Whatever artistic talents I might have, I owe them to my mother. I spent lots of time in the kitchen watching her __1__ while I was young, and I __2__ that whenever she made French fries, she would lay them on a piece of white paper to soak up (吸收) the __3__ before putting them on our plates. One day, I __4__ the paper and realized I could almost see through it. It was nearly __5__， so I asked my mother if I could keep it. She seemed puzzled by my __6__. I tore out a page from my comic book, taped it to the window, and __7__ it with the oiled paper. By tracing the __8__ that showed through, I created a good picture.

　　After that, I tried several other "materials"， and began __9__ my favorite cartoon characters, and ads from old magazines and newspapers, but it was not long before I became dissatisfied with that __10__. The drawings were not __11__， and what I really wanted to do was to "make things" of my own.

　　At that time there was a Saturday morning program "Learn to Draw" which was __12__ by Jon Gnagy. His program was broadcast live from the Empire State Building on May 16,1946. To coincide with (与......一致) his art lessons, Jon had __13__ a "Learn to Draw" set that could be ordered by viewers.

　　My mother and father seemed to enjoy my __14__ in art, and always encouraged me to do more of it. They __15__ me with the "Learn to Draw" set. In our family, __16__ were usually reserved for birthdays, or Christmas. But one Saturday morning, before Jon's show, my father brought it into the __17__ and handed it to me just as I was finishing my breakfast. I was so __18__ that I rushed into the living room, sat down on the floor in front of the TV, and __19__ sorted through everything in the box.

　　Thanks to my parents, that morning I did my __20__ Jon Gnagy drawing, without having to trace anything again.

　　语篇解读：本文是一篇记叙文。文章主要讲述了小时候父母的鼓励让"我"走上了绘画的道路。

　　1．A.drink B．cook

　　C．stand D．draw

　　解析：选B　由本空前的"in the kitchen"可知应选B，"我"小时候经常在厨房看母亲做饭。

　　2．A.agreed B．believed

　　C．heard D．noticed

解析：选D　根据空前的"watching"和空后的"whenever she made French fries, she would lay them on a piece of white paper to soak up (吸收)"可知，这是"我"注意到的一