Question

August 1990, Boston

Dear Maya Shao-ming,

To me, June 6, 1990 is a special day. My long-awaited dream came true the minute your father cried, “A girl!” You are more than just a second child, more than just a girl to match our boy. You, little daughter, are the link to our female line, the legacy of another woman’s pain and sacrifice 31 years ago.

Let me tell you about your Chinese grandmother. Somewhere in Hong Kong, in the late fifties, a young waitress found herself pregnant (怀孕) by a cook, probably a co-worker at her restaurant. She carried the baby to term, suffered to give it birth, and kept the little girl for the first three months of her life. I like to think that my mother—your grandmother—loved me and fought to raise me on her own, but that the daily struggle was too hard. Worn down by the demands of the new baby and perhaps the constant threat of starvation, she made the painful decision to give away her girl so that both of us might have a chance for a better life.

More likely, I was dropped at the orphanage (孤儿院) steps or somewhere else. I will probably never know the truth. Having a baby in her unmarried state would have brought shame on the family in China, so she probably kept my existence a secret. Once I was out of her life, it was as if I had never been born. And so you and your brother and I are the missing leaves on a family tree.

Do they ever wonder if we exist?

Before I was two, I was adopted by an Anglo couple. Fed three square meals a day, I grew like a wild weed and grasped all the opportunities they had to offer—books, music, education, church life and community activities. In a family of blue-eyed blonds, though, I stood out like a sore thumb. Whether from jealousy or fear of someone who looked so different, my older brothers sometimes teased me about my unpleasing skin, or made fun of my clumsy walk. Moody and impatient, burdened by fears that none of us realized resulted from my early years of need, I was not an easy child to love. My mother and I conflicted countless times over the years, but gradually came to see one another as real human beings with faults and talents, and as women of strength in our own right. Lacking a mirror image in the mother who raised me, I had to seek my identity as a woman on my own. The Asian American community has helped me regain my double identity.

But part of me will always be missing: my beginnings, my personal history, all the delicate details that give a person her origin. Nevertheless, someone gave me a lucky name “Siu Wai”. “Siu” means “little”, and “Wai” means “clever”. Therefore, my baby name was “Clever little one.” Who chose those words? Who cared enough to note my arrival in the world?

I lost my Chinese name for 18 years. It was Americanized for convenience to “Sue”. But like an ill-fitting coat, it made me uncomfortable. I hated the name. But even more, I hated being Chinese. It took many years to become proud of my Asian origin and work up the courage to take back my birth-name. That, plus a little knowledge of classroom Cantonese is all the Chinese culture I have to offer you. Not white, certainly, but not really Asian, I try to pave the way between the two worlds and bridge the gap for you. Your name, “Shao-ming”, is very much like mine—“Shao” means “little”. And “ming” is “bright”, as in a shining sun or moon. Whose lives will you brighten, little Maya? Your past is more complete than mine, and each day I cradle you in your babyhood, generously giving you the loving care I lacked for my first two years. When I pat you, I comfort the lost baby inside me who still cries for her mother.

Sweet Maya, it doesn’t matter what you “become” later on. You have already fulfilled my wildest dreams.

I love you.

Mammy

1.Why is June 6, 1990 a special day for Mommy?

A.Her dream of being a mother came true. B.She found her origin from her Chinese mother.

C.She wrote the letter to her daughter. D.Her female line was well linked.

2.How does Mommy feel about her being given away?

A.It is bitter and disappointing. B.It is painful but understandable.

C.She feels sorry but sympathetic. D.She feels hurt and angry.

3.What does “I stood out like a sore thumb” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A.I walked clumsily out of pains. B.I was not easy to love due to jealousy.

C.I was impatient out of fear. D.I looked different from others.

4.What can be inferred from Mommy’s Anglo family life?

A.She used to experience an identity crisis. B.She fought against her American identity.

C.She forgot the pains of her early years. D.She kept her love for Asia from childhood.

5.Why did Mommy name her daughter “Shao-ming”?

A.To match her own birth-name. B.To brighten the lives of the family.

C.To identify her with Chinese origin. D.To justify her pride in Chinese culture.

6.By “Your past is more complete than mine,” Mommy means______.

