无论是在四六级考试还是在专四专八考试中，江湖上始终流传着这么一句话：得阅读者得天下。此言非虚。横向对比四级考试试卷的四大组成部分(写作、听力、阅读和翻译)之后不难发现，无论是考试中心所建议的时间分配比还是各部分的分值占比，阅读都举足轻重。为了帮助考生们更好的备考，文都四六级为大家分享2019年12月大学英语四级阅读真题预测：贫穷的男孩是如何成为厨师的，希望对您有所帮助。

大学英语四级阅读真题预测：贫穷的男孩是如何成为厨师的

How a Poor, Abandoned Parisian Boy Became aTop Chef

A) The busy streets in Paris were uneven and cakedin thick mud, but there was always a breathtakingsight to see in the shop windows of Patisserie de laRue de la Paix. By 1814, people crowded outside thebakery, straining for a glimpse of the latest sweetfood created by the young chef who worked inside.

B) His name was Marie-Antoine Carême, and he had appeared, one day, almost out of nowhere. But in his short lifetime, which ended exactly 184 years ago today, he would foreverrevolutionize French gourmet food(美食), write best-selling cook books and think up magicaldishes for royals and other important people.

C) Carême's childhood was one part tragedy, equal part mystery. Born the 16th child to poorparents in Paris in either 1783 or 1784, a young Carême was suddenly abandoned at the heightof the French Revolution. At 8 years old, he worked as a kitchen boy for a restaurant in Parisin exchange for room and board. By age 15, he had become an apprentice(学徒)to SylvainBailly, a well-known dessert chef with a successful bakery in one of Paris's most fashionableneighborhoods.

D) Carême was quick at learning in the kitchen. Bailly encouraged his young apprentice tolearn to read and write. Carême would often spend his free afternoons at the nearby NationalLibrary reading books on art and architecture. In the back room of the little bakery, his interestin design and his baking talent combined to work wonders-he shaped delicious masterpiecesout of flour, butter and sugar.

E) In his teenage years, Carême fashioned eatable copies of the late 18th century's mostfamous buildings-cookies in the shape of ruins of ancient Athens and pies in the shape ofancient Chinese palaces and temples. Sylvain Bailly, his master, displayed these luxuriantcreations-often as large as 4 feet tall-in his bakery windows.

F) Carême's creations soon captured the discriminating eye of a French diplomat, CharlesMaurice de

Talleyrand-Perigord. Around 1804, Talleyrand challenged Carême to produce a full menu forhis personal castle, instructing the young baker to use local, seasonal fruits and vegetablesand to avoid repeating main dishes over the course of an entire year. The experiment was agrand success and Talleyrand's association with French nobility would prove a profitableconnection for Carême.

G) French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was known to be unimpressed by the declining tasteof early

18th century cooking, but under pressure to entertain Paris's high society, he too calledCarême to his kitchen at Tuileries Palace. In 1810, Carême designed the extraordinary cakefor the wedding of Napoleon and his second bride, Marie-Louise of Austria. He became one ofthe first modern chefs to focus on the appearance of his table, not just the flavor of hisdishes. "I want order and taste. A well-displayed meal is enhanced one hundred percent in myeyes," he later wrote in one of his cook books.

H) In 1816, Carême began a culinary(烹饪的)journey which would forever mark his place ashistory's first top chef. He voyaged to England to cook in the modern Great Kitchen of theprince regent(摄政王), George IV, and crossed continents to prepare grand banquets for thetables of Tsar Alexander I of Russia. Never afraid to talk up his own accomplishments, aboastful Carême made a fortune as wealthy families with social ambitions invited him totheir kitchens. Later, in his cook books, he would often include a sketch of himself, so thatpeople on the street would be able to recognize-and admire-him.

I) Carême's cooking displays became the symbol of fine French dining; they were plentiful, beautiful and imposing. Guests would fall silent in wonder as servants carried Carême's fancycreations into the dining hall. For a banquet celebrating the Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia'svisit to George IV's Brighton Pavillion on Jan. 18, 1817, the menu featured 120 different dishes, highlighting eight different soups, 40 main courses, and 32 desserts.

J) As he traveled through the homes of early 19th century nobility, Carême forged the new artof French gourmet food. Locked in hot kitchens, Carême created his four "mother sauces." These sauces-béchamel, velouté, espagnole and allemande-formed the central building blocksfor many French main courses. He also perfected the soufflé-a baked egg dish, and introducedthe standard chef's uniform-the same double-breasted white coat and tall white hat still wornby many chefs today. The white clothing conveyed an image of cleanliness, according toCarême-and in his realm, appearance was everything.

K) Between meals, Carême wrote cook books that would be used in European kitchens for thenext century. His manuals including The Royal Parisian Baker and the massive five-volume Artof French Cooking Series (1833-1847, completed after his death) first systematized many basicprinciples of cooking, complete with drawings and step-by-step directions. Long beforetelevision cooking shows, Carême walked readers through common kitchen tasks, instructingthem to "try this for yourself, at home" as famous American Chef Julia Child might do, manyyears later.

L) In the end, however, it was the kitchen that did Carême in. Decades of working over coalfires in tight, closed spaces with little fresh air (to ensure his dishes would not get cold) hadfatally damaged his lungs. On Jan.12, 1883, Carême died just before he turned 50.

M) But in his lifetime, Carême, ever confident, could see beyond his short domination in thekitchen.

He wanted to "set the standard for beauty in classical and modern cooking, and prove to thedistant future that the French chefs of the 19th century were the most famous in the world," ashe wrote in his papers.

N) Decades later, chef Auguste Escoffier would build upon Carême's concept of Frenchcuisine(烹饪).But in the very beginning, there was just Carême, the top chef who elevateddining into art.

36. Carême was among the first chefs who stressed both the appearance and flavor ofdishes.

37. Carême wanted to show to later generations that French chefs of his time were mostoutstanding in the world.

38. Carême benefited greatly from serving a French diplomat and his connections.

39. Carême learned his trade from a famous dessert chef in Paris.

40. Carême's creative works were exhibited in the shop windows by his master.

41. Carême's knowledge of art and architecture helped him create extraordinary desserts outof ordinary ingredients.

42 . Many people in Paris were eager to have a look at the latest sweet food made by Carême.

43. Carême became extremely wealthy by cooking for rich and socially ambitious families.

44. Carême's writings dealt with fundamental cooking principles in a systematic way.

45. Carême's contribution to French cooking was revolutionary.

四级阅读参考答案：

36.G

37.M

38.F

39.C

40.E

41.D

42.A

43.H

44.K

45.B

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