7 . Chinese audiences seemed not to have been satisfied with the third season of the highly anticipated food documentary A Bite of China.
Even though the series has maintained high viewership ratings since its comeback last week, much higher than other programs aired at the same time, the ranking on Douban, a social networking website featuring films, literature and events, slipped to 4.2 out of 10, as of Tuesday, compared with 9.3 and 8.4, respectively, for the first two seasons.
Picky viewers complain that some of the narration is not accurate, while others pinpoint misleading content. At the same time, food blogger @barbara questioned whether it is appropriate to give a close-up shot of the poisonous plant Nandina(南天竺)in a food program.
A Bite of China, which debuted in 2012, became hugely popular nationwide for its quality introduction of some rarely-known and mouth-watering domestic cuisine. In the new show, however, watchers are not satisfied with “irrelevant” food references, such as lipsticks made of Chinese traditional medicine and martial arts master.
The first episode introduced a hand-made iron frying pan from east China’s Shandong province, which prompted thousands of Chinese Internet users to buy one from China’s leading e-commerce website Tmall in the next few days. Sales of the pan at “Zhensanhuan” surged 6,000 times compared with a year ago, according to Beijing Youth Daily.
In response to overwhelming criticism and questions, A Bite of China production crew responded on Weibo that they seek innovation despite the risks following the first two phenomenal seasons.
“It is unavoidable to make comparisons with the first two, and some audiences may not accept the changes,” the crew said. “We explore the culture and civilization behind food, and give food a historic touch. That’s why we feature culinary(烹饪的)tools, feast and rituals, as well as a healthy diet to show Chinese wisdom and philosophy, which has not been shown in any food programs before.”
1. Why does the passage mention Nandina?
| A．Because some of the narration is not accurate. |
| B．Because it may be improper to give a close-up shot of a poisonous plant. |
| C．Because it is misleading content. |
| D．Because it is not attractive at all to most picky viewers. |
2. Which of the following elements leads to viewers’ dissatisfaction with the new show?
| A．some mouth-watering domestic cuisines |
| B．food-unrelated items |
| C．some rarely-known cuisines |
| D．the increasing sales of the pan at “Zhensanhuan” |
3. According to its production crew, what is unique to ‘A Bite of China III’?
| A．It makes comparisons with the first two episodes. |
| B．It tells the story of some martial arts related to food. |
| C．It receives overwhelming criticism and questions from audience. |
| D．It focuses on cooking tools, rituals and healthy eating. |
4. What is the best the title for the passage?
| A．'A Bite of China III' Draws Criticism from Audiences |
| B．'A Bite of China III' Maintains High Viewership Ratings |
| C．'A Bite of China III' Changes for the Worse |
| D．'A Bite of China III' Explains its Purposes |
