Amy’s presentation is titled “A Taste of Tongren.” It is full of facts about the kinds of foods that Chinese people eat and the ways they prepare these ingredients. However, the presentation also includes many other ideas about Chinese culture. Although Amy organizes her presentation to focus on different foods and dishes, her script for the presentation starts with a much “bigger,” more general idea.
Watch the beginning of the video again, and see if you can identify the sentence that Amy uses to connect her knowledge of Chinese food with her understanding of Chinese culture more generally.
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[SPEAKING CHINESE] Hi, my name is Amy. I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guizhou province of southwestern China. During my time in Peace Corps, I taught English to university students studying to become teachers.
This is the view of my city, Tongren. With a population of about 350,000, it's considered a very small city, especially when you compare it to places like Shanghai, which has a population of about 17 million, and Beijing, which is near 13 million.
Over the two years I spent in China, I learned a lot about Chinese culture. And I found that many of my most memorable experiences related in some way to food, as I tried new types of cuisine, explored marketplaces, and prepared and shared meals with my students and new friends.
Question
What did Amy realize about her time in China that helped her decide how to set up her presentation?
There are other sentences in Amy’s presentation that draw conclusions about Chinese culture, based on what Amy saw and experienced while living there. As you watch this excerpt, listen for a sentence that “sums up” the facts.
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This probably looks a lot different from the Chinese food you are used to eating in America. Generally, the Chinese food we eat in America is the Cantonese style, sweet and sour sauce with stewed vegetables and large chunks of meat. The food where I lived in China was much different. Actually food across China is quite diverse. The food in my region was considered Citron style, which is some of the spiciest food in China.
Chinese people in this region like to joke by saying [FOREIGN LANGUAGE], which literally means Grego people aren't afraid of spice.
Question
Which sentence from this excerpt sums up the facts with a big idea that Amy learned about Chinese culture?
