Feeding a crowd of hundreds doesn’t make Kenny Seals-Nutt nervous.

In fact, he thrives in the kitchen. He’s in his perfect place when dicing tomatoes, making salads and baking cakes.

By the time Kenny, 16, reached his third year of high school at Hickory Grove, North Carolina, US, he had become vice president of his school’s cooking club. He also opened his own food company, called Modern Fusion.

Kenny said he developed his love of cooking by watching his mother, and his grandmother, who owned a catering (饮食业) business herself. Kenny helped them both in order to remember their tips: how long to cook chicken so it stays wet, and the right amount of tomatoes to add to a spaghetti dish.

At the age of 5, he cooked his first dish of shrimp and broccoli. Taking it for his school lunch, he warmed it up in the school’s microwave, while the other kids ate their sandwiches.

“I love to eat, and it started to become more fun to cook than to use a microwave,” he said.

Cooking came easy to Kenny, and he enjoyed adding new ingredients into common dishes. “It started with a passion (热情) and I wanted to know more,” he said. He began to watch the Food Network and read chef blogs.

Last summer, Kenny put his skills to the test by working with his grandmother to cater his uncle’s wedding. While she cooked traditional dishes, Kenny wanted to add new to the expected flavors (风味).

Now Kenny spends his weekends catering his own events: weddings, birthday parties, baby showers. Kenny’s dishes are always a hit.

Chef Frederick Mookie Hicks, owner of a catering business, said Kenny’s success comes from his ability to multitask in the kitchen. Hicks said he has asked Kenny to cook with him on jobs three times now, and he presents Kenny as a positive example of a passionate chef to the students in his cooking classes.

“He’s so vigorous (精神饱满的) about cooking that he doesn’t let anything stop him,” Hicks said. “I knew in the first five minutes of working with the kid that he is something special.”

1.How is Kenny different from other students?

A．He opened a cooking club in his high school.

B．He is famous on the Food Network.

C．He owned a food company at 16.

D．He loves to multi-task.

2.What does the underlined word “thrives” probably mean?

A．works energetic                        B．grows fast

C．learns quickly                          D．makes progress

3.Which of the following best describes Kenny’s cooking?

A．Traditional.                            B．Creative.

C．Simple.                               D．Strange.

4.We can conclude from the article that ______.

A．Kenny proved himself by catering his uncle’s wedding alone

B．Kenny likes to follow his mother’s recipe when cooking

C．Kenny was able to cook his first dish in primary school

D．Kenny’s success in cooking has a lot to do with his family

In today’s world of mobile phones, most people have at least one time-telling tool with them. Since these small machines are so common, will people stop wearing the 500-year-old watches? According to some people, yes. A teenager says it’s unnecessary to wear a watch. Many young people agree-and use their mobile phones to tell time. Louis Galie, apresident, said that fewer young people wear watches today than five years ago.
However, watchmakers say that watches get popular again when people reach their 20s and 30s. By then, they want to spend money on a nice time-telling tool which doesn’t just keep a good time. For this reason, the watch industry has become an accessory business (配件业) in recent years.
Today’s ______ offer a lot of uses that meet the need of almost any personality (个性). They can be used as compasses (指南针), calendars, and even USB drivers…
People are always trying their best to creat new kinds of watches. A certain watchmaker business watches that don’t even look like watches. Their popular model uses different color lights to tell the time. Amother watchmaker business, make a “handless” watch, using a ring of circles to keep time. This watch makes people talk a lot about modern watches.
Whether a watch express fashion sense, creative ability of a love of sports, people want their time-telling tools to be beautiful, fashionable and practical. All in all, a watch has become more important than the time it tells.
【小题1】 Many young people agree that it’s unnecessary to __________________.
【小题2】When do watches get popular again according to watchmakers?
______________________________________________________________
【小题3】 ___________________________________________________________
【小题4】 ___________________________________________________________
【小题5】___________________________________________________________

Americans love cars．They go everywhere in them．8 5％of people in the US go to and from work by car. And most adults have driving licenses．Why does this car culture exist?

How it started

America’s love of cars started after the war(战争)when soldiers returned home from World War II to rebuild their lives．They borrowed money from the government to buy houses and cars which became the symbols of status(地位)．The more money they had，the bigger their cars were．

Making of roads

During the war，President Eisenhower noticed what good roads Germany had．He decided to build new four-lane(四车道)roads in America．He said if something happened suddenly，the two-lane roads wouldn’t be able to carry all the cars that would suddenly leave the cities．Car and oil companies liked his idea and building started．

Car lover

Not just teenagers are crazy about cars．Some Americans love their cars so much that they paint their cars beautifully .These are called Art Cars．Every April there is an activity in Houston，Texas，where they show their cars．

Pollution

Cars have polluted the environment．American President Bush refused a worldwide law that is against pollution．Many countries were angry about it．Bush said he had to think of the American economy(经济)and all the American people that make money from cars．Factories say they want to make cars that pollute less．But others say making cars that pollute less will never be as good as having fewer cars．

1.When did Americans begin to love cars?   

A．Before the new two-lane roads were built．

B．After World War II．

C．During World War II．

D．Before World War II．

2.New four-1ane roads were build _______.

A．in Germany                            B．by car and oil companies

C．in America                            D．when something suddenly happened

3.The underlined word “building” here means “the building of _______”． 

A．companies        B．soldiers’ lives     C．houses           D．roads

4.What were other countries’ feelings about Bush’s decision?  

A．They agreed with him．                  B．They showed anger to it．

C．They paid no attention to it.                D．The passage doesn’t tell us.

5.What does the last sentence  mean? 

A．It’s better to have fewer cars．

B．It’s better to make cars that pollute less．

C．It’s easier to make cars that pollute less．

D．It’s easier to make people have fewer cars．