Why is Taiwan food so “Q”为什么台湾食物如此“Q”

方蒙艳

當你在享受美食时，有没有用过“Q”这个字母来形容它的口感？其实，在台湾地区，有很多具有“Q”感的美味小吃，而且这些小吃给人们带来了一种欢快的心情。让我们通过下面的文章更具体地了解一下“Q”感美食吧！

难词扫障

1.texture n. 口感

2.peddle v. 兜售

3.the fluorescent lights 荧光灯

4.the Asia's finest cuisine capitals 亚洲最好的美食之都

5.plump fish balls 胖滚滚的鱼丸

New Taipei City， Taiwan—As dusk falls at Lehua Night Market， the fluorescent lights flicker（闪烁） on and the hungry customers start wandering around， anxious for a taste of the local delicacies that give this island its reputation as one of Asia's finest cuisine capitals.

Here neatly arranged pyramids of plump fish balls. Take a bite of any of these dishes and you'll discover a unique taste. But how exactly do you describe that perfectly corrected mouth feel so sought after by local cooks and eaters alike？ Slippery？ Chewy？ Globby ？ Not exactly the most pleasing adjectives in the cuisine trade. Luckily， the Taiwanese have a word for this texture. Well， actually， it's not a word， it's a letter—one that even non-Chinese speakers can pronounce. It's “Q”.

Elsewhere in Asia， it is a familiar texture， though the term itself may not be used. Tteok-bokki， a Korean stir-fried rice cake， and mochi， a Japanese rice cake， for example， could also be considered “Q”. In Western cuisine， the texture is less commonly found， though one could describe foods like sticky bears and certain kinds of pasta（意大利面食）as “Q”.

There are many other uses for the term Q in Chinese as well. It could be used， for example， as shorthand for the English word cute， or to refer to the once-popular QQ messaging service from Tencent or the QQ minicar model from the Chinese carmaker Chery.

Among Taiwanese， the appreciation for Q texture starts at a young age. On a recent sticky evening at Lehua Night Market， crowds roamed around the colorful pedestrian street， which was lined on both sides with sellers peddling things like hats， cellphone cases and， of course， delicious snacks. Asked why Q texture was so appealing to Taiwanese， Lu Weichen， the owner of the stand， said “When you eat it， you will be in a good mood.”

——From The New York Times

1.Which word can describe the texture of Taiwan food exactly？ （no more than 1 word）

________________________________________________________

2.Why can Q texture attract so many Taiwanese？ （no more than 8 words）

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I.Important vocabulary in the text

1.shorthand n. 速記;（对某事）简略的表述方式

2.appreciation n. 欣赏;感谢

3.take a bite of 咬一口……

4.seek after 追求;探索

5.roam around 散步;闲逛

Ⅱ.Complete the following sentences in correct forms with the vocabulary given above.

1.One's    ___________  of literature depends on one's level of knowledge.

2.It is the hidden wealth that you  ___________ during your stay on the Earth.

3.Those employees had to take down what the boss would say in   ___________  .

4.It smells so delicious that I can't wait to   ___________    it.

5.But how exactly do you describe that perfectly corrected mouth feel so    ___________   after by local cooks and eaters alike？

6.Crowds   ___________   the carnival-like pedestrian street，   ___________ was lined on both sides with sellers  ___________  things like hats...