回来再说我的母亲吧。自然,天下的儿子,至少有百分之七十,认为他的母亲乃是世界上最好的母亲。我则以为我的母亲,乃是世界上最好的母亲中最好的一个。 她热烈的爱着“家”,以为一个美好的家庭,乃是一切幸福和力量的根源。
我们的家,确是一个安静温暖而又快乐的家。父亲喜欢栽花养狗;母亲则整天除了治家之外,不是看书,就是做活,静悄悄的没有一点声息。学伴们到了我们家里,自然而然的就会低下声来说话。然而她最鼓励我们运动游戏,外院里总有秋千、杠子等等设备。我们学武术,学音乐(除了我以外,弟弟们都有很好的成就)。母亲总是高高兴兴的,接待父亲和我们的朋友。朋友们来了,玩得好,吃得好,总是欢喜满足的回去。却也有人带着眼泪回家,因为他想起了自己死去的母亲,或是他的母亲,同他不曾发生什么情感的关系。
母亲又有知人之明,看到了一个人,就能知道这人的性格。故对于父亲和我们的朋友的选择,她都有极大的帮助。她又有极高的鉴赏力,无论屋内的陈设,园亭的布置,或是衣饰的颜色和式样等,经她一调动,就显得新异不俗。我记得有一位表妹,在赴茶会之前,打扮得花枝招展的,到了我们的家里;母亲把她浑身上下看了一遍,笑说:“元元,你打扮得太和别人一样了。人家抹红嘴唇,你也抹红嘴唇,人家涂红指甲,你也涂红指甲,这岂非反不引起他人的注意?你要懂得‘万朵红莲礼白莲’的道理。”我们都笑了,赞同母亲的意见。表妹立刻在母亲妆台前洗净铅华,换了衣饰出去;后来听说她是那晚茶会中,被人称为最漂亮的一个。（516个字）
Let me return to my mother. It is natural that at least seventy percent of all sons believe their own mother to be the best one in the world. For my part, I think that my own mother was the very best among the best mothers in the world. She loved the "family" ardently in the belief that a perfect family is the source of all happiness and strength.
Ours was really a quiet, warm and happy family. Father was fond of growing flowers and keeping dogs, whereas Mother used to read or sew whenever she wasn't busy managing household affairs, and she did all of these things in so quiet a way that no sound was heard at all. For this reason, our schoolmates would lower their own voices as soon as they came to our home. But my mother used to do everything she could to encourage us to play games and practice sports. In the yard outside our house, there was always sports equipment such as a swing set or bars. We learned the martial arts and music (and, unlike me, all my brothers did very well in these areas) Mother always received Father's friends as well as our own with great pleasure. All of them had a good time playing and eating whenever they came, and always went home with great satisfaction. Someone, however went away with tears, either because the memory of his late mother did not have such affectionate ties with him.
Mother had keen insight into the human personality. She needed no more than a glance to make out a person's character. This ability allowed her to be extremely helpful to my father and all of us in choosing friends. She had, moreover, excellent taste, and whatever she took in hand would become new, original and elegant, be it house furnishings, garden and pavilion arrangements, or the choice of color and fashion in our clothing. I still remember one day when one of my cousins, before attending a tea party, came to our home dressed and made up gorgeously. My mother observed her carefully and smiled: "My dear Yuanyuan, you are dressed and made up in a way too much like that of the other girls. By using red lipstick and red enamel just as they do, are you doing anything more than working against your own desire by letting yourself be overlooked? Keep in mind that 'Among thousands of red lotus flowers the single white one is the best appreciated." All of us burst out into laughter and agreed with Mother. My cousin began at once to wash out her makeup at my mother's dressing table and change her clothes. Later on, we heard that she was appreciated as the most beautiful girl at the tea party.