三、阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分)

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A

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(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.

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 corner.

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.

 

B

My first reaction was annoyance. It was Friday afternoon, and I was within an hour of finishing my work for the week. As I was leaving, a nurse brought me one more patient message. The statement read: “Mrs. Jones called to say that she has had blurred vision(视觉模糊) ever since her medical test this morning.” I smiled. Suddenly our tests were causing eye problems.

This week my patients had questioned everything. My patient with high blood pressure had stopped coming to her treatment on the advice of an Internet chat room. A woman who had a mental problem was substituting(用…代替) St. John’s word for her medication. Now Mrs. Jones was imagining problems. I rolled my eyes.

My second reaction was worry. As I looked through her record, I tried to figure out why she would have blurred vision, but nothing in her record explained the new problem. She’s probably just anxious, I thought. Still, she wouldn’t have called if she had been all right. I picked up the phone.

What I next felt can only be described as delight. Before I made the call, the nurse ran in: Mrs. Jones called. Her vision is fine. Turns out she picked up the wrong glasses when she left the office. The X-ray technician has been having the same problem. I let out a laugh. Mrs. Jones had been right. Her vision had been blurred. Now we know why.

Finally I felt shame. I came to realize what Mrs. Jones had taught me. I had first known she was wrong, that her anxiety had clouded her judgment. Instead, my medical training had clouded mine. Now I feel thankful that Mrs. Jones figured it out before I made a mistake about our relationship. Patients come to me for my help. They pay me to listen, diagnose(诊断), treat and talk. That suggests trust; I must remember that, and trust them too.   

61. The writer smiled while reading the patient message because he knew _____.

A. Mrs. Jones would ask for more tests  

B. the patient was being unreasonable

C. the nurse was joking with him            

D. Mrs. Jones would call him

62. What has caused Mrs. Jones’ eye problem? 

A. Wrong glasses.  B. Medical check up.

C. Her own imagination.                         D. Chatting on the Internet.

63. The underlined words “clouded her judgment” in the last paragraph probably mean _______.   

A. made her less trustful toward the doctor

B. put her in control of her own feelings

C. made her less able to think clearly       

D. put her in a dangerous situation