Munlong was a very famous Chinese scholar. He lost his father when he was only three years old. His mother was poor, but she tried to educate him and so she worked hard to save enough money to send him to school.
At first Munlong liked going to school. He made good progress because he studied hard. Later he began to slacken in his work. One day he left the school without telling anyone and went home. His mother, who was weaving a fine peice of cloth, stopped work and questioned him. When Munlong explained he had left school, she took a sharp knife and cut the cloth from top to bottom. She had spent months weaving the cloth which was worth a lot of money and yet she had not hesitated to show how sad she was by cutting the cloth.
She said, "Son, I know you are sorry that I am destroying this cloth, but do you know how sorry I am that you've left school?"
She made it very clear to Munlong how sad and displeased she was. He became ashamed to himself that he returned to school at once and studied very hard after that.
Task A: Find the meaning for the 15 bold words.
Task B: Answer these questions:
a. Did Munlong come from a rich family?
b. Who sent him to school?
c. What happened at first?
d. Did he study hard all the time?
e. Did he get his mother's permission to leave school?
f. Why did his mother cut the valuable piece of cloth?
g. Why did Munlong go back to school?
h. Why was Munlong famous?
