I did very badly at school. My headmaster thought I was   36   and when I was 14 he said, “You’re never going to be   37   but a failure.”

After five years of   38   jobs, I fell in love with a very nice middle-class girl. It was the beat   39   that could have happened to me. I   40   I wanted-to do something positive (积极地) with my life because I wanted to prove to   41   that what people said about me was   42 . Especially her mother, who had said to me, “Let’s   43   it, you’ve failed at everything you’ve ever done.”  So I tried hard with my  44   and went to college. My first novel (小说)  45   while I was at college.

After college I taught during the   46   in high schools and attended evening classes at London University,  where I got a    47   in history. I became a lecturer at a college and was thinking of  48   that job to write full time   49   I was offered a part-time job at Leeds University. I began to feel proud of myself ―  50   was a working-.class boy who’d   51   school early, now teaching at the university

My writing career (职业) took off when I discovered my own style. Now I’m rich and   52  , have been on TV, and met lots of film stars.   53   what does it mean? I   54   wish all the people that have put me down had  55  : “I believe in you. You’ll succeed.”

I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast，I had to have cereal，eggs and toast. Others had cokes and candy for lunch，while we had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess，my supper was different than the other kids’. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. We had to wear clean clothes every day. Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace because she made our clothes herself，just to save money.
The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9：00 each night and up at 7：45 the next morning. So while my friends slept，my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law. She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us. Through the years，our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing，red for failing. My mother, however，would merely be content with black marks. None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. Using this as a background，I’m now trying to bring up my three children. I’m filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.
【小题1】From the passage we can learn that the writer’s mother was __________.

I had the meanest mother in the world．While other kids ate candy for breakfast．I had to have cereal, eggs and toast．Others had cakes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich．As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids'．But at least I was not alone in my suffering．My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did．
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times．She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing．We had to wear clean clothes every day．Other kids always wore their clothes for days． We reached the height of disgrace （耻辱） because she made our clothes herself, just to save money．
The worst is yet to come．We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning．So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law．She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us．Through the years, our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing．My mother, however, would only be satisfied with black marks．None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout （辍学者）．
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults．Using this as a background, I'm now trying to bring up my three children．I'm filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world．
【小题1】From the passage we can learn that the writer's mother was____．

I did hear that _____ Bank of England had issued two notes in this amount, so I don’t think the large note can be _____ fake.

A．the, the           B．the, a             C．/, a              D．the, /

I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast，I had to have cereal，eggs and toast. Others had cokes and candy for lunch，while we had to eat a sandwich. As you can guess，my supper was different than the other kids’. But at least I was not alone in my suffering. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing. We had to wear clean clothes every day. Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace because she made our clothes herself，just to save money.

The worst is yet to come. We had to be in bed by 9：00 each night and up at 7：45 the next morning. So while my friends slept，my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law. She made us work. I believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us. Through the years，our friends’ report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing，red for failing. My mother, however，would merely be content with black marks. None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout.

She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults. Using this as a background，I’m now trying to bring up my three children. I’m filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.

1.From the passage we can learn that the writer’s mother was __________.

A．not generous at all                      B．very strict with her children

C．very mean with money matters             D．very cruel to her children

2.Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?

A．Eating differently from other kids.

B．Wearing clean clothes made by mother.

C．Going to bed early and getting up early.

D．Letting mother know where they were.

3.It can be inferred from the passage that____________.

A the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies

B. mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law

C. all the other kids studied better than the writer

D. the writer’s family lived a miserable life