In much of Asia, especially the so-called “rice bowl” cultures of China, Japan, Korea, 【小题1】 Vietnam, food is usually eaten with chopsticks.

Chopsticks are usually two long, thin 【小题2】(piece) of wood or bamboo. They can also be made of plastic, animal bone or metal. Sometimes chopsticks are quite artistic. Truly elegant chopsticks might 【小题3】(make) of gold and silver with Chinese characters. Skilled workers also combine carious hardwoods and metal 【小题4】(create) special designs.

The Chinese have used chopsticks for five thousand years. People probably cooked 【小题5】(they) food in large pots, 【小题6】(use) twigs (树枝) to remove it. Over time, as 【小题7】 population grew, people began cutting food into small pieces so it would cook more quickly. Food in small pieces could be eaten easily with twigs which gradually turned into chopsticks.

Some people think that the great Chinese scholar Confucius, 【小题8】 lived from roughly 551 to 479 B. C., definitely influenced the development of chopsticks. Confucius believed knives would remind people of killing and 【小题9】(be) too violent for use at the table.

Chopsticks are not used everywhere in Asia. In India, for example, most people 【小题10】(tradition) eat with hands.

The British have many traditions but there is nothing more typical than taking afternoon tea.We know the British have a love affair with drinking tea,【小题1】 more than 160 million cups drunk every day,but it was the invention of afternoon tea that turned tea-drinking into 【小题2】 popular pastime.

This sociable feast involves drinking good quality tea 【小题3】(comfortable) while eating nice sandwiches and a selection of small cakes.And,of course,it can only happen in the afternoon!Afternoon tea,【小题4】(design)as a light snack to bridge the gap between lunch and dinner,dates back to the 1840s.It went on to become a 【小题5】(fashion)social occasion for the upper classes.

Now there is a resurgence（复苏）in its 【小题6】(popular)in the UK and it is available to anyone who can afford it.【小题7】 it can be enjoyed at home,the best way to experience it is at a smart hotel of cafe.But if you’re thinking of visiting such a place 【小题8】(enjoy)a plate of sweet and tasty treats with a steaming hot drink,remember the rules you must follow to avoid 【小题9】(ask)to leave.

Writer Henry James once noted that“there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour devoted to the ceremony known as“afternoon tea”.I’m sure once you try it,you 【小题10】(agree).

In Japan, Chen Jianyi was a household name. He devoted his life to cooking and adapting the hot and spicy Chinese dish for Japanese 【小题1】 (customer). His career and life even inspired a Japanese artist 【小题2】 (create) Cooking Master Boy, a household cartoon 【小题3】 became a common childhood memory among the Japanese born in the 1980s and 1990s.

In 1952, Chen’s father moved to Japan. 6 years 【小题4】 (late), he opened the first Sichuan cuisine restaurant in Tokyo. Then he set up an “Institute of Chinese Cuisine” 【小题5】 the help of his wife. It has trained 15,000 chefs, making a great 【小题6】 (contribute) to the spread of Chinese food in Japan.

In 1990, Chen took over the Sichuan restaurant at 【小题7】 age of 34 after his father’s death. He improved their family’s signature dish (招牌菜) even further to give it a “spicy and 【小题8】 (slight) sweet taste.” In a cooking competition in 1993, he broke a record and 【小题9】 (claim) the title of “First Chef of Chinese Food” in Japan.

Sadly, chef Chen passed away in March, 2023. The news of his death made media headlines in Japan. It shows just how much the Japanese love the dish he cooked and Chinese cuisine, and how food culture has played an important role in promoting communication and 【小题10】 (culture) exchanges.