Hurry up. There’s _____ time left.

A. a few                         B. a little               C. few           D. little

 

       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

 There is ______ hair on her head.

A. a few              B. a little    C. few   D. many

A little girl lived with her grandmother after her parents died. They slept in an upstairs bedroom.

One night there was a big fire in their house. The grandmother died when she was trying to save the child. The whole house was burning.

The little girl appeared at the window, crying for help. All the neighbors wanted to help the child. But they had no way to do it.

Suddenly, a man appeared with a ladder. He put it up and climbed into the room. When he reappeared, he had the little girl in his arms. He dropped the child to the waiting arms below, then disappeared into the night.

Everyone knew the child had no living relatives. So the people in the town held a meeting to decide who would raise her.

A teacher said she would raise the child. She could give her the best education. A farmer wanted to take her to his farm. He said the living on the farm was interesting and healthy. Everyone in the town wanted to keep the child and they all tried to give her a happy life.

Finally, the town’s richest man stood up and said, “I can give this child whatever she needs. I can buy her everything.” The girl kept silent all the time.

“Does anyone else want to speak?” asked the chairman of the meeting.

A man came from the back of the hall. He walked slowly and looked painful. Then he stopped before the little girl, holding out his arms. Everyone watched quietly. His hands and arms were badly burnt..

The child cried out, “This is the man who saved me.” With a jump, she put her arms around the man’s neck. She put her face on his shoulder and cried for a few minutes. Then she looked up and smiled at him.

“This meeting is over.” said the chairman.

(　 ) 41. The people in the town held a meeting to ___________.

　 A. decide who would bring up the girl　　　 B. decide who would teach the girl

　 C. decide what the girl would do　　　　　　 D. see how the girl was

(　 ) 42. The word “raise” in the fifth paragraph means __________.

A. 举起　　　 B. 放下　　　 C. 得到　　　 D. 抚养　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

(　 ) 43. From the passage, we know that _________ at the meeting wanted to raise the girl.

　 A. only the farmer　　 B. nobody　　 C. everyone　　 D. only the teacher

(　 ) 44. How did the girl’s parents die?

　 A. They died in the fire.　　　　 B. They died in a car accident.

　 C. They died of illness.　　　　 D. The story doesn’t tell us.

(　 ) 45. Which is TRUE according to the passage?

　 A. The richest man saved the girl from the fire

　 B. The girl’s grandmother lived with her after the fire

　 C. After the meeting, the girl lived with the man who saved her

　 D. The chairman couldn’t decide who would raise the girl at the meeting