Cecilia Chiang? s road to Chinese food 江孫蕓的中國美食路

彭姝喆

美國中餐女王江孫蕓，漂泊萬里，跌宕數十年，獲得餐飲界的“奧斯卡獎”，讓世界看到中國美食的傳承。

1 Cecilia Chiang， named the“mother of Chinese food in America”， a famed restaurateur who helped introduce real Chinese food to America in the 1960s， died on October 28， 2020 at the age of 100. Opened in 1961， Cecilia s legendary San Francisco restaurant， the Mandarin， was arguably the best Chinese restaurant in the US for over 30 years. She challenged the American idea of Chinese food and transformed their appreciation for authentic Chinese cuisine.

2 Ms Chiang was born in Wuxi in 1920 as the seventh daughter in a wealthy family. After her parents died， Cecilia managed the businesses? finances while still in her teens.

3 Ms Chiang came to San Francisco in 1959. Once in San Francisco， she met two acquaintances who wanted to open a restaurant. Ms Chiang agreed to put up a huge deposit. But when the two women quit， Ms Chiang found to her horror that the deposit was not refundable （可退還的）. She decided to open the restaurant herself. “I began to think that if I could create a restaurant with Western style service and the dishes that I was most familiar with—the delicious food of northern China—maybe my little restaurant would succeed，” she wrote in her book.

4 The Mandarin， which was opened in 1961 as a small restaurant， introduced customers to mainly Sichuan， Shanghai and Canton dishes. The early days were especially tough. But little by little， Chinese diners， and a few Americans， came regularly. Overnight，the tables filled and became a huge success.

5 Ms Chiang enjoyed many extraordinary honors. In 2013， when she was 93， she received the long overdue Lifetime Achievement Award from the James Beard Awards， known as the“Culinary（烹飪的） Oscars” at New York s Lincoln Center. Cecilia considered it her legacy to have redefined what Americans know about Chinese food and culture. In her acceptance speech， Cecilia said， “This is an incredible honor. James Beard was one of my close personal friends， so this award holds a special place in my heart.”

Ⅰ. Choose the best answers according to the text

Detail

1. When did Ms Chiang start to manage the businesses? finances？

A. In the 1920s.

B. In the 1930s.

C. In the 1950s.

D. In the 1960s.

2. Why did Ms Chiang open a restaurant alone？

A. She wanted to live a better life.

B. She needed to get her deposit back.

C. She decided to help her acquaintances.

D. She wished to spread Chinese food across America.

3. What can be Ms Chiang s chief achievement？

A. She changed American s eating habits.

B. She won an Oscar award for her restaurant.

C. She showed Americans the charm of Chinese food.

D. She recorded many recipes for Chinese dishes in her book.

4. Which of the following best describes Ms Chiang？

A. Smart but stubborn.

B. Adventurous but careless.

C. Devoted and brave.

D. Enthusiastic and ambitious.

Ⅱ. Discussion

Have you ever heard of Cecilia Chiang before？ Can you search for more information about her？

Ⅰ. Analyze some difficult sentences in the text

1. Cecilia Chiang， named the “mother of Chinese food in America”， a famed restaura

teur who helped introduce real Chinese food to America in the 1960s， died on October 28， 2020 at the age of 100. 江孫蕓，被譽為“美國中餐之母”，是一位著名的餐館老板，她在20世紀60年代把地道的中國美食引入美國，于2020年10月28日去世，享年100歲。

【點石成金】本句中，named為過去分詞作后置定語;a famed restaurateur who

helped introduce real Chinese food to America in the 1960s作同位語，其中，who引導的

是一個定語從句，先行詞為a famed restaurateur。

2. But when the two women quit， Ms Chiang found to her horror that the deposit was not refundable. 但當這兩名女士離開時，江女士驚恐地發現，押金是不可退還的。

【點石成金】本句中，that引導的是一個賓語從句，to her horror意為“使她震驚的是”。

Ⅱ. Memorize some text centered chunks

manage the businesses？蒺 finances 管理企業的財務

agree to do sth 同意做某事

decide to do sth 決定做某事

be familiar with 對……熟悉

little by little 一點一點地

acceptance speech 獲獎感言

close personal friend 親密的私人朋友