Every morning, people who are addicted to caffeine▼ lust for delicious cups of coffee so that they can actually wake up from their zombie-like state. They get to the counter of their local café and order an Americano, latte, or cappuccino. What if, for a small amount of money, anyone could help another person anonymously? A recent phenomenon called suspended coffees is just that. A person orders their cup of java▼ and then also orders a suspended coffee. The person pays for two coffees but only receives one. The suspended coffee is for someone who is down on their luck, downtrodden▼, or just unable to afford the coffee. They can come into the participating café and ask for a suspended coffee and get it for free. The suspended coffee movement is a pay-it-forward scheme that enables people to show kindness by treating those unknown to them to a hot cup of goodwill.
Suspended coffees are based on the honor system from both the stores and the recipients. Most baristas▼ do not ask any questions when people ask for a suspended coffee. Instead, they smile and fill out their orders. The idea of suspended coffees was started in Naples, Italy, and because of social media, it has quickly spread to the US, Canada, and all over Europe. Now there is a website as well as a Facebook page with nearly 280,000 likes, which lists the cafés around the world that participate in suspended coffees. So far, more than 120,000 cups of coffee have been purchased and given to complete strangers. Suspended coffee has not made it to Taiwan, but it is about time that it did.
1. What is suspended coffee?
(A) Free coffee for everyone.
(B) A way for people who are not doing well in life to have a free cup of coffee.
(C) A new blend of Mexican coffee.
(D) Coffee that is very cheap.
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2. How do café owners know who to give free coffee to?
(A) They only serve free coffee to homeless people.
(B) They just guess who is the poorest.
(C) They will not give them out unless someone has proof of unemployment.
(D) They trust people who say they want suspended coffee.
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3. Why has suspended coffee spread so fast?
(A) Because it has been featured on local TV.
(B) It has been promoted by cafés.
(C) People have been talking about it on Facebook and other websites.
(D) Everyone wants free coffee from strangers.
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4. According to the article, what is true about Taiwan?
(A) Suspended coffee has not made it here yet.
(B) Every Starbucks participates in suspended coffee.
(C) It has the best coffee in Asia.
(D) In Taiwan, if you do not have a job, coffee is half price.
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