may 17, 2003

　　dear mr. stein:

　　thank you for your letter of may 15. i`m very gladto hear from you.

　　we appreciate your desire to teach in the english department of tianjin normal university. from the information you have supplied about yourself, there is no doubt that you are qualified for the job. however, we have only a small quota for foreign teachers, and all our positions for this year have already been filled. we shall keep your offer on file and inform you as soon as there is a vacancy. in the meantime, you might try other colleges in china.

　　thank you once again for your offer. best wishes for success.

　　sincerely,

　　li may

　　chairman

　　department of english