A

The other day a big, ugly, black bat found its way to the bathroom of my house and hung upside down, over the toilet bowl. As "the man of the house", I was asked to rid the house of the awful creature. I grabbed a pillow and held the broom. I quickly opened the bathroom door and threw the pillow at the bat. It didn’t move. Then that old feeling started to come over me. It was the same feeling I experienced when I was sent down the stairs in the middle of the night to see what made a noise. The feeling can be summed up in one word-trapped.

All men, I think, sometimes have had that feeling of being trapped in some male role. It may be something as simple as having to carve the chicken before it is served, or having to pretend that you know something about car engines when the car won’t start. However, women nowadays seem to have the freedom to be themselves. They can repair cars or be firefighters. Yet men appear to be more afraid to do something different. It’s as if being a man is not what you are, but what you do and the way you do it.

As I came towards the fierce and frightening bat, I wondered what would happen if I had simply told my wife that I won’t do it-that she could get it out, or else call someone in the morning. But I couldn’t do that! I am the man! I slowly opened the window and closed the toilet bowl cover. I then, carefully, lifted the broom over my head and swept the bat out the window. Just like that, it was gone.

My wife was so pleased and in the morning, my son thought I was a hero. They asked me how I had got rid of the bat. I started to tell them-but then stopped. A man doesn’t talk of such things.

21. Why does the author mention the old feeling in Paragraph 1?

A. To recall the old days.              B. To show his fear of darkness.

C. To predict his fight with the bat.      D. To highlight the situation of being trapped.

22. What does the author mean by mentioning women’s freedom in Paragraph 2?

A. Men are forced to bear household burdens.     B. Men have to live up to social expectations.

C. Women are free to choose their jobs.          D. Women are equal to men in workplaces.

23. The last sentence of the passage implies that the author           .

A. believes silence is gold         B. feels proud of himself

C. will do what he has to do        D. will be what he wants to be