[ Journals ] 7 Insects for Dinner

　　Most Americans seem to crave variety in their diets, judging by the popularity of foreign restaurants. But though many people would be willing to sample a curry dish from India, a real Hungarian goulash, or even Japanese sushi, very few would want to indulge in a kind of food that is poplar in many countries: insects.
　　Eating insects actually is eminently sensible. There are certainly enough of them around, and though most are too small to bother with, many grow to a respectable size or live in dense groups that can be easily harvested. They are very nutritious: after all, many birds and mammal ingest diets consisting of nothing but insect. And since insects contain a fair amount of salt, they are already well seasoned. Indeed, in those countries where insects are eaten, they are usually considered great delicious. The goliath beetle is a prize catch in Africa; caterpillars are a popular dish in Mexico, where they are fried and served under the name of “agave worms”; and chocolate covered bees and ants are favorite candies in Switzerland.
　　It is unlikely that canned grasshoppers will become popular in America in the near future, but who knows? Perhaps in years to come people will rid themselves of their prejudice against insects and will find themselves going out to dig for grubs as eagerly as others now go out to gather mushrooms.


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I. Summarize

　　Most Americans seem to crave variety in their diets, judging by the popularity of foreign restaurants. But very few would want to indulge in a kind of food that is poplar in many countries: insects.
　　Actually, eating insects actually is eminently sensible. They are very nutritious, and there are certainly enough of them around. Indeed, in those countries where insects are eaten, they are usually considered great delicious.
　　Though it still can't imagine that eating insects will be popular in the near feture, there are many people and animals eat insects to ingest nutritious.


II. Vocabulary words and phrases

i. new words/phrases
crave v. 渴望
indulge in 醉心於
eminently adv. 非常、完全地
grasshopper n. 蚱蜢
grub n. 蛆
ingest v. 吃

ii. useful words / phrases
prejudice n. 偏見
sample v. 嘗試
consist of 由…組成
seasoned adv. 調過味的
nutritious adv. 營養的


III. The reason I chose this article

　　I don’t like insects. It’s strange, because when I was little, I used to have fun with insects like grasshoppers and beetles, but when I got older, I didn’t do it anymore. I don’t know why; maybe it’s because that once I played in my grandma’s front yard, but unfortunately, I was bit by a big ant. I can remember that I wore a pair of sandals, not sneakers, and suddenly I was bit by a big black ant. I’m not really sure if I step in a formicary or not. It was so hurt and I got panic. Since then, I seldom walk in grass if I don’t wear a pair of shoes that can wrap my feet.