I had the
meanest mother in the whole world.While
other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have cereal, eggs or toast.When others had cokes and candy for
lunch, I had to eat a sandwich.As you can
guess, my supper was different from the other kids' also.But at least, I wasn't alone in my
sufferings.My sister
and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother
insisted upon knowing where we were at all times.She had to know who our friends were and where we were going.We had to wear clean clothes and take a
bath everyday.
The worst
is yet to come.We had to
be in bed by nine each night and up at eight the next morning.We couldn't sleep till noon like our
friends.So while
they slept --- my mother actually had the nerve to break the Child Labor Law.She made us work.We had to wash dishes, make beds, learn
to cook and all sorts of cruel things.I believe she lay awake at night thinking up mean things to do to
us.
Through
the years, things didn't improve a bit.We could not lie in bed, "sick" like our friends did,
and miss school.Our marks
in school had to be up to par.Our
friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for
failing.My mother,
being as different as she was, would settle for nothing less than ugly black
marks.With our mother
behind us, talking, hitting and demanding respect, none of us was allowed the
pleasure of being a drop-out.
My mother
was a complete failure as a mother.Out of four children, a couple of us attained some higher
education.None of us
have ever been arrested or divorced.Each of my brothers served his time in the service of this country.She forced us to grow up into
God-fearing, educated, honest adults.Using this as a background, I am now trying to raise my three
children.I am
filled with pride when my children call me mean.Why? Because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest
mother in the whole world.
1.What can
we infer from the passage?
A.The author is not happy to have such a
mean mother.
B.The author's mother broke the Child
Labor Law to make money.
C.The author's mother failed to educate
her children to be honest adults.
D.The author is strict with her children.
2.Why
couldn’t the author eat candy for breakfast?
A.Because
she preferred cereal, eggs or toast to candy.
B.Because
her mother couldn’t afford for candy.
C.Because
her mother thought it not good to eat candy for breakfast.
D.Because
her mother had to give candy to the author’s sister and two brothers.
3.The
author’s mother made her children work because _________ .
A.she had
trouble falling into sleep.
B.she could
not keep such a big family without her children’s help.
C.she was
teaching her children to live by themselves.
D.she had no
time to do the housework.