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

 My mother _______ when I came back home.

      A. is cooking      B. was cooking        C. cooks            D. cooked 

A teenage girl couldn’t stand her parents’ family rules, so she left home.

She wanted to be famous. But she had poor education and several years later she had to ask for food on the street for a living. Now her father has died. Her mother is an old woman. But she is still looking for her daughter. She has been to every corner of the city. Everywhere she goes, she puts up a big photo of herself on the wall. At the lower part of the photo she writes,“I still love you . . . , come back home!”

One day, the daughter saw one of the photos. The face was familiar. “Is that my mother?” she moved closer and read the words“I still love you ...”She cried. When she got home, it was early morning. She knocked on the door. The door opened itself. She rushed to her mother’s bedroom. Her mother was sleeping. She woke her mother up,“It’s me! Your daughter is back home!” The mother and daughter held each other, full of happy tears. The daughter asked, “Why is the door not locked? A thief could get in.”The mother answered softly,“The door has never been locked since you left.”

The door of parents’ love for their children will never be closed.

71. Why did the girl leave home?

A. The family was too poor.    B. She couldn’t stand her parents’ family rules.

C. Her parents didn’t like her.

72. Why couldn’t the girl be famous?

A. Because she had poor education. B. Because she was young. C. Because she was lazy.

73. Has her mother given up looking for her?

A.Yes, she has.           B.We don’t know.          C. No, she hasn’t.

74. What was the mother doing when the girl came back home that morning?

A. She was sleeping.      B. She was crying.              C. She was cooking.

75. Which of the following is True according to this passage?

A. When the girl got home her mother opened the door for her. 

B. The girl’s mother locked the door at night after the girl left home.

C. Parents’ love for their children has never gone.