One day, I went to see my last patient(病人), an old woman. In the doorway, I saw she was struggling (掙扎) to put socks on her swollen (浮腫)feet in the bed. I stepped in, spoke quickly to the nurse, read her chart noting. I was almost in the clear that she was not in serious condition.
I asked, “Could I help put on your socks? How are you feeling? Your sugars and blood pressure were high but they’re better today. The nurse mentioned you’re anxious to see your son. He’s visiting you today. It’s nice to have a family visit. I think you really look forward to seeing him."
"Sit down, doctor. This is my story, not yours." She said with a serious voice.
I was surprised as I helped her with the socks. She told me that her only son lived around the corner from her, but she had not seen him in five years. She believed that was the main cause of her health problems. After hearing her story and putting on her socks, I asked if there was anything else I could do for her. She shook her head no and smiled. All she wanted me to do was to listen.
Each story is different. Some are detailed; others are simple. Some have a beginning, middle and end; others don’t have clear ends. Some are true; others not. Yet all those things do not really matter. What matters to the storyteller is that the story is heard — without interruption(打斷) or judgment(評價).
It was that woman who taught me the importance of stopping, sitting down and truly listening. And, not long after, in an unexpected accident, I became a patient. 20 years later, I sit all the time — in a wheelchair.
For as long as I could, I continued to see patients from my chair. I believe in the power of listening.
【小題1】 How was the old woman?

We each have a memory(記憶力). That’s why we can still remember things after a long time. Some people have very good memories and they can easily learn many things by heart, but some people can only remember things when they say or do them again and again. Many of the great men of the world have got surprising memories.

A good memory is a great help in learning a language. Everybody learns his mother language when he is a small child. He hears the sounds, remembers them and then he learns to speak. Some children are living with their parents in foreign countries. They can learn two languages as easily as one because they hear, remember and speak two languages every day. In school it is not so easy to learn a foreign language because the pupils have so little time for it, and they are busy with other subjects, too.

But your memory will become better and better when you do more and more exercises.

1.Some people can easily learn many things by heart because _____.

A．they always sleep very well                B．they often eat good food

C．they read a lot of books                   D．they have very good memories

2.Everybody learns his mother language ______.

A．a(chǎn)t the age of six                         B．when he is a small child

C．a(chǎn)fter he goes to school                   D．when he can read and write

3.Before a child can speak, he must ______.

A．read books                            B．write words

C．hear and remember the sounds            D．think hard

4.In school the pupils can’t learn a foreign language well because ______.

A．they have no good memories              B．they have no recorders(錄音機)

C．they have too much time for it             D．they are busy with other subjects

5.Your memory will become better and better ______.

A．when you have enough good food          B．when you do more and more exercises

C．when you do morning exercises every day    D．when you get up early

Schools and parents in Shenzhen City have been asked to take better care of children’s eyesight as 45 percent of them were found to be shortsighted. Too much reading, poor lighting and too much TV are blamed(責(zé)備). Of the city’s high school graduates(畢業(yè)生) who applied to study at colleges this summer, but now he gets up earlier.
【小題1】The purpose(目的) of this passage is to_________.