TOEFL® interview questions: Learning to cook

I made tomato and egg noodles for my parents during the summer holiday. I knew the basic steps, but I put the noodles in too early and they became very soft. The sauce tasted fine, so my parents still ate everything. My mother showed me how to prepare the sauce first and cook the noodles at the end. I wrote the order on my phone. The next time I made the dish, it was much better and I felt quite proud.

• at the end · A time phrase makes the order of the cooking steps clear.
• The next time · Links one failure naturally to the later improvement.

The first meal I cooked for my parents was tomato and egg noodles, which seemed almost impossible to get wrong. I concentrated so hard on the sauce that I left the noodles boiling for far too long. By the time we sat down, they were very soft. That was the first time I understood that cooking involves managing several things at once, not just knowing ingredients. I tried again the following weekend, with everything chopped in advance. It was a simple meal, but getting the timing right made me feel much more capable in the kitchen.

• By the time we sat down · ‘By the time’ introduces a result that had already happened by that point.
• with everything chopped in advance · A ‘with’ structure briefly describes having all the ingredients prepared beforehand.

I prefer cooking with friends if we have enough time. We can talk while cutting vegetables, and everyone has a small job. Last holiday, three friends came to my home and we made dumplings. Some looked very strange, but we laughed a lot. Ordering food is easier, especially after a busy day, but cooking gives us something to do together. I would choose a simple meal, though, because I do not want to spend the whole evening washing dishes.

• while cutting vegetables · ‘While’ plus a participle places the talking inside the shared work.
• something to do together · An infinitive after ‘something’ names the shared activity that cooking provides.

On a genuinely free evening, I'd choose cooking together. It gives people something to do together. Last holiday, I invited three friends to make dumplings at home. One person mixed the filling, another rolled the wrappers, and the rest of us produced uneven shapes. We talked more easily because nobody had to keep a conversation going by themselves. I'd keep the menu simple and agree on cleaning up, though. If I tried to produce a restaurant meal, I'd probably become stressed and ignore everyone. The point for me would be sharing the process, with dinner as a pleasant result.

• keep a conversation going · ‘Keep’ plus an object and participle describes the social effort of sustaining talk.
• with dinner as a pleasant result · A ‘with’ phrase adds the outcome while stressing that the process itself matters.

I agree because a few basic meals give people more choices. When I stayed in a rented room for an internship last summer, I did not want takeaway food every evening. I could make noodles, rice with vegetables, and a simple soup. These meals were not special, but they helped me save some money. I do not think everyone needs to cook very well. Knowing a few safe and simple methods is enough to make living alone a little easier.

• give people more choices · ‘Give’ with two objects sums up the independence that the skill brings.
• Knowing a few safe and simple methods · A gerund phrase as the subject limits the goal to basic methods.

I agree with the idea, although three is probably an arbitrary number. A few easy meals give you independence when money or time is tight. During an internship, I rented a room with a kitchen and relied on vegetable rice, noodles, and soup. I wasn't cooking anything impressive, but I could feed myself when the nearby shops were closed or takeaway felt too expensive. I'd put basic safety and using leftovers alongside the recipes, though. Being able to follow three instructions isn't quite enough if you don't know how to store ingredients. The aim should be practical confidence, rather than passing a cooking test.

• when money or time is tight · ‘Tight’ is a natural spoken way to describe a limited budget or schedule.
• put basic safety and using leftovers alongside the recipes · ‘Alongside’ ranks safety and using leftovers as skills as important as recipes.

I think this would be useful, especially for students moving into rented housing. My university teaches many academic skills, but daily life can also be difficult at the beginning. A short workshop could show us how to cook a cheap dinner and keep the kitchen clean. It should be optional because some students already cook well. I would attend one before my next internship to learn more dishes. The university could use a community kitchen and ask students which dishes they want to learn.

• especially for students moving into rented housing · ‘Especially for’ identifies the students who need this help the most.
• It should be optional · ‘Should’ proposes how to run the workshop while respecting different skill levels.

Yes, as an optional service with a small budget. Students often move from a family home or catered residence into a shared flat without much practice managing meals. I found that change surprisingly difficult during my first internship. A workshop on a few affordable dishes, shopping for small quantities, and storing leftovers would have been useful. It wouldn't compete with academic teaching. The university could partner with an existing community kitchen and run sessions before the summer break. I'd also ask participants what equipment they actually have, so nobody leaves knowing a recipe that requires an oven their rented room doesn't contain.

• shopping for small quantities · ‘Shopping for’ names a real need of people living alone: buying small amounts.
• partner with an existing community kitchen · ‘Partner with’ suggests a concrete way to run it using existing facilities.