Just a Little Smile
Mark was walking home from school one day when he saw the boy in front of turn fall over and drop all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a basketball and a walkman (隨身聽(tīng)). Mark stopped and helped the boy pick up these things. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry some of his things. As they walked, Mark knew that the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved computer games, basketball and history, and that he was having lots of troubles with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.
They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was invited(邀請(qǐng)) in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed happily with a few laughs and some small talk, then Mark went home. They often saw . each other at school, had lunch together once or twice, and then they both finished middle school. They ended up in the same high school where they sometimes saw and talked with each other over the years. At last just three weeks before they finished high school, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.
Bill asked Mark if he still remembered the day years ago when they had first met. "Did you ever think why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked Bill. "You see, I cleaned out my locker(鎖柜) because I didn’t want to leave anything for anyone else. I had put away some of my mother’s sleeping pills and I was going home to kill myself. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, ! began to understand that if I killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life. "
【小題1】 When Mark met him the first time, Bill was going

Can you remember a world before the Internet? If you answer is “no,” then you are probably a millennial. Millennials are the new generation of young Americans. They were born between 1982 and 1992. There are 33 million of them, and they are just starting to enter the workforce(勞動(dòng)力). Many experts believe that millennials are different from young Americans of past generations. They also believe that millenials will change the workforce in important ways.
How are millennials different? They are the first generation born in the computer age. The internet has always been a part of their lives. They spend about 16 hours a week on the Internet, and this doesn’t include e-mail. And they spend 72 hours a week using other electronic media(媒體), including mobile phones and video games. They are “nation speakers” of the language of the computer age. People who were born earlier will never be native speakers of that language. Why not? They did not grow up “speaking” it.
How will millennials change the workforce? To answer that question, it is important to understand how millennials use the Internet. They use the Internet to communicate. They visit website such as FaceBook and MySpace every day. They share(分享)ideas, music, information, games, and friendships with people all over the world. When they start working, they will want to share their work and ideas with others.
It is also important to understand the way millennials grew up. Thair parents and teachers gave them a lot of attention. They taught them that their opinions were valuable(有價(jià)值的). As a result, amny millennials are very cinfident. At work, they will expect their co-workers and bosses to listen to their opinions.
Millennials also grew up with a lot of structure in their lives. Many of them went to school from the age of two or three and played on sports teams. At work, they will expect the rules to be clear. They will also expect a strong but fair boss, like a coach on a sports team. They will follow the person in charge (主管) if he or she is fair. But they will not follow an unfair boss. They will also expect their work to be fun and creative, similar to their experience on a sports team.
These are a few of the changes that experts believe millennials will bring to the American workforce. But the world is changing very fast. There will probably be more changes that are difficult to imagine today.
【小題1】According to the first paragraph of the passage, which of the following is NOT true?