阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
My interest in Chinese food started years ago, when I was a young reporter for the Washington Post. Our office wasn’t far from Chinatown, ______ I found some very good Chinese restaurant.
The first time I ever ate Chinese food, I loved it. I _______ (notice) the fresh taste of the meat and vegetables. When I learned more about the food, I began to understand why ______ has this special feature.
Many years ago, china had ______ energy crisis because it lost much of its wood due to over population and poor management of its forests. This_____ (lose) was very bad for the country, of course, but it turned out to be very good for the food. Wood became very expensive and hard to get, so the Chinese had to either find a substitute for their_____ (value) wood, or learn how to use it better. There weren’t any substitutes so people found ways to economize.
In order to economize in _____ (cook), they had to use very little wood. So they started cutting their meat and vegetables into small pieces before they put them in the hot oil. That way, the food cooked____ (fast) and they saved more fuel. The food ____ (prepare) in this way kept its fresh flavor--- and it’s this flavor _____ attracts people from other countries to the art of Chinese cooking.