1 . It’s said that every Irish “mammy” has her own way to cook Irish stew(炖菜). Simple but satisfying, it has fed the poor over centuries, which makes it a national dish.
The ingredients tell the story. First up, there’s the “spud”, as the Irish call the potato. First brought to Ireland in the 16th century, it was an unbelievable food, providing bumper crops that could be stored over the cold winter months. Soon, everyone was eating it — for breakfast, lunch and tea.
With the arrival of the spud, the population increased from one million to eight million in less than three centuries. But this dependence on the vegetable would prove disastrous when crops were struck by disease in the 1840s. The great famine(饥荒)that followed killed over a million people — and forced millions more to run to other countries. It’s hard to believe that during the years of famine, Ireland continued to export huge quantities of food to Great Britain, its colonial master at the time.
Today, Ireland is an independent nation. Nobody thinks about the potato famine as they enjoy their Irish stew but there’s a bone-deep awareness of the country’s long connection with the spud.
Potatoes are all well and good, but the stew gets its taste from the meat. It used to be made with mutton as it was the only meat available to the poor. However, the only way to make it good enough to eat was to stew it in the pot for hours.
Today, most people use lamb. However, this remains slightly traditional among purists, who also criticize(批评)the addition of ingredients like carrots, parsnips, thyme and supermarket-bought materials.
1. Why was the potato called an unbelievable food in the 16th century?| A．It could be accepted by both the poor and the rich. | B．It could be cooked into many delicious dishes. |
| C．It could be kept for a long time. | D．It could grow in winter in Ireland. |
| A．The growing population. | B．A very serious famine. |
| C．A war between Ireland and Britain. | D．Millions of people rushing to Ireland. |
| A．Stewing the dish for hours. | B．Using enough potatoes. |
| C．Picking up the high-quality lamb. | D．Adding different kinds of ingredients. |
| A．Ways to cook Irish stew. | B．The present situation of Irish stew. |
| C．The importance of potatoes. | D．An Irish national dish about potatoes. |
Was “cooking the world” a way to travel without leaving home?
That’s right. I think the idea that exploration is for everyone is really important. There are so many people who dream of travel. But I think that you really can go on adventures without leaving home. With food, if you have the right ingredients, you can create the flavor of another place. It’s like armchair travel, but it’s faster and easier. I call it “stovetop travel.”
What did you hope to teach your daughter by cooking the world?
I wanted her to feel that she had a place in the world where she belonged. But I also feel it’s important for children to grow up knowing people from other countries-their global neighbors. I call them neighbors because the world is so small now. I remember going on Facebook in its early days. I noticed there were people from different parts of the world commenting on posts, even arguing with each other. I feel that in that environment, young people need to be able to respect and understand each other.
So food is a great way to create that common ground?
Yes. I wanted to share recipes that were bridges to other cultures. A lot of celebrity TV chefs tend to choose the most shocking recipes. But I think you need a bridge first. Then people won’t put up a wall in their mind about that culture. They won’t just think, “Gross! Those people eat such odd things!”
1. What seems to be the name of Martin’s blog?| A．Cooking the World. | B．Armchair Travel. |
| C．Knowing Your Neighbors. | D．Cultures in Food. |
| A．It makes the world colorful. | B．It is a universal topic. |
| C．It creates cultural connections. | D．It offers a sense of belonging. |
| A．Ordinary people. | B．People travelling abroad. |
| C．Celebrity TV chefs. | D．Parents with young children. |
| A．Gong Bao Chicken. | B．Dim Sum. | C．Sichuan Hot Pot. | D．Stinky Tofu. |
| A．“Gross! Do they really eat such odd food? “ |
| B．“Wow! You’ve been to so many amazing places!!” |
| C．“Awesome travel tips for getting around the world!” |
| D．“Incredible! I cooked black pudding by myself! Thanks!” |
| A．Talk Show. | B．Features. | C． Breaking News. | D．World Screen. |
3 . Craziest Food Festivals sounds like a joke topic, but once you start looking into it, you’ll realize they’re everywhere — the crazier, the better.
1. Bibimbap Festival
In the South Korean town of Jeonjuloves, their “mixed rice” dish is a hearty serve of rice topped with raw beef, a rainbow of vegetables, a raw egg and gochujang sauce so much. They take four days out of October to celebrate it.
Like any festival there’s music, entertainment and magic, but making it that little bit different is the bibimbap that’s whipped (搅拌) up in a big bowl by dozens of chefs and served to over 400 people.
2. Waikiki Spam Jam
Who knew this canned meat had so much love? Well, it turns out that a can of Spam is the go-to item in Hawaii, along with a grass skirt and garland (花环). The people of Hawaii love Spam so much that they even spend a day in May giving out the best Spam, a type of cheap canned meat made mainly from pork.
3. Bessieres Easter Egg Festival
At Easter time, for those in the French town of Bessieres it’s all about an egg far less sweet.
