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（十美分硬幣）.

       The sound of a coin dropping on the street catches everybody’s attention. Whatever the coin is, no one ignores（忽視）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（警報(bào)）of a police car or an ambulance（救護(hù)車）.

       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