When I was 19 years old, I was at a dance club. As we were walking to my car one cold night, a man walked up to us. Behind him was a woman carrying a small child. The child had a jacket on but it wasn’t buttoned up（扣上）. The man began to tell us he wanted to borrow some money for the night to get his wife and kid into a hotel. He had a job but no place to live in and was waiting for he first paycheck. He said he could get our mailing address and mail the money back.
The guy I was with reached into his pocket to give this man a $20 bill. As the other man was extending his hand out to take the money, I put my hand on my new friends’ hand and said, “ Can I talk to you for a minute?”
I told him that every day people asked my mother for money on her way to work. She said they made more money than she did, simply begging for money. These people were scamming those with soft hearts. And if they were truly worried about their child suffering from the cold, they would have at least buttoned his jacket or covered him with his blanket.
My new friend looked at me with disappointment and said, “Michelle, I know there are people out there that take advantage of others. I also know there are people out there that are one paycheck away from being homeless. If I give $ 20 to 10 people and only one of them really needs it and uses it for the right thing, it is worth it.”
I am now 37 years old and have never forgotten what he said to me. I don’t even remember his name. But I do remember that that experience changed the way I look at different situations.
56. What do we know about the stranger according to the passage?
A. He had been begging for a long time near the dance club.
B. He would spend the cold night at an expensive hotel.
C. He was careless and didn’t take good care of his child.
D. He might be just lying in order to get some money.
57. Why did the author put her hand on her new friends’ hand?
A. She wanted to tell him to give some more money to the stranger.
B. She believed her mother had already given the stranger some money.
C. She wanted to warm him not to be cheated by the stranger.
D. She asked her friend to pay more attention to the baby instead.
58. Which of the following can take the place of the underlined word “ scamming ” in the 3rd paragraph?
A. cheating B. respecting C. disappointing D. understanding
59. We can safely say that the author’s friend was_________.
A. funny B. kind C. rich D. brave
