2 . Although small business training and credit programs have become more common throughout the world, little attention has been paid to the need of young people, and even less to the children living on the street or in difficult condition.

Over the past nine years, Street Kids International (S.K.I.) has been working with partner organizations in Africa, Latin America and India to support the economic lives of street children and develop opportunities for street children to earn income.

The S.K.I. Bicycle Courier Service first started in the Sudan. Street children who took part in it were given bicycles, which they used to deliver parcels and messages. A similar program was taken up in Bangalore, India. The Shoe Shine Collective was a program with the Y.W.C.A. in the Dominican Republic. The children in this project were lent money to buy shoe shine boxes. They were also given a safe place to store their equipment, and facilities for individual savings plans. The Youth Skills Enterprise Initiative in Zambia is a program with the Red Cross Society and the Y.W.C.A. Street youths are supported to start their own small business through business training, life skills training and access to credit.

During the program, The S.K.I. and partner organizations have drawn lessons from the past: First of all, being a businessman is not for everyone, nor for every street child. And it is important for all loans to be linked to training programs that include the development of basic business and life skills. Secondly, small loans are provided firstly for buying fixed assets such as bicycles, shoe shine kits and basic building materials for a market stall. As the children gain experience, they can be given more loan amounts. And all S.K.L. programs have charged interest on the loans. Generally the rates have been lower than bank rates. Most importantly, it is believed that credit must be given with other types of support that help the young develop key life skills as well as productive businesses.

3 . We’ve all been there: in a lift, in line at the bank or on an airplane, surrounded by people who are, like us, deeply focused on their smartphones or, worse, struggling with the uncomfortable silence.

What’s the problem? It’s possible that we all have compromised conversational intelligence. It’s more likely that none of us start a conversation because it’s awkward and challenging, or we think it’s annoying and unnecessary. But the next time you find yourself among strangers, consider that small talk is worth the trouble. Experts say it’s an invaluable social practice that results in big benefits.

Dismissing small talk as unimportant is easy, but we can’t forget that deep relationships wouldn’t

even exist if it weren’t for casual conversation. Small talk is the grease(润滑剂) for social communication, says Bernardo Carducci, director of the Shyness Research Institute at Indiana University Southeast. ＂Almost every great love story and each big business deal begins with small talk,＂ he explains. ＂The key to successful small talk is learning how to connect with others, not just communicate with them.＂

In a 2014 study, Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at UBC, invited people on their way into a coffee shop. One group was asked to seek out an interaction(互动) with its waiter; the other, to speak only when necessary. The results showed that those who chatted with their server reported significantly higher positive feelings and a better coffee shop experience. ＂It’s not that talking to the waiter is better than talking to your husband,＂ says Dunn. ＂But interactions with peripheral(边缘的) members of our social network matter for our well-being also.＂

Dunn believes that people who reach out to strangers feel a significantly greater sense of belonging, a bond with others. Carducci believes developing such a sense of belonging starts with small talk. ＂Small talk is the basis of good manners,＂ he says.

4 . It was raining. I went into a café and asked for a coffee. _________ I was waiting for my drink, I realized that there were other people in the place, but I sensed _______. I saw their bodies, but I couldn’t feel their souls _________ their souls belonged to the _________.

I stood up and walked between the tables. When I came to the biggest computer, I saw a thin, small man _________ in front of it. “I’m Steve”, he finally answered after I asked him a couple of times what his name was. “I can’t talk with you. I’m _________”, he said. He was chatting online with somebody—probably someone he didn’t know—and, _________ , he was playing a computer game—a war game. I was_________.

Why didn’t Steve want to talk with me? I tried _________ to speak to that computer geek (怪人), ________ not a word came out of his mouth. I touched his shoulder, but no reaction. I was __________. I put my hand in front of the monitor, and he started to shout, “ __________!” I took a few steps back, wondering if all those people in the café were looking at me. I __________, and saw nobody showed any interest.

________ , I realized that the people there were having a nice conversation with their machines, not with people. They were more __________ having a relationship with the __________, particularly Steve. I wouldn’t want to __________ the future of human beings if they preferred sharing their lives with machines ____________ with people.

I was worried and I sank in my thoughts. I didn’t even ________ that the coffee was bad, __________ Steve didn’t notice there was a person next to him.