Here they celebrate the holiday by getting dozens of chefs to make one large omelette (煎蛋卷) — 15,000 eggs strong — for the townsfolk (市民).
4. Potato Days Festival
This festival actually takes place in Barnesville, Minnesota, the US. Over the last Friday and Saturday in August the town celebrates its potato-growing skills by hosting potato picking and peeling contests, as well as a Miss Tater Tot pageant (盛典) for five- and six-year-old girls.
1. What makes Bibimbap festival special?| A．They take four days to celebrate it. |
| B．The mixed rice is rich in many vegetables. |
| C．There’s music, entertainment and magic during the festival. |
| D．The rice dish needs to be mixed in one big bowl by dozens of chefs together. |
| A．The spam is the most favorite for Hawii people. |
| B．People spend one day to prepare the Jam. |
| C．The Jam isn’t affordable for the plain townsfolk. |
| D．The Jam is mainly made from raw beef. |
| A．Bibimbap Festival | B．Waikiki Spam Jam |
| C．Bessieres Easter Egg Festival | D．Potato Days Festival |
4 . Many may remember the 1998 film Mulan，the story of a young Chinese girl Pretending to be a man to take her father’s place in the army. After this film was released, McDonald’s began to serve a sauce called Mulan SzeChuan Sauce. Also in 2017，a cartoon show Rick and Morty, which featured a mad scientist and his adventures with his grandson, mentioned the SzeChuan sauce. Many fans have queued up for hours to buy it Packets of the sauce have even appeared on eBay selling for up to $ 250 each.
However, the sauce created by McDonald’s lacks any original Sichuan flavor. As one of the eight great cuisines of China, Sichuan cuisine is famous for its spicy dishes. But Dunlop says it’s a common misunderstanding that the cuisine focuses only on heat “Sichuan is about complex multilayered flavors,” she says. “The really interesting thing about Sichuan cuisine is its variety of flavors. A really good Sichuan meal is like a rollercoaster ride — you have spicy notes, sweet and sour notes, numbing and gentle flavors,” she says.
From the 1990s, Sichuan food took off. Currently, Sichuan hotpot is a hugely popular dish in China and the West, and dishes such as Mapo Tofu and Gong Bao Chicken are all famous and express the techniques and flavors of Sichuan cooking. Chef Key Chan, 65, born in Hong Kong to a family of chefs originally from Sichuan, is keen on passing down how to cook Sichuan cuisine. “Sichuan cuisine allows your taste the tip of your tongue to feel a ‘dancing sensation’,” says Chan.
1. Why Mulan and Rick and Morty are mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To inform kids of wonderful films. |
| B．To remind people of the cartoon characters. |
| C．To show how popular the SzeChuan sauce was. |
| D．To indicate how expensive the SzeChuan sauce was. |
| A．It only focuses on heat. |
| B．It involves various flavors. |
| C．It is the greatest cuisine in China. |
| D．It is best represented by Mulan SzeChuan Sause. |
| A．Left in a hurry. | B．Was quickly forgotten. |
| C．Began to fly. | D．Became popular quickly. |
| A．Amazing. | B．Just so-so. |
| C．Simple. | D．Strange. |
5 . You may have noticed something different when you ate at your favorite restaurant. Or perhaps you picked up on it while looking through your social media apps (社交媒体软件) . You guessed it——we’re becoming a foodie (吃货) culture.
For some, that means photographing every dish, but others are taking it one step further. Sophia Hampton, a senior at Staples High School in US, chooses to make her own food. She has been published in Future Chefs, a cookbook of recipes (食谱) by teens.
Hampton’s best advice for those who want to be foodies is to get in the kitchen.
“Start cooking,” she said. “There are so many resources online, like recipes and articles about food. Go to your local farmers’ market and start cooking with them.”
Besides blogs and online resources, there are also hands-on cooking classes for students. The Chopping Block, a Chicago cooking school, offers many different classes for teens, including courses on chocolate and French food.
By attending cooking classes, surfing online and going to restaurants, you can find endless recipes. But sometimes becoming a real foodie means being behind a camera. As our food-loving culture becomes more popular and teen-friendly, social media apps like Facebook, have become major players in food culture.
“Getting involved in foodie culture is as easy as having a camera and a social media app,” one foodie said. “I always go to streets and farmers’ markets to take beautiful pictures of food. Wherever food prices are expensive, the photos are free.”
1. What does Hampton advise those who want to be foodies to do?| A．Post their recipes online. | B．Cook food by themselves. |
| C．Eat at their favorite restaurant. | D．Take photos of every dish they eat. |
① cooking classes ② online resources ③ new restaurant ④ public libraries
| A．①②③ | B．①③④ |
| C．②③④ | D．①②④ |
| A．People’s growing interest in traditional culture. |
| B．The convenience of getting different food. |
| C．The use of cameras and social media. |
| D．The drop in food prices. |
