1 . There’s nothing quite like cooking over my gas stove with beautiful blue flame, so quickly adjusted and so suited to its purpose that when things run smoothly in life, we say we are “cooking with gas”.

But in recent years environmentalists have been warning that gas stoves are bad for the climate and not so great for our health, either. New studies published this year have heightened health worries about poisonous fumes (烟气) in our kitchens. Is the evidence sufficient to shift our cooking habits?

The big surprise in one new study, conducted by environmental scientists at Stanford University, is the amount of unburned gas that leaks into kitchens when a stove is off. They found that more than three quarters of methane (甲烷) that escapes from a stove does so when it is not in use, most likely through imperfect pipe fittings. Second, there are the pollutants created by burning when a stove is on, most notably nitrogen oxides, which can upset the lungs.

Drew Michanowicz, a senior scientist at PSE Healthy Energy, a nonprofit research and policy group, said, “A lot of us work at home now. We take about 20, 000 breaths a day, and my stove is like 10 feel away from me. What else is in natural gas?” Michanowicz also frets that as more people weatherize their homes and close windows, they are reducing air exchange, which means indoor pollution will be worse.

Not surprisingly, the American Gas Association has criticized both studies, saying the levels of VOCs found in the Boston study are “reassuringly low”.

What is the average home cook to make of all this. They might follow Michanowicz, who bought an induction burner (电磁炉) and does much of his cooking on it. As for me, I’m making some changes. I’ve switched to an electric kettle for boiling water, and despite its annoying noise, I now use the exhaust hood (吸油烟机) over my stove-something only about 25 to 40 percent of people say they do. And weather permitting, I’ll open a window.

1. What does the author think of her using gas stove according to paragraph 1?

A．It is challenging.	B．It is convenient.
C．It is quite time-consuming.	D．It is friendly to the environment.

2. What leads most methane to escape from a stove according to the new study?

A．The inefficiently-burnt gas.	B．The pollutants created by burning.
C．The improperly-placed stove.	D．The poor quality of the pipe fittings.

3. What can best replace the underlined word “frets” in paragraph 4?

A．worries

B．promises

C．denies

D．wonders

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The influence of Michanowicz.	B．The importance of electric devices.
C．The future of induction burners.	D．Changes of people’s cooking habits.

5 . Do Lobsters Feel Pain?

The traditional method for cooking a lobster (龙虾) — boiling it alive — raises the question of whether or not lobsters feel pain.     1    . Lobsters go bad very quickly after they die, and eating a dead lobster increases the risk of illness and reduces the quality of its flavor. However, if lobsters are capable of feeling pain, the method and others, such as storing the live lobster on ice, raise moral questions for chefs and lobster eaters alike.

    2    . Lobsters have a peripheral system like humans, but instead of a single brain, they possess nerve cluster (神经簇). Because of this difference, some researchers argue lobsters are too dissimilar to vertebrates (脊椎动物) to feel pain. Nonetheless, lobsters do satisfy all of the standard for a pain response. Lobsters guard their injuries, learn to avoid dangerous situations, respond to anesthetics, and are believed to possess some level of consciousness. So most scientists believe that injuring a lobster causes physical pain.

    3    , so it is now becoming illegal to boil lobsters alive or keep them on ice. Currently, boiling lobsters alive is illegal in Switzerland, New Zealand, and the Italian city Reggio Emilia.

The most humane tool for cooking a lobster is the CrustaStun. This device electrocutes a lobster, making it unconscious in less than half a second or killing it in 5 to 10 seconds.     4    .

Unfortunately, the CrustaStun is too expensive for most restaurants and people to afford. Some restaurants place a lobster in a plastic bag and place it in the freezer for a couple of hours, during which time it loses consciousness and dies.     5    , but it is probably the most humane option for killing a lobster before cooking and eating it.

A．This solution is not ideal

B．And then, it can be cut apart or boiled

C．Lobsters are popular food in many countries

D．There is growing evidence that lobsters may feel pain

E．Scientists disagree over whether or not lobsters feel pain

F．Many restaurants choose more humane methods to cook it

G．This cooking way is used to improve humans’ dining experience

6 . As most children have a natural interest in both cooking and screens, playing free cooking games online with your child may be an excellent way to introduce them to the world of food at an early age.     1    . They provide a number of developmental and educational benefits as well.

Cooking games for kids develop creativity.     2     by letting them experiment with raw materials, recipes, and preparation methods. Such games can help kids develop a growth mindset, creativity, and the freedom to make their own choices.

Cooking games can improve social skills. Most cooking games offer an in-built social space. For example, playing multiplayer or two-player games allows children to interact with others, solve problems in cooperation, and so on. This is especially convenient for those who have difficulty reaching out to others in the real world. Online games can help them practice their communication skills.     3    .

Cooking games boost confidence and independence. When kids take the initiative, finish a task, or follow directions correctly, they feel good about themselves and proud of what they’ve done.     4    , they are more likely to grow up with a feeling of confidence, responsibility and independence.

    5    . The act of cooking, whether virtual or in the real world, requires a lot of counting and measuring, which promotes the development of fundamental mathematical abilities. Additionally, they require kids to perform various kitchen tasks or read the recipes or lists of raw materials and then follow the directions, teaching them to read, and improving their vocabulary.

