Reading
Read the following
text.
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER
§ 1. Whittaker High was
coming out, and the students were crowding the pavement. Cindy saw the white
Chevrolet below the steps, and didn’t hurry. Her mother used to park at the
back of the school, but Cindy had walked home a couple of times, not wanting to
talk to her, or to anybody at all. She wasn’t allowed to go on the bus, because
of the way the other kids were acting up — the driver said last week he was
going to quit his job unless he could have an official guard on board.
§ 2. ‘Where were you,
darling?’
‘I was talking.’
‘I’ve been waiting ages!’
Cindy got in. Now that
her mother parked right outside the school, she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t
seen the car, and walk home again.
§ 3. ‘Buckle your safety
belt, darling.’
‘It’s OK.’
‘They save lives, they do
really, Cindy.’ She reached across and did it for her, and for an instant Cindy
saw her mother’s face in close up, still young and pretty and honey-coloured
because of tennis, but with the worry in her eyes, like it always was. ‘Isn’t
Louise coming with you?’
‘No,’ Cindy said.
‘But I thought she was! I
thought you said you’d be bringing her home today.’
‘I changed my mind.’
§ 4. Somebody waved as
the car drew away, but Cindy wasn’t in time to see who it was. Maybe Louise.
‘But she’s such a nice
child, darling. I wish you’d see more of her — you ought to have more friends.’
§ 5. This, Cindy thought
vaguely as she turned and stared out of the window, was why it had been so nice
to walk home, those times. Fasten your seat belt, and bring Louise home, and
have more friends and all that stuff, all the way to the house where she didn’t
want to go anyhow.
§ 6. ‘Don’t you think you
ought to have more friends, darling?’ It wasn’t worth answering; but without
actually talking about it they’d made a kind of agreement between them, never
to let silences happen when they were riding together in the car.
§ 7. ‘I’m fifteen years
old, mother. If I wanted more friends, I could probably get them. But I don’t.’
There was silence now, but they both knew mother wasn’t breaking their
agreement: she was just beaten, that was all, and didn’t know what to say.
Mother couldn’t ever imagine anyone not wanting friends — it was another world,
and she didn’t have anything to say about it. It was like suddenly speaking to
her in Chinese and expecting an answer.
§ 8. ‘This evening we eat
tacos (a kind of Mexican pancakes), darling.’
After some time, Cindy
said, ‘I won’t be hungry.’
She was aware of the hurt
she was giving her mother. But she didn’t want to hurt, she just didn’t want to
talk. The subject of tacos was a dead end — they both knew that.
‘Oh, it’s a long way to
dinner time yet, Cindy, and we — we both hope you’ll be eating with us tonight.
Daddy mentioned it specially.’
‘I won’t be hungry,
mother. ’
For questions 1-10 choose
the correct answer (A, B, C or D).
1. Cindy didn’t hurry (§
1). Why not?
A She could not get
through the crowd of students.
B She disliked being
picked up by her mother.
C She had to wait till
her mother had parked the car.
D She was tired after a
long day at school.
2. What becomes clear
about the bus driver from the last sentence in § 1?
A He would lose his job
if the children damaged the bus.
B He had lost his guard
because of the children’s behaviour.
C He thought the guard
was not doing his job properly.
D He could not deal with
the students all by himself.
3. What did Cindy’s
mother want to make clear to her in § 2?
A She was annoyed that
Cindy had not come more quickly.
B She was interested in
what Cindy had been doing at school.
C She was very happy to
have Cindy with her again.
D She was worried that
Cindy had been doing something wrong.
4. From the end of § 2
(‘Cindy got in …’) it is clear that in the past Cindy had sometimes …
A asked her mother not to
come and pick her up after school.
B not noticed that her
mother was waiting to take her home.
C behaved as if she did
not know her mother was waiting for her.
D told her mother not to
park her car right outside the school.
5. What did Cindy notice
about her mother’s appearance, according to § 3?
Her mother…
A did not look as good as
usual.
B looked attractive but
not quite relaxed.
C looked better than
usual.
D was worried about her
own appearance.
6. Why had it been “so
nice to walk home” (§ 5) on previous occasions?
A Cindy did not like
riding in a car.
B Cindy liked the company
of other students.
C Cindy was ashamed at
being picked up from school by her mother.
D Cindy was fed up with
her mother always telling what to do.
7. What was it that Cindy
and her mother had not actually talked about (§ 6)?
A How to behave towards
each other during their car rides.
B The fact that Cindy did
not want to go home.
C The fact that Cindy
hated being driven home.
D What was the best way
to make more friends.
8. Why was it that
Cindy’s mother “didn’t know what to say” (§ 7)?
A Cindy had made a stupid
remark.
B Cindy had said
something her mother just could not understand.
C She did not want to
risk causing a disagreement with Cindy.
D She was afraid to make
Cindy angry.
9. “It’s a long way to
dinner time” (§ 8). Cindy’s mother said this because …
A she hoped that Cindy
would change her mind.
B she knew that Cindy
would be hungry by then.
C she knew that tacos
took a long time to prepare.
D she thought that her
husband would be home late.
10. At the very end of
the text, Cindy let her mother know that …
A she would rather stay
with her friends.
B she was sorry she
wouldn’t get hungry by dinner time.
C she was not going to
join the family dinner.
D Mexican food was not
her favourite.
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