Freshman roommates are usually assigned randomly, with no attention to their majors, and may have little in common with one another either academically or personally. They may take none of the same classes, and do not have to choose their majors the first year. In future years it’s very easy to change roommates, and in the junior or senior year it’s quite common for students to move to off-campus apartments. So there’s much less likelihood that freshman roommates will become lifelong friends.

　　一年级新生常常并不按专业分配寝室。室友的学习和个性也毫无相同之处。上的课完全不一样，而且也不必选定专业。以后，更换室友是很容易的事。读大三和大四时，学生常搬到校外公寓去住。因此，新生之间很难产生永恒的友谊。

American and Chinese Friendships

　　Americans are very adapt at making new friends, while Chinese people are very skillful at keeping their old friends. The main reason for this is that Americans experience more changes in their personal circumstances, such as changing jobs, moving to another town, or getting divorced. At any given time an American may have only a few close friends but many casual acquaintances. Over the course of a lifetime an American will probably have more friends than a Chinese person has but a Chinese person may have more lifelong friends.

　　美国人很容易交新朋友。中国人则善于维系老友的情谊。其主要原因就在于美国人一生要经历更多周边环境的变化。如变换工作，搬迁到另一城市，或夫妻分道扬镳。在任一特定的时候美国人都只有为数不多的几个知心朋友，更多的是泛泛之交。美国人的一生中交的朋友可能比中国人要多，但中国人的挚交则多于美国人。

Class Reunions

　　In many Western countries it is customary for the people who graduated from a college or school in the same year to gather periodically at the campus or in their hometown for a class reunion. It often includes parties, dinners, dancing, golfing, bowling, and other special events such as visits with former teachers. Reunions usually occur every five years, beginning five years after graduation. Certain reunions such as the 10th, 25th, and 50th are often considered special, and are more elaborate than the others.

在很多西方国家,同一年毕业于某大学或学院的人有定期班级聚会的传统。聚会可以是在母校，也可以在家乡。内容有聚会，聚餐，跳舞，打高尔夫球，玩保龄球，或拜访老师等特别安排。聚会常常是五周年一次，从毕业离校的五年后开始。而十周年，二十五周年和五十周年以及其他特定意义的聚会比一般性聚会要安排得更为周到和详尽。