Rome had the Forum. London has Speaker's Corner. Now always–on–the-go. New Yorkers have Liz and Bill.
Liz and Bill, two college graduates in their early 20s, have spent a whole year trying to have thousands of people talk to them in subway stations and on busy street corners. Just talk.
Using a 2-foot-tall sign that says, "Talk to Me." they attract conversationalists, who one evening included a mental patient, and men in business suits.
They don't collect money. They don't push religion. So what's the point?
"To see what happens, said Liz. " We simply enjoy life with open communication."
Shortly after the September 11,2001 attacks, they decided to walk from New York City to Washington, a 270-mile trip. They found they loved talking to people along the way and wanted to continue talking with strangers after their return.
"It started as a crazy idea, "Liz said." We were so curious about all the strangers walking by with their life stories. People will talk to us about anything: their jobs, their clothes, their childhood experiences, anything."
Denise wanted to talk about an exam she was about to take. She had stopped by for the second time in two days, to let the two listeners know how it went.
Marcia had lost her husband to a serious disease. "That was very heavy on my mind," Marcia said. "To be able to talk about it to total strangers was very good," she explained.
To celebrate a year of talking, the two held a get-together in a city park for all the people they had met over the past year. A few hundred people showed up, as well as some television cameramen and reporters.
They may plan more parties or try to attract more people to join their informal talks. Some publishers have expressed interest in a book, something they say they'll consider.
小題1:What did Liz and Bill start doing after September 2001?

A．Chatting with people.	B．Setting up street signs
C．Telling stories to strangers	D．Organizing a speaker's corner

小題2:What they have been doing can be described as_________.  .

A．pointless

B．normal

C．crazy

D．successful

小題3:Why are Denise and Marcia mentioned in the text?

A．They knew Liz and Bill very well.

B．They happened to meet the writer of the text.

C．They organized the get-together in the city park.

D．They are examples of those who talked to Liz and Bill.

小題4:What will Liz and Bill do in the future?

A．Go in for publishing.	B．Do more television programs.
C．Continue what they are doing.	D．Spend more time reading books.

小題5:How do they like the idea of writing a book?

A．They have decided to wait a year or two

B．They will think about it carefully

C．They agreed immediately

D．They find it hard to do that

I have recently completed my college degree. The last project was called “Smile”. The class was asked to go out to smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake.
My husband, youngest son and I went out to McDonald. We were standing in line when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away. As I turned around I smelled a horrible body odour （氣味）and saw two poor homeless men standing behind me. As I looked at the short blue-eyed gentleman closest to me, he was “smiling”. The second man fumbled（摸索）with his hands as he stood behind his friend.
The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, “Coffee is all, Miss,” because that was all they could afford.
Then I really felt it－I embraced（擁抱） the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action. I smiled and asked two more breakfast meals on and gave them to the men.
The blue-eyed gentleman looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Thank you.” When I sat down my husband smiled at me. We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that because of the good fortune that we had been given.
I turned in my project. My teacher said, “Can I share this?” I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings share this need to heal people and to be healed.
In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald’s and every soul that heard the story in the classroom. But, I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn.
小題1:Why did people around the author in the McDonald step back?

A．Because they were very polite to the two men.

B．Because they were moved by the two men.

C．Because the two men smelt terrible.

D．Because the two men seemed unfriendly.

小題2:Why did the two men only buy coffee?

A．Because they didn’t have enough money.

B．Because they didn’t feel hungry.

C．Because they knew others would help them.

D．Because they were looked down upon.

小題3:How did the teacher think of the author’s project?

A．Hard to believe.	B．Interesting to read.
C．Very puzzling.	D．Very satisfying.

小題4:What did the author think she learn from the story?

A．A friend in need is a friend indeed.

B．Helping others can bring pleasure to many people.

C．Nothing is difficult to a willing heart.

D．Don’t judge people according to their appearance.

                                                                                                        
In elementary school, Guadalupe Quintanilla was often referred to as a “slow learner” by her teachers. But she really wasn’t slow at all. She just didn’t understand the language used in the classroom. Her problem was that she didn’t speak English. So she left school after the fourth grade.
When Guadalupe grew up, married, and had children of her own, she knew that her children were clever. But some of their teachers didn’t think so. The children were having trouble in school because they didn’t speak English. Mrs Quintanilla was angry. She didn’t want people to think that her children were slow learners. So she decided to learn English herself as a way of helping them. She practiced English. She looked up words in the dictionary. She asked the school headmaster to let her sit in on classes. It wasn’t easy, but she passed all her exams. She said that many of the other students helped her.
Mrs Quintanilla has helped her children with their lessons. Her two sons have won success. One is a teacher, and the other is a doctor. Her youngest child, a daughter, is studying in a university.
小題1: Guadalupe was called as low learner             .

A．to make her study harder	B．because she wasn’t clever
C．because she stayed at home	D．because she didn’t speak English

小題2: According to the story, children who don’t speak English             .

A．may have more trouble in school	B．have trouble playing football
C．often write a diary	D．grow up to be teachers

小題3: Which happened first?

A．Guadalupe passed all her exams.

B．Guadalupe left school after the fourth grade.

C．Guadalupe had three children.

D．Her two sons won success.

小題4: The story is mainly about             .

A．learning to sing and dance	B．the problem of slow learning
C．going to a university	D．Mrs Quintanilla’s success