1 . “We are what we eat”—or so the saying goes. From high-calorie meals to low-fat lunches, much of our health depends on what we eat. We know about the benefits of eating properly for our physical well-being, but food and cooking it is proving to be good for our mental well-being as well.

Some people are now advocating the therapeutic (治疗的）value of cooking food. It’s not just about the end result but the experience someone goes through.

TV chef and author Nadiya Hussain agrees that cooking is great for helping our mind. She loves to bake and became the champion of the TV show, The Great British Bake Off. She says that “Baking’s always been about therapy... It’s never really been about the cake.” And she thinks that baking is an important tool for our socialisation and mental health.

Certainly, creating some delicious food has helped some of us get through the recent lockdown; it’s helped take our mind off things and given us something to do. People have said that kneading dough (面团) to make bread, for example, has given them a sense of calm and control. Research has shown that doing creative tasks, like cooking, makes us feel happier.

Nicole Farmer, who studies how food impacts our biology, behavior and mental health, told BBC online that “cooking represents the shared human experience of food, and nurturing people through food, so I think that’s where it integrates opportunity into immediate positive emotions”.

Of course, cooking can be a very sociable activity and sharing the end result, a rewarding experience. Hopefully, as we start to mix with friends and family again, we can enjoy the benefits once more and put us all in the right frame of mind.

1. What does the underlined word “well-being” mean in the first paragraph?

A．Happiness.	B．Recovery.
C．Preference.	D．Influence.

2. Why does the author mention “TV chef and author Nadiya Hussain” in paragraph 3?

A．To explain a regulation.	B．To support a viewpoint.
C．To present a fact.	D．To make a prediction.

3. How does cooking do good to people during the lockdown?

A．By creating delicious food.

B．By offering a sense of quietness.

C．By impressing human experience of food.

D．By drawing one’s attention to be occupied.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．We Are What We Eat

B．How Food Affects Our Behavior

C．Cooking Benefits Mental Health

D．Cooking Helps Connect Friends and Family

4 . Children like playing make-believe and enjoy inventing a variety of characters while immersed (沉浸) in imaginative play. Cooking games are a fantastic way to stimulate imaginative play. Children can act out real-life situations and behaviors through pretend play. There are various online cooking games for children as well. For children, they are more than just a fun pastime activity. They also provide a number of developmental and educational benefits.

Free online cooking games encourage kids to try new things and think outside the box by letting them experiment with ingredients, recipes, and preparation methods. Such games can help kids develop a growth mindset, creativity, and the freedom to make their own choices.

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 such as counting and adding. Additionally, many free cooking games online require kids to perform various kitchen tasks or read the recipes or lists of ingredients and then follow the directions, teaching them to read, improving their vocabulary, and boosting their confidence.

Most cooking games offer an in-built social space. For example, playing multiplayer or two-player games allows children to interact with others, help each other, laugh together, solve problems in cooperation, and so on. This is especially convenient for timid or introverted kids who have difficulty reaching out to others in the real world. Online games can help these kids develop self-esteem and practice their communication skills, so they eventually feel more confident making friends in real life.

However, young children can have difficulty finding age-appropriate games, using trustworthy and safe platforms, or setting limits on their screen time. Therefore, as adults, we must prioritize the kids’ online safety and well-being by helping them select the appropriate games and get the most out of the free cooking games online.

1. What is the benefit of playing multiplayer or two-player cooking games?

A．Children can communicate with others and learn to be cooperative.

B．Children can learn how to cook together.

C．Children can compete against each other and improve their skills.

D．Children can learn how to use different kitchen tools.

2. How do the adults ensure children’s online safety and well-being?

A．Adults should not let children play online games.

B．Adults should help their children select the suitable games.

C．Adults should help their children play online cooking games.

D．Adults should not allow children to play creative games.

3. What’s the author’s attitude toward online cooking games?

A．Negative.

B．Neutral.

C．Favorable.

D．Indifferent.

4. Which of the following titles fits best?

A．Virtual Cooking: A New Way to Avoid the Kitchen?

B．The Benefits of Online Cooking Games for Children

C．Cooking Games: A Waste of Time or a Tool for Building Life Skills?

D．Online cooking: A Way to Improves Children’s Social Skills

5 . Do you enjoy eating a nice piece of a cow? Or pig back meat? Chances are that you do, though you’re more likely to call these dishes beef and bacon. But why do the words for these animals change after they’re killed and served? And why does this change only happen with certain meats?

To answer these questions, we have to step back almost 1,000 years into the past, as the current saying is that this linguistic phenomenon (语言现象) results from the Norman invasion (侵略) of England.

In 1066, the Old French-speaking Normans took control of the Anglo-Saxons, who spoke Old English. The Norman rulers used different measures of oppression (压迫的措施), but they also introduced their language. They used French words for the meat that appeared on their tables. Meanwhile, the Old English words were still used by the Anglo-Saxons who farmed and raised the animals. Such was the Norman influence on England that their terms for meat have always been there as part of the modern English language for cuisine (烹饪).

It’s not just adult cows that got a new name after they were killed and prepared for Norman dinners. A young cow is called a “calf”, and this word comes from Old English. However, the animal is changed into “veal” after it is cooked.

Besides the word pig, which, like cow, has Old English origins (来源), the Anglo-Saxons used to use the word “swine” for these animals. Both became pork when the Normans ate their meat, though.

