public int read() throws IOException {
  int ch1=is.read();
  int ch2=is.read();
  if (ch2 < 0)   return -1;
  return (ch2 << 8) + ch1;
}

public int read ( ) throws IOException { int ch1 = is . read ( ) ; int ch2 = is . read ( ) ; if ( ch2 < 0 ) return - 1 ; return ( ch2 << 8 ) + ch1 ; }
reads into a character buffer using the correct encoding .
