20091216 Gingerbread Houses (1)

Gingerbread Houses(薑餅屋)

A popular, classic holiday treat

You can cook with it. You can make candy from it. You can put it into drinks or take it as medicine. Ginger has many uses, but none as beautiful as when it is used in a gingerbread house.

Past and present
Ginger - the key ingredient in gingerbread and the houses themselves - has a long history. It is believed that ginger was used as early as 2,000 B.C. in China. Gingerbread houses were first written about during the 15th century.

But it was the 19th-century fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel" that started a trend. As European immigrants made their way around the world, so did gingerbread houses! One example occurred in the town of Belleville, III.. in the 1850s. As large numbers of German immigrants moved there, many brought along their gingerbread-house recipes. Today, during the holidays, Belleville hosts a "Giangerbread Walk" through its downtown area. Along the path, shop owners display beautifully made gingerbread houses and other gingerbread creations. The event allows visitors and locals alike to enjoy Belleville's tastiest tradition.


ginger n. 生薑/薑/薑製調味品
eg: My mom puts a litle ginger in her cookies to make them taste good.

ingredient n. 烹調的原料
=> a thing you would put into a food
eg: Cheese is a key ingredient for many Mexican dishes.
eg: The ingredients of this cake include flour, eggs, sugar and milk.

ingredient n. 不可或缺的東西/要素
eg: Mutual understanding is a key ingredient for a good marriage.

im- 進來
emigrant n. 移出的移民
immigrant n. 移入的移民
=> someone move from their country into another country
eg: Many Italian immigrants settled in the northeastern part of the U.S.
eg: Many Italian immigrants live in Little Italy in Manhattan, New York.
eg: The illegal immigrants will be deported today.

creation n. 創作的作品(當可數名詞)
=> a creation is something has been created or made
eg: Paul's chocolate creations were unique and delicious too!
eg: Picasso's art creations were copied and studied by many people.

creation n. 創造/創作(不可數名詞)
eg: The creation of this symphony(交響樂曲) took over 5 years.

fairy tale 童話故事



//== Chat Room ==//

ginger ale 薑汁汽水

hot ginger tea 熱的薑茶

ginger cookies

gingerbread cookies

ginger snap

gingerbread man 薑餅人
=> a cookie shaped like a person

Ginger 女生名字

gingerly adv. 極為謹慎地/小心翼翼地
=> do something with great care
=> do it cautiously

ginger n. 土黃色

//== Grammar on the Go ==//

As European immigrants made their way around the world, so did gingerbread houses!
=> As European immigrants went in a direction around the world, so did gingerbread houses!

make one's way
=> in today's article it means "go in a certain direction"


make one's way
=> show how travelling in a certain direction or a certain destination requires some effort
eg: With all these shoppers in the store, it's hard for Martha to make her way to the cashier's counter.
eg: It was hard for Paula to make her way down the airplane aisle while holding her baby and pulling a carry-on suitcase.