I practised for hours in Aunt Cindy's shop. I made little colored dots (圆点) on a piece of wax paper (蜡纸). Unluckily, I could not get the dots to be the same shape or size.

I decided to take a break from making the dots, so I helped move cakes. However, that was not easy for me, either. I dropped a cake when trying to take it out of the freezer (冰箱) by myself. Luckily one of Aunt Cindy's assistants (助手) was there. He saved the cake from hitting the floor.

It takes a whole team to make a huge cake. That's one of the most important things I learned. Each person on the team has to be great at his or her job. Aunt Cindy designs the cakes on paper, Larry does the mixing and baking, and assistants carve and put frosting on the cakes. Aunt Cindy and Larry do most of the decorating while the assistants help make small parts like flowers and figures. Building a big cake is like playing a team sport. If one person doesn't do his or her job well, the whole team pays for that.

Even though I was not much help to my aunt, I'm glad I spent the week in Aunt Cindy's shop. Designing cakes takes more than just baking skills. It takes art and painting skills too. Now when I see a really nice cake, I don't think of eating it first. Instead, I look at it and wonder how many hours it took to make.

21. What does the underlined word "occasions" mean in this passage?

A. events B. needs C. months D. ideas

22.Why did the writer take a break from putting colored dots on wax paper?

A. Because she practised for hours and became bored.

B. Because she could not make the dots good enough for a cake.

C. Because Aunt Cindy did not want her to make any more dots.

D. Because Aunt Cindy wanted her to help somewhere else.

23. Who designs the cakes on paper?

A. Aunt Cindy. B. Larry. C. Assistants D. The writer.

24. What was the main reason the writer was glad to have spent a week in her aunt's shop?

A. She got to practise making coloured dots.

B. She learned the importance of teamwork.

C. She got to take a cake out of the freezer.

D. She learned art and painting skills.

Just now, my little sister told me that they had a discussion about life now and then in class. She thought life was a lot better. When she asked me for my opinion, I didn't know what to say.

It's true that life is easier today than in the past. We can do many more things people couldn't do in the past. Now we can just sit in the car and drive somewhere fantastic. In the past, people travelled either on foot or on horseback. Now we can buy almost everything we want in stores and supermarkets. In the past, people would feel happy as long as they had enough food and water. Now people live longer and healthier. In the past, few people knew how to deal with ordinary diseases. And now we can travel the world. In the past, travelling to other continents was impossible for