澳门的著名甜点

You can smell it before you see it. The sweet smell of sugar, eggs and cream fills the air. Once it is made to perfection, the inside is soft and the outside is crispy. A shiny and golden surface catches the eye.

This, as you may have guessed, is the delicious egg tart. It's the famous dessert of Mong's cafe, one of the most popular places to eat in Macao. The sweet dessert is made fresh every day by the cafe's owner Margaret Wong.

Few people know egg tarts better than Wong. After all, she created this dessert together with her husband Stow. Some people say Margaret's egg tarts are special, because they taste neither Western nor Chinese. According to Wong, that is exactly the point.

It all started when Wong and Stow opened their first cake house. Someone asked Stow to make some cream cakes. The first plate of cakes came out burnt and wrong, and Stow wanted to throw them away. But Wong said, "Hold on a minute. They can still be eaten. Don't waste food." The couple let people try them for free. Unexpectedly, the customers loved them. They have ordered more and more egg tarts from them since then. More than thirty years have flown. The method of making Margaret's egg tarts remains the same.

Whenever people talk about Macao, they mention egg tarts. Every day, hundreds of tourists and locals line up at Wong's cafe. "Sometimes people walk in and say 'Can I just have one egg tart?' And I have to tell them, 'Not even a small piece is left!'" Wong says with a smile.

Reading Comprehension Questions

1. What part of egg tarts catches the eye?

2. How often does Wong make egg tarts in Wong's cafe?

3. Why do some people say Margaret's egg tarts are special?

4. What did Stow want to do with the first burnt cakes?

5. How long does the method of making Margaret's egg tarts remain?

答案与解析

1

A shiny and golden surface.

考点：细节理解题。定位到第一段最后一句"A shiny and golden surface catches the eye."解析：问题问的是"catches the eye"的部分，即"引人注目"的部分，文中明确提到是"闪亮的金黄色表面"。

2

Every day.

考点：细节理解题。定位到第二段最后一句"The sweet dessert is made fresh every day by..."解析：问题问的是制作频率，文中明确说明是每天制作。"made fresh every day"强调了每日新鲜制作。

3

Because they taste neither Western nor Chinese.

考点：因果关系题。定位到第三段"because they taste neither Western nor Chinese."解析：问题问的是蛋挞特别的原因，文中明确说明是因为它们的味道既不像西式也不像中式。注意"neither...nor..."结构表示"既不...也不..."。

4

He wanted to throw them away.

考点：细节理解题。定位到第四段"Stow wanted to throw them away."解析：问题问的是斯图最初的意图，文中明确说明他想扔掉烤焦的蛋糕。"throw away"意思是丢弃或扔掉。

5

More than thirty years.

考点：细节理解题。定位到第四段"More than thirty years have flown. The method...remains the same."解析：问题问的是制作方法保持不变的时间，文中明确说明是三十多年。"more than"表示"超过"或"多于"。

重点词汇

tart/tɑːrt/n.

A baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base (蛋挞，果馅饼)

Example: I love eating egg tarts for breakfast.

crispy/ˈkrɪspi/adj.

Firm, dry, and easily broken; pleasantly crunchy (酥脆的)

Example: The outside of the tart is crispy and delicious.

catch the eyeidiomphrase

To attract attention; to be noticeable (引人注目)

Example: The shiny surface of the tart catches the eye.

perfection/pərˈfekʃən/n.

The state of being perfect or without flaws (完美)

Example: The tart is made to perfection.

neither...nor...conjunctionconj.

Used to show that two negative statements are both true (既不...也不...)

Example: They taste neither Western nor Chinese.

throw awayphrasal verbv. phrase

To discard as worthless or unwanted (扔掉，丢弃)

Example: Stow wanted to throw away the burnt cakes.

unexpectedly/ˌʌnɪkˈspektɪdli/adv.

In a way that was not expected or predicted (出乎意料地)

Example: Unexpectedly, the customers loved the burnt cakes.

remain the samephrasephrase

To stay unchanged; to continue as before (保持不变)

Example: The method of making the tarts remains the same.

语法重点：本文使用了几个重要语法结构：

• "Once it is made to perfection"
   - 时间状语从句结构
• "Few people know...better than"
   - 比较级结构，表示"很少有人比...更..."
• "neither Western nor Chinese"
   - 关联连词"既不...也不..."结构
• "More than thirty years have flown"
   - 时间比喻表达，意为"三十多年飞逝而过"

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