Marc Briol started his career at the age of 17 as an apprentice at a hotel in Germany, but his experience in the kitchen started at 12, when he had to cook his own meals after school. The young chef with Belle-Vue, the European restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Shenzhen, believes a chef has to be honest and true to his food. "If you look at the plate, it says exactly what I have done. You cannot cheat. If you try to take a shortcut, you will affect the taste," he says. "It is also what I appreciate in my job ---- direct communication with my customers." At just 23, Briol was appointed chef of Belle-Vue in September, when his enthusiasm and inspiration won recognition. "I am so pleased to welcome Marc to lead the culinary team at Belle-Vue. His creativity and passion will bring new inspiration to the restaurant, and create exciting dining experiences that are approachable and fun," says Martin Riehl, executive chef of the hotel. Briol creates and combines classic dishes with his own understanding and his signature dishes are featured in the Best of Belle-Vue selection. Most of the dishes are presented in two color1s ---- green and red. "It is a nice contrast with the white plate at the moment. And it reminds me of something happy and merry." The color1s are updated according to season, and also on request from regular customers. Although Briol has only been in Shenzhen about three months, he has fallen in love with Cantonese food. "I love dim sum ---- all the steamed vegetables, chicken soup and black tea." One interesting thing about Shenzhen is how people treat food, he says. "If you go to the local market, you will see things such as snakes, which would belong to the zoo back in my country." He says that in China, everything has a reason. People respect food, which is not always done in Europe. "In China, if you eat something, it is because it is healthy for your body." As for the cooking, he says, it is not easy to get raw materials for a European restaurant in Shenzhen. "It took me about a... Marc Briol gets much of his inspiration from many sources EXCEPT _ . A) food blogs B) traveling C) cookbooks D) food color1s
D
To develop one's fine taste in English, one of the most effective ways is to read English books widely. Yet one may be at a loss to choose the proper books, especially as a beginner. I would like to share some of my experience. My first English novel was Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but my experience was somewhat discouraging. When I read it, I had great difficulty in understand the novel , let alone enjoying it. It's not the words that troubled me, but rather the way Austen organized sentences, and her way of thinking, which seemed too distant to me at that time. So my first suggestion is, as a beginner, you should choose modern novels instead of classical ones. I do not mean you shouldreject (say no to) classical novels completely but start with something easier. Actually , my second reading ofPride and Prejudicegreatly pleased me. However, reading novels is not the only way to improve your English . In fact, English essays can at once inform you, entertain you, and improve your taste in English. The best example is Bertrand Russell's works. Its language is not simple, yet you cannot help feeling the elegance and wisdom of his writing. Last but not least, never follow others' suggestions and opinions blindly. Some days ago, I read Somerset Maugham's autobiography The Summing Up. In a chapter he regards Edward Gibbon and Samuel Johnson's style as pompous . Though I admire Maugham's works, I can't agree with his view. Probably one can say this about Johnson's works, but definitely not Gibbon's . In fact, Gibbon's clear style makes his works highly readable, and you can hardly believe they were written over 200 years ago. So we should be open to various ideas, but always think and decide for ourselves. Bertrand Russell's works are mentioned in the text as an example of _ . A) Perfect dramas B) best-written poems C) beautiful essays D) humorous short stories .
C
Q: BERLIN -- With the crisis in Japan raising fears about nuclear power, Germany and Switzerland said on Monday that they would reassess the safety of their own reactors. Doris Leuthard, the Swiss energy minister, said Switzerland would put off plans to build nuclear plants. She said no new ones would be permitted until experts had reviewed safety standards. Germany will put off "the recently decided extension of the running time of German nuclear plants," Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters. "This moratorium will run for three months and it will allow for a thorough examination of the safety standards of the county's 17 nuclear power plants. The European Union called for a meeting on Tuesday of nuclear safety authorities to assess Europe's preparedness. Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, called for a new risk analysis of the country's nuclear plants, particularly regarding their cooling systems. He is the leader of the Free Democratic Party, which strongly supports nuclear power. A previous government, led by the Social Democrats, passed a law in 2001 to close all the country's nuclear plants by 2021. But Mrs. Merkel's government changed that decision last year to extend the lives of the plants by an average of 12 years. In Switzerland, Doris Leuthard said she had already asked to analyze the exact cause of the problems in Japan and draw up new or tougher safety standards "particularly in terms of seismic safety and cooling." In Russia, the Prime Minister said his government would "draw conclusions from what's going on in Japan." How will Germany react to Japan's nuclear crisis? A) Germany will close all the country's nuclear plants. B) Germany will hold a meeting of nuclear safety authorities. C) Germany will change the decision made last year. D) Germany will delay the extension of nuclear plants running time.
A: D
Not all vegetables need lots of sunshine. Mark Hoffman and his wife own a bed-and-breakfast guesthouse in rural Kempton, Illinois. They often serve their guests fresh products from the garden. The Hoffmans have been growing food and flowers for twenty-five years. For almost ten of those years, Mr. Hoffman has been experimenting and working with shade plantings. He says, "The bottom line here is that most plants will produce more in full sun. But if you do not have full sun, there are other choices." For example, he grows tomatoes near oak trees. Oak trees can produce a lot of shade. But Mr. Hoffman says his tomato plants grow as long as they get five hours' direct sunshine a day, especially morning sun. Not only does this go against the traditional advice that tomatoes need six, eight, even twelve hours' full sun a day. It also shows how plants and tree roots can share nutrients and water. Mr. Hoffman says plants with wider leaves seem to do better in shady environments. He also found that his potatoes did better partly in shade than in full sun. Moving them out of the sun helped control an insect problem. Mr. Hoffman does not use pesticide . Instead, he planted the potatoes in the shade, especially on the east side of the tree. The potatoes get morning sun, but they are shaded during the hottest part of the day. Some insects dislike shade, and the hottest part day is when they do the worst of their damage. Time of day, sun intensity , shadows from trees, walls and buildings all influence how much sunlight falls on plants. And people interested in shade planting should also remember something else. The term "shade" can describe different amounts of darkness. It can even mean different things in different parts of the world. All of the following can influence how much sunlight falls on plants EXCEPT _ . A) length of day time B) brightness of the sun C) changes of the season D) shadows
C