6、It was the first time in Cindy's 12 years she had tried to make a cake, but it wasn't exactly a success. The cake was ---well, lumpy(粗笨的). And it tasted   1   , as if she had run out of sugar. Besides, the   2   was in a mess with all the fixings for cake out of place.

     But Cindy wasn't thinking about the mess. She was   3   for her parents to return home so she could   4    her gift to them. She turned off the lights and waited   5   in the darkness. When at last she saw the   6   of the car headlights, she   7   herself in the kitchen doorways. When she had heard the key   8    into the front door, she was this  9  exploding.

      Her parents tried to slip in quietly, but Cindy would have   10  of that. She turned on the lights dramatically and gestured toward the kitchen table,   11    a slightly off-balance cake awaited their   12    But her mother saw nothing but the   13  , She shouted, "How many times have l talked to you about cleaning up   14   yourself?"

     "But Mom, l was only ..."

     "Clean this up immediately."

     Unfortunately, Cindy's mother isn't the only parent who   15   the occasional inability to see the forest for the trees. Sometimes we allow ourselves to be   16   to issues of long-term significance by the thing that seems   17   now --but isn't.   18   kitchen sanitation (卫生) is important, is it worth the   19   of tender feelings and relationships? As parents there are times when we   20   need to see the mess in the kitchen. And times when we only need to see the cake.

1. A. delicious           B. sweet              C. terrible             D. bitter

2. A. kitchen            B. dining-room         C. sitting-room         D. table

3. A. ready             B. eager               C. anxious             D. crazy

4. A. provide            B. present             C. offer               D. supply

5. A. patiently           B. excitedly            C. nervously           D. happily

6. A. shadow            B. flame               C. flash               D. body

7. A. positioned          B. hid                C. adapted             D. adjusted

8. A. putting             B. knocking           C. pushing             D. sliding

9. A. more than          B. close to             C. related to            D. rather than

10. A. neither             B. nothing             C. none               D. something

11. A. which              B. where              C. as                 D. because

12. A. inspection           B. admiration          C. encouragement      D. inspiration

13. A. table               B. kitchen             C. cake               D. mess

14. A. by                 B. of                 C. for                D. after

15. A. gives away          B. suffers from         C. shows off           D. takes in

16. A. blinded             B. caught             C. stuck               D. devoted

17. A. necessary           B. important           C. extraordinary        D. clean

18. A. Whenever           B. If                 C. While              D. Since

19. A. price                B. value             C. reward              D. sacrifice

20. A. actually            B. only               C. really               D. occasionally