In the early 1970s, Demas was a 19-year-old newlywed whose husband had a good eye for potential. After discovering a building that had once housed a restaurant, Tony asked his wife to open their own restaurant, and together, the two established an eatery called The Villa.

Before then, Demas had no cooking experience and had never imagined herself working in a restaurant kitchen. On The Villa’s opening day, the restaurant’s chef had too many beers, and Tony asked his wife to step in. “I knew nothing honestly about food,” she explained. “But I did know how to make a grilled cheese, so I thought, ‘OK, our special’s just going to be grilled cheese sandwiches.’”

The sandwiches were a hit, and the restaurant managed to survive. Around 1973, it was there that the couple came to meet future regulars, Audrey and John Kinnear. “After a while, he started bringing in some of his art and asked my husband if we could trade for their lunches for his art,” Demas explained. “They simply offered and took and, eventually, one day, Kinnear came in with a set of paintings that weren’t his own to trade.” Demas remembers that Kinnear told the story of the artist he’d met who had limited mobility(行动受限) (Lewis had rheumatoid arthritis) and was of simple means.

Lewis, a folk artist from Nova Scotia who’d never achieved any financial success for her art, became a topic of interest. “There was an article written about her in one of the newspapers. More and more people were collecting and buying her art...”

Various auctioneers(拍卖商) pursued Demas, but two brothers from Miller & Miller Auctions were determined. The two auctioneers drove through snow to meet Demas and her husband face-to-face. Not long after their visit, after encouragement from her children, Demas put the piece up for auction. At an auction on May 14, the hammer struck at $272,548. The letters sold for about $55,000.

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1.What does the underlined word “eatery” in the first paragraph probably mean?

A Eye.

B Building.

C Restaurant.

D House.

解析：选C。C词义猜测题。根据前文的“Tony asked his wife to open their own restaurant”可知，托尼向他的妻子提议，他们开一家自己的餐馆，最后两人一起开了一家名为“The Villa”的餐馆。故选C。

2.What did Demas do on the opening day?

A She drank lots of beer.

B She helped to do cooking.

C She made grilled meat.

D She ate many sandwiches.

解析：选B。B细节理解题。根据第二段最后一句的“But I did know how to make a grilled cheese, so I thought, ‘OK, our special’s just going to be grilled cheese sandwiches.’”可以得知，她帮忙做饭(烤奶酪)。故选B。

3.Why did Audrey and John Kinnear bring in some art?

A They would like to exchange art for food.

B They wanted to teach cooks about art.

C They knew Lewis would become famous.

D They tried to help cure Lewis’ illness.

解析：选A。A推理判断题。根据第三段的“After a while, he started bringing in some of his art and asked my husband if we could trade for their lunches for his art,”可以得知，他们想要用画作换取餐馆的食物。故选A。

4.Miller & Miller Auctions’__________ made Demas agree to sell the art.

A high price

B encouragement

C determination

D talent

解析：选C。C推理判断题。根据最后一段第一、二句的“but two brothers from Miller & Miller Auctions were determined. The two auctioneers drove through snow to meet Demas and her husband face-to-face.”可以得知他们意志坚定，冒雪去跟Demas和她的丈夫面谈，由此可见是他们的决心让Demas同意了拍卖那副画。故选C。