I Had The Meanest Mother In The Whole World

曲宇

I had the meanest（最刻薄的）mother in the world. While other kids ate candy for breakfast， I had to have cereal（谷類食物）and eggs. When others had Coke and candy for lunch， I had to eat a sandwich. But at least I wasn’t alone. My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.

My mother knew where we were at all times. She knew who our friends were.

We had to wear clean clothes and take a bath every day. The other kids got to wear the same clothes days.

We had to be in bed by 9：00 pm and up at 8：00 am. We couldn’t sleep till noon like our friends. So while they slept， our mother gave us work to do. We had to wash dishes， make beds and learn to cook. I was sure she lay awake at night thinking up mean things to do to us.

Through the years， things didn’t improve a bit. We could not lie in bed “sick” like our friends did in order to miss school.

My mother was the meanest mother. Out of four children， a couple of us went on to higher education. None of us had ever done bad things. She forced us to grow up into educated and honest people. I was trying to raise my children like this. I would feel proud when my children call me mean， because， you saw， I was so glad I had the meanest mother in the whole world.

精彩译文：

我有世界上最刻薄的母亲

我有世界上最刻薄的母亲。当其他孩子早餐吃糖果时，我不得不吃谷类食品和鸡蛋。当别人午饭喝可乐吃糖果时，我不得不吃三明治。但至少我不是一个人这样，我姐姐和两个哥哥同我一样拥有这个刻薄的母亲。

我妈妈知道我们一直在哪里。她知道我们的朋友是谁。

我们必须每天穿干净的衣服，每天必须洗澡。其他孩子每天都穿同样的衣服。

我们必须在晚上9点上床睡觉，早上8点起床。我们不能像朋友一样睡到中午。所以当他们睡觉的时候，妈妈让我们干活。我们不得不洗碗、铺床和学做饭。我肯定她晚上睡不着觉，想着要对我们做些刻薄的事。

这些年来，情况没有一点好转。我们不能像我们的朋友那样假装“生病”躺在床上，就可以不去上学。

我母亲是最刻薄的母亲。我们4个孩子中，有一对继续接受高等教育。我们中没有人做过坏事。她强迫我们成长为受过教育和诚实的人。我正试着这样抚养我的孩子。当我的孩子们说我刻薄的时候，我会感到骄傲。因为，你看，我很高兴我有世界上最刻薄的母亲。

小练习：

1. What does the underlined sentence “But at least I wasn’t alone” in paragraph 1 mean？

A. The writer’s mother was only mean to her.

B. The writer’s sister and brothers were mean to her as well.

C. The writer’s mother was also mean to her sister and brothers.

2. The writer was not allowed to as a child.

A. eat as much candy as she wanted

B. go to bed and get up at fixed times

C. change clothes or take a shower every day

3. The writer’s mother was hard on her children because she wanted them .

A. to receive a high education

B. to become mean people like her

C. to be educated and honest people

4. How does the writer feel about her mother at last？

A. Regretful. B. Thankful. C. Worried.

5. What’s the best title for the text besides the given one？

A. Life with My Mean Mom

B. A Strict Mom and Her Family

C. How to Raise Good Children

答案：1. C 2. A 3. C 4. B 5. A