Food might be one of the last barriers to fully immerse oneself in a foreign culture, and for British writer Fuchsia Dunlop, that frontier for Westerners when it comes to Chinese food is the mouthfeel or texture. “Cross it, and you’re really inside.”By texture, she particularly refers to that of the food Chinese people are famously interested in, such as ox throat, chicken feet, sea cucumber, or abalone (鲍鱼), which Westerners usually consider pointless since they taste like “a bike’s inner tube or plastic bags.”In one of her popular books, Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper published in 2008, Dunlop devoted an entire chapter, “The Rubber Factor,” to what mouthfeel means in Chinese cuisines. She lists some representatives: cui of fresh crunchy vegetables (a particular quality of crispness), tanxing (springy elasticity like that of a squid ball), nen (tenderness of just-cooked fish or meat), or shuang (that “evokes a refreshing, bright, slippery, cool sensation in the mouth”). “Actually quite a few readers have written to me and said ‘after reading that, we went to a restaurant, we ordered chicken feet, and we tried to eat that differently,’” she says.In 2016 and 2017, she gave presentations, workshops, or seminars about texture in New York, Oxford, and London. At one seminar in New York, Dunlop prepared a tasting with some jellyfish, a duck tongue, pig ears and so on. At a food conference in Oxford she gave a presentation about why even the richest people in China would want to eat duck tongue and other foods that in the West are traditionally considered “rubbish eaten by poor farmers.” After explaining the texture, she asked all the participants to taste the food. She asked her audience to put aside their prejudice and negative thoughts, and instead concentrate on the sensation in the mouth. “A lot of people said it was one of the best presentations they’d seen. It was totally fascinating because all these things are new for them,” she says. “They just probably thought duck tongue a bit weird , but they never actually considered why you might want to eat a duck’s tongue, so I’m like a kind of missionary for this. I’m trying to get people to open their minds.”1. What does Fuchsia Dunlop think of Chinese food?A) It is a barrier for many foreigners.B) It contains many strange ingredients.C) It stresses mouthfeel or texture. D) It stresses color, scent, and taste.2. Why does Fuchsia Dunlop refer to chicken feet, sea cucumber and so on?A) Because Chinese people are famously interested in their nutrition.B) Because Chinese people are famously interested in their texture. C) Because Westerners usually consider them pointless.D) Because Westerners think they taste like a bike’s inner tube or plastic bags.3. What does Fuchsia Dunlop think of mouthfeel in Chinese cuisines?A) It is the tenderness of just-cooked fish or meat.B) It is the particular quality of crispness.C) It evokes a refreshing, slippery, and cool sensation.D) It includes various sensations in the mouth. 4. In what way did Fuchsia Dunlop help people open their minds?A) She gave presentations, workshops, or seminars about texture. B) She lectured on different food cultures around the world.C) She gave a presentation at a food conference in Oxford.D) She asked audience to ignore the sensation in the mouth.5. Which of the following can best replace the word “weird” (underlined)?A) crazyB) strange C) terribleD) frightening

A British food writer explains why sensation is important in Chinese food. Food might be one of the last barriers to fully immerse oneself in a foreign culture, and for British writer Fuchsia Dunlop, that frontier for Westerners when it comes to Chinese food is the mouthfeel or texture. “Cross it, and you’re really inside.” By texture, she particularly refers to that of the food Chinese people are famously interested in, such as ox throat, chicken feet, sea cucumber, or abalone (鲍鱼), which Westerners usually consider pointless since they taste like “a bike’s inner tube or plastic bags.” In one of her popular books, Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper published in 2008, Dunlop devoted an entire chapter, “The Rubber Factor,” to what mouthfeel means in Chinese cuisines. She lists some representatives: cui of fresh crunchy vegetables (a particular quality of crispness), tanxing (springy elasticity like that of a squid ball), nen (tenderness of just-cooked fish or meat), or shuang (that “evokes a refreshing, bright, slippery, cool sensation in the mouth”). “Actually quite a few readers have written to me and said ‘after reading that, we went to a restaurant, we ordered chicken feet, and we tried to eat that differently,’” she says. In 2016 and 2017, she gave presentations, workshops, or seminars about texture in New York, Oxford, and London. At one seminar in New York, Dunlop prepared a tasting with some jellyfish, a duck tongue, pig ears and so on. At a food conference in Oxford she gave a presentation about why even the richest people in China would want to eat duck tongue and other foods that in the West are traditionally considered “rubbish eaten by poor farmers.” After explaining the texture, she asked all the participants to taste the food. She asked her audience to put aside their prejudice and negative thoughts, and instead concentrate on the sensation in the mouth. “A lot of people said it was one of the best presentations they’d seen. It was totally fascinating because all these things are new for them,” she says. “They just probably thought duck tongue a bit weird  , but they never actually considered why you might want to eat a duck’s tongue, so I’m like a kind of missionary for this. I’m trying to get people to open their minds.”1. What does Fuchsia Dunlop think of Chinese food?A)  It is a barrier for many foreigners.B)  It contains many strange ingredients.C)  It stresses mouthfeel or texture. D)  It stresses color, scent, and taste.2. Why does Fuchsia Dunlop refer to chicken feet, sea cucumber and so on?A)  Because Chinese people are famously interested in their nutrition.B)  Because Chinese people are famously interested in their texture. C)  Because Westerners usually consider them pointless.D)  Because Westerners think they taste like a bike’s inner tube or plastic bags.3. What does Fuchsia Dunlop think of mouthfeel in Chinese cuisines?A)  It is the tenderness of just-cooked fish or meat.B)  It is the particular quality of crispness.C)  It evokes a refreshing, slippery, and cool sensation.D)  It includes various sensations in the mouth. 4. In what way did Fuchsia Dunlop help people open their minds?A)  She gave presentations, workshops, or seminars about texture. B)  She lectured on different food cultures around the world.C)  She gave a presentation at a food conference in Oxford.D)  She asked audience to ignore the sensation in the mouth.5. Which of the following can best replace the word “weird” (underlined)?A)  crazyB)  strange C)  terribleD)  frightening