Word: smiling
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...rights activists and lobbyists at the Massachusetts State House have something to smile about. Finally...
...impossible to describe the complete pleasure her smile conveyed. Perhaps she gets a bonus for being a particularly petty bureaucrat. Perhaps she resents foreigners and their privileges. A Chinese train's best accommodations, the "soft sleeper" compartment, in which two bunk beds actually sport linen, are reserved for foreigners and high party and government officials. I could understand her hating such preferential treatment, but then again, she and her colleagues do pretty well because of it. For notwithstanding my status as a foreigner, the "soft sleeper" car was "sold out" until a kind official laid a carton of cigarettes...
...exchange of business cards at the wedding, as common in China as saying hello, establishes that one of the guests has more than a nodding acquaintance with cremation. "Yeah," says a middle-aged man proudly, "I burn stiffs for a living." Only I smile. Everyone else knows what's coming, a recitation of the state's official line against using precious land for burials. "This is ridiculous," says the man, arcing a wad of spittle behind him, a small measure of civility indicating that China's famous antispitting campaign has done little more than improve the people's aim. "Zhou...
...explains. "But we keep to Hong Kong time as a sign of our sympathies. So you see, in this place you can say what you want. Just remember to be careful outside." As we leave Bi's classroom, he turns out the lights and, without even a faint smile, sets the clock ahead an hour. Like many Chinese, Bi is expert at concealing his feelings behind a facade of impassivity and self-control. "You never know who may come by and see the clock," he says. "It is crucial to go through the motions. Be subtle even in protest...
...shop's young owner intends to make up the difference. "We accept returns with a smile," he says. "If service institutions aren't willing to provide service, [for-]profit institutions like mine are," he says...