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.