Is there a magic cutoff period when children become responsible for their own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become spectators （audiences） in the lives of their children and shrug, “It’s their life,” and feel nothing?
When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital passage waiting for doctors to put a few stitches（縫線） in my son’s head．I asked, “When do you stop worrying?” The nurse said, “When they get out of the accident stage．” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．
When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked continually and disrupted the class．As if to read my mind, a teacher said．“Don’t worry．They all go through this stage and then you can sit back, relax and enjoy them．” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．
When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring, the cars to come home, the front door to open．A friend said, “They’re trying to find themselves．Don’t worry; in a few years, you can stop worrying．They’ll be adults．” My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．
By the time I was 50, I was sick and tired of being weak．I was still worrying over my children, but there was a new wrinkle．There was nothing I could do about it．My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．
I continued to suffer from their failures, and be absorbed in their disappointments．My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life．I wanted to believe that, but I was haunted（縈繞心頭） by my mother’s warm smile and her occasional “You look pale．Are you all right? Call me the minute you get home．Are you depressed about something?” Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry?
One of my children became quite anxious about me recently, saying, “Where were you? I’ve been calling for three days, and no one answered．I was worried．”
I smiled a warm smile．
The author intends to tell us in the passage that_______．
A．parents long for a period when they no longer worry about their children
B．there is no time when parents have no worry about their children
C．it’s parents’ duty to worry about their children
D．there should be a period when parents don’t have to worry about their children
We can infer from the underlined sentence “My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing．” that ______．
A．her mother shared the same idea as the nurse
B．her mother didn’t agree with the nurse
C．her mother thought the nurse was lying
D．her mother wouldn’t express her opinion upon the matter
The author mentioned her ages of twenties, thirties, forties and fifty in order to show_______．
A．the hard times she experiences in her life
B．the different stages of her children
C．the support she received from her mother
D．she had been worrying about her children in her life
What can we infer from the last sentence?
A．The mother was happy that her child began to worry about her, too
B．Finally the mother didn’t have to worry about her children
C．At last the mother could live her own life without worry．
D．The mother succeeded in turning her children into adults．
Which of the following should be the best title?
A．Life B．Parents C．Worry D．Children
