I am my mother’s third child. When I was born, her doctor gently explained to her that my left arm was missing, below the elbow. Then he gave her some advice: “Don’t treat her any differently from the other girls. Demand more.” And she did!

My mother had to work to support our family. There were five girls in our family and we all had to help out. Once when I was about seven, I came out of the kitchen and said, “Mum, I can’t peel potatoes. I only have one hand.”

“You get back to peel those potatoes, and don’t ever use that as an excuse for anything again!”

Of course I could peel potatoes—with my good hand, while holding them down with my other arm. There was always a way, and Mom knew it. “If you try hard enough,” she’d say, “you can do anything.”

Once in the second grade, our teacher had each of us race across the monkey bars(单杠). When it was my turn, I shook my head. Some kids laughed. I went home crying.

After work the next afternoon, Mom took me back to the school playground.

“Now, pull up with your right arm,” she advised. She stood by as I practiced, and she praised me when I made progress.

I’ll never forget the praised time when I was crossing the bars. The kids were standing there with their mouths open.

It was the way with everything. When I fear I can’t deal with things, I see Mom’s smile again. She had the heart to face anything. And she taught me I could, too.

46.Which of the following about the writer is TRUE?

A. Her mother took better care of her than of her sister.   B. She was born without the left hand.

C. She had five sisters in her family.                  D. She never wrote at school.

47.From this reading, we know that_______

A. the writer’s mother was a housewife at home 

B. the writer had to race across the monkey bars once a year at school 

C. the writer’s mother was asked to school to teach her to race across the monkey bars

D. the writer had a strict but patient mother

48.The sentence “The kids were standing there with their mouths open.” shows that_______.

A. the kids were hungry            B. there was something wrong with their mouths.

C. the kids felt very surprised.       D. the kids wanted to open their mouths to say “Ah…”

49.The writer’s mum asked her to peel potatoes because_______.

A. her mum was too busy cooking and had no time to do it herself

B. her mum wanted to teach her a lesson because she had told a lie.

C. her mum was teaching her to learn to solve problems in her own way

D. her sisters couldn’t help her mum do the housework

50.This reading mainly tells us_______.

A. the writer had a hard childhood

B. how the writer learned to peel potatoes and cross the monkey bars.

C. it is Mom’s encouragement that helped the writer learn and get over difficulties

D. the writer had an able mother