Read the following message.
Hi Keira,
Your mother said you were disappointed that I am ordering some food for our winter gathering. I can understand why it sounded as though I was giving up a tradition. For years, you arrived to find the kitchen full of steam and me refusing every offer of help.
What you did not see was how little of the gathering I experienced from outside the kitchen. By the time I served the last dish, the younger cousins had finished their stories and the music had started. I was proud of feeding everyone, but I had begun to protect the appearance of tradition at the cost of taking part in it.
This year, the soup and bread will come from the café. I will still make the dumplings with Mina, using the folding method my mother taught me. Mina has practised it with me several times, and her dumplings no longer need me to repair their edges. Passing that skill to her feels more connected to our tradition than producing every plate by myself.
Ordering two dishes is not a request for the family to stop cooking. Your uncle is bringing his roasted vegetables, and your mother is making dessert. I am changing my role from the only cook to one of several people contributing. The result may look less like the gatherings you remember, but I hope it will feel more shared.
Please come into the kitchen when you arrive. Mina and I will save some dough so you can learn the fold too. Then, when we sit down, I intend to hear the stories instead of asking for a summary afterward.
Grandma Inez
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given in the message.
2.Under the old plan, Keira did not see how
3.Protecting the look of tradition meant
4.Dumplings with Mina feel traditional since
5.Inez is changing her role from
6.Inez saves dough for Keira in order to
Here is a response to the message. Complete the response by filling in the blanks. Select the best choice for each blank from the drop-down menu (▾).
I had confused doing everything yourself with 7. I now see that the old arrangement kept you from 8.
Making dumplings with Mina still carries the tradition forward because 9. The café food also does not mean the family has stopped contributing; it means 10. I would like to learn the fold. More importantly, I understand that this year you want to be 11.
Keira
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: Keira thought ordering food meant giving up the tradition
Why this is correct: Keira was disappointed because ordering food sounded like giving up the tradition. Grandma Inez writes the whole message to answer that worry, so it is the main reason for her message.
Passage Reference: I can understand why it sounded as though I was giving up a tradition
Tips: Find why Inez is writing now. Check each option for the right person and the right worry.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the family thought she wanted a café meal instead of gathering: The gathering continues. Only some dishes are ordered.
- Inez thought shared cooking would weaken her role: Inez is choosing to share the work.
- Keira thought Mina's dumplings replaced Inez's recipes: Mina is learning Inez's method, not replacing it.
Correct Answer: Inez missed much of the family conversation while cooking
Passage Reference: By the time I served the last dish, the younger cousins had finished their stories and the music had started
Why this is correct: By the time she finished cooking, stories and music had moved on without her.
Tips: Find what Grandma says Keira never saw during those years. Read the example that comes with it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- younger cousins finished stories before the meal: That detail supports the cost to Inez, but the missed point is her absence from the talk.
- Inez heard family stories only from the kitchen: She missed the stories. She did not hear them from the kitchen.
- Inez had less time to teach Mina: Teaching Mina is part of this year's plan, not the old hidden cost.
Correct Answer: she kept a familiar image while being shut out of joining in
Passage Reference: I had begun to protect the appearance of tradition at the cost of taking part in it
Why this is correct: She protected how tradition looked while missing the chance to take part.
Tips: Read appearance against participation.
Why the other options are wrong:
- she still cooked every familiar dish alone: That describes the old workload, not the phrase's meaning.
- she kept the meal's look but changed every recipe: She is not claiming secret recipe changes.
- she refused to share the method with Mina: She is sharing the dumpling method with Mina.
Correct Answer: the skill passes to another generation
Passage Reference: Passing that skill to her feels more connected to our tradition than producing every plate by myself
Why this is correct: Passing the folding method to Mina feels more connected to tradition than cooking alone.
Tips: Link tradition to teaching Mina.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every dumpling becomes identical: Identical shape is not the reason she gives.
- café bread counts as homemade: Café food is ordered. The dumplings are the handmade skill.
- Inez can avoid sitting with guests: She wants to sit and hear stories, not avoid guests.
Correct Answer: only cook to one of several contributors
Passage Reference: I am changing my role from the only cook to one of several people contributing
Why this is correct: She is moving from being the only cook to one of several people contributing.
Tips: Track the role shift she names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- family host to café employee: She is not becoming a café worker.
- dumpling teacher to silent observer: She still makes dumplings and wants to join the talk.
- guest storyteller to only cook: She is moving away from being only the cook.
Correct Answer: invite her into sharing the skill
Passage Reference: Mina and I will save some dough so you can learn the fold too
Why this is correct: Saving dough lets Keira learn the fold with them.
Tips: Connect saved dough to learning the fold.
Why the other options are wrong:
- test whether Keira prefers café food: The dough is for learning, not a food test.
- replace Mina as the dumpling maker: Mina remains part of the dumpling work.
- keep Keira busy during the stories: Inez wants Keira, and herself, in the stories afterward.
Correct Answer: preserving the tradition
Passage Reference: it sounded as though I was giving up a tradition
Why this is correct: Keira had treated solo cooking as the same thing as keeping the tradition.
Tips: Name what Keira wrongly matched to doing everything alone.
Why the other options are wrong:
- sharing work with relatives: Sharing is what Keira had not equated with tradition.
- teaching Mina the fold: That teaching supports the tradition. It was not the cause of the confusion.
- missing the family stories: Missing stories was the cost, not what Keira confused with tradition.
Correct Answer: participating in the gathering you created
Passage Reference: at the cost of taking part in it
Why this is correct: The old setup kept Inez from taking part in the gathering she hosted.
Tips: The blank names what the old plan blocked.
Why the other options are wrong:
- showing Mina how to repair edges: Edge repair is practice detail, not what she missed.
- hearing music from the kitchen: She missed the gathering, including music and stories.
- preparing enough food for the family: She did prepare food. What she missed was joining in.
Correct Answer: the skill moves from one generation to the next
Passage Reference: Passing that skill to her feels more connected to our tradition
Why this is correct: Teaching Mina continues the tradition by passing the skill on.
Tips: Find the sentence where Grandma says what feels more connected to the old ways. Match its meaning.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Mina is no longer allowed to practise: Mina has practised and improved.
- every dish remains made by Inez: Inez is no longer making every dish.
- the café uses Inez's mother's recipe: Café soup and bread are purchased, not her mother's dumpling method.
Correct Answer: several contributors are sharing responsibility
Passage Reference: Your uncle is bringing his roasted vegetables, and your mother is making dessert
Why this is correct: Uncle brings vegetables and Keira's mother makes dessert, so responsibility is shared.
Tips: Use the other relatives' contributions.
Why the other options are wrong:
- Inez will serve only food she purchased: She still makes dumplings.
- the café has replaced all family cooking: Only some dishes are ordered.
- Keira must prepare the entire meal: Keira is invited to learn, not to cook everything.
Correct Answer: present for the family conversation as well as the meal
Passage Reference: when we sit down, I intend to hear the stories instead of asking for a summary afterward
Why this is correct: Inez intends to hear the stories instead of getting a summary later.
Tips: Find where Grandma says what she wants this year. Compare her words with each option before you choose.
Why the other options are wrong:
- finished before any guest arrives: She plans to be present with guests.
- recognized as the only skilled cook: She is stepping back from being the only cook.
- given a summary after everyone leaves: That is what she wants to avoid.
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