1 . I started cooking when I was thirteen. Both of my parents worked, so I was usually _______ after school. One day, my parents forgot to _______ dinner before they went to work. As we were short of money, eating out was beyond _______. So I decided to be the _______ of the day.

A few moments later, I _______ to cook fried rice, the best option out of _______ resources, including my cooking knowledge. After _______ a pan on the stove and turning on the heat, it soon began to sizzle. I was so hungry that I _______ and threw everything into the pan all together. In went rice, pieces of meat and vegetables. Little did I know that the _______ of ingredients (原料) was crucial in cooking. I ________ waited for the meat to be thoroughly cooked, but other ingredients were ________. At first, I mistook it as steam from cooking, but I soon ________ something went horribly wrong when smoke ________ to fill the kitchen.

Later that day, my mother told me, “You cannot rush yourself when cooking.” Rather, I should take steps, turning to the basics, such as learning about the ingredients and ________ the recipe.

I’ve learned that the first ________ seems hard but we should just start and let the journey teach us.

3 . What are the foods that you can only taste in memories? Your mother’s biscuits? The pies you made as a child? And what are the recipes that help you_________  your memories? 

This morning, for the first time in over a year, I made Dutch Babies, a kind of pancake. I’m a poor cook who’s always _________ to pull anything out of the oven that isn’t burnt. But _________ , I get lucky. 

Making Dutch Babies brings to my mind some of the _________  memories of my life. I’ve made Dutch Babies many times for sleepovers and _________ . They were always a hit, even if I _________ them. 

After my kids grew up, I didn’t cook much for years, except for holidays or other _________ occasions. When we had a family _________ , I’d make Dutch Babies for breakfast. 

I can’t recall the last time I made Dutch Babies, before today. I know it was _________  a year, before life was __________ for the pandemic, and we stopped having guests. 

So why did I make them this __________  for only my husband and me? It’s been a(n) __________ year for all of us, filled with things we couldn’t do. I was __________  to celebrate being alive. 

Good food can feed a hungry crowd. But if it’s made with love and __________ ,it can fill a __________  with the hope of better days to come. So, add your own memories.

5 . My husband and I intended to have a quiet, low-key New Year’s Eve this year. We wanted to spend it with our kids and other immediate family and make it a special ________ for them, instead of ________ a babysitter and going out on our own.

The logical way to do this was through ________. As we all know, food had a magical way of making a night ________, and our New Year’s Eve certainly ________ that way, thanks to doughnuts (甜甜圈).

I decided to make doughnuts because my cousins had ________ a batch (一批) on Halloween and I found it very ________. I used a recipe from the 1976 Mennonite cookbook More With Less and it ________ a curious ingredient — two cups of mashed potatoes that ________ made the texture lighter. The doughnuts were rolled out and cut from a sheet of dough (生面团), then left to ________ until ready to fry in hot oil. Then they took several seconds to ________, which meant that my enormous batch of 100 doughnuts was ________ cooking in a fairly short time. We glazed (浇上浆液) the tops and then ________ them for the rest of the evening. The leftovers disappeared at breakfast.

This will become an annual ________, I have no doubt. Whether we host a bigger party or keep it small, there will always be ________ doughnuts, because when you have hot homemade doughnuts, you can’t help but have the best time.

8 . Food has always been one of the greatest wants of humankind. The search for food is the_______human behavior. Thus，_______food were easier to get and prepare，it would be really helpful for humankind. It would reduce a great burden (负担). The development of processed foods (加工食品) has made food easier to get and prepare. _______every coin has two sides. Apart from its advantages，the_______of cooking also has its disadvantages.

Though processed foods seem like a great way to save_______，they offer much less nutritional (营养的) value than traditional foods. People today are so busy that they are not able to spend enough time preparing their food. As a result，many people_______to eat processed foods，ready­to­cook meals and various fast foods. But what will_______if one eats such food all year round? It will damage your health. The nutritional value of the food is not so high. Worse still，research shows that preservatives (防腐剂) used in these foods are_______to children. That's why health experts warn people not to eat too much of such_______food.

Besides，since people spend little time preparing food，the culture of cooking is slowly ________. Cooking is not done just to satisfy hunger；it is also a(n)________form of art. Across the world，there are thousands of ________cooking styles. If young people are used to processed foods，few of them will develop great cooking________. And when they become parents，it will be hard for their children to enjoy a(n)________home­cooked meal. What's more，cooking is a great time for families to connect. There is a lot of________when family members are preparing food together.

In a word，I believe though processed food has made the preparation of food much easier，it has not been a good step for humankind.

9 . Most people get rid of their leftover foods，but in Nigerian-born visual artist Haneefah Adam’s kitchen，they’re put to good use.

Adam，28，is famous for _______ food in creative ways，using it to make portraits and other works of art. She has _______ been artistic. Her mother said she had a _______ for art. Now，she’s building a career out of changing food into art. “I do _______ portraits and also often sew and paint，but what _______ me the most is food art，”she says. Adam is inspired by _______ things，including life experiences and culture. She _______ everything around her as something that can be made into art.

In 2016，she_______ the TechMeetsArtNG exhibition，which was _______ and funded by Samsung Nigeria and Rele Gallery. ________ the competition，my art was mostly random，and I was just recording food art on social media. But after winning，I started to think about ________making a living from food art，”she says.

Winning the competition kick-started Adam’s ________ and her full-time job is now________art for food brands such as Maggi and Dangote Salt. “I want to ________ in more exhibitions. I currently live in Kwara，northern Nigeria；it is difficult to ________in the country’s art scene from here，”she says.