The power of food 食物的力量

顧邵芹

主題語境：社會

篇幅：297詞

建議用時：6分鐘

In an often divided world， new research reveals the fac?tor Americans feel unifies （統一） us the most—food！ Con?ducted by OnePoll with Sabra， the survey examined howAmericans look at cultures other than their own and how foodcan bridge gaps and create connections.

Eighty?four percent of Americans say food truly has thepower to connect people of different cultures and back?grounds. The poll of two thousand Americans found eighty?eight percent say they meet and experience other culturesthrough eating foods and reading about a variety of recipes. Infact， seventy?six percent are regularly drawn to foods that are representative of a culture dif?ferent from their own. The research revealed that eighty?six percent enjoy eating cuisinesdifferent from their home cuisines. Eighty?four percent of those who were studied revealedthey see food as a welcoming and approachable way to share cultures with others. And an?other eighty?two percent say they see chefs as cultural ambassadors （大使）—able to makeexperiencing a variety of cultures easy and understood.

Americans are also willing to travel only to experience food native to specific regionsof the world. Thirty?six percent would travel for Mexican cuisine while nearly half wouldtravel to enjoy authentic Italian cuisine. To our surprise， fifty?one percent prefer Chinesecuisine. The survey turns out that thirty?five percent would gladly travel to the Mediterra?nean to enjoy the food native to that area like grape leaves and hummus.

Food has become a way to bring different groups of people together. The majority ofpeople say having different meals is the best way to bring groups of people together andlearn about their culture. As a connection between different cultures， food plays an impor?tant part in our daily life. In addition， we must pay attention to its role seriously in a diversi?fied society.

ReadingCheck

1. What role does food play in international cultural exchange？

A. The bond.

B. The core.

C. The direction.

D. The supporter.

2. What do the majority of Americans think of chefs in paragraph 2？

A. They combine politics and foods.

B. They know other countries cultures a lot.

C. They make different cultures accessible.

D. They distinguish foreigners cuisine styles.

3. Which food attracts the most people to the local area to eat？

A. Italian food.

B. Chinese food.

C. Mexican food.

D. Mediterranean food.

4. Which is the best way to experience other cultures according to the text？

A. Talking with chefs.

B. Reading cultural books.

C. Travelling to other countries.

D. Sharing meals with each other.

LanguageStudy

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

Eighty?four percent of those who were studied revealed they see food as a welcomingand approachable way to share cultures with others. 84% 的受訪者表示，他們認為食物是與他人分享文化的一種受歡迎且平易近人的方式。

【點石成金】此句是一個主從復合句，主干為Eighty?four percent of those re?vealed...。其中，who引導定語從句，修飾先行詞those，關系詞who在從句中作主語；動詞revealed后接省略了that的賓語從句；to share cultures with others作后置定語，修飾way。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

have the power to do 有力量做……

a variety of 各種各樣的

be drawn to 被……所吸引

be willing to do 樂意做……；愿意做……

turn out 結果是；證明是