At noon the rush hour had passed. There were few guests (顾客) in the snack bar. It was not crowded. When the boss was about to take a break to read a newspaper, in came an old lady and a little boy.
“How much money is a bowl of beef soup?” the grandma sat down, counted the money in her purse and ordered a bowl of beef soup. The grandma pushed the bowl to the little boy, who swallowed (吞咽) his saliva (口水), looking at his grandma and saying, "Grandma, did you really have lunch?" "Of course." His grandma chewed (咀嚼) a piece of radish (萝卜泡菜) slowly. Very quickly, the little boy ate up the meal.
Seeing this. the boss went over to them and said, "Old lady, congratulations, you are lucky to have the free food, for you are our 100th guest."
Afterwards, over a month or more, one day, the small boy squatted (蹲) across the snack bar, where he seemed to be counting something, which shocked the boss when he happened to look out office window.
When the small boy saw a guest walk into the snack bar, he would put a small stone into the circle he drew, but the lunch time had almost passed, the small stones he put into the circle were hardly 50.
The boss was quite worried and called up all his old guests. The guests started coming one after another.
"81, 82, 83… " the small boy counted faster and faster. At last, when the 99th small stone was put into the circle, the little boy hurried to pull his grandma's hand and went into the snack bar.
"Grandma, this time it's on me," the little boy said proudly. The grandma who had become the real 100th guest was served a bowl of beef soup by her grandson. As his grandma as before, the little boy chewed a piece of radish in his mouth.
【小题1】Grandma ordered only one bowl of beef soup because __________.

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. 1.

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

   1. A.
      Four.
   2. B.
      Two.
   3. C.
      Three.
   4. D.
      Six. ?
2. 2.

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

   1. A.
      My family was rich, so I ate a sandwich for lunch.?
   2. B.
      My mother was a great success. We love her.?
   3. C.
      If we didn’t want to go to school, the best way was to pretend to be sick.?
   4. D.
      We needn’t share the housework at home. ?
3. 3.

   The best title for this passage may be     . ?

   1. A.
      My childhood
   2. B.
      The meanest mother?
   3. C.
      I do as my mother did
   4. D.
      Unforgettable memories