A．If they have trust in their own skills

B．When they learn how to solve disagreements

C．Cooking games promote math and reading skills

D．Many cooking games are more than just a fun activity

E．Playing in the kitchen helps kids learn to solve problems

F．They encourage kids to try new things and think outside the box

G．Therefore, they eventually feel more confident making friends in real life

8 . My mother used to say that when your mother was really good at something, you didn’t learn to do it. What she said was ________. My grandmother was skilled in baking and cooking, but my mother was a barely ________ cook for our family of seven. We didn’t ________; we had meat, potatoes and another vegetable at every meal out of a can.

Baking was not Mom’s ________, so on Saturday mornings, she would ________ us to the bakery for fresh cake. Mom did learn to make the ________ Dad loved — bacon and eggs, spare ribs (排骨) and, ________, potato salad. Potato salad was my mom’s major ________ to every summer, ________ eating such a dish on a hot July day wasn’t a good idea. Mayonnaise (蛋黄酱) in it could be difficult to ________ and you might have to go to the bathroom frequently.

Case in point: the time my uncle and aunt and their six kids ________ at the lake with us. The ________ included burgers, burnt or slightly raw, lots of pop, and Mom’s potato salad. We spent hours at the lake. Unfortunately, so did the salad.

________, I realize that polishing off Mom’s potato salad may have been the reason that Dad finally built us a second bathroom, which ________ that everything can have a bright side. My mother didn’t ________ in the kitchen, but I miss her cooking so much.

1.

A．crazy

B．true

C．simple

D．strange

2.

A．additional

B．efficient

C．acceptable

D．instant

3.

A．attend

B．refuse

C．starve

D．escape

4.

A．strength

B．course

C．challenge

D．dream

5.

A．expose

B．hire

C．send

D．compare

6.

A．clothes

B．foods

C．drinks

D．tools

7.

A．hardly

B．immediately

C．equally

D．particularly

8.

A．contribution

B．adjustment

C．introduction

D．reference

9.

A．since

B．although

C．if

D．unless

10.

A．discover

B．select

C．understand

D．digest

11.

A．fought

B．swam

C．rested

D．picnicked

12.

A．price

B．bill

C．menu

D．tour

13.

A．Turning around

B．Looking back

C．Going away

D．Moving on

14.

A．guarantees

B．claims

C．proves

D．assumes

15.

A．shine

B．cook

C．sing

D．stand

9 . Holidays and small ovens can bake up memories

Anyone will tell you that, aside from the people, the best part of any holiday is the food, Thanksgiving turkeys, Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes, Fourth of July BBQ, Dragon Boat festival zongzi.     1     It’s not a Christmas party without a platter of at least three different types of cookies. Frosted sugar cookies, chocolate crinkles and spiced molasses are among my Christmas favorites.

Families spend days making cookies. It’s akin (相似的) to stuffing and crimping dumplings.     2     Gathering everyone around the table to help out and chat is a delightful way to get into the holiday spirit. Whether living in a full house or as a single, I’ve always enjoyed baking and found it calming.

The challenge of baking in China is that a critical component is often missing, an oven. Chinese cuisine is impressively diverse and the need for an oven never seems to have arisen, the majority of apartments are, understandably, without oven, Here’s where foreigners, if they haven’t done already, quickly learn to use Taobao and buy themselves a toaster oven. This is an excellent kitchen addition, though they are significantly smaller than a standard oven.     3    

Holiday baking challenges in China don’t end there, however. Imagine it’s Christmas Eve. You’ve rented a house with friends or gathered at someone’s large apartment. You’re preparing your Christmas feast! But there’s only one oven. And it’s a third the size of a conventional oven.     4     With larger ovens at home where you can toss a couple of casseroles and a ham all in there together, you now have to bake in batches. The process takes roughly-all day.

    5    . There are always games, songs and laughs to be had in the kitchen and though the baking strategy system might cause some scheduling conflicts, at the end of the day, if you’re with the people you love, it’s all worth it. Happy holidays to you and yours!

A．For Christmas, cookies are king!

B．It’s not too difficult, just takes time.

C．This is one instance where size does matter.

D．It is convenient for people to bake in the kitchen.

E．It also means that holiday baking time is doubled.

F．It is a wonderful time for families to get together to enjoy themselves.

G．Despite all these adjustments, holiday baking is a joyous time to gather together and make memories.

10 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Fuchsia Dunlop from the UK likes to post her experiences of food from around the world on social media. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, cooking Chinese food     1    (become) a way for her to deal with the “endless lockdown”.

    2    (realize) her dream of becoming a cook, she decided to come to Chengdu,     3     she learned local cooking skills in 1994. Seven years later, Dunlop published her first book, Sichuan Cookery,     4    (praise) as “one of the top 10 cookbooks of all time”. So far, she has published five books about Chinese cuisines, showing her deep understanding of the food culture that     5    (run) in the blood of Chinese people.

Having studied Chinese food culture for nearly 20 years, she regards Jiangnan     6     the center of the nation’s gastronomy (美食学). The decisive moment was in 2008 when she went to Longjing Caotang,     7     restaurant in Hangzhou. The whole cooking method was so moving and     8    (impress) that, at that moment, she decided to write a book about the area. According to Dunlop, by presenting the     9    (dish), she is trying to paint a picture of the area and display     10    (it) different sides, from the banquet to the street food.