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 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.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

2.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

3.Which of the following statements is Not true according to the passage ?

A．Mother practiced economy in running her home

B．The writer is very thankful for her mother

C．The writer is severe with her children when bringing them up

D．The wrier has a deep hatred for her mother

4.The passage was written in a way of _________ tone.

A．humorous         B．hateful            C．ridiculous         D．critical

I had the meanest mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast, I had to have eggs and toast. Others had cokes and candy for lunch while I 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(丢脸) 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.

44．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

45．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

46．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 Child Labor Law

C. all the other kids studied better than the writer

D. the writer’s family lived a miserable life

47．The passage was written in a        tone.

A. humorous                 B. hateful               C. unfriendly                 D. angry

48．Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Mother tried to save every penny to run her home

B. The writer is very grateful to her mother

C. The writer is severe with her children when bringing them up

D. The wrier hates her mother very much

Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education primarily focuses on learning through playing to develop the child’s physical, sensory, communicational and social development． Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for Kindergarten．

There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education．Studies have shown that orphaned children who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed causing failure in school, and even in life．Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, less likely to end up in Special Education classes, and are less likely to receive public help or go to jail．

There are also negative parts to putting a child in formal education programs too early．Time Magazine online explains that “the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” I have personally witnessed many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become frustrated and bored with school before they finished high school．Yet parents have been sure that the earlier the child starts school, the better off he or she is, so they push to start children earlier．

Actually while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early elementary years, studies also show that this head start is really a “false start”, as the gains are lost in middle and high school years．It seems that environment is a bigger factor on life’s success than early education．Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap in poor and middle school children．Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap．

The purpose of the government valuing the early childhood education is ________．

    A．to develop the children’s communication

    A．to give orphaned children good care and education

    C．to get the children prepared for the kindergarten

    D．to train the children formally and regularly

According to the studies, which of the following is True?

    A．Children with good early education may have a rich life．

    B．The orphaned children are usually unhappy in their life．

    C．Children without early education can do well at school．

    D．Head Start programs are helpful to the poor children．

The author’s attitude toward the early childhood education is _________．

    A．puzzling     B．objective   C．indifferent      D．approving

The main idea of the last passage is that __________．

    A．the early childhood education is very necessary

    B．Head Start programs have helped the children a lot

    C．environment is the most important to life’s success

    D．better ways should be found to help the poor children