15

Mary is a lovely, quiet girl. When she was a little girl, she had no secrets from her mother, who was very pleased with her. But since last year she has become a little mysterious and not so open as before. She wants heart-to-heart talks between mother and daughter. But they never happen. And a gulf opens between them.

Her mother wonders if she falls in love. Its too early for a girl for her age. After all, she is reaching the “dangerous stage”. These thoughts have caused trouble in the mothers mind.

One weekend her daughter came to tell the mother that she was going to the cinema with her classmates and would return late. This was the first time her mother agreed, and she began to worry because her daughter had never been away at night before. The mother waited until nine and couldnt fall asleep. Then she decided to go out to meet her daughter. Just at that moment, she heard the noise of a car and hurried to the window—there was her daughter, waving good-bye to a boy. Her heart missed a beat. When the daughter came in, the mother was watching TV, pretending nothing happened. “Mum, Im back.” “Yeah.” “Sorry to be late.”

The daughter said nothing about the film and the boy. The mother really would like to know something about them. “Who is that boy?” The daughter was stunned (发愣) for a moment. “Ah, its my monitor. He gave me a lift on his way home. Mum, Im going to bed, the daughter answered in careful words. “All right. Go to sleep early.”

The next morning when the mother went to her daughters room to do some tidying, she found her diary left on her bed. After a few minutes hesitation, she opened it to the right page. It reads “Mum, its love that made you ask, but it would show your understanding of me if you hadnt.” Holding the diary, the mother fell into thought.

1. The underlined phrase “missed a beat” in Paragraph 3 probably means “ ＿＿＿ ”.

A. was too surprised to think of anything B. wanted to beat somebody

C. failed to find something D. caused an illness

2. What was the mother worried about the daughter?

A. Her safety. B. Her health.

C. Her study at school. D. Her being in love with somebody.

3. Which statement is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The mother didnt allow her daughter to go to the cinema at night.

B. Mary is still as open as before.

C. Mary didnt have a heart-to-heart talk with her mother.

D. Mary told her mother the truth of her going out.

4. We can infer from the last sentence that the mother ＿＿＿ .

A. was still worried B. was afraid of her daughter

C. was cheated by the daughter D. was deeply impressed by the words