Question

    Growing up in an Italian-American household was, for me, pretty special. My mother, Gina, an immigrant from Italy, held on to so many of her family's traditions that at times, regardless of the fact that I was living in American, our home felt like in Italy.

To this day, my mother only speaks to me in Italian. She may speak in some English terms and expressions from time to time, but our conversations are, for the most part, in her mother tongue. And most of those conversations are about food. For us, food —Italian food is an important part of our lives. The food my mother prepared for me and my sister as children is the same food my grandmother created in her small farm kitchen high up in the mountains.

One of my family's dishes of heritage I made sure to learn and perfect is my mother's arancini di riso (Italian rice balls). Arancini, in Italian, means little oranges. After you roll some leftover rice into a small ball, place a piece of mozzarella  (马苏里拉奶酪 )  in the center, then bread that and fry it, the golden outside resembles one of our favorite fruits. For my family, it also showcased my mother' s ability to always find a delicious way to never let anything go to waste: Last night's good rice was repurposed into this perfect mid-day snack or dinner appetizer.

So, when I take a perfect little arancini out of the hot oil and crack it open, I am immediately transported back to my childhood: I am a little girl getting off the bus and running through the back door to the smell of last night's rice transformed into sticky, delicate goodness. This small snack symbolizes so many important elements in my life: my mother' s waste-not philosophy, her ability to take a few simple ingredients and transform them, and finally, the way she carried her mother' s recipes to the U. S. in her mind and heart so she could, years later, teach me about my heritage through food.

Eating arancini, and all the other recipes my mother continued to make here in the U. S. after leaving Italy, allowed her to teach me who I am, where I come from, and why I should be proud of it all.

1.What makes the author's home feel like in Italy?

A.Fruit and snacks.

B.Neighbors and friends.

C.Names and holidays.

D.Food and language.

2.Why does the author make sure to learn and perfect arancini di riso?

A.It saves valuable food from going to waste.

B.It reminds the author of her days at school.

C.It plays a major role in continuing family tradition.

D.It showcases the cooking skills of the author's mother.

3.What does the underlined word "goodness" in paragraph 4 refer to?

A.Arancini di riso.

B.Mother' s kindness.

C.The Italian language.

D.Amazing cooking skills.

4.What is the text mainly about?

A.Why learning to cook is important for a mother.

B.How the family heritage is taught through food.

C.How childhood experiences change one's life.

D.Why mothers are important in children's education.

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文是一篇记叙文，讲述了生活在意大利裔美国家庭的作者通过学习和完善妈妈做的意大利饭团阿兰西尼迪里索来学习意大利人的家庭传统。

1.

细节理解题。根据第二段 “To this day, my mother only speaks to me in Italian. She may speak in some English terms and expressions from time to time, but our conversations are, for the most part, in her mother tongue. And most of those conversations are about food. For us, food —Italian food is an important part of our lives. The food my mother prepared for me and my sister as children is the same food my grandmother created in her small farm kitchen high up in the mountains.”可知，直到今天，我妈妈只跟我说意大利语，虽然有时她会用一些英语词汇和表达，但我们的谈话大多是用她的母语，这些谈话大多是关于食物的，对我们来说，意大利菜是我们生活中重要的一部分，小时候妈妈为我和妹妹准备的食物和外婆在高山上的小农场厨房里做的一样，由此可知，语言和食物使作者在美国的家里感觉像在意大利一样，故D项正确。

2.

细节理解题。根据第三段中的“One of my family's dishes of heritage I made sure to learn and perfect is my mother's arancini di riso (Italian rice balls).”可知，我一定要学习和完善我妈妈做的意大利饭团阿兰西尼迪里索，因为它是我们家的传统美食之一，由此可知，作者一定要学习和完善阿兰西尼迪里索是因为这道家庭美食在延续家庭传统中扮演着重要的角色，故C项正确。

3.

词义猜测题。根据画线词前的“So, when I take a perfect little arancini out of the hot oil and crack it open, I am immediately transported back to my childhood: I am a little girl getting off the bus and running through the back door to the smell of last night's rice transformed into sticky, delicate”可知，当我从热油里捞出一个无比美味的小饭团阿兰西尼，剥开吃的时候，那种美妙的味道立刻把我带回了童年时代：一个小女孩下车后穿过后门，扑鼻而来的是用前一晚的米饭做成的粘乎乎的、口感细腻的小饭团的香味，由此可知画线词指的就是前面提到的“小饭团阿兰西尼”，故A项正确。

4.

主旨大意题。通读全文，特别是根据第一段中的“Growing up in an Italian-American household was, for me, pretty special. My mother, Gina, an immigrant from Italy, held on to so many of her family's traditions that at times, regardless of the fact that I was living in American, our home felt like in Italy.”在意大利裔美国人家庭长大，对我来说很特别。我的母亲吉娜(Gina)是来自意大利的移民，她一直保留着她家的许多传统，以至于有时候，不管我住在美国，我们的家感觉就像在意大利一样。及最后一段“Eating arancini, and all the other recipes my mother continued to make here in the U. S. after leaving Italy, allowed her to teach me who I am, where I come from, and why I should be proud of it all.”吃了阿兰西尼，还有我母亲离开意大利后在美国继续做的所有其他食谱，让她教会了我，我是谁，我从哪里来，以及为什么我应该为此感到自豪。可知，本文主要讲述的是生活在意大利裔美国家庭的作者通过学习和完善妈妈做的意大利饭团阿兰西尼迪里索来学习意大利人的家庭传统，故B项正确。