I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have porridge, eggs or toast. When others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. But at least I wasn’t alone when I was sad. My sister and two brothers had the same mean(刻薄的) mother as I did.?
My mother preferred to know where we were all the time. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. We had to clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids got to wear the same clothes for days. We could not lie in bed “sick” in order to miss school.?
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and get up at eight the next morning. We couldn’t sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept, my mother was brave to break the Child Labour Law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook and all sorts of things at home. I believe she lay awake thinking up all things for us to do. ?
My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Two of her children received higher education. None of us have ever been arrested(taken away by the police) or divorced. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. I am trying to raise my three children this way. 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 world.?
【小题1】 How many children does the writer’s mother have??

The holiday is coming to us. Finally, after months of study, you have some time to yourself. So, why not read a book? Well, some people will say, “Why do you like reading books? We have Internet. It offers a lot of more colorful fun. Books are history!” But I am sure you can learn a lot from books than Internet.
One clear reason is that a well-chosen book can give you a lot of wonderful  words, as long as you have a good dictionary, of course. Believe me; it’s far easier to get new words from a book or an article than it is from the TV or the Internet.
But another more important point is that books give you something that the Internet cannot. The general webpage (网页) is picture-heavy and the text is as easy to read as possible. While “easy” may attract (吸引) you, unluckily it’s not helpful for any long-term development of reading skills and the general language level. Because of that, reading on the Internet can’t take the place of reading books.
But perhaps the best reason is that just choosing what you read and doing it independently means that it’s something you do by and for yourself. You can choose what you want to read. It’s hard work, but you’ll find that what once seemed like a duty is now a pleasure.
【小题1】Does the writer advise people to read books in their holidays?
【小题2】What can people get from a well-chosen book?
【小题3】What’s the general webpage like?
【小题4】How many reasons for reading a book does the writer mention in the passage?
【小题5】What does the writer want to tell us in the passage?

The holiday is coming to us. Finally, after months of study, you have some time to yourself. So, why not read a book? Well, some people will say, “Why do you like reading books? We have Internet. It offers a lot of more colorful fun. Books are history!” But I am sure you can learn a lot from books than Internet.

One clear reason is that a well-chosen book can give you a lot of wonderful  words, as long as you have a good dictionary, of course. Believe me; it’s far easier to get new words from a book or an article than it is from the TV or the Internet.

But another more important point is that books give you something that the Internet cannot. The general webpage (网页) is picture-heavy and the text is as easy to read as possible. While “easy” may attract (吸引) you, unluckily it’s not helpful for any long-term development of reading skills and the general language level. Because of that, reading on the Internet can’t take the place of reading books.

But perhaps the best reason is that just choosing what you read and doing it independently means that it’s something you do by and for yourself. You can choose what you want to read. It’s hard work, but you’ll find that what once seemed like a duty is now a pleasure.

1.Does the writer advise people to read books in their holidays?

2.What can people get from a well-chosen book?

3.What’s the general webpage like?

4.How many reasons for reading a book does the writer mention in the passage?

5.What does the writer want to tell us in the passage?

I had the meanest mother in the whole world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have porridge, eggs or toast. When others had Cokes and candy for lunch, I had to eat a sandwich. But at least I wasn’t alone when I was sad. My sister and two brothers had the same mean(刻薄的) mother as I did.?

My mother preferred to know where we were all the time. She had to know who our friends were and where we were going. We had to clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids got to wear the same clothes for days. We could not lie in bed “sick” in order to miss school.?

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by nine each night and get up at eight the next morning. We couldn’t sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept, my mother was brave to break the Child Labour Law. She made us work. We had to wash dishes, make beds, and learn to cook and all sorts of things at home. I believe she lay awake thinking up all things for us to do. ?

My mother was a complete failure as a mother. Two of her children received higher education. None of us have ever been arrested(taken away by the police) or divorced. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. I am trying to raise my three children this way. 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 world.?

1. How many children does the writer’s mother have??

2. What can you infer(推测) from the passage??

3.The best title for this passage may be     . ?