Question

Born into a farmer’s family, life was not easy when I was a kid. We were so poor that we often did not know where our next meal was coming from. I had to sell cabbages at the marketplace to support my family.

A storyteller once came to the marketplace, and I went to listen to him. My mother was unhappy with me for forgetting my job. But that night, while she was making clothes for us under the weak light of an oil lamp, I couldn't help retelling stories I'd heard that day. She listened impatiently at first, since in her eyes professional（職業(yè)的） storytellers were smooth-talking men—nothing good ever came out of their mouths. But slowly she was attracted by my retold stories, and from that day on, she never gave me any task on market days, unspoken agreement to enjoy new stories. As a repayment（回報）for Mother's kindness and a way to show off my memory, I'd retell the stories for her in lively detail. Soon, she wasn't the only member of my audience, which later included my elder sisters, my aunts, even my stubborn grandmother.

I knew she was worried about me. Talkative kids are not well thought of in our village, for they can bring trouble to themselves and to their families when they talk too much. Mother often reminded me not to talk so much, wanting me to be a silent and modest teenager. However, my natural desire（渴望）to talk never went away, and that is what makes my name – Mo Yan, which means ‘no speaking’. This strong wish to talk also improved my ability to express myself, which is important for writers who are also considered as storytellers.

1  Mo Yan lived a/an ________ life when he was young.

A. hard                   B. colourful                  C. easy                  D. rich

2  From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________.

   A. little Mo Yan was interested in selling vegetables

   B. his mother was attracted by the retold story at first

   C. his mother didn’t let him listen to the new stories again

   D. little Mo Yan had quite a good memory

3  Why did his mother dislike the professional storytellers?

   A. Because she thought they never said anything good.

   B. Because she thought they couldn’t make much money.

   C. Because she thought they would affect Mo Yan’s schoolwork.

   D. Because she thought most people didn’t like listening to stories.

4  In Mo Yan’s opinion, a writer should be a ________ child when they were young.

   A. silent                  B. modest                     C. talkative            D. trouble-making

5  Which is the best title（標題）of the passage?

   A. My Unlucky Childhood                            B. A Storyteller’s Childhood

   C. My Kind Grandmother                             D. More talking leads to success

Answer 1

1A   2D   3A   4 C   5B