6、　　During my ninth-grade year, I suffered from “anorexia nervosa”. It was not enough to be thin. I had to be the thinnest. Now, however, fully recovered, I can reflect back and realize that my wishes were more complex than fitting into size five pants. Many of my hidden emotions were related to my relationship with my father. As I was growing up, his work always came first. Sometimes I would not see him for up to two weeks. Not only did he devote his whole self to his work, but he expected me to do the same (“You cannot get anywhere unless you go to the best universities!”). Though, consciously, I never felt pressure to please him, I began dieting after the first time he told me I looked fat.　　

　　At the time, all I knew was that I had to be thin―thinner than anyone else. Every month my father went to Europe for a week or so and on the days he left, sorrow and emptiness swallowed me: Daddy was leaving. Then, I turned to focus on a mysterious weakness―a helpless childlike emotion that came from starving. I liked to know that I needed to be taken care of; maybe Daddy would take care of me.

Now, two years later and thirty-eight pounds heavier, I have come to realize that I cannot change my father’s inability to express his feelings. Instead, I must accept myself. I know that I am a valuable person who struggles to achieve and accomplish. But I cannot struggle solely for others. By starving, I attempted to gain pride in myself by obtaining my father’s approval or acknowledgment of my value as a person. But the primary approval must come from me, and I feel secure now that I can live with that knowledge safely locked in my mind.

54. What is “anorexia nervosa” as mentioned in the first line of the passage?

　　A. It is a situation of feeling self-doubting.

　　B. It is an inability to express one’s feelings.

　　C. It is someone who is emotionally unstable.

　　D. It is an illness that makes one want to stop eating.

55. Why did the writer suffer from anorexia nervosa?

　　A. She was told by her father to take care of herself.

　　B. She wanted to go to the best university.

　　C. She wanted her father’s attention.

　　D. She grew up in a poor family.

56. Which of the following statements is true about the writer?

　　A. She has problems controlling her tempers.

　　B. She is proud of herself for working hard to succeed.

　　C. She has had great confidence in herself since childhood.

　　D. She has changed her father’s way of expressing himself.

57. What’s the writer’s purpose of writing this passage?

　　A. To blame her father.

　　B. To report a case of child abuse.

　　C. To reflect on a stage of growing up.

　　D. To teach people how to lose weight.