The Cake

　　1 Cindy glanced nervously at the clock on the kitchen wall. Five minutes before midnight.

　　2 "They should be home any time now," she thought as she put the finishing touches(最后润色，收尾工作) on the chocolate cake she was frosting. (1)It was the first time in her 12 years she had tried to make a cake from scratch, and to be honest, it wasn't exactly an aesthetic triumph. The cake was … well, lumpy. And the frosting was bitter, as if she had run out of sugar or something, which, of course, she had.

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　1. It was the first time in her 12 years she had tried to make a cake from scratch, …

　　注意本句的时态。

　　It / This / That will be the first time they have met each other.

　　It / This / That is the third time he has seen an English film.

　　It / This / That was the last time he had done such a strange thing.

　　请认真答题，答题结果将记入知识点测评的成绩!

　　【单选题】4. They will go to America next month. That will be the first time that they ______ America.

　　· A. will visit

　　· B. had visited

　　· C. will have visited

　　· D. have visited

　　【答案】D

　　【解析】本题考查重要结构It / That / This be the 1st / 2nd / … time that…中的时态。该句型要注意时态的一致。即：主句为一般将来或一般现在时，从句用现在完成时;主句为一般过去时，从句用过去完成时。本句中主句为一般将来时，故选择D。

　　【知识点】重要结构It / That / This be the 1st / 2nd / … time that…中的时态

　　3 And then there was the way the kitchen looked. Imagine a huge blender filled with all the fixings for chocolate cake - including the requisite bowls, pans and utensils. Now imagine that the blender is turned on. High speed. With the lid off. Do you get the idea?

　　4 But Cindy wasn't thinking about the mess. She had created something, a veritable phoenix of flour and sugar rising out of the kitchen clutter. (2)She was anxious for her parents to return home from their date so she could present her anniversary gift to thi. She turned off the kitchen lights and waited excitedly in the darkness. When at last she saw the flash of the car headlights, she positioned herself in the kitchen doorway. (3)By the time she heard the key sliding into the front door, she was THIS CLOSE to exploding.

　　5 (4)Her parents tried to slip in quietly, but Cindy would have none of that. She flipped on the lights dramatically and trumpeted: "Ta-daaa!" She gestured grandly toward the kitchen table, where a slightly off-balance two-layer chocolate cake awaited their inspection.

　　6 But her mother's eyes never made it all the way to the table. "Just look at this mess!" she moaned. "How many times have I talked to you about cleaning up after yourself?"

　　7 "But Mom, I was only …"

　　8 "I should make you clean this up right now, but I'm too tired to stay up with you to make sure you get it done right," her mother said. (5) "So you'll do it first thing in the morning."

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　2. She was anxious for her parents to return home from their date so she could present her anniversary gift to thi.

　　be anxious for sb. to do sth. 渴望某人做某事

　　3. By the time she heard the key sliding into the front door, she was THIS CLOSE to exploding.

　　当听到钥匙插进门锁的声音时，她的心几乎要蹦出来了!

　　4. Her parents tried to slip in quietly, but Cindy would have none of that.

　　would have none of it 不接受，不允许

　　5. "So you'll do it first thing in the morning."

　　first thing in the morning早上第一件事

　　He brushes his teeth first thing in the morning every day.

　　9 "Honey," Cindy's father interjected gently, "take a look at the table."

　　10 "I know - it's a mess," his wife said coldly. "The whole kitchen is a disaster. I can't stand to look at it." She stormed up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.

　　11 (6) For a few moments Cindy and her father stood silently, neither one knowing what to say. At last she looked up at him, her eyes moist and red. "She never saw the cake," she said.

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　6. For a few moments Cindy and her father stood silently, neither one knowing what to say. At last she looked up at him, her eyes moist and red..

　　neither one knowing what to say 以及her eyes moist and red都是独立主格结构，即：名词/代词+分词/形容词/介词短语/不定式。再如：

　　The teacher came in, (with) (a) book in (his) hand.

　　The monitor being ill, we have to postpone the meeting.

　　His homework (having been) finished, he decided to go to see a film.

　　The workers having finished all their tasks ahead of time, the boss decided to give thi a day off.

　　Weather permitting, we will go for a spring outing.

　　So many people (being) absent, the meeting has to be canceled.

　　请认真答题，答题结果将记入知识点测评的成绩!

　　【单选题】5. Tom _______ the old man by the arm, they crossed the street together slowly.

　　· A. leading

　　· B. led

　　· C. having led

　　· D. having been led

　　【答案】A

　　【解析】本题考查独立主格。Tom和lead构成主谓关系，lead表示主动含义，故选择现在分词。A和C同属现在分词形式，B和D同属过去分词(应排除)。C项表示lead这个动作先发生然后再发生cross the street，显然不正确，是两个动作同时发生，故选A。该句的意思是"汤姆挽着老人的胳膊，他们一起慢慢过了街。"

　　【知识点】独立主格

　　12 Unfortunately, Cindy's mother isn't the only parent who suffers from Situational Timbercular Glaucoma(青光眼)- the occasional inability to see the forest for the trees. (7)From time to time we all allow ourselves to be blinded to issues of long-term significance by stuff that seis awfully important right now, but isn't. Muddy shoes, lost lunch money and messy kitchens are troublesome, and they deserve their place among life's frustrations. But what's a little mud - even on new carpet - compared to a child's self-estei? Is a lost dollar more valuable than a youngster's ierging dignity? And while kitchen sanitation is important, is it worth the sacrifice of tender feelings and relationships?

　　13 I'm not saying that our children don't need to learn responsibility, or to occasionally suffer the painful consequences of their own bad choices. Those lessons are vital, and need to be carefully taught. But as parents, we must never forget that we're not just teaching lessons - we're teaching children.(承上启下句) That means t

　　here are times when we really need to see the mess in the kitchen, and times when we only need to see the cake.

　　本部分重点及难点：

　　7. From time to time we all allow ourselves to be blinded to issues of long-term significance by stuff that seis awfully important right now, but isn't.

　　由于那些眼下貌似极其重要但并非重要的事情，我们有时会对具有长远重要意义的事情视而不见。(分别指的是故事中的mess和cake)

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