请认真阅读下面的文章，完成小题。
                                                                                         一个馒头
       ①十三岁那年，我顺利地考进离家二十多里的县三中，成了母亲最大的骄傲。那时，父亲还是大山里的一名伐木工，为节约开支，他数年难得一次省亲，贫寒的家境使母亲也愈发省吃俭用艰苦度日。
        ②那是一个霪雨霏霏的深秋的一天，当父亲兴冲冲地踏进院坝时，母亲的眼眶一下就湿润了。接过父亲的行囊，母亲就发现了那个白面做成的馒头。
       ③这是父亲路上吃剩下的干粮。对于当时以玉米、红薯为主食的我家来说，白面馒头无疑是一种奢侈的享受。母亲走进灶屋，在点燃茅草给父亲烧洗脸水的同时，将蒸笼也放在了锅上……看着锅上四溢的热气，母亲喜盈盈地从房里拿出几块干净的纱布，里三层外三层地包好那香气扑鼻的馒头，小心翼翼地揣进怀里，头顶一块蓝花布就向二十里外的县城走来。
       ④走到学校，已是下午。整齐的校舍、琅琅的读书声使大字不识的母亲顿生敬畏。蹑手蹑脚，屏息而行，母亲沿着每一间教室寻找心爱的儿子。几乎走遍了整个学校，她终于看见了正在上课的我。许是怕老师呵斥，母亲哈着腰，从窗户上露出半个脑袋，一边用手向我比划，眼睛又怯怯地瞅着老师。半个脑袋、奇怪的手势和母亲颇为滑稽的眼神立即吸引了同学们好奇的目光。
       ⑤就这样在窗口呆了好一会儿，在老师背过身写板书之际，母亲突然做出了一个令人震惊的动作。她直起身，从怀中掏出那个雪白纱布紧裹的馒头，从窗外迅速向我掷来。“咚！”因用力过猛，馒头掠过我的头顶砸在了前面同学的课桌上，随后又一骨碌滚在了地上。当沾满尘土的纱布一层层散开，那个干干净净的馒头呈现在同学们的眼前时，教室里哄然而起的笑声瞬间刺痛了我的耳膜。
      ⑥面对老师严肃的询问，母亲慌张地说：“我，我来给娃送个馒头。”在我那些生活颇为优裕的城里同学听来，这样的回答无疑是一种荒谬的笑料——走几十里路就为送一个馒头？着着他们前仰后合地笑个不停，憨厚的母亲全然不知所以，竟还怀着敬意频频向她心目中的“秀才”们点头。母亲补丁缀补丁的衣服、头上已歪斜的蓝花布和这种尴尬的神态再次掀起了他们的笑浪……在这一阵紧似一阵的笑声中，我的自尊被践踏得支离破碎。
       ⑦拾起馒头，我快步走出教室，拉起母亲就向操场走去。此时，我丝毫没有感到馒头上尚存的体温，没有注意到每间教室窗下湿漉漉的泥脚印，更没有看到母亲眼中那慈爱的目光！站在操场边，我气急败坏而又语无伦次地向母亲大喊大叫：“哪个要你到学校来？哪个要吃你的臭馒头？看看你这一身泥，活像戏台上的小丑，真是丢人现眼！”说着，我奋力一抡胳膊，那个尚热的白面馒头画了一道美丽的弧线，飞出了学校的围墙。
       ⑧母亲没有说一句话，慈爱的笑容僵硬在她满是皱纹的脸上。母亲嘴角抖了半晌，却终归没有吐出半个字来。最后，她缓缓转过身，一溜一滑地向校外走去。不知何时又下起了雨，濛濛烟雨中，母亲低着头，背脊佝偻如弓，随着蹒跚的步伐，那块歪斜的蓝花头布飘悠着，渐渐湿润了我的视线……
       ⑨至今我也不知道，母亲怀揣着馒头是怎样一步一滑走到学校的，当年我无情扔掉的那个馒头到底对母亲造成了多大的伤害，但我知道在回家的路上，有两条小溪、三道山梁和二十里曲曲弯弯的泥泞山道……             （作者黄斌，有删改）

    English is full of colorful phrases to describe shyness. Someone shy might be called shrinking violet or a wallflower, while for especially nervous types we have the curious expression: they wouldn't say boo to a goose.

    None of these are traditionally seen as positive descriptions, even if you like geese. In a culture of go-getting, high achievers, shy people don't come first. Or that's what the self-help industry would have you believe. Bookshops are filled with vital tomes(巨著) that promise to help beat social fears and find success in life, love and business. That is why one book, Shrinking Violets: A Field Guide to Shyness, bucks the trend. It became a sudden success across English-language media recently for its new take-on shyness.

    Author Joe Moran says that despite struggling with shyness and longing for loneliness all his life, being shy can also be "a gift". Freed from the constant urge to participate and compete in social situations, people are liberated to look at the world in new ways, and gain fresh insights.

    Indeed, many of the world's great thinkers and artists are introverts(内向的人). Scientists Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein preferred their own company; actress Keira Knightley often finds herself tongue-tied at parties; and Harry Potter author JK Rowling claims she used to be too nervous to even borrow a pen.

    Moran told BBC Future: "I think shyness probably does turn you into an amateur anthropologist(人类学家), really-you are more likely to be an observer."

    So, while extroverts make all the noise, they don't necessarily have the best ideas.

    If you're shy, you've probably known this for a long time. You just don't shout about it.