閱讀理解

　　Twenty years ago, I drove a taxi for a living．One night I went to pick up a passenger at 2∶30 a. m．When I arrived to collect, I found the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window．

　　I walked to the door and knocked, “Just a minute,” answered a weak, elderly voice．

　　After a long pause, the door opened．A small woman in her eighties stood before me．By her side was a small suitcase．

　　I took the suitcase to the car, and then returned to help the woman．She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the car．

　　She kept thanking me for my kindness．"It's nothing,"　I told her．"I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated．"

　　"Oh, you're such a good man．"She said．When we got into the taxi, she gave me an address, and then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

　　"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly．

　　"Oh, I'm in no hurry," she said．"I'm on my way to a hospice．I don't have any family left．The doctor says I don't have very long．

　　I quietly reached over and shut off the meter．

　　For the next two hours, we drove through the city．She showed me the building where she had once worked, the neighborhood where she had lived, and the furniture shop that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl．

　　Sometimes she'd ask me to slow down in front of a particular building and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing．

　　At dawn, she suddenly said, "I'm tired．Let's go now．"

　　We drove in silence to the address she had given me．

　　How much do I owe you?" she asked．

　　"Nothing．" I said．

　　You have to make a living," she answered．"Oh, there are other passengers," I answered．

　　Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug．She held onto me tightly．Our hug ended with her remark, "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy．"

閱讀理解

　　Richard Williams works hard．He’s clever, careful, and fast．His work is dangerous．Richard thinks of himself as a professional－a professional thief．

　　Yesterday was a typical day．Richard dressed in a business suit, took his briefcase(手提箱), and drove to a town about ten miles from his home．He parked his car in a busy area, then began to walk along the street．No one looked at him．He was another businessman walking to work．

　　At 8∶05, Richard saw what he wanted．A man was leaving his house．Richard walked around the block again．At 8∶10, he watched a woman leave the same house．After she left, Richard worked quickly．He walked to the side of the house and stood behind a tree．He took a screwdriver(螺絲刀)out of his briefcase and quickly opened the window and climbed in．First, he looked through the desk in the living room．He found ＄200 in cash．In the dining room, he put the silverware(銀器)into his briefcase．The next stop was the bedroom．Richard stole a diamond ring and an emerald(祖母綠寶石)necklace．Richard passed a color TV, a stereo(音響), and a camera, but he didn’t touch them．Everything had to fit into his briefcase．In less than five minutes, Richard climbed back out the window．He looked around carefully, then began his walk down the street again．No one looked at him．He was just another businessman, walking to work．