The Abstinence Teacher
by Tom Perrotta

On the first day of human sexuality, Ruth Ramsey wore a short lime green skirt, a clingy black top, and strappy high-heeled sandals, the kind of attention-getting outfit she normally wouldn't have worn on a date -- not that she was going on a lot of dates these days -- let alone to work.

The Standard Life of a Temporary Pantyhose Salesman
by Aldo Busi

Guiditta drags along a rag doll and stares straight ahead.

A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way --- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

(Perhaps the most famous first line ever.)