Unit2 passage1
Five New Words at a Time
[1] My family came to America in 1985. No one spoke a word of English. In school, I was in an English as a Second Language class with other foreign-born children. My class was so over-crowded that it was impossible for the teacher to teach English properly. I dreaded going to school each morning for fear of not understanding what people were saying and for fear of being laughed at.
[2] At the time, my mother, Taiqi, worked part time in a Chinese restaurant from late afternoon until late in the night. It was her unfamiliarity with the English language that forced her to work in a Chinese-speaking environment. Although her job exhausted her, my mother still woke up early in the morning to cook breakfast for my brother and me. Like a hen guarding her chicks, she never neglected us because of her fatigue.
[3] So it was not surprising that very soon my mother noticed something was troubling me. When I said nothing was wrong, my mother answered, “ You are my daughter. When something is bothering you, I feel it too. ” The pain and care I saw in her moon-shaped eyes made me burst into tears I had held back for so long. I explained to her the fear I had of going to school. “ Learning English is not impossible, ” my mother said. She
cheerfully suggested that the two of us work together to learn the language at home with books. The confidence and determination my mother had were admirable because English was as new to her as it was to me.
[4] That afternoon, I saw my mother in a different light as she waited for me by the school fence. Although she was the shortest of all the mothers there, her face with her welcoming smile and big, black eyes was the most promising. The afternoon sun shone brightly on her long,
Unit2 passage1
black hair, creating an aura that distinguished her from others.
[5] My mother and I immediately began reading together and memorizing five new words a day. My mother, with her encouraging attitude, made the routine fun and interesting. The fact that she was sacrificing her
resting time before going to work so that I could learn English made me see the strength she possessed. It made me admire my mother even more.
6] Very soon, I began to comprehend what everyone was saying and people could understand me. The person solely responsible for my accomplishment and happiness was my mother. The reading also helped my mother learn English so that she was able to pass the postal entrance exam .
[7] It has been seven years since that reading experience with my mother. She is now 43 and in her second year at college. My brother and I have a strong sense of who we are because of the strong values my mother established for herself and her children. My admiration and gratitude for her are endless. That is why my mother is truly the guiding light of my life. ( 510 words)
