I stopped to watch my little girl busy playing in her room. In one hand was a plastic phone; in the other a toy broom. I listened as she was speaking to her doll. And I will never forget the words she said, ever though it was pretended.
She said, “Suzie’s in the corner because she’s not been very good. She didn’t listen to a word I said or do the things she should.” In the corner I saw her baby doll all dressed in lace and pink. It was obvious that she’d been put there to sit alone and think.
My daughter continued her “conversation”, as I sat down on the floor. She said, “I’m all fed up, I just don’t know what to do with her anymore. She cries whenever I have to work and wants to play games, too. She tries to help me with the dishes, but her arms just cannot reach…And she doesn’t know how to fold towels. I don’t have the time to teach. I have a lot of work to do and a big house to keep clean. I don’t have the time to sit and play —don’t you know what I mean?”
And that day I thought a lot about making some changes in my life, as I listened to her words that cut me like a knife. I hadn’t been paying enough attention to what I hold most dear.
But now my attitude has changed, because, in my heart, I realize…I’ve seen the world in a different light through my little darling’s eyes. So, let the cobwebs have the corners and the dustbunnies rule the floor, I’m not going to worry about keeping up with them anymore.
I’m going to fill the house with memories of a child and her mother…For we are granted only one childhood, and we will never get another.
1. What was the little girl doing with her doll?
A. She was dressing up her doll.    
B. She was playing the doll with her friend Suzie.
C. She was talking to her mother.   
D. She was punishing her doll.
2. Which statement is TRUE about the mother’s behaviors before that day?
A. She spent a lot of time with her daughter talking to her.
B. She was busy cleaning the house with little time spared for her daughter.
C. She didn’t show her love to her child.
D. She always dressed up baby dolls with her daughter.
3. What do the underlined words “cobwebs” and “dustbunnies” probably refer to?
A. A happy atmosphere inside the home.   
B. All her d aughter’s toys
C. Happy memories of a child           
D. Things that kept the mother busy
4. Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?
A. Daughter and Her Doll         B. Daughter’s Words
C. Only One Childhood           D. A Busy Mother’s Change