2 . 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.

4 . 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.

5 . 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.