阅读理解①What do a student in China, an office worker in the UK and an astronaut in space all have in common? They all eat instant noodles (方便面). And they're not alone—over 100 billion servings (一份) of instant noodles are sold around the world each year, making them one of the world's most successful industrial foods (大规模生产的加工食品). But how did this happen?
②Put simply, they're cheap to produce and cheap to buy, which was exactly what their creator (发明者) expected. Momofuku Ando, a Japanese businessman, spent a year improving the recipe (配方) just after the Second World War. He wanted to make something similar to traditional Japanese ramen noodles (拉面). He used the wheat flour (面粉) donated to Japan by the US government. His creation was quickly popular, playing an important role in Japan's economic (经济) rise after the war. Even in the year 2000 – according to a poll by the Fuji Research Institute – instant noodles were voted Japan's most successful invention. They were much more popular than high-speed trains, laptops or karaoke.
③But Japanese people are not alone in their devotion to instant noodles. According to the World's Instant Noodles Association, China, Indonesia, Vietnam (越南) and India—in that order—the sales of instant noodles in these countries were all bigger than Japan in 2021. Instant noodles' popularity abroad simply depends on how easy they are to adapt to (适应) local tastes. In Thailand, for example, you can get green curry flavour (味道), while in Mexico the noodles are decorated with lime and salsa. And it seems that buyers have grown to expect new creation. Nissin, the food company set up by Ando, created over 300 products yearly, just in Japan, according to employee Kasura Suzuki.
④Different from those who love instant noodles, Some people do not like the noodles very much. Their rise in popularity has come at an environmental cost—they're made with palm oil (棕榈油), as a result, more trees are cut down. Also, their packaging is plastic. And while they are a hot, tasty and filling meal, instant noodles don't have much nutritional (营养的) value, and include high levels of salt and fat. Anyway, instant noodles are undoubtedly lifesavers in emergency or extreme (极端) situations.
⑤More than 60 years after their invention, instant noodles have become the default (默认) food for anyone short on money, time, or even a kitchen.