The gender gap in “home cooking” has widened in nearly every country worldwide. Women cooked just under nine meals per week, on average, in 2022. Men cooked about four per week. These are the results of an annual survey by Gallup and Cookpad, which tracks how often people prepare and eat home-cooked meals in countries around the globe.

When the survey began in 2018, traditional gender roles were well established, but during the COVID-19 pandemic(流行病) years, the survey results showed that men were cooking more. This narrowed the gender gap, explains Andrew Dugan, a research director at Gallup, who has worked on the survey since it began. “Every year since the study started, the gap narrowed,” he says. However, the latest results, which Duggan says come as a surprise, point to a reversal of this trend. In 2022, women continued to cook at about the same frequency, but men started to cook less. On average, men cooked a little less than one fewer meal per week. “It’s the first year that the gap actually widened,” Dugan says, pointing out that the gap has returned to its starting point in 2018.

The gender gap varies by country. In the United States, women cook about two more meals per week on average, than men. The survey report graphs the countries with the largest gender gaps, including Ethiopia, Tajikistan, Egypt, Nepal and Yemen, where women are making about eight more meals per week than men. The countries with the smallest gender differences in cooking are in Europe, including Spain, the UK, Switzerland, France, and Ireland. There’s only one country where men actually cook more than women.Wait for it.....Italy. “This is a surprise,” Dugan says. 

It’s not clear why Italy obtained different results, or why the gender gap widened in all the other countries including the U.S., but chef Mike Friedman, who operates several restaurants in the Washington D.C. area, has his opinion.

1.What’s the result of the survey?

A Men cook more meals than women.

B Women cook twice as much as men.

C Women cook fewer meals than before.

D Men eat more home-cooked meals.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据第一段第二三句“Women cooked just under nine meals per week, on average, in 2022. Men cooked about four per week.”可知，女性平均每周做饭9顿，而男性平均每周做饭四顿，即女性做饭的时间是男性的两倍。故选B。

2.What does the underlined word “reversal” mean?

A Turning around.

B Following up.

C Adding on.

D Speeding up.

解析：选A。A 词义猜测题。根据第二段第一句“but during the pandemic years the survey results showed that men were cooking more. This narrowed the gender gap”可知，在疫情期间，调查结果显示，男性做饭的时间更多，缩小了性别差距。结合划线词所在句后文“In 2022, women continued to cook at about the same frequency, but men started to cook less. On average, men cooked a little less than one fewer meal per week.”可知，2022年女性做饭的频率保持不变，但男性做饭的频率开始减少，平均而言，男性每周做饭的次数略少于一次。由此可见，性别差距缩小的趋势又在发生逆转，即reversal表示“逆转，反转”。故选A。

3.Who might cook the most meals?

A An American man.

B An Egyptian man.

C An Italian man.

D An Irish man.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据第三段内容可知，在美国女性平均每周比男性多做两顿饭；在埃及女性比男性平均每周多做八顿饭；在欧洲的爱尔兰在家做饭的性别差距较小；根据倒数第二句可知，只有意大利这一个国家男性烹饪的时间比女性多。综上可知，意大利男人做饭最多。故选C。

4.What will be talked about in the following paragraph?

A Why Italy bucked the trend.

B Why the gender gap widened.

C What chef Mike Friedman thinks.

D How men in the U. S. are different.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“but chef Mike Friedman...has his opinion”可知厨师迈克·弗里德曼有他自己的看法，可推断接下来一段中会介绍厨师迈克·弗里德曼的想法。故选C。