“No，I think it's yours.I found it on the ground back there，”he said.“It's not mine.
Why don't you keep it？ I have plenty at home.I collect quarters.”
“Really？”my sister asked.“What are you going to do with them？”
“I have over 9，000 quarters. I have always dreamed of driving across the countrythrough the northern states(州) and then down to California and back to New York，butnow I'm too old to do that，so instead I think I'll buy a TV，”he explained to her.
“Oh，”my sister said.“Don't give up your dream of traveling.I know someone whotook the train and had a lovely trip.Why don't you try that？”
“Why did I never think of that？”the old man said，sounding hopeful of this new idea.
“I'll think about that and look into it.Thank you for telling me.”
My sister told me the story and said，“I just don't want to see him giving up his dreamand buying a TV！ I'm glad I dropped that quarter.Perhaps what I said will change his life.”
29.What information can we get from the text？
A.The old man has collected nearly 9，000 quarters.
B.Electra was knocked over by the old man's shopping cart.
C.This story happened in the city of New York.
D.The quarter that the old man picked up was Electra's.
30.Why did the old man decide to buy a TV？
A.He thought he was too old to drive around the country.
B.He thought a TV was much cheaper than a car.
C.He had been tired of traveling around the country by car.
D.He was so poor that he couldn't afford to travel by car.
31.Which word best describes Electra's personality？
A.Generous.
B.Hardworking.
C.Humorous.
D.Helpful.
32.What fact does the text lead you to believe？
A.Shoppers often drop their change while shopping.
B.Staying at home is more suitable for old people.
C.The old man might consider traveling by train.
D.Dropping a quarter can bring good luck.
C
The crab is a living clock.It tells the time of the day by the colour of its skin，which isdark by day and pale by night.The crab's changing skin colour is a regular twentyfour hourcycle(周期) that follows the daily rhythm(循环) of the sun.
Does the crab really keep time，or is its skin simply affected by the sun's rays(光线)，changing colour with the amount of the sunlight？ To find out the answer，scientists keptsome crabs in a dark room for two months.Even without daylight the crabs skin colourcontinued to change.
The change probably had something with the rhythm of the sun，to help protect the crabfrom the sunlight and enemies.After millions of years it has become completely regularinside the living body of the crab.
Scientists noticed that once each day the colour of the crab is especially dark，and thateach day this appears about fifty minutes later than the day before.From this theydiscovered that each crab follows not only the rhythm of the sun but also that of the tides(潮汐).The crab's darkest period(一段时间) is the time of low tide on the beach where it iscaught.
33.The crab's changing colour.
A.tells the crab what time it is
B.protects the crab from the sunlight
C.keeps the crab warm
D.gives the crab a lot of energy
34.Scientists studied crabs in order to find out.
A.why they change colour
B.how to use them as clocks
C.whether they change colour
D.where they can be caught
35.When the crabs were kept in the dark，.
A.they didn't change colour
B.they changed colour more quickly
C.they changed colour more slowly
D.they changed colour as usual
36.The crab is like a clock because its colour changes.
A.in a regular 24hour rhythm
B.at low tide
C.with the sun's rays
D.every fifty minutes
D
International travelers，whether traveling for business or pleasure，will find themselves solo from time to time.Here are a few ways to meet new people and perhaps even get new travel chances.
Make yourself friendly
Be relaxed and polite.Remember to put yourself in social situations.Restaurants，shops and parks are all great places to meet people.If you want to make local friends in a country，stay near the place the locals often visit.
Show your photo album
Keep a small photo album in your bag when you travel.Photos of family，friends and pets will help your new friends to learn more about who you are and give you things to talk about.They will share their similar experiences with you，and it will help you to learn more about your new friends.
Offer something special
Can you help your new friends improve their Chinese？ Can you cook a traditional Chinese meal？ By sharing your experiences，you can have a relationship with your new friends that they won't soon forget.
Give some gifts
Many foreigners love Chinese goods but have to pay a lot when buying them in their homeland，so you'd better prepare some gifts such as silks，tea and china(瓷器).They are always popular.
