When Mary Smith was a student, she always wanted to become a teacher, because she liked children. When she was twenty-one years old, she began teaching in a small school. She was a good teacher, and she laughed a lot with the children in her class. They enjoyed her teaching.

One day one of the girls in her class said to her, "Miss Smith, why does a man's hair become gray before his mustache and beard do?"

Mary laughed and answered, "I don't know, Helen. Why does it become gray before his mustache and beard do?"

"I don't know either, Miss Smith," answered Helen, "but it happened to my father." The other children in the class laughed when they heard this.

Then one of the boys said, “I know, Miss Smith! Men's hair becomes gray first because it's sixteen years older than their mustaches and beards."

A   Answer these questions:

1. Why did Mary want to be a teacher?
2. Why did her students enjoy her teaching?
3. What did Helen ask her?
4. Did Mary know the answer?
5. What did Helen say then?
6. And what did one of the boys say?

B   Write these sentences. Choose the correct word under each blank space.

1. (My, Mine) _______father has a beard, and (your, yours) ________ has a mustache.
2. ______ (your, yours) father has a black mustache, and (mine, my) _______ has a brown beard
3. Mary and John each have an uncle. (Her, Hers) doesn't have a beard or a mustache.
4. We have beards, and so do our friends, but (our, ours) _______ beards are long and (their, theirs) are short.
5. We have mustaches, and so do our friends, but (their, theirs) ________ mustaches are big and (our, ours) _______ are small.