For centuries, apple growers in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture have been creating good-looking apples by using “Mojie Ringo”. The process is fairly simple. It basically shelters the apples from sunlight for a period of time and then applies stencils(蜡纸)to ensure that part of the apple skin remains discolored. More often than not, Mojie Ringo apples are decorated with messages and symbols of good fortune, and are offered as gifts.
Large apple varieties like Mutsu or Stark Jumbo are most suitable for Mojie Ringo, as they provide more surface area for complex design. Preparation begins in January, with a pruning(剪枝)operation, to ensure that remaining flowers receive plenty of sunlight. Then, growers hand-pollinate (人工授粉)each of the apple tree flowers, and then once fruits begin to form, they are covered with several layers of plastic bags to protect them from both pests and sunlight.
Keeping the apples “in the dark” for long periods of time increases their photosensitivity(光敏性), so when the plastic bags are finally removed, they begin to produce a component that turns the skin red. During the final stage of the Mojie Ringo process, stencils are applied on the surface of the apple to ensure that only the skin around the stencil turns red.
The stencils are removed during harvesting, to expose the almost white skin underneath. The stencils need to be flexible, because the fruits continue to grow, and otherwise the designs could be compromised.
According to Culture Trip, Mojie Ringo was perfected by farmer Hamo Iwasaki from Aomori Perfecture, whose son, Chisato Iwasaki, is widely regarded as one of the most talented apple artists today.
Although Mojie Ringo seems fairly simple, it requires a lot of work and patience over long periods of time, and for many growers the effort and attention just don’t pay off enough. That’s why the old tradition is slowly fading, with only a few Aomori fruit gardens producing the eye-catching fruits.
8. Mojie Ringo is mainly used to improve the ________ of apples.
A.production | B.attraction | C.taste | D.shape |
9. What does the underlined word “they” in paragraph 3 refer to?
A.apples | B.stencils | C.plastic bags | D.apple growers |
10. Why do many fruit growers reject Mojie Ringo?
A.Because they aren’t familiar with it. |
B.Because it is an out-of-date tradition. |
C.Because it isn’t economically worthwhile. |
D.Because fruits coming from it aren’t popular. |
11. What’s the text mainly intended to introduce?
A.A new apple variety. | B.A talented apple artist. |
C.An apple planting center. | D.An apple fanning technique. |