3 . As the traditional Middle Autumn Day draws near, there are many moon cakes to choose from besides ham-pled cakes. Flower-pied, especially rose-pied moon cakes are preferred a lot by visitors to Yunnan. Baked with almost the same materials-flour, eggs, cooking oil, sugar, and honey etc, why do rose pastries (糕点) enjoy a high popularity?
The answer lies in the roses locally grown in Yunnan and used for making teas and cooking. The bushes can be found with ease in many parts of China, but Yunnan-which is known as “Kingdom of Plants” —— tops others in this respect. You might have noticed that 70 percent of fresh flowers traded in China have come from Yunnan province.
Among the dim sum —— like snacks of Yunnan, rose cakes can be a highlight. Cakes of this kind begin to be widely sold as early as April in stores, because farmers usually harvest the fresh rose crops for orders placed by food companies. You may also find dried roses sold all the year round in big stores.
In historical records, the flower-pied cakes were first prepared by a master chef in the Qing Dynasty about 300 years ago. Sweet, fragrant, and believed to be “good for improving women beauty”, these cakes were once widely sold in Kunming and even the north of China such as Tianjin.
However, not all the rose flower is used for making cakes. The petals (花瓣) of such roses, and only the petals, are valuable in this regard, and that is mainly why they (rose cakes) are a little pricier than others. There are also records saying that rose-pied cakes were paid to the Qing Dynasty’s Qian Long Emperor as a gift.
Personally, I prefer rose cakes than any others. As for ham cakes, I really don’t like the taste. If you try ham cakes, it tastes quite weird, salty and sweet.
1. Why are rose-pied moon cakes so popular?
| A．They go well with tea. |
| B．They are made with flour. |
| C．They can improve women beauty. |
| D．They are made with the best roses. |
2. What does the writer mean by saying “rose cakes can be a highlight”?
| A．Rose cakes are the most expensive. |
| B．Rose cakes stand out from the others. |
| C．Rose cakes are ordered by many companies. |
| D．Rose cakes are best when served with dim sum. |
3. What do we know about rose-pied moon cakes?
| A．They are prepared by master chefs. |
| B．They were bought by emperors as gifts. |
| C．They are widely sold home and abroad. |
| D．They are more expensive than other cakes. |
4. What is the purpose of this text?
| A．Tell the history of moon cakes. |
| B．Introduce a special kind of moon cakes. |
| C．Encourage readers to buy flower moon cakes. |
| D．Compare traditional moon cakes with rose moon cakes. |
