Question

Culture and Cuisine

The United States is known for jazz and blue jeans．But travel to Paris and ask your average French citizen about American cuisine (烹饪) and he’s likely to answer，“ McDonalds．” Ask the same thing of any American citizen on any American street and I’m afraid you’d get the same answer，or something close to it．

Hamburgers and hotdogs and fries are all fine，but with American malls and other outlets standardizing everything from clothing to food，the sad truth is that American cuisine is becoming more homogeneous―all the same―no matter where you live．True，many Americans are eating more varied foods these days，but these are largely the cuisines of immigrant groups，and they are quite likely to be affected by homogenization of American cuisine．

So what exactly is American cuisine？ Well，to some extent it is a reflection of our melting pot culture，meaning that Europeans made huge contributions in the form of wheat，dairy products，pork，beef and poultry．But American cuisine also includes products that once were known only to the New World，including potatoes，corn，pumpkin，sweet potatoes，and peanuts．

The one region of the country where you still find all these things in daily use is the Deep South．The South lost the Civil War，but children of the southerners are winning the battle to preserve and advance their cooking traditions—and in this case one of the few cuisines can truly be called American，which is why we’re pleased to have Low Country cuisine in this issue of food creation．That’s right，grits and gravy are back in a big way in cities like Charleston and Savannah．Truth is，they never really left，but up until a decade ago Low Country cuisine was more common at home than in restaurants．

In fact，a large number of tourists now go to the lower Atlantic region in order to experience this extraordinary cuisine for themselves．Time will tell whether Low Country cuisine becomes popular in other regions of the country in the way that，say，Italian cuisine has，but it’s amazing and heartening to see one of our true cultural treasures enjoying renewed popularity in these increasingly homogeneous times．

1.According to the passage，American cuisine impresses people as being _______．

A．dull and changeless

B．rich and various

C．popular and delicious

D．disagreeable and unpleasant

2.It can be seen that the writer feels regretful that _______．

A．cuisines of other countries play a more important role in America

B．American cuisine has become increasingly lacking in variety

C．American cuisine tends to vary because of immigration

D．American cuisine is being changed by foreign cuisines

3.From the passage，we know that grits and gravy _______．

A．were cooked with new materials after the Civil War

B．are gaining popularity in the south of America

C．were more popular over ten years ago

D．are seldom served in restaurants

4.What’s the writer’s attitude towards the renewal of Low Country cuisine in America？

A．Concerned and cautious．

B．Hopeless and doubtful．

C．Positive and supportive．

D．Critical and disapproving．

Answer

1.A

2.B

3.B

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：本文是说明文，主要介绍关于美国的饮食变化历程。

1.the sad truth is that American cuisine is becoming more homogeneous―all the same―no matter where you live可知美国的烹饪无变化，故选A。

2.homogeneous… homogenization…可知American cuisine正式模式化，统一化，甚至同化了一些外来的饮食，故选B。

3.grits and gravy are back in a big way in cities…可知American cuisine流行起来了，从后文的Time will tell whether Low Country cuisine becomes popular in other regions能看出来这种流行现在还局限在南方，故选B。

4.it’s amazing and heartening to see one of our true cultural treasures enjoying renewed popularity in these increasingly homogeneous times可知，作者的态度是积极并支持的，故选C。

考点：考查说明文类的阅读。

【名师点睛】

说明文类阅读的技巧

说明文主要包括事物说明文和事理说明文。（如：本文就是一篇事物说明文。）

说明文有以下两个特点：

1、 说明文一般呈现出条理清晰、逻辑严谨的特点。

2、 说明文的语言要求准确、科学。

了解了这些特点，我们还要知道阅读理解的题型一般包括：细节题、语义猜测题、主旨大意题、判断推理题等。（如：本文本文中就涉及到了细节理解题和判断推理题。）

而其中关于细节题，用到的英语说明文阅读技巧就是仔细查找。这种题型的答案一般都可以在文中找到，当然，答案不可能与原文一模一样，但是它们表达的意思是一样的。只要在文中仔细查找，就能找到答案。（如：小题1，阅读了解到题干内容，然后到原文中找答案，根据第二段the sad truth is that American cuisine is becoming more homogeneous―all the same―no matter where you live可知美国的烹饪无变化，所以最后分析选择A。）