英语博客:Fortune Cookies

They are crunchy, small, folded, and light brown in color (colour). They usually come in individual, plastic packets. They don't fill you up, but they are an important part of certain meals. They hold a different promise for each person at the table. And, finally, they have an Asian touch about them. So, what are they? They are fortune cookies, of course. No Asian style meal would be complete without them, at least, from a Westerner's perspective. I'm sure there are a lot of Asian meals that should never have fortune cookies at the end; you'll just have to forgive my ignorance. The cookies are, afterall, an Asian American invention that started around the beginning of the 20th century. Apparently¹, Asian immigrants, probably Japanese or Chinese, started to manufacture them in California. A cookie that they might have been copying is the omikuji cookie of Kyoto, Japan which was a temple cookie filled with random² fortunes. It sounds similar. Well, they certainly are popular over here. Though they are normally served after a chinese meal, they can also be found in Japanese restaurants, and Asian-American restaurants. Children get excited by the idea of a special cookie at the end of the meal, especially one that they can break open to find a message inside. "This week, a special person will come into your life," one might say, or, "Use your good judgment³ to make your fortune this year." My children always imagine ways the prediction might come true; they get imaginative, and even ridiculous. We end up giggling⁴ at the end of our meal because of the fortune cookies and their 'off-the-wall' predictions.

Grammar notes.

Expressions: to fill up/ to get filled up, to giggle⁵, off-the-wall.

1. We filled up the car with gas (petrol).  OR  That chocolate cake will really fill you up.

2. The children got over excited at the birthday party and wouldn't stop giggling.

3. That entertainer does the strangest things; he is really off-the-wall.

 

1 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

2 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

3 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

4 giggling   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We just sat there giggling like naughty schoolchildren. 我们只是坐在那儿像调皮的小学生一样的咯咯地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I can't stand her giggling, she's so silly. 她吃吃地笑，叫我真受不了，那样子傻透了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 giggle   

n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说

参考例句：

• Both girls began to giggle.两个女孩都咯咯地笑了起来。
• All that giggle and whisper is too much for me.我受不了那些咯咯的笑声和交头接耳的样子。