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Caidao, a large flat Chinese chopping knife or Chinese chef’s knife, is an all-purpose tool. It can do most cutting tasks in the kitchen from breaking down to cutting materials to the thinness of hair.

The name is made of the Chinese character cai, which means vegetable, and dao, which means knife. But caidao is used in preparing all types of food.

In Western kitchens, a chef needs a set of knives, like a cleaver for butchering and a small blade for peeling work. The more detailed classification allows users to choose specialized tools for specific purposes.

For Chinese cooks and chefs, a high-quality and handy caidao is one of the most useful tools in the kitchen, and that one knife is enough for basic food preparation in the kitchen.

Though caidao generally refers to a wide and flat chopping knife, it’s sometimes used as a generic term to describe different kinds of Chinese kitchen knives which includes slicing, chopping and boning knives.

Although the shape and size of a caidao resembles the cleaver in Western kitchens, it’s not the same in both design and purpose. The Chinese caidao is a large rectangular thin-bladed knife that can be used in the slicing, chopping and mincing of the majority of ingredients, such as vegetables, fish or meat. It can even break down some not-so-tough bones. Purpose-wise, it’s similar to the Western chef’s knife, only in a different shape that’s advantageous in Chinese cooking.

Slicing and chopping with the caidao is also safer, as the wide blade can keep the fingers away. Meanwhile, the caidao’s large surface area can be used to transport processed materials from the cutting board to plates, saving time and effort.

1.What does caidao refer to?

A A knife used to process vegetables only.

B A general knife used by Chinese chefs to prepare food.

C A knife for specialized purposes.

D A set of knives used by Chinese chefs.

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据第一段第一句Caidao, a large flat Chinese chopping knife or Chinese chef’s knife, is an all-purpose tool.可知菜刀是中国厨师所用的用途广泛的用来准备食材的工具，故选B。

2.What is a blade?

A A tool used to chop bones.

B A tool used to butcher.

C A tool used to slice.

D A tool used to peel.

解析：选D。细节理解题。根据第三段第一句In Western kitchens, a chef needs a set of knives, like a cleaver for butchering and a small blade for peeling work. 可知blade是用来削皮，故选D。

3.What does the underlined word “resembles” mean?

A is the same as

B is similar to

C is different from

D is opposite to

解析：选B。词义猜测题。根据上文的although和后面介绍的用途不同可知前面应该是形状和大小差不多，故选B。

4.What advantage does caidao have compared with a western chef’s knife?

A It can deal with more materials.

B It is safer when slicing or chopping.

C It can be used to transport processed materials.

D All of the above.

解析：选D。细节理解题。菜刀用途广泛，可用于处理各种食材，更安全，能更省时间，故选D。

5.What is the main idea of this passage?

A Usage of caidao.

B How to use caidao safely.

C An introduction of caidao.

D Advantages of caidao.

解析：选C。主旨大意题。本文介绍了菜刀的名字组成、用途、与西式厨刀的对比，是对菜刀的简介，故选C。