"Are you listening，Simon？"Simon’s teacher asked. It was a pretty

usual question.

Simon shook his head，smiling. He hardly listened or tried hard in

class. Talking was so much fun. He wanted to be heard rather than listen.

"Listen， and you’ll learn something." Mrs. Jacobs tried every day，but Simon never paid attention.

That evening， his throat really hurt. The next morning， when he opened his mouth to say"Good morning"， nothing came out but a croak.

Simon’s mother looked at him. "Honey， you’ve lost your voice. "

"Can I stay home？"He tried to ask，but words didn’t come out. 

Instead，his mother checked him for a fever and decided it was good for him to go to school， even if he couldn’t talk.

When he got to school， Mrs. Jacobs said"Hello"to him， and he just

nodded. When his friends asked him what TV shows he watched last 

night，he just shrugged. By the time the bellrang for class，almost 

everyone was looking at him as if he’d grown a third eye.

Penny raised her hand. "Mrs. Jacobs， why isn’t Simon talking？"

"He never stops talking，" Richard said worriedly.

Everyone started talking at once. They were excited，worried，and

surprised.

Simon sat in class， bored. He watched them talk to each other as if the teacher wasn ‘t there，but he couldn’t even do that. In math class he

could hold up fingers if the answer was less than 10， but that wasn’t fun.

He decided to try to pay attention.

He could do his homework that night. It gave him TV and game time

with his work all done.

The next day， even though his voice was coming back， he stayed

quiet again. The third day，he could talk fine，but he listened and raised his hand to speak.

What a difference that one day made!

26. What did Mrs. Jacobs want Simon to do in class？

A. To talk.

B. To listen.

C. To sit up.

D. To stay awake.

27. What was the problem with Simon that day？

A. He got a cough.

B. He was late for school.

C. He lost his voice.

D. He lost interest in school.

28. Why was almost everyone looking at Simon？

A. Because he grew a third eye.

B. Because Mrs. Jacobs praised him.

C. Because he talked with nobody.

D. Because Mrs. Jacobs nodded to him.

29. Why could Simon do his homework that night？

A. Because he already got his voice back.

B. Because he paid much attention in class

C. Because he was given easier homework.

D. Because he learnt to use fingers in class.[

30. What is the best title for the text？

A. Are you talking？

B. Are you listening？

C. Is your voice OK？

D. Is your school fun？