A few minutes ago, walking back from lunch, I started to cross the street when I heard the sound of a coin dropping. It wasn’t much but, as I turned, my eyes caught the heads of several other people turning too. A woman had dropped what seemed to be a dime（十美分硬币）.

       The sound of a coin dropping on the street catches everybody’s attention. Whatever the coin is, no one ignores（忽视）the sound of it. It got me thinking about sounds again.

       There are so many sounds that catch the most attention. People in New York City seldom turn to look when they hear the siren（警报）of a police car or an ambulance（救护车）.

       When I’m in New York, I’m a New Yorker. I don’t turn either. I hardly hear a siren there.

       At home in my little town in Connecticut, it’s different. The faraway high sound of a police car, an ambulance or a fire siren brings me to my feet if I’m sitting and brings me to the window if I’m in bed.

       It’s the quietest sounds that catch our attention most easily, not the loudest. In the middle of the night, I can hear water dropping a hundred yards away through three closed doors. I’ve been hearing little creaking（吱嘎）noises and sounds in the middle of the night for twenty-five years in our house. Why do I never hear those sounds in the daytime?

1. The sound of a coin dropping made people _______.

   A. think of money                                              B. shout aloud

   C. pay attention to it                                    D. look at each other

2. People in New York _______.

   A. are used to sirens                                    B. don’t hear loud noises

   C. are interested in sounds                           D. don’t care about quiet sounds

3. The writer _______.

   A. has a bad hearing                                    B. stays up late at night

   C. comes from a little town                         D. sleeps next to the window

4. The last paragraph（段落）tells us that _______.

   A. the writer thinks a lot at night                   B. water should be turned off at night

   C. the sounds at night make the writer afraid  D. the quietest sounds at night are easily heard

Several studies in the past few years have shown that music lessons can have a good 1. on kids’ brain.

The longer a student learns it, the more greatly he will2. . As little as four months of music lessons can lead to progress during brain development. The study followed a few four to six year old music learners over the 3. of a year, measuring changes in each kid’s brain. When the scientists 4. the music learner with a group of non-music learners, they found music students’ brains were developing differently.

Except for a few times, Americans are not big present-givers. There’s no exchange of presents among business people, and if one American tries to give another a present, it may look like that he wants to bribe (贿赂) him. Americans have learned that in some other countries people like to give presents to others, but among ourselves we don’t see the need for presents.
Even friends may never exchange presents. When I go to foreign countries, I try to bring back little things for close friends, but nobody would feel unhappy if I didn’t. I don’t often re­member a friend’s birthday, and few people outside of my family remember mine. If someone gave me presents too often, I’d get unpleasant. But a present from a foreigner - that kind from his or her homeland — won’t go wrong, except to government employees (政府职员) who can’t be given presents.
You usually open a present at once and in front of the person who gives it except Christmas and birthday presents. You should only say, "It’s so nice. Thanks…" when you get Christ­mas or birthday presents.
You may want to bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) or flowers to a dinner party, but you’re
never asked to.  Nobody will mind if you bring wine, but your friend may not use it that evening.
At Christmas we often give presents to our family and sometimes our friends. We also give presents to people who have been helpful during the year- doormen, babysitters, housecleaners, newspaper senders— anyone who has often helped us.
【小题1】   What does "close friends" mean in the passage?

Except for a few times, Americans are not big present-givers. There’s no exchange of presents among business people, and if one American tries to give another a present, it may look like that he wants to bribe (贿赂) him. Americans have learned that in some other countries people like to give presents to others, but among ourselves we don’t see the need for presents.
Even friends may never exchange presents. When I go to foreign countries, I try to bring back little things for close friends, but nobody would feel unhappy if I didn’t. I don’t often re­member a friend’ s birthday, and few people outside of my family remember mine. If someone gave me presents too often, I’d get unpleasant. But a present from a foreigner — that kind from his or her homeland — won’t go wrong, except to government employees (政府职员) who can’t be given presents.
You usually open a present at once and in front of the person who gives it except Christmas and birthday presents. You should only say, ‘It’s so nice. Thanks…’when you get Christ­mas or birthday presents.
You may want to bring a bottle of wine (葡萄酒) or flowers to a dinner party, but you’re never asked to. Nobody will mind if you bring wine, but your friend may not use it that evening.
At Christmas we often give presents to our family and sometimes our friends. We also give presents to people who have been helpful during the year like doormen, babysitters, housecleaners , newspaper senders — anyone who has often helped us.
【小题1】What do the underlined words ‘close friends’ mean in the passage?