2021年5-8月 雅思口语 Part 3 Topic 48 特定节日/场合吃的食物

Topic 48 特定节日/场合吃的食物

1. Which food is popular in China?
There are tons of popular foods in China. Many of us love eating ramen, especially Lanzhou Ramen. It’s one of the tastiest kinds of noodles in China. Another good traditional food is hotpot. It’s a little similar to fondue436. You can put all kinds of meats and vegetables into the hotpot. Then you eat it with dipping sauce437. Actually there are dozens of styles of hotpot in China. They all taste amazing. I especially love the spicy Sichuan hotpot.

2. Have people’s eating habit changed compared to the past?
Yes, people’s diets are very different than diets in the past. Young people especially have diets that are very different from older generations. In the past, China’s economy wasn’t as developed438. People didn’t have as many choices for food as they do today. For example, vegetables and fruits like okra439 and cranberries440 are popular today. But they didn’t exist in farmers’ markets several years ago.

3. What’s the difference between North and South of China when it comes to eating habit?
Well, there are some pretty big differences in eating habits. People’s tastes vary a lot441 in terms of location. A lot of northern dishes are very salty. But people in southern China like sweet flavors. So in that area, there are lots of sweet dishes. But China is a huge country. Each town has its own features442 in terms of food.

4. Why do some people grow their own food these days?
Some people grow their own food because they want to control what they eat. A lot of people think store-bought food443 has too many chemicals in it. They want to know where their food comes from and what goes into it. Others just do it because it’s a fun hobby. It helps them relax. I think both are good reasons. It’s cool to make your own meals like that.

5. Is it hard to grow a plant?
I don’t think it’s hard. All you have to do is give it the right conditions to grow444. If it needs a lot of sunlight, put it in an area that gets lots of light. The only hard thing is remembering to water it every day. Personally, I can be very forgetful. So I don’t think I could grow a plant.

6. Will more people grow vegetables in the future?
Growing vegetables is very popular nowadays. So I believe in the future, more people will start growing their own vegetables. It’s a cool habit and a good topic for conversation. It’s probably also healthier to grow your own food. Food from the store can be too processed445. If you grow your own vegetables, you can control what goes into them. It’s very neat446.

7. Do you think people should eat every meal with their family?
Well, it’s tough. It would be nice if people ate every meal with their family. Eating together strengthens relationships447 between family members. But it’s not always possible to eat every single meal with your family. People have different schedules, especially if they have jobs. They’re usually apart during the day448. I think it would be good to have at least one meal with your family.

8. What are the influences of industrial development in the food industry on our eating habits?
I suppose that it has affected the types of food we eat. We have to be careful about our eating habits and diets. The industrialization of the food industry has made us used to eating processed food. Processed food usually has lots of calories. But it’s not as nutritious as natural food. It’s part of why449 a lot of people are overweight. We should eat less food produced by factories. Instead we should eat natural food like vegetables and fruits.

436 fondue：芝士火锅/’fɒnd(j)uː/
437 dipping sauce：蘸酱
438 as developed：（中国的经济）发展不是很好
439 okra：秋葵
440 cranberries: 蔓越莓
441 People’s tastes vary a lot：人们的口味（按照地理位置不同）有很大的差异
442 has its own features：有其自身的特点
443 store-bought food：现成*的食品
444 give it the right conditions to grow：有适当的生长条件
445 too processed：过度加工了的（食品）
446 neat：相当于 excellent，很棒
447 strengthens relationships：加强（彼此之间的）关系
448 apart during the day：白天都是分开的，不在一起的
449 It’s part of why：这是…的原因之一