Pickled sides are Chinese people’s solution to tasteless food. Just a spoonful of sauce or pickled vegetables over rice can make a meal taste a million times better.
During busy work schedules, many young people in China don’t have the luxury of enjoying insightful conversations with friends and family at the dinner table. Instead, they find themselves eating alone.
Chinese youth are kept company during these 20-to-30-minute windows by TV shows or short videos, which they stream on their phone, tablet, or television. On the Internet, such content has been called “digital pickled vegetables”.
Some popular picks include classic Chinese dramas and situation comedies (sitcoms) like Empresses in the Palace and My Own Swordsman. American sitcoms such as Friends and How I Met Your Mother are also favored for their amusing jokes and simple storylines. You don’t need to know anything about either to get a good laugh from a random episode.
Some have questioned the value of such videos, pointing out that some explainers ruin good films and books and that no-brainer mini-series aren’t informational. On the other hand, we see nothing wrong with some harmless fun to accompany a lonely meal after a long day of work. Instead of being accompanied by friends and family during meal my young people in China are kept company by TV shows or short videos.
Can this habit affect your diet? According to a research paper published in 2019, you may eat more unconsciously. An international research team asked 62 volunteers to follow different eating patterns on four different days. The patterns included eating while looking at the mobile phone, reading magazines and without distraction (分心). After analyzing their diets, the team discovered that eating with a distraction increased intake of calories by about 15 percent.
To explore the reason, the team also invited two groups of people: one group ate while listening to a recording about another person eating and the other listened to a clip that helped them imagine themselves eating. The results showed that the second group ate less since they were more focused on their meals. When eating with the “digital pickles”, our attention can be distracted, which leads to eating more than expected.
8. Why do many Chinese young people eat alone?
A.They hate to share food with workmates. |
B.They fail to have the luxury of dining space. |
C.They tend to have busy work timetables. |
D.They prefer not to talk with strangers. |
9. What do the underlined words “digital pickled vegetables” mean in paragraph 3?
A.Videos you watch while eating. |
B.Sauce you choose while eating. |
C.Vegetables you like while eating. |
D.Games you play while eating. |
10. What makes people like
Friends and
How I met your Mother?
A.The famous actors and actresses. |
B.The funny jokes and simple plots. |
C.The random episodes and seasons. |
D.The delicious food and drinks. |
11. Why do we eat more with “digital pickles”?
A.They increase our feeling of hunger. |
B.They make the food more delicious. |
C.They draw our attention to the diet. |
D.They shift our attention from the meals. |