My mom just bought me a new bike. Since my cousin Mary didn’t have a bike with her, she walked next to me. I thought that Mary would jump on the luggage carrier(行李架) over the back tire when I was riding. Mom knew exactly what I was thinking. “ Don’t ride the bike with Mary on the back,” she said. “It’s too dangerous. You could kill yourself. Take turns.”
I nodded, but I was thinking I could handle this. A few minutes later, I turned right to a wide road. “Jump on the back, ” I told Mary. I rode fast, laughing as the wind blew through our hair. It was exciting, until the handlebar(车把) started shaking. The front tire dropped into a drain (下水道) and I fell off the bike, still holding the handlebar.
My face, hands, and knees crashed into the pavement. The pain in my mouth was unbearable, and I tasted blood. I turned towards Mary who was on the ground, holding her knee and crying. Seconds later, it seemed that my mom’s car stopped next to us. I wanted Mom to say, “Oh, my poor sweetheart. Let me hug you and everything will be fine.”
However, my mom only said, “ What have you done to your face? Vanessa, look at what you’ve done!” Mom wasn’t the gentle “ I love you, sweetie” type.
Sometimes, I thought Mom had no mercy. But in her own way, she was holding me tighter than I could understand—she was teaching me the lesson I needed. “ You did it—deal with it and learn from it. One day, the results will be greater and I won’t be there to help you. Think it out, Vanessa.”
21. We can learn from the text that _________.
A. Vanessa fell because she didn’t hold the handlebar
B. Vanessa and Mary rode the bike in turn
C. Vanessa was blown down by the heavy wind
D. Vanessa and Mary were both injured
22. In the author’s opinion, her mother _________.
A. was always gentle to her B. encouraged her all the time
C. was cold sometimes D. didn’t care abut her at all
23. What’s the main idea of the last paragraph?
A. Vanessa’s mother was strict with her.
B. Vanessa understood her mother’s love.
C. Vanessa’s mother would leave her.
D. Vanessa wasn’t eager for her mom’s hug any more.