Food‏

You are what you eat.” Nutrition experts often use this saying to promote
better eating habits. What we put in our mouths does become a part of us. But we can look at this statement another way. What we eat reflects who we are—as people and as a culture. Do you want to understand another culture? Then you ought to find out about its food. Learning about American food can give us a real taste of American culture.
「你吃什麼就成為什麼樣子。」營養專家經常使用這句話來倡導更好的飲食習慣，
入嘴的東西確實成為我們的一部分。但我們也可以從另一個角度來看這句話，我們
所吃的反映出我們自己──不論就人或文化而言。你想了解另一種文化嗎？那麼你應
該去認識他們的食物。認識美國食物可以讓我們得知美國文化的真髓。
What is “American food”? At first you might think the answer is easy as pie. To
many people, American food means hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken and pizza. If you
have a “sweet tooth,” you might even think of apple pie or chocolate chip cookies. It’s true that Americans do eat those things. But are those the only kind of vittles you can find in America?
何謂「美式食物」？乍聽之下你可能認為答案容易得很。對許多人而言，美式食物
就是漢堡、熱狗、炸雞和披薩。如果你是好吃甜食的人，你可能會想到蘋果派或巧
克力片餅乾。美國人確實吃這些東西，但這些就是你在美國唯一找得到的食物嗎？
Except for Thanksgiving turkey, it’s hard to find a typically “American” food. The United States is a land of immigrants. So Americans eat food from many different countries. When people move to America, they bring their cooking styles with them. That’s why you can find almost every kind of ethnic food in America. In some cases, Americans have adopted foods from other countries as favorites. Americans love Italian pizza, Mexican tacos and Chinese egg rolls. But the American version doesn’t taste quite like the original!
除了感恩節火雞以外，挺難找到典型的美國食物。美國是個移民之地，所以美國人
吃的食物來自許多不同的國家，當人們移居美國，他們也將自己的烹調帶了進來。
那也就是為什麼在美國你幾乎可以看到所有不同民族的食物。在某些情況中，美國
人把外國的食物視為最愛。美國人喜愛義大利的披薩，墨西哥的玉米餅和中國的春
捲，但是這些東西的美國版味道卻不很道地！

As with any large country, the U.S. has several distinct regions. Each region boasts its own special style of food. Visit the South and enjoy country-style cooking. Journey through Louisiana for some spicy Cajun cuisine. Take a trip to New England and sample
savory seafood dishes. Travel through the Midwest, “the breadbasket
of the nation,” for delicious baked goods. Cruise over to the Southwest and try some
tasty Tex-Mex treats. Finish your food tour in the Pacific Northwest with some
gourmet coffee.
和許多大國一樣，美國有數個截然不同的地區，每個地區都以自己特有的
食物誇口。走訪美國南部享受鄉村式的烹調；到路易斯安納州品嚐辛辣的凱郡
式料理；走一趟新英格蘭試嚐它美味的海鮮；再到中西部「美國的麵包之鄉」
品嚐可口的烘培食品；乘船遊覽至西南部嚐試一些好吃的墨式德州小吃，最後
到太平洋西北岸，啜飲美食家的咖啡，作為美食之旅的句點。

Americans living at a fast pace often just “grab a quick bite.” Fast food restaurants offer people on the run everything from fried chicken to fried rice. Microwave dinners and instant foods make cooking at home a snap. Of course, one of the most common quick American meals is a sandwich. If it can fit between two slices of bread, Americans probably make a sandwich out of it. Peanut butter and jelly is an all-time American favorite.
生活在快速步調之下的美國人通常只能「很快地吃幾口」。速食店提供趕時間的人各
種食物，從炸雞到炒飯，應有盡有。微波爐晚餐和即時餐點使得在家燒飯省事又快速。
當然，最平常的美式速餐之一就是三明治。任何能夾在兩片土司中間的東西，美國人
就可以把它作成一份三明治，花生醬和果醬更是一直都深受美國人的喜愛。
Americans on the go also tend to eat a lot of “junk food.” Potato chips, candy bars, soft drinks and other goodies are popular treats. Many people eat too many of these unhealthy snacks. But others opt for more healthy eating habits. Some even go“all natural.” They refuse to eat any food prepared with chemicals or additives.
忙碌的美國人也趨向於吃一大堆「垃圾食物」。洋芋片、糖果、汽水和其他好吃的
東西都頗受歡迎。許多人吃了太多這類不健康的零嘴，但是其他人則選擇較健康的
飲食習慣，有些人甚至選擇「全天然」的食物，他們拒絕吃任何有化學製品或添加
物的食物。
American culture is a good illustration of the saying “you are what you eat.” Americans represent a wide range of backgrounds and ways of thinking. The variety of foods enjoyed in the U.S. reflects the diversity of personal tastes. The food may be international or regional. Sometimes it’s fast, and sometimes it’s not so fast. It might be junk food, or maybe it’s natural food. In any case, the style is all-American.
美國文化是「你吃什麼就成為什麼樣子」這句話的好寫照。美國人代表了範圍廣泛的
背景和想法。在美國可享受到的各式食物正反映出個人品味的多樣化。這食物可能是
國際性也可能是地區性的；有時是速食，有時也不見得；它可能是垃圾食物，也可能
是天然食品。然而無論如何，它們都是美式的。



@Word Bank
nutrition (n) 營養學；營養
easy as pie (adj phr) 易如反掌的
vