Koren Draper grew up cooking, but it wasn’t until she left a job in retail to care for her mother and a new baby that she started to think about a career in the food industry. At the time, Draper was reading lots of cookbooks, watching the Food Network, and experimenting with ingredients. When she was ready to get back to work, she had two requirements for her new job: It had to involve food and people.
Draper landed an office job at a corporate catering company near her home. But one day, after she helped out in the kitchen when the company was short-staffed, her boss asked her to make the switch permanent. At first, Draper was responsible for making salads. But she quickly moved to more complicated dishes. “My passion, once I gave it a little bit of fuel, just turned into a burning flame,” Draper says. She began taking cooking classes, which she’d once thought would be impossible to do while working. She eventually moved up to general manager at the catering company, bringing in new clients while overseeing the kitchen.
After about 15 years on the job, Draper wondered if she should try a new career. But nothing fulfilled her like preparing food. Around this time, Draper was introduced to a family in need of a private chef. It was a position she didn’t even know existed. She began planning meals, purchasing groceries, and cooking at the family’s home for the parents and their five kids. Soon, her client list began to grow, with help from social media and the website she built for her new business: Koren’s Kitchen.
Draper eventually moved from clients’ homes to a small kitchen in the basement of a church. After some experimentation, she felt that focusing on family meals and catering was the right fit. Recently, she moved into her own space, where she hosts tastings and cooking classes, and cooks for family meals and catering events. Today, Draper manages a team of eight, and although she’s moved into more of a leadership role at her company and spends less time cooking, her work is still about people and food, just as she always wanted it to be.
原创编写 版权所有 侵权必究！ 每日更新 个性化阅读 英语飙升！
1.1. Why did Draper leave her job in retail?
A To take care of her family.
B To obtain further education.
C To pursue her passion for cooking.
D To get involved with food and people.
解析：选A。细节理解题。根据第一段的“she left a job in retail to care for her mother and a new baby”她辞去了零售业的工作，照顾母亲和刚出生的婴儿，可知她辞职是为了照顾她的家人。故选A。
2.2. What does the underlined sentence mean by Draper?
A She needed financial support to continue her cooking career.
B Her interest in cooking lasted only for a short period of time.
C She faced challenges that nearly extinguished her enthusiasm.
D Her passion for cooking grew rapidly once she started exploring it.
解析：选D。句意理解题。根据划线句子后文的“She began taking cooking classes”她开始上烹饪课，可知，她对餐饮行业越来越有热情，对应D选项的描述。故选D。
3.3. What did Draper do in her new position as a private chef?
A Taught cooking classes online.
B Managed a catering company.
C Opened a restaurant for kids.
D Planned meals and cooked for a family.
解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第三段的“She began planning meals, purchasing groceries, and cooking at the family’s home for the parents and their five kids.”她开始计划饭菜，购买杂货，并在家里为父母和他们的五个孩子做饭，可知，她做私人厨师的工作就是为客户一家人安排饭菜和做饭。故选D。
4.4. What can we infer about Draper’s current work?
A She focuses more on cooking now.
B She has shifted her career entirely.
C People and food remain central.
D Her main role is managing her team.
解析：选C。推理判断题。文中最后一段明确提到，虽然Draper现在更多担任领导角色，但她的工作核心仍围绕“人与食物”，与她的初衷一致（“her work is still about people and food, just as she always wanted”）。选项C正确概括了这一隐含结论。选项D（管理团队）看似合理，但只是表面现象，并非核心；选项A和B与原文细节矛盾。故选C。
