"The Secret Ingredient"

1.  Part A. Read the sentence below from page 26. “’OK, boss,’ I said, and the three of us got cracking.” What does the phrase got cracking mean as it is used in the sentence?

• to start mixing.
• to start working on something. 
• to break things.
• to leave a place

2. Part B: Which sentence from the passage best supports the answer to Part A?

• “…Cleo was mixing flour and chunks of cold butter together in a bowl that looked big enough to hold a double recipe, while I blended everything into a smooth broth…” (p. 26)
• “’But of course we’re NOT making sandwiches,’ Cleo said loudly, giving us both a wink and taking a bag of flour out of the cupboard.” (p. 26)
• “Cleo looked at her sweetheart. She was confused by Jake’s tone, but she played along.” (p. 26)
• “She’d changed her hair, presumably to impress the Middle-Aged Persons Auxiliary.” (p. 27)

3.  Part A. Read the following sentence from page 23 of the passage.  “It was Jake Hix, a nephew of hers, who planned the menu . . . and sometimes brought you a bowl of ice cream with a homemade cookie on the side.” What does this sentence reveal about the character, Jake, from the story?

• He was rude to the customers in the restaurant.
• He was friendly and cared about making others happy.
• He was shy and didn’t want to talk to others in the restaurant.
• He was demanding and made everyone around him work hard to make the customers happy.

4.  Part B.  Which one of the following sentences from the passage also reveals the same character trait as the answer choice from Part A?

• “’It sounds like quite something,’ I said, ‘but I don’t think Jake will get to go. Hungry is counting on him to make soup and biscuits for the Middle-Aged Persons Auxiliary.’” (p. 25)
• “’Things would go quicker if everybody pitched in,’ Jake said, hefting two large eggplants out of his crate.” (p. 25)
• “Jake held up the eggplants. ‘Jake Hix keeps his promises,”’ he announced. ‘I have time to make meals for everyone.’” (p. 26)
• “’Leave them in the sink, and I’ll do them when I get back.’” (p. 26)

5.  Part A: Which statement best states a theme in the passage?

• Sometimes there is a reason secrets are kept secrets. 
• Life isn’t always fair or easy.
• Cooking is hard work and sometimes mistakes happen.
• Making sacrifices for others is rewarding and beneficial.

6.  Part B: Which detail from the story best supports the answer to Part A?

• A.  “’Jake’s on his way, but he’s too busy for chitchat,’ Hungry said, waving her rag.’” (p. 24)
• A.  “’Things would go quicker if everybody pitched in,’ Jake said, hefting two large eggplants out of his crate.’” (p. 25)
• “’Life’s not fair,’ Hungry said.” (p. 26)
• A.  “As with ingredients, there’s a reason secret things are kept secret, and I kept mine until the day I wrote this down.” (p. 27)

7. Part A. In the passage on page 25, the author uses the details about the ingredients from the crate mostly to :

• provide information about Jake’s secret recipe for soup and biscuits.
•  explain how Snicket was Jake’s sous chef and could help make the soup for Hungry Hix.
• predict and foreshadow a future event in the story that involves a secret ingredient.
• to contrast how hard Jake works compared to the other characters.

8. Part B: Which statement from the passage best supports the answer to Part A?

•  “’That’s worth sacrificing my gardening gloves in the blender.’ ‘A secret ingredient,’ I said, ‘that got us thrown out of Hungry’s, just when we wanted to be.’” (p. 27)
•  “’Things would go quicker if everybody pitched in,’ Jake said, hefting two large eggplants out of his crate.” (p. 25)
•  “’A sous chef,’ he explained to his aunt, ‘is an assistant to the cook. Snicket, maybe you could get the other crate out of Cleo’s car.’” (p. 25)
•   "It occurred to me that Hungry wasn’t going to reveal the secret ingredient to me because she didn’t know what it was. Surely the ingredient was Jake’s secret, not hers." (p. 24)

9. Part A: How does the setting in first paragraph of the story contribute to the development of the plot?

•  It establishes an environment that creates a fast-paced, hurried plot.
•  It establishes a place and time develops a relaxing, quiet plot.
•  It establishes a situation that leads to a desperate, uncomfortable plot.
•  It establishes an atmosphere that unfolds a humorous, comical plot.

10.  Part B. What evidence about the setting best contributes to the development of the plot?

•  “Stain’d-by-the-Sea had just one palatable restaurant—palatable is a word which here means “pleasant and perhaps even delicious”—but its good food and interesting conversation were not provided by Hungry Hix, even though she was the owner.” (p. 24)
• “’Jake didn’t tell you? The Fremunt Flos is blooming today, out by the abandoned nunnery and the closed-up waterslide park.’” (p. 25)
•  “Jake’s aunt stomped off to the back room, and we watched her go like she was a tornado and we were the remains of a charming cottage.” (p. 26)
• "The humming of the flower continued, quite beautiful in the odd, damp surroundings where nuns and watersliders had once spent their days.” (p. 27)