Chicken is one of several exceptions. While the Normans used the French word poulet for chicken meat, this became “pullet” in English. This word is only really used by chicken farmers. No one is quite sure why this happened! Here’s another exception, as fish is fish regardless of whether it’s swimming in a river or appearing on a dinner table. One possibility for why the French word poisson has never entered the English language is that it’s too close to “poison” — something no one wants to eat!

1. What purpose do questions in the first paragraph serve?

A．To attract readers’ attention.	B．To encourage studies on food.
C．To offer some background information.	D．To provide some advice for readers.

2. Why are French terms for meat used in modern English cuisine?

A．The English who worked in farming came from France.

B．French words for meat were much easier to remember.

C．Normans brought their French language to England.

D．French terms became popular among cooks worldwide.

3. Which word from Old English is used to refer to a young cow?

A．Beef.

B．Veal.

C．Swine.

D．Calf.

4. Why is the French word for fish avoided in English?

A．There were already Old English words for fish in common use.

B．English speakers found the word too similar to the word “poison”.

C．The Normans did not eat fish as often as other meats.

D．The French word was not introduced during the Norman invasion.

6 . The Comfort of Cooking

Most people like eating delicious foods since they believe those foods can make them relax and help get rid of (摆脱) the tiredness of daily lives.     1     Cooking can provide you with many benefits. It can also be fun and a comfort for you when you are feeling down. Can you remember your first time of cooking? Perhaps it’s making dumplings with your grandma, cooking scrambled eggs with tomatoes alone, or helping your family to prepare a large meal during festivals.

Cooking has been found to improve confidence, according to The Mental Health Foundation.     2     You can use different ingredients (原料) and your imagination to create whatever you want to. Just following the cookbook or the video is also meaningful. You will get a sense of achievement when you see the final works after all the hardships.

    3     You will be freed from your worries or anything else that troubles you when focusing your attention on cooking. There is no time for your mind to wander. It is common that we may come across something unexpected which is a burden to us, but remember to find a way to relieve the pressure. Cooking is a calming activity waiting for you.

Cooking is a great way to experience different cultures as well. Different countries have different ways of cooking which lead to various featured foods.     4     By cooking those foods, it seems that you are a native to that country.

Cooking also brings people together. Prepare a meal for the family reunion. Invite some friends to your home. While you are doing the cooking, happy laughter and cheerful voices may fill every corner of the house.     5    

A．Cooking helps you center on the present and lessen your stress.

B．Cooking can increase your worries.

C．Roast duck will remind you of China while curry will take you to India.

D．Bathed in strong social connections, you will not feel lonely any more.

E．Everybody likes tasty foods.

F．But do you know cooking these tasty foods may have the equal effects?

G．While cooking, you are in control of everything.

8 . When I graduated from college and moved to Washington, D.C., in 2017, I left all of my friends behind. Treating new associates with home-cooked meals was my best attempt at making new friends and curing my loneliness. Soon enough, everyone was asking me for the recipes(食谱), which is how Bun Bo Bae, my Vietnamese cooking blog, came into being in 2019.

I’ve probably been destined(注定的) to start a food blog. I spent most of my childhood in the kitchen with my mom. As a child, I’d sit and watch her cook. My duties started with just passing her the ingredients(配料). Soon, I was measuring, steaming and stir-frying my way toward kitchen mastery. I left for college before I could learn my mom’s best dishes.

Studying abroad, I was desperately homesick in the beginning. So, I started calling my mom and asking for the recipes for my favorite dishes. It turns out that my mom doesn’t have any recipes. She grew up in the kitchen with her mom too, and my grandma passed on her knowledge orally(口头地).

Bun Bo Bae was initially a space for me to put what I learned into writing. I didn’t want all of the secret knowledge behind dishes like my mom’s bún bò hué (a spicy beef and pork noodle soup that inspired the blog’s name) or my dad’s thit bǎm sôt cà chua (a pork-based tomato sauce) to vanish one day if the oral tradition ended. I wanted to write down every piece of advice I was given in detail to make sure people could keep creating these dishes as authentically as possible. As my food blog and follower count grew, so did my confidence in the kitchen.

Bun Bo Bae also promoted my confidence at work. I taught myself social media and web building, and the skills helped me land my job at NPR (National Public Radio), where one of my recipes was served in Sound Bites. I even hosted a cooking class for my colleagues to celebrate AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Heritage Month.

1. What can be inferred about the author from paragraph 1?

A．She enjoyed her time of staying alone.

B．Her cooking blog has existed for a decade.

C．Her meals were popular with her new friends.

D．She kept a cooking blog at the request of her friends.

2. How did the author’s mother learn cooking?

A．She searched for information online.

B．She taught herself as an adult.

C．She learnt from her own mother as a kid.

D．She once signed up for a cooking course.

3. What does the underlined word “vanish” in paragraph 4 mean?

A．Spread.

B．Disappear.

C．Change.

D．Repeat.

4. What is Sound Bites probably?

A．A dining place.	B．A cooking blog.
C．A cooking class for Asians.	D．A TV programme about cooking.

9 . 听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1. What is the man doing?

A．Eating a meal.

B．Cooking a meal.

C．Having an interview.

2. How long has the man been cooking?

A．Only recently.

B．Since he was a kid.

C．Since he was twenty years old.

3. Why does the man mention rice and noodles?

A．To give an example.

B．To name his favorite food.

C．To show his best cooking.

4. What is the most important for cooking according to the man?

A．Rich flavors.

B．Freshness of food.

C．Different styles of cooking.