This is the opening of a short story in a town in the United States by Alison Randall …

When Frank and I stepped through the post office doors. there was a crowd gathered, looking at the new device on the wall with amazement like a crowd of wide-mouthed frogs. I had to get closer. and that was where being a girl that’s skinnier than a wire fence came in handy. Fortunately, Frank, my twin of eleven years, was just the same.

“Come on.” I said, grabbing his hand, and we slid through the cracks between people until we spilled out in front.

Finally I got a good look. It was fixed to the plaster(石灰板) next to the postmaster's window, the place of honour usually reserved for the Wanted posters. Beady-eyed Zedekiah Smith, the bank robber, still hung there, but even he had been pushed aside for something more important.

A telephone. The first one in town.

“How’s it work?” Noah Crawford called out. Noah’s the best fix-it man around, and I could tell he was dying to get his fingers on those shiny buttons.

“Don’t rightly know,” answer the postmaster, and he pulled hard at his beard as if it might tell him. “I do know the sound of your voice moves along wires strung on poles. It’s sort of like the telegraph, only yohear words instead of dots and dashes.”

“Ah,” the crowd whispered, and I felt my own mouth move along.

I gazed at the shiny wood box and something happened inside me. Something--I can only guess--that might be like falling in love. The thought of talking into that box--of making my voice sail through wires in the sky--it took over my brain. I couldn't get it out.

“Frank,” I whispered to my twin. “I have to use that telephone.”

Five minutes later, Frank dragged me to Main Street, toward borne. “Liza--” he began, but I cut him off. We two thought so much alike, I had Frank’s questions answered before he even asked.

56. People crowded in the post office because________.

A. a new poster grabbed their attention B. the postmaster was delivering a speech

C. they were curious about the telephone D. there was a wanted bank robber captured

57. Which of the following is not true according to the passage?

A. Many people stared at the new device in open-mouthed amazement.

B. The slight-figured twins managed to push to the front of the crowd.

C. Even the best fix-it may in the town got no idea about the new device:

D. The postmaster didn’t know anything about how the telephone worked.

58. By “…it took over my brain. I couldn't get it out.”, we get a clear picture of the girl’s______.

A. eagerness to use the telephone B. fascination for the wood box

C. puzzlement over the strange sound D. determination to fly in the sky

59. What is the passage mainly about?

A. The twins’ frustrating experiences in the town.

B. A special assembly called in the local post office.

C. People’s reaction to the arrival of tile first telephone.

D. A great celebration of the start of telephone service.

(B)

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