学科网（北京）股份有限公司 UNIT3FOODANDCULTURE Section1ReadingandThinking — Prereading 阳光晨读微点释疑 原 | 文 | 诵 | 读 CULTUREANDCUISINE TheFrenchauthorJeanAnthelmeBrillat ⁃ Savarinoncewrote , “ Tellmewhatyou eat , andIwilltellyouwhatyouare. ” Putmoresimply , thismeans “ Youarewhat youeat. ” Mostpeopletodayrelatethissayingtohealthyeating.However , Brillat ⁃ Savarinwasactuallyreferringtoourpersonality , character , andculture. Certainly , inmanywaysthisseemstobetrue.Chinesecuisine①isacasein point.Prior②tocomingtoChina , myonlyexperiencewithChinesecookingwasin America , withChinesefoodthathadbeenchangedtosuitAmericantastes.For example , America 􀆳 smostpopularChinesedishisGeneralTso 􀆳 schicken , which consistsof③friedchickencoveredinasweetsauce , flavouredwithhotred peppers④.ThisisprobablynotanauthenticChineserecipe⑤ , however , soit cannottellusmuchabouttheChinese.Ontheotherhand , itdoestellusalot aboutAmericans.Ittellsus , forexample , thatAmericanslovebold⑥ , simple flavours.And , sincethedishwasalsoinventedrecently , ittellsusthatAmericans arenotafraidtotrynewfoods. Later , IhadachancetoexperienceauthenticChinesefoodbycomingtoChina. WhenmyfamilyandIhadjustarrivedinChina , wewentlookingforagoodplaceto eatinBeijing.ASichuanrestauranthadbeenrecommendedtousbyafriend , and finally , wefoundit.Tired , hungry , andnotknowingawordofChinese , wehadno ideahowtoorder , sothechef⑦justbeganfillingourtablewiththebestfoodwe hadevereaten.Withthis , wehadthepleasureofexperiencinganentirelynew taste : Sichuanpeppercorns⑧.Thefoodwaswonderfulanddifferent , butwhatwas evenmoreimportantwasthefriendshipofferedus. WesoonmovedtoShandongProvinceintheeasternpartofNorthChina.My favouritedishtherewasboileddumplingsservedwithvinegar⑨.Iobservedthat familyisimportanttothepeoplethere.Ithasbecomeafavouritetraditionaldish ofthepeopleinNorthChina , wheremakingdumplingshasalwaysbeenafamily affairwitheveryone — fromtheyoungesttotheoldest — joiningintohelp.Later , I learntthatthemostfamousfoodinShandongispancakerollsstuffed⑩with sliced Chinesegreenonions . ThenwemovedtonorthernXinjiang.SomeofourfriendswereKazakandInner Mongolian.Thesegroupstraditionallywanderedtheopenrangeonhorses.Asa result , theirtraditionalfoodsarewhatyoucancookoveranopenfire — usually boiledorroastedmeat , suchaslambkebab .