People become quite illogical when they try to decidewhat can be eaten and what cannot be eaten. If youlived in the Mediterranean, for instance, you wouldconsider octopus a great delicacy. You would not beable to understand why some people find itrepulsive. On the other hand, your stomach wouldturn at the idea of frying potatoes in animal fat --the normally accepted practice in many northerncountries. The sad truth is that most of us have been brought up to eat certain foods and westick to them all our lives.
No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail. Cooked inwine, snails are a great luxury in various parts of the world. There are countless people who,ever since their early years, have learned to associate snails with food. My friend, Robert, livesin a country where snails are despised. As his flat is in a large town, he has no garden of hisown. For years he has been asking me to collectsnails from my garden and take them to him.The idea never appealed to me very much, but one day, after heavy shower, I happened to bewalking in my garden when I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of myprize plants. Acting on a sudden impulse, I collected several dozen, put them in a paperbag,and took them to Robert. Robert was delighted to see me and equally pleased with my littlegift. I left the bag in the hall and Robert and I went into the living room where we talked for acouple of hours. I had forgotten all about the snails when Robert suddenly said that I must stayto dinner. Snails would, of course, be the main dish. I did not fancy the idea and I reluctantlyfollowed Robert out of the room. To our dismay, we saw that there were snails everywhere:they had escaped from the paper bag and had taken complete possession of the hall! I havenever been able to look at a snail since then.
练习题：
Choose correct answers to the question:
1.The underlined word “repulsive” in Paragraph 1 most probably means“_____”.
A.disgusting B. pleasant C. acceptable D. delicious
2.We can infer from Paragraph 3 that when collecting the snails, the author____ .
A.was glad that he could share them with his friend
B.was angry because they might damage his beloved plants
C.was excited about being able to give his friend a surprise
D.was depressed because it was hard to catch them all
3.The author finds that snails _______ .
A. are as delicious as octopus
B. are disliked in his hometown
C.are the most controversial food
D. are as popular as fried potatoes
4.The best title for the passage might be “______”?
A.One Man’s Meat is Another Man’s Poison
B.Foods and Cultures
C.Snail and Octopus
D.People Are Illogical in Front of Delicacies
5.As indicated in the passage,people love different foods mainly because____
A.they live in different places.
B.they learn to eat certain foods in their families
C.they have different understanding of delicacy
D.they are too illogical to explain
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