English Base

Test 012

Reading Practice: The Cooking Class

Reading Text

On Tuesday evening, I walked into the school kitchen. The smell of onions filled the whole room.

Our teacher, Mr. Collins, gave each of us a sharp knife and a wooden board. I cut three onions quickly, because I wanted to help my group. Soon my eyes began to water, and I laughed. The knife was new, and I worked slowly and carefully.

After that, we put vegetables into a big pot and waited for the soup to cook. My friend Nora added salt twice, so the soup became too salty. Nobody in the group wanted to eat it. Mr. Collins tasted the soup and smiled at us. He told us to add two potatoes and a little water. Potatoes take salt out of a dish quickly.

We did that, and after ten minutes the soup was fine again. Finally, we carried our bowls to a long table and ate together. It was my first lesson, but I already felt like a real cook.

Comprehension Test

Question 1. What did the narrator notice first in the school kitchen?

✗ IncorrectThe text never says that the kitchen was cold or dark. The first thing mentioned is the smell of onions.

✓ CorrectThe text says: "The smell of onions filled the whole room." This is the first thing the narrator noticed.

✗ IncorrectMr. Collins did not cook at that moment. He gave the students a knife and a board.

✗ IncorrectNora appears later in the text, when she adds salt to the soup. She was not washing a pot.

Question 2. What did the teacher give to each student?

✗ IncorrectThe soup came later, after the students put vegetables in the pot. It was not given at the start.

✗ IncorrectThe students put vegetables into a pot, but the text does not say the teacher gave them a bag of vegetables.

✗ IncorrectThere is nothing about a recipe or a notebook in the text. The students got tools for cutting.

✓ CorrectThe text says: "Our teacher, Mr. Collins, gave each of us a sharp knife and a wooden board."

Question 3. Why did the narrator cut the onions quickly?

✓ CorrectThe text says: "I cut three onions quickly, because I wanted to help my group."

✗ IncorrectThe three onions were the narrator's own choice. Mr. Collins did not ask for exactly three onions.

✗ IncorrectThe text says nothing about the size of the onions. It explains the speed with a different reason.

✗ IncorrectNora was not waiting for onions. She only added salt to the soup later.

Question 4. What happened to the narrator's eyes?

✗ IncorrectMr. Collins did not help with the eyes. The narrator laughed at this small problem and continued.

✗ IncorrectThe knife was new, not old, and the text does not say the eyes closed.

✓ CorrectThe text says: "Soon my eyes began to water, and I laughed." Onions often do this to people.

✗ IncorrectThe text does not call the onions sweet. The eyes of the narrator began to water, so this idea is wrong.

Question 5. Why did the soup become too salty?

✗ IncorrectThe teacher did not put salt in the soup. He tasted the soup and gave advice.

✓ CorrectThe text says: "My friend Nora added salt twice, so the soup became too salty."

✗ IncorrectThe text says nothing about salty vegetables. The problem came from salt added by a person.

✗ IncorrectThe potatoes came after the mistake, not before it. They made the soup fine again.

Question 6. What did Mr. Collins do after he tasted the soup?

✗ IncorrectThe group did not start again. They added two potatoes and a little water to the same pot.

✗ IncorrectThe text does not talk about cold water and the pot. Water went inside the soup, not around the pot.

✗ IncorrectNobody wanted to eat the soup, so it was not good. The teacher smiled and gave advice instead.

✓ CorrectThe text says: "Mr. Collins tasted the soup and smiled at us. He told us to add two potatoes and a little water."

Question 7. What did the teacher tell the students to add to the soup?

✓ CorrectThe text says: "He told us to add two potatoes and a little water."

✗ IncorrectMore salt would make the soup worse. The advice was about potatoes and water, not pepper.

✗ IncorrectBread and another onion are not in the teacher's advice. The text names potatoes and water.

✗ IncorrectThe numbers and the drink are wrong here. The teacher said two potatoes and a little water.

Question 8. According to the teacher, why do potatoes help?

✗ IncorrectThe text does not say that potatoes change the cooking time. It gives another reason: they take salt out of a dish.

✗ IncorrectThe soup was already tasty but too salty. The potatoes were added to take salt away.

✓ CorrectThe text says: "Potatoes take salt out of a dish quickly." This is why the soup was fine again.

✗ IncorrectThe text never talks about how thick or warm the soup was after the potatoes.

Question 9. What did the students do at the end of the lesson?

✗ IncorrectWashing pots and going home is not in the last part of the text. The students did something together first.

✗ IncorrectThe text does not mention notebooks or writing. After cooking, the group ate.

✗ IncorrectNobody left the kitchen in the text, and bread is never mentioned.

✓ CorrectThe text says: "we carried our bowls to a long table and ate together."

Question 10. How did the narrator feel at the end of the first lesson?

✗ IncorrectThe text does not say the narrator was tired. The last sentence shows a happy feeling.

✓ CorrectThe text says: "It was my first lesson, but I already felt like a real cook."

✗ IncorrectThe narrator laughed during the lesson, and the soup became fine again. There is no anger in the text.

✗ IncorrectThe next lesson is not discussed. The narrator ends with a positive idea about being a cook.
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