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 (咝咝作响). 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 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 came out to ________ 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.

2 . Tim Ma’s parents came to the United States from Taiwan in the 1970s. They opened a _______. It was not a success. They found success in America, _______, in computers and engineering. Because of their own _______, Ma’s parents hoped he would study to become an engineer.

Growing up, Ma considered many _______—writer, fireman, even president. But he had a sense early on. He didn’t want to be a(n) _______.

His _______ could not understand why he just wanted to open a restaurant. They had worked long hours on their own restaurant, still _______. But Ma remained _______. He was going to do things differently than them. He was able to learn from their one major _______ as restaurant owners—they knew very little about the art of cooking. Their chef (厨师) ________ and opened a Chinese restaurant across the street which really put them in a bad ________.

So, at age 30, Ma returned to school—one cooking school. He received training in ________ cooking. In 2009, Ma opened his first restaurant, which ________ excellent cuisine.

At Maple Avenue, Ma worked long hours, seven days a week. His hard work ________. Ma opened his fourth restaurant last year. He ________ his training in French cooking with his Chinese heritage (传承) to create new dishes.

3 . 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.