But I wonder about my Momma sometimes, and all the other Negro (blacks) mothers who got up at 6 a.m. to go to the white man’s house with sacks (鞋套) over their shoes because it was so wet and cold. I wonder how they managed it. They worked very hard for the man, they made his breakfast and they scrubbed his floors and they took care of his babies. They didn’t have too much time for us.
I wonder about my Momma, who walked out of a white woman’s clean house at midnight and came back to her own where the lights had been out for three months, and the hot-water pipes were frozen and the wind came in through the holes in the wall. She’d have to deal with the mice: leave some food out for them so they wouldn’t bite the doors or the babies. The roaches（蟑螂）？Oh, they were just like part of the family!
I wonder how she felt telling those white kids she took care of to brush their teeth after they ate, to wash their hands after they finished bathroom. She could never tell her own kids because there wasn’t soap or water back home.
I wonder how my Momma felt when we came home from school with a list of vitamins and pills the school nurse said we had to have. Momma would cry all night , and then go out and spend most of the rent (房租) money for pills. A week later, the white man would come for his eighteen dollars’ rent and Momma would beg him to wait until tomorrow. She had to lie to him that she had lost her wallet, or make up some other excuses. Tomorrow I’d be hiding in the closet (橱柜) because there should be only two kids in the flat, and I could hear the rent man shout at my Momma and call her a cheat. And when he finally went away, Momma put the sacks on her shoes and went off to the rich white man’s house to dress the rich white kids so their mother could take them to a special baby doctor.
66. Mother got up at 6 a.m. every day, because _________.
A. she had to cook breakfast for her children
B. she had to catch the first bus to the factory
C. she had to work in the white man’s house
D. she had to go to see a special baby doctor
67. What does the underlined word “scrubbed” mean in the text?
A. mopped B. cleared C. painted D. built
68. Mother never told us to brush our teeth or to wash our hands because ___________ .
A. she thought we didn’t need to B. we didn’t like washing hands
C. we had done everything very well D. there was no soap or water in our home
69. Why did the writer hide in the closet when the owner of the flat came for rent?
A. The closet could only hold two kids.
B. Only two kids were allowed to live in the house.
C. They should pay more rent for two kids.
D. There was only one bedroom for the two kids.
70. What does the writer mainly tell us?
A. Black people lead a hard life.
B. Black people don’t have enough rent money.
C. White people lead an expensive life.
D. White people have special baby doctors.
