新年快乐！欢迎收听：英语考试Cat 🐱🐱🐱🐱

Do you like to eat cakes or other sweet foods?

No, I don't particularly have a liking for sugar, so I’m not really into either cakes or sweet foods. My taste preferences actually lean more towards spicy and perhaps even salty when it comes to snacks, and for desserts, only mildly sweet. However, in saying that, during my senior high school years, there was a short period when my weekly routine would involve purchasing a small sweet cake with generous helpings of cream on top after school. It was almost like a ritual, and my legs seemed to instinctively carry me to that bakery every Friday, but now, as said, I don’t have any desire for sweet things.

• not really into 不太喜欢
• taste preferences 味觉嗜好
• snacks 零食
• lean more towards 更倾向于
• mildly sweet 微甜
• with generous helpings of 很多
• ritual 仪式
• instinctively 不由自主地

Did you like to eat cakes as a child?

Absolutely, as mentioned, I was very fond of a certain cream cake during my childhood. Growing up in my part of the woods, you could say visiting the local bakery was like a symbol of luxury and were kinda considered off-limits. Despite this, I would diligently save my pocket money to indulge in a piece of cake once a week. I was aware of the harm sweet foods could cause to my teeth, yet there was this guilty pleasure that I derived from every bite of the cake. It was a small, delightful indulgence that added a touch of sweetness to my otherwise routinized and mundane existence.

• fond of 喜爱
• in my part of the woods 在我们那边
• diligently 勤劳；孜孜不倦
• indulge in 尽情享受
• guilty pleasure 内疚的快感
• derive from 起源；来自
• indulgence 沉溺
• routinized 常规化的
• mundane 单调的
• existence 存在

Can you make cakes?

No, I can’t. Baking is something that I’ve never got into, I suppose partly because when growing up, we never had an oven, and now, my perception is that the entire process is time-consuming and complicated. From the mixing of flour with various ingredients like chocolate, milk, brown sugar, eggs, and butter, not to mention the baking itself, it seems like a task that demands a high level of patience, which is something I’d say I lack.

Nevertheless, I find pleasure in observing my husband in action as he bakes delightful treats such as banana cake or chocolate chip cupcakes. Interestingly, our four cats also seem to appreciate his baking sessions, providing him with quite the audience whenever he busies himself in baking something!

• oven 烤箱
• time-consuming 费时的
• flour 面粉
• ingredients 原材料
• demands 要求
• a high level of 高度的
• interestingly 有趣的是
• baking 烘焙
• busy 忙碌

Do you like to have some desserts after meals?

Certainly, but only sporadically. On pleasant days or when in the company of friends, we often opt for a refreshing bubble tea after lunch, which although a beverage, is, in its own right, similar to a dessert, and in fact, a large bubble tea is like a meal in itself, and then while sipping our tea, we’ll chitchat and gossip.

Alternatively, I might treat myself to a cup of hot chocolate, finding a quiet spot by the university lawn to relish the moment. But honestly, more often than not, I don't crave post-meal sweets, and I’d actually prefer just a piece of fruit.

• sporadically 偶尔
• opt for 选择
• refreshing 提神的
• in its own right 本身
• chitchat 闲聊
• treat myself to 犒劳自己
• relish the moment 享受那个时刻；享受当下
• crave 渴望