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 comers. 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 （宗教）. So what's the point?

    "To see what happens," said Liz. "We simply enjoy life with open communication（交流）."

    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 lest 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 mare people to join their informal talks. Some publishers have expressed interest in a book, something they say they'll consider.

56. 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 comer.

57. What they have been doing can be described as______.

     A. pointless    B. normal       C. crazy       D. successful

58. 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.

 59. 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.

60. 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.

Excuse me, Marcia, a reporter from Vanity Fair ________ all day. Could you speak to her now? 

A. phones                                                 B. has phoned

C. has been phoning                                         D. phoned 

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.

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

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

A．pointless

B．normal

C．crazy

D．successful

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.

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.

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

 

A middle-aged couple from California got to the Pacific Ocean after a 4,900- mile-cross-country walk, becoming the first to backpack the American Discovery Trail by walking．
Marcia and Ken started the travel across 13 states, through 14 national parks and 16 national forests from Delaware and finally reached their destination a day nearly eight months later.
“We are sad that a great adventure is over. Now we just go home and do housework” said the couple, who went through cities, desert, mountains and farmland before reaching the Pacific alone.
They overcame deep snow in the East, a quicksand in Utah, close lightning strikes in the Mid- west and strong desert sandstorms in the West while averaging 22 miles a day and taking only four days off．But they enjoyed the French history of St.Louis and the beauty of the Colorado Rockies.   They particularly remember kindness of strangers they met along the way.
“Americans are truly warm-hearted and wonderful. We got to meet people that we would never meet in our daily living at home. It' s an amazing country.” Marcia said．
【小题1】Which of the following is the most suitable title?

A．The first couple to backpack the Pacific Ocean alone

B．The first couple to cover a 4,900 mile cross-country walk

C．A husband-and-wife team suffered a lot during an adventure

D．A husband-and-wife team got much help during an adventure

【小题2】Which of the statements is TRUE?

A．The couple travelled across 16 states.

B．Their walk lasted nearly half a year.

C．They prefer housework to adventure

D．They took four days off during the travel

【小题3】We know that during the walk, the couple_________.

A．were worried about their housework

B．once covered 22 miles within four days

C．were treated warm-heartedly by strangers

D．met strong desert sandstorms in the East

【小题4】Which place do you suppose can replace the underlined word “destination”?

A．Delaware

B．Colorado Rockies

C．California

D．Pacific Ocean