Question

the little orange way to know my mother
by kao j. lee
1 during the winters, my mother always made sure there were plenty of oranges in our home. they were among the only seasonal fruits available during the cold months in new england. and on chinese new year there would be red bowls filled with big fat oranges, similar thin - skinned tangerines, and cute little clementines. in the days following, we would eat them at every meal, trying to finish them before they spoiled. nothing disappointed my mother more than when an orange went bad, a soft green or white powdery spot betraying the fruit’s freshness.
2 “ay yah,” my mother would say as she threw them away. they made a lousy thud at the bottom of the kitchen trash can. then she would turn to us and say, “we will eat these faster.” a pronouncement of fact more than anything else. we would not waste them.
3 on our monthly visits to grandparents and other relatives, my mother did much of her grocery shopping in chinatown where oranges were sold everywhere in high pyramids on the sidewalk instead of in plastic bags like at the supermarket near our home. bundled in her thick white coat and clutching her purse, she was easy to spot in the towering crowds that moved through the narrow, cracked streets. i ran the length and width of the city. i watched how carefully she sorted through the piles of vegetables,
in “the little orange way to know my mother,” what does paragraph 8 imply about the author as an adult?

• she lives in a cold climate.
• she lives far away from her family.
• she often recalls scenes like those in the passage.
• she regularly buys and eats oranges in the winter

Explanation:

To solve this question, we analyze each option by referring to the text:

• Option 1: The text’s childhood setting is in New England (cold climate), but the question is about the author as an adult. The text does not provide info about her adult climate, so this is incorrect.
• Option 2: The text focuses on childhood memories with family (visiting grandparents, etc.) and does not mention her living far from family as an adult. Eliminate this.
• Option 3: The passage is a personal recollection of childhood (e.g., mother buying oranges, family traditions). The act of writing/recalling these scenes implies she often reflects on such memories as an adult. This fits.
• Option 4: The text describes childhood winter orange availability, but there’s no info about her regularly buying/eating oranges in winter as an adult. Eliminate this.

Answer:

C. She often recalls scenes like those in the passage.