Unit 9 Chinese Food练习答案综合教程三

Unit 9 Chinese Food

Key to the Exercises

Text comprehension

I. Decide which of the following best states the main idea of the passage.

B

(This essay is by and large an illustration of a proposition raised by Kenneth Lo that food will determine one's physical strength and ultimately one's spiritual and moral fiber and well-being. Its aim and conclusion rest with the philosophy expressed in Chinese food.)

II. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.

1. T (Refer to Paragraph 1.)

2. T (Refer to Paragraph 2.)

3. T (Refer to Paragraph 6.)

4. F (Refer to Paragraph 7. According to Helen Burke, the cooking itself takes only 10% of the actual preparation but it is not a simple matter as indicated by the percentage of time it consumes.)

5. T (Refer to Paragraph 9.)

III. A nswer the following questions.

1. Food and eating, according to Kenneth Lo, determines not only one's physical health but also one's spiritual and moral soundness and his ultimate well-being.

2. Refer to Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4. According to the author, many people in the West are gourmets and gluttons, while a large number of others are pretty indifferent to food. On the contrary, Fu Tong, a London restaurateur, maintains that to Chinese people food is of primary importance and is one of the ecstasies of life. Also, when they go to a restaurant, Westerners care more about the table than the food, while the Chinese aim to eat with a capital E, or take the food with the utmost earnest.

3. Refer to Paragraph 5. Literally, Chinese food is ubiquitous. Chinese restaurants have sprung up almost everywhere in the world. At the root of the phenomenal rise of Chinese food in the world is a strong interest in Chinese food in the West. There is an increase in sensuality in the Western world and coincidentally Chinese food is very sensual in its combination of color, texture and taste.

4. Refer to Paragraphs 7 and 8. For Chinese people, the traditional high-quality Chinese meal is a serious matter. It is fastidiously prepared and fastidiously enjoyed. Both the preparation and enjoyment of a Chinese meal can last hours and make a shared experience which is well planned. The meal must not only meet the challenge of the

palate but also that of the eye.

5. Refer to Paragraph 9. A good traditional Chinese meal must be well planned and balanced in order to meet the demand of the palate and the eye alike. So, according to Emily Hahn, there is moral excellence in good cooking, which implies the combination of all life, all action and all knowledge. So important is a meal that it is not simply the product of a recipe; it expresses the basic assumptions of life, among which is harmony and balance.

IV. Explain in your own words the following sentences.

1. Food to us Chinese is one of the greatest joys in life: it is thought about before being prepared; it is treated with lots of love and care while being prepared; and when it is ready, a great deal of time is devoted to enjoying it.

2. The main reason for the sudden and tremendous popularity of Chinese food throughout the whole Western world lies in two facts: one is the increased desire for sensual pleasures (which is abundant in Chinese food) and freedom from age-old customs in the West; the other is the notion of physical pleasure provided by Chinese food, which is always ready to satisfy the taste of the eater.

Structural analysis of the text

Paragraphs 7-9 constitute the third part of the text.

Paragraph 7: The traditional quality Chinese meal is a serious matter, fastidiously prepared and fastidiously enjoyed.

Paragraph 8: The enjoyment must match the preparation.

Paragraph 9: The smooth harmonies and piquant contrasts in Chinese food are an expression of basic assumptions about life itself.

Rhetorical features of the text

1. All these have become much more part and parcel of the average person's life? (Paragraph 6)

2. Meat and fish, solids and soups, sweet and sour sauces? (Paragraph 8)

Vocabulary exercises

I. Explain the underlined part in each sentence in your own words.

1. emotional strength to do what one believes to be right

2. material used to produce power; sth. used to keep the body functioning

3. lower-class type

4. a number of dishes that are served one after another in an orderly way

5. by themselves