1Wasabi is a root vegetable known as ‘Japanese horseradish’ in English. 2It has a strong, hot flavor, and yet it doesn’t leave a strong burning sensation in the mouth. 3According to some Japanese historians, wasabi was discovered hundreds of years ago by a farmer in a remote mountain village. 4The farmer reportedly showed it to Tokugawa Ieyasu, a Japanese warlord at the time. 5Ieyasu liked wasabi so much that he declared it a treasure only to be grown in the Shizuoka area. 6Since then, the consumption of wasabi has spread to countries all over the world. 7Today, a number of small farmer grow wasabicommercially in mountainous areas mainly in Shizuoka Prefecture and in Nagano Prefecture. 8Visitors can tour these farms and then purchasewasabi-flavored products such as chocolate, noodles, and even beer. 9Although some farms have turned into popular tourist destinations, the actualwasabi farming techniques are carefully-guarded secrets. 10Wasabi has a well-deserved reputation for being tricky to grow, largely because it requires cold, clear water with an almost perfect balance of minerals. 11Hence, there are few producers, and the supply of wasabi is quite limited. 12This could become problematic in the future if the demand for wasabicontinues to increaseworldwide.
1Chopsticks are important part of Asian culture. 2Their popularity and widespread use across Asia have a long and rich history. 3It is believed that the first chopsticks were used over 5,000 years ago in China. 4By 500 A.D., the use of chopsticks had spread from China to other countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. 5Chopsticks are usually made of bamboo. 6This is bacause there is a lot of bamboo in Asia, it is easy to split, and it is resistant to heat. 7Other popular materials used to make chopsticks have included plastic and bone. 8In addition, in ancient times, gold and silver chopsticks were commonly used among the wealthy. 9It was even once thought that silver chopsticks would turn black upon contact withpoisoned food, although this has since been disproved. 10Regardless of the material, chopsticks have evolvedinto an important part of Asian culture.
1Many variety of papaya are consumed in the United States, and two of the most popular are the Hawaiian papaya and the Mexican papaya. 2Hawaiian papayas are commonlystocked in supermarkets. 3These pear–shaped fruits weigh about half a kilo on average and have yellow skin when they are ripe. 4The fruit inside is bright orange or pink, depending on the variety, with small black seedsclustered in the center. 5Hawaiian papayas are easier for farmers to harvest because the plants seldom grow taller than two meters. 6Mexican papayas are much larger and may weigh up to four kilos and may be more than 45 centimeters long. 7The fruit inside may be yellow, orange, or pink. 8The flavor is less intense than that of the Hawaiian papaya, but it is still delicious. 9Mexican papayas are slightly easier to grow than Hawaiian papayas. 10Regardless of the origin, both kinds of papaya are widely enjoyed across the United States.
1Steve Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, and died on October 5, 2011. 2In between these dates, Jobs created a world-widerevolution in several fields and changed the way that people utilize technology. 3In 1976, at the age of 21, Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak started a small company called Apple that made great changes to the entire computer industry by creating one of the first personal computers to use icons and a mouse. 4Not just content with revolutionizing computers, Jobs led Apple into the movie and music markets. 5In the 1986, he invested money in Pixar, a company which produced Toy Story—one of the most popular computer-generated animated movies ever made. 6Jobs and Apple then completely transformed the way music is played, stored, and distributed by introducing the iPod music player and the iTunes online store. 7In 2007, Jobs and Apple then went on to create the iPhone, which combined the iPod with a digital camera and an internet connection. 8Three years later they created the iPad. 9Jobs was no engineer, nor was he a designer. 10He was a dreamer who with the help of a talented team created beautiful things that changed people’s lives.