Question

Times are a little tough at our house right now. Neither of us makes a lot of money, but years of experience have taught us how to walk between the raindrops and make it from one month to the next with a fair amount of grace. I cook a lot at home, more when we’re facing difficult times. When I know that I have to keep us fed on not much money, I fall back on my grandmother’s recipes. She taught me to cook.

When I was a kid, my twin brother and I spent long summer weeks and Christmas vacations with my mother’s parents in the mountains of North Carolina. Rather than go hunting with my grandfather on mornings, I found myself more and more in the kitchen with my grandmother, watching her making a lemon cheese pie with her soft hands.

My great-grandmother died when my grandmother was 11 years old. As the eldest daughter, she was expected to take on all of the housework while attending school. Throughout the Great Depression, she learned how to make a little food go a long way. Vegetables were cheap, so she cooked a lot of them, mostly only using small amounts of meat for seasoning. Roast beef was a twice-a-month luxury, but there was nothing she couldn’t do with a chicken, every part of it. Nothing went to waste.

Now I understand that her food was sacred (神圣的). I feel connected to my grandmother and to hundreds of years of family when I’m in my kitchen making country food. In the delicious smells is a long tale of victory over hard times, of conquering starvation   of not just surviving, but finding joy and pleasure in every meal of every day.

From grandmother I learned to take real satisfaction in feeding people. My grandmother would beam with pleasure over a heavily laden table and say: “Do you know what this would cost at the restaurant?” I never knew what restaurant in particular she had in mind, but I knew that the question was totally not fair, because no restaurant anywhere can cook like a grandmother. But now, thanks to her guidance and years of practice, I can.

1.According to the passage, the author cooks a lot at home because _______.

A. she wants to try out her grandmother’s recipes    B. she is quite particular about food

C. the food in restaurants is unhealthy    D. she and her husband are embarrassed financially

2.According to the passage, the author’s grandmother _______.

A. learnt to cook because of the Great Depression

B. was good at cooking as well as careful in budgeting

C. preferred chicken to beef

D. had to walk a long way to learn cooking in a restaurant

3.It can be inferred from the passage that the author _______.

A. liked to compare her grandmother’s food with that in restaurants

B. learnt something more precious than cooking from her grandmother

C. hasn’t found the joy in cooking though she can cook like her grandmother

D. feels connected to her grandmother when making country food in the kitchen

4.Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?

A. Cook like my grandmother    B. My grandmother’s sacred food

C. My grandmother’s recipe    D. Joy and pleasure in cooking

Answer

1. D

2. B

3. B

4. A

【解析】

文章主要讲述了作者学习奶奶艰苦度日，精打细算的优秀品质，在经济拮据的情况下学奶奶自己做饭。

1.推理判断题。根据第一段Neither of us makes a lot of money, but years of experience have taught us how to walk between the raindrops and make it from one month to the next with a fair amount of grace. I cook a lot at home, more when we’re facing difficult times.可知他们家庭经济情况不好。故选D。

2.词义猜测题。根据前面语境Neither of us makes a lot of money, but years of experience have taught us how to walk between the raindrops and make it from one month to the next with a fair amount of grace.可知lean表示经济紧张、缺钱。故选B。

3.推理判断题。根据第三段As the eldest daughter, she was expected to take on all of the housework while attending school. Throughout the Great Depression, she learned how to make a little food go a long way. Vegetables were cheap, so she cooked a lot of them, mostly only using small amounts of meat for seasoning. Roast beef was a twice-a-month luxury, but there was nothing she couldn’t do with a chicken, every part of it. Nothing went to waste.可知，作者的奶奶在大萧条时期学会了用很少的食物支撑很多天，从不浪费任何食物，菜便宜，她就经常做菜，只用肉当佐料，由此可知奶奶精打细算。故选B。

4.标题题。根据每段的中心词，可以看出，文章主要讲述了作者学习奶奶艰苦度日，精打细算的优秀品质，在经济拮据的情况下学奶奶自己做饭。故选A。