A.her past was completed earlier than Shao-ming’s

B.Shao-ming has got motherly care and a sense of roots

C.her mother didn’t comfort her the way she did Shao-ming

D.her past was spent brokenly, first in Asia, then in the US

Answer

1.D

2.B

3.D

4.A

5.C

6.B

【解析】

这是一篇应用文。文章以书信的形式，讲述了，作者作为一位身世坎坷的母亲，写给女儿的信，作者告诉女儿自己与众不同的出身，对自己的身世迷茫而又无能为力，女儿的出生使她圆梦，也使她对女儿给予了寻根和连接两个世界的愿望。

1.

细节理解题。由第一段中的“You, little daughter, are the link to our female line, the legacy of another woman’s pain and sacrifice 31 years ago.”（你，小女儿，是我们母系血统的纽带，是31年前另一个女人痛苦和牺牲的遗产。），可知1990年6月6日对妈妈来说是个特别的日子，是因为这一天她的母系血统得到了很好的连接。故选D项。

2.

推理判断题。由第二段中的“Worn down by the demands of the new baby and perhaps the constant threat of starvation, she made the painful decision to give away her girl so that both of us might have a chance for a better life.”（被新生婴儿的要求和不断挨饿的威胁所击败，她痛苦地决定放弃她的女儿，以便于我们两个都有机会过上更好的生活。）和第三段中的“Once I was out of her life, it was as if I had never been born. And so you and your brother and I are the missing leaves on a family tree.”（一旦我离开了她的生活，就好像我从未出生过。所以你和你哥哥还有我都是家谱上的落叶。），可推断出作者对于母亲抛弃她，她既痛苦的，又理解。故选B项。

3.

句意猜测题。由第五段中的“In a family of blue-eyed blonds, though, I stood out like a sore thumb. Whether from jealousy or fear of someone who looked so different, my older brothers sometimes teased me about my unpleasing skin, or made fun of my clumsy walk.”（不过，在一个蓝眼睛金发的家庭里，我却像个疼痛的大拇指一样脱颖而出。不管是出于嫉妒还是害怕一个长相迥异的人，我的哥哥们有时取笑我令人不愉快的皮肤，或者取笑我笨拙的走路。），根据下文可知，作者是因为长相的原因使自己与众不同，I stood out like a sore thumb在此处意为“我看起来和别人不一样。”。故选D项。

4.

推理判断题。由第五段中的“Lacking a mirror image in the mother who raised me, I had to seek my identity as a woman on my own. The Asian American community has helped me regain my double identity.”（在养育我的母亲身上缺乏镜像，我不得不独自寻找自己的女性身份。亚裔社区帮助我找回了双重身份。），可推断出作者曾经经历过身份危机。故选A项。

5.

推理判断题。由倒数第二段中的“It took many years to become proud of my Asian origin and work up the courage to take back my birth-name.”（我花了很多年才为我的亚洲血统感到骄傲，并鼓起勇气夺回我的出生名。）和“Not white, certainly, but not really Asian, I try to pave the way between the two worlds and bridge the gap for you. Your name, “Shao-ming”, is very much like mine—“Shao” means “little”. And “ming” is “bright”, as in a shining sun or moon.”（当然不是白人，但也不是真正的亚洲人，我试着在两个世界之间铺路，为你弥合鸿沟。你的名字“Shao-ming”很像我的名字，“Shao”的意思是“小”。而“ming”是“亮”的，如在一个明亮的太阳或月亮上。），可知作者给女儿取名“Shao-ming”，是为了确认女儿是中国人的身份。故选C项。

6.

句意猜测题。由倒数第二段中的“Not white, certainly, but not really Asian, I try to pave the way between the two worlds and bridge the gap for you. Your name, “Shao-ming”, is very much like mine—“Shao” means “little”. And “ming” is “bright”, as in a shining sun or moon.”（当然不是白人，但也不是真正的亚洲人，我试着在两个世界之间铺路，为你弥合鸿沟。你的名字“Shao-ming”很像我的名字，“Shao”的意思是“小”。而“ming”是“亮”的，如在一个明亮的太阳或月亮上。），和“Your past is more complete than mine, and each day I cradle you in your babyhood, generously giving you the loving care I lacked for my first two years. When I pat you, I comfort the lost baby inside me who still cries for her mother.”（你的过去比我的更完整，每天我都把你抱在襁褓中，慷慨地给予你我头两年所缺乏的关爱。当我轻拍你的时候，我安慰了我内心里那个仍在为妈妈哭泣的孩子。），可知女儿的名字会让女儿有根意识，作者想把自己缺失的母爱都弥补在女儿身上，所以女儿的过去要比她完满，Your past is more complete than mine在此处意为“Shao-ming有母爱的关怀和根的意识”。故选B项。