Famous as “the king of chefs and the chef of kings,” Auguste Escoffier helped raise the position of cooking from a laborer’s task to an artist’s job. Escoffier was born on October 28, 1846, in the small village of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice, France. Among the key figures in the boy’s life was his father, who worked primarily as a blacksmith（铁匠）. His grandmother, an enthusiastic cook, was perhaps more responsible than anyone for introducing the boy to an appreciation of the delights of cooking.
Young Escoffier attended the local school until age 12, upon which time his father thought it necessary that the boy learn a trade. In school he had shown a talent for drawing, yet he was told to regard this art only as a hobby, and to find his career in a more practical profession. Thus his father took him to Nice in 1859, where he would work as an apprentice（学徒）in his uncle’s restaurant, the respectable Le Restaurant Francais.
At Le Restaurant Francais, Escoffier was not treated as the close relative of the boss. Rather, he experienced a classically demanding apprenticeship. For this strictness of training he would later, in his memoirs（回忆录）, express gratefulness. During this time Escoffier also attended night school, and had to deal with his studies as well as the demands of a promising career.
When Escoffier was 19 and had taken on yet more responsibilities in his uncle’s restaurant, a customer recognized his skills and offered him work in Paris. This was the owner of Le Petit Moulin Rouge, one of the finest restaurants in Paris, where Escoffier was to become a sous-chef, ranking below the head chef. After three years in this position, he rose to the level of head chef, wearing the respected chef’s hat.
小题1:It was his __________ who first influenced Escoffier to be interested in cooking.
A．father
B．mother
C．uncle
D．grandmother小题2:We can infer that as a schoolboy, Escoffier might hope to be __________.
A．a chef
B．a businessman
C．an artist
D．a blacksmith小题3:According to Paragraph 3, Escoffier __________.
A．was badly treated by his uncle
B．showed great interest in writing
C．disliked working as an apprentice
D．was thankful for the strict training小题4:Which of the following can best describe Escoffier?
A．Hard-working.
B．Honest.
C．Warm-hearted.
D．Modest.小题5:What is the text mainly about?
A．How to become a chef in France.
B．The influence of Auguste Escoffier.
C．What an apprentice is required to do.
D．The early life of a famous French chef.
