Question

    When my mother died, I was cooking.

One weekend, my husband suggested we cook together. I’d spoken to my mother earlier that day on the phone. I’d told her about our life. She yawned and we said goodbye to one another.

I didn’t know then what I would know 16 hours later. I hadn’t even asked how she was doing. My mother died.

My mother was my best friend. After she died, I felt so lonely. The only person I wanted to talk to about my grief was my mother. The only person who could help me was the one who was missing, however much love and support people gave me.

My mother gave me many things, but an education in cookery was not one of them. She liked eating more than cooking.

But she had learned to cook when she was a teenager and she had some brilliant recipes (食谱).

I know everyone says this, but my mother made the best roast beef dinners in the world. And, above all, fish pie! Almost every week, she would buy a prepared fish pie. Then she would bring it home and make her own white sauce (沙司).

My mother never got around to teaching me how to make a white sauce—and I never got around to asking her. Now that she was gone, I would have to teach myself.

So this became my focus. For the first few weeks, I managed to live on instant foods. But one night, a fish pie mix caught my eye at the store.

When I got home, I set myself in front of our electric stove. Armed with a recipe, I tried to teach myself to make a white sauce.

Halfway through the recipe, I couldn’t believe it—I’d made a white sauce! On my own! I could do this! Then I remembered: I had always hated fish pie.

Admiring my sauce, I wondered why I was so committed to making a dish I had hated for 25 years. Why was it suddenly so important to me?

I spooned the sauce over the fish. Then I ate the pie. It was delicious. More importantly, something strange had happened. The act of making a meal had calmed me.

It helped me find peace.

1.What do we know about the author?

A.She didn’t get along well with her husband.

B.She rarely called her mother on the phone.

C.She had a close relationship with her mother.

D.She regretted not visiting her mother that day.

2.By describing her mother’s cookery, the author ________.

A.expressed her wish to be a person like her mother

B.complained that her mother didn’t teach her to cook

C.wanted to show how good her mother was at cooking

D.meant to tell what was special about the white sauce

3.What does the underlined word “this” refer to?

A.Living a lonely life. B.Learning to cook.

C.Living on instant foods. D.Looking back on the old days.

4.How did the author feel when she made the white sauce?

A.Sad. B.Peaceful.

C.Dependent. D.Strange.

Answer

1.C

2.D

3.B

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文。作者主要叙述了自己和母亲关系很亲密，但母亲去世之后，作者一直很悲伤孤独。但是通过自学做成功了母亲擅长的白沙司之后，作者又感受到了平静与安宁。

1.推理判断题。根据文章第四段“My mother was my best friend. After she died, I felt so lonely. The only person I wanted to talk to about my grief was my mother. The only person who could help me was the one who was missing, however much love and support people gave me.”可知，作者和母亲是最好的朋友，母亲去世之后，作者感到很孤独，其它任何的爱与支持都不及从母亲那里得到。从而推断出，作者与母亲关系很亲密。故选C。

2.推理判断题。作者描述母亲在烹饪方面才华横溢，尤其擅长做白沙司。但母亲从来没有教过作者，最终作者自学学会。所以作者通过描述她母亲的烹调技艺，想要说明白酱的特别之处，这是一种爱的传承，作者继承了母亲烹饪方面的天赋。故选D。

3.词义猜测题。根据上文“Now that she was gone, I would have to teach myself.（既然她去世了，我只好自学了。）”和后文“For the first few weeks, I managed to live on instant foods.（在最初的几个星期里，我设法以速食为生。）”从而可以猜测this指代“作者学习做饭”这件事。故选B。

4.细节理解题。根据文章最后两段“More importantly, something strange had happened. The act of making a meal had calmed me. （更重要的是，奇怪的事情发生了。做饭的动作使我平静下来。）”和“It helped me find peace.”（它帮助我找到平静。）”可知，当作者做白沙司时，作者感受到了平静与安宁。故选B。