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 2Os, 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 (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 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.
小题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.小题2:What they have been doing can be described as______.
A．pointless
B．normal
C．crazy
D．successful小题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.小题4:What will Liz and Bill do in the future?
A．Go in for publishing.
B．Do more television programs.
C．Continue what they am doing.
D．Spend more time reading books.小题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.
小题1:A
小题2:D
小题3:D
小题4:C
小题5:B
题目分析：本文介绍了9.11以后Liz and Bill所做之事，通过与别人的交流理解别人的想法。
小题1:A 细节题。根据文章第四段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.说明A项正确。
小题2:D推理题。根据文章最后一段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.可知已经有印刷商让他们出书了，说明他们取得了成功。故D正确。
小题3:D 推理题。根据文章倒数3,4段所举例子，是为了说明他们这样的活动所取得的成功。故D正确。
小题4:C 推理题。根据文章最后一段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.说明透明膜正在考虑以后要做的事情。故C正确。
小题5:B 推理题。根据文章最后一句Some publishers have expressed interest in a book, something they say they'll consider.说明他们正在考虑出书的话题。故B正确。
点评：本文介绍了9.11以后Liz and Bill所做之事，通过与别人的交流理解别人的想法。本文主要考查推理题。在解题时要立足已知，推断未知。立足现在，猜测未来。不能主观臆想，凭空想象，随意揣测，更不能以自己的观点代替作者的观点;要把握句、段之间的逻辑关系，了解语篇的结构。要体会文章的基调，揣摸作者的态度，摸准逻辑发展的方向，悟出作者的弦外之音。