At home, ordering food from a menu is a normal routine, I don’t even give it a second thought. In China, it’s a whole other story! Here, ordering is a fun game of test and error, and the adventure begins before the food is even served!

Many restaurants in central Beijing advertise “English language menus”, but the translations can just add to the confusion. Although accompanying pictures can be a helpful relief, the translations often make the whole experience even more amusing. During my first few weeks in China I tried some delicious dishes with strange names. As an experiment, my friends and I would order things like “students addicted to chicken gristle（软骨）” and “red burned lion head”. Eventually we learned that “lion head” was actually pork, and “students” were “addicted” to diced（切成丁的）chicken with green pepper. Recently, I came across a busy restaurant down a narrow side street in a Beijing hutong. It was lunchtime and the small room was packed with people sitting on small stools eating noodles. I was hungry and cold, and the steaming bowls looked irresistible! I sat myself down and called out for a “caidan!” In response, the waitress pointed to a wall at the back of the restaurant. The wall was full of Chinese characters describing numerous dishes. There was only one sentence in English: “crossing over the bridge noodles”.

I had never heard of the dish and had no idea what it would taste like. I took a gamble and ordered one bowl of “crossing over the bridge noodles”. A few minutes later the waitress carried a heavy bowl full of broth（肉汤）and I quickly dug in. It was the best bowl of noodles I had ever tasted! I have been back again and again and each time I point at the one English sentence—“crossing over the bridge noodles”. I always enter a restaurant in China feeling excited and a little nervous. Who knows what the next ordering adventure will show?

【小题1】How does the writer find the English language menus in many of Beijing’s restaurants?
A. Confusing but amusing.
B. Easy to understand.
C. Boring and annoying.
D. Accurate and helpful.
【小题2】The underlined word “gamble” in the last paragraph probably means “______”.
A. taste B. look
C. step D. risk
【小题3】What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. The writer’s favorite Chinese dishes.
B. The fun the author had ordering food in China’s restaurants.
C. A comparison between Western food and Chinese food.
D. The correct way to translate the names of Chinese dishes into English.
【小题4】The passage is developed mainly in the form of ______.
A. examples and statements
B. comparisons and conclusions
C. causes and effects
D. time and description