13."Well,just take a look at that wheel(航轮)!"Earl Cooper said to Candy,his wife."It must be older than anything we have back home."
Earl was looking at the wall outside the pub(酒馆).The pub's name,The Old Swan,was on the wall.Next to the name was a wooden ship's wheel and in the middle of the wheel was the name ofaship,HMS Swan.The wheel was old,Earl could tell.
The next morning,Earl asked to see Tony Thatcher.The Old Swan was Tony's pub.He took
Earl to his office while Candy had a coffee outside by the river.Earl said he could give Tony a lot ofmoney for the ship's wheel.He told Tony that Benjamin Cooper,his grandfather,went to Americaon the ship HMS Swan.But Tony said no at first.After all,the wheel was very old and it was part ofthe pub's past.
"You can think of the past,Mr.Thatcher-can I call you Tony?-or you can think of today.And with the money,Tony,you can buy a good car.Maybe a new Jaguar?And,as l've told you,thewheel is part of my family's pastr too.So you could say it's going back home,in a way.So,what doyou say?"
A month later,Earl and Candy were smiling as they looked at the wall of their house inHouston,Texas.Earl thought to himself that,at last,he had a piece of his family's past.He washappy.
In Portsmouth,Tony Thatcher was happy,too.He was putting his new Jaguar into his large garage(车库).He was careful not to drive into any of tne six ship's wheels in the garage.A friend of his made the wheels for him.They were just like the one that Earl bought.And there was anotherwheel on the outside wall of The Old Swan now.Old or new-Tony thought there was no way that atourist could ever know which was which.Never in a hundred years.
31.Why did Tony refuse to sell the wheel at first?B
A.Because he thought it was old and part of the pub's past.
B.Because he wanted to show it was important to his pub.
C.Because he tried to sell it to someone else at a higher price.
D.Because he did not really believe what Earl had told him.
32.What can we infer(椎断) from the story?D
A.Earl had looked for such a wheel for a long time before that.
B.Earl would soon find out the truth and become rather angry.
C.Tony had sold quite a few wheels like that ancl got wealthy,
D.Tony would play the same trick again to make more money.
33.Which ofthe following can be the best title ofthe story?A
A.The Wheel on the Wall
B.An Excellent Buy
C.Old or New-Who Knows
D.the Family's Past.