Noah reached for his guitar，remembering his father as he did so，thinking how much he missed him.He strummed once，adjusted the tension on two strings，then strummed again.This time it sounded about right，and he began to play.
   Soft music，quiet music.He hummed for a little while at first，then began to sing as night came down around him.He played and sang until the sun was gone and the sky black.It was a little after seven when he quit，and he settled back into his chair and began to rock.By habit，he looked upward and saw Orion and the Big Dipper，Gemini and the Pole Star，twinkling in the autumn sky.He started to run the numbers in his head，then stopped.He knew he'd spent almost his entire savings on the house and would have to find a job again soon，but the pushed the thought away and decided to enjoy the remaining months of restoration without worrying about it.Besides，thinking about money usually bored him.Early on，he'd learned to enjoy simple things，things that couldn't be bought，and he had a hard time understanding people who felt otherwise.It was another trait he got from his father.
   Clem，his hound dog，came up to him then and nuzzled his hand before lying down at his feet. "Hey，girl，how're you doing？" he asked as he patted her head，and she whined softly，her soft round eyes peering upward.A car accident had taken her leg，but she still moved well enough and kept him company on quiet nights like tjye.aise.He was thirty-one now，not too old，but old enough to be lonely.He hadn't dated since he'd been back here，hadn't met anyone who remotely interested him.It was his own fault，he knew.There was something that kept a distance between him and any woman who started to get close，something he wasn't sure he could change even if he tried.And sometimes in the moments right before sleep came，he wondered if he was destined to be alone forever.
   The evening passed，staying warm，nice.Noah listened to the crickets and the rustling leaves，thinking that the sound of nature was more real and aroused more emotion than things like cars and planes.Natural things gave back more than they took，and their sounds always brought him back to the way man was supposed to be. "It'll keep you from going crazy，" his father had told him the day he'd shipped out. "It's God's music and it'll take you home." He finished his tea，went inside，found a book，then turned on the porch light on his way back out.After sitting down again，he looked at the book.It was old，the cover was torn，and the pages were stained with mud and water.
   It was Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman，and he had carried it with him throughout the war.It had even taken a bullet for him once.He rubbed the cover，dusting it off just a little.Then he let the book open randomly and read the words in front of him：This is thy hour O Soul，thy free flight into the wordless.Away from books，away from art，the day erased，the lesson done.Thee fully forth emerging，silent，gazing，pondering the themes thou lovest best.Night，sleep，death and the stars.For some reason Whitman always reminded him of New Bern，and he was glad he'd come back.Though he'd been away from fourteen years，this was home and he knew a lot of people here，most of them from his youth.Like so many southern towns，the people who lived here never changed，they just grew a bit older.

（1）The underlined sentence in paragraph two is the equivalent of "

D

D

".
A．he hated those who were unable to appreciate simple things in life
B．he didn't see eye to eye with people who liked to save money
C．he had difficulty in figuring out how he got this trait from his father
D．he didn't understand why people were so materialistic
（2）Which of the following is NOT true according the passage？

C

C

A．Noah often played the guitar and observed the stars.
B．Clem the dog showed great affection for her master.
C．Noah was destined to be alone since no woman seemed interested in him.
D．Noah planned to restore his house before landing himself a job.
（3）Which of the following statements would Noah's father most agree with？

B

B

A．Patients suffering from mental disorder can be cured by nature.
B．The closer you are to nature，the closer you are to your true self.
C．Where there is God's music，there is home.
D．A good book is a man's beset company.
（4）Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

D

D

.
A．had been a treasure but was now too damaged to read
B．recorded the lives of New Bern's people who never changed over the years
C．was beyond Noah's understanding so he randomly picked up some words to read
D．stirred a feeling of nostalgia in Noah