"What's wrong， Carina？" Collin asked． "Homesick again？"

    His sister nodded．

    "Yeah， me too．" Collin sighed（叹息）．

    Their family had moved to the new place nearly four months ago． The new place was housed inside a huge transparent dome （透明的圆屋顶）． It still didn't feel like home．

    "I miss my friends，" Carina said sadly． "And green grass and swimming， and everything． I even miss the sound of rain on the roof（屋顶）．"

    "Worst of all，" Carina continued， "my birthday is in two days， and I don't think Mom and Dad are planning anything special． They're too busy．"

    "She's probably right，" thought Collin． Life here was very busy for scientists like their parents． He doubted if they had time to plan a party． And how could they anyway？ Things such as balloons and birthday candles didn't exist here． They didn't even have enough materials to make a cake．

    "Don't worry．" Collin put an arm around Carina's shoulder．

    Collin walked toward the agricultural center， where his mom worked． He found her taking notes on some tall tube﹣like plants．

    "What are those？" he asked．

    "Bamboo plants，" said Mom． "They're strong and grow fast． They make good building materials．"

    "May I have a piece？"

    "Sure．" Mom handed one to him and made a note on her notebook．

    The next day， Collin made tiny holes into the piece of bamboo and put small nails（钉子）into each hole． He poured a handful of pebbles（鹅卵石） inside and covered the open ends．

    Collin held the bamboo piece carefully as he hurried home． He hid it behind his back and opened the front door． To his surprise， Mom and Dad were home early from work． Mom was carrying something that looked like a cake．

    He looked closer and realized Mom had made a cake with dried apples and cinnamon（肉桂皮）sugar．A real treat， on the Moon．

    Collin handed his sister the bamboo rod． "Happy birthday!"

    "What is it？" Carina asked， looking at it curiously．

    "A rain stick，" said Collin． "Whenever you turn it over， the pebbles fall around the nails and it sounds like rain．"

    Carina turned the stick， and the room was filled with a sound like rain drumming on a roof．

    "It's Moon Rain!" she said． "It makes me feel like I'm home．" She smiled at Collin and turned the rain stick over again．

（1）What may be the best title of this passage？　　

A． Bamboo Plants

B． Moon Rain

C． Homesick Again!

D． United Family

（2）What can we know from the passage？　　

A． This passage is part of a science fiction written for scientific research．

B． The family moved to the new place in order to do some sightseeing．

C． Their new home was on a dry land on the earth far from their old one．

D． Carina didn't think her parents would plan anything special for her birthday．

（3）Which of the following can best describe Collin？　　

A． Careful and brave．

B． Caring and creative．

C． Generous and intellectual．

D． Romantic and popular．

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