Topics for discussion：
1．In an effort to highlight the difficulty of living with roommates，the author citesseveral popular TV serials．Can we equate depictions on the screen to culture in daily life？What other sources should be located to draw a convincing picture of Americans＇fear of roomies？
2．In China，we are also witnessing an irresistible apartment－sharing tendency．What differences lie between Chinese and American practices？What similarities and dissimilarities are revealed in terms of cultural values？
【注释】
[1]Rx：prescription的缩写，解决办法。
[2]clutter：杂乱的东西。
[3]gusto：兴致勃勃。
[4]Arlington：位于首都华盛顿与弗吉尼亚州交界处，以阿灵顿国家公墓著称。
[5]Alexander Ovechkin：亚历山大·奥维金，俄罗斯著名冰球运动员。
[6]roulette：赌注。
[7]“Friends”：《六人行》，又名《老友记》，是美国NBC电视从1994年开始连播十年的幽默情景喜剧，Joey和Chandler是其中的主要人物。
[8]summer－intern：暑期实习生。
[9]sputter：持续恶化。
[10]Felix and Oscar：1965年上演的百老汇剧目《天生冤家》（The Odd Couple）中的主人公，两人性格迥异，但却结伴驾车，同处一室。
[11]Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari：两人均为美国演员，曾在电视滑稽连续剧《亲密伙伴》（Boston Buddies）中出演对手戏。
[12]The Real World：美国MTV电视频道的真人节目。
[13]rock＇em，sock＇em roommates：希望赶之而后快的室友。
[14]Zeitgeist：（德语）时代精神。
[15]weed and stem：乱七八糟的东西。
[16]top things off：最糟糕的是。
[17]to wit：事情的经过是……。
[18]threw a party：举行聚会。
[19]pick a fight：寻衅滋事。
[20]prenuptial：婚前的。
[21]welsh：食言。
[22]somewhere just north of purgatory：刚刚摆脱困境的。
[23]encase…in bubble wrap：避免。
[24]Craigslist：大型免费分类广告网站，由克雷格·纽马克（Craig Newmark）于1995年在加利福尼亚创建。
[25]hit－or－miss：凭运气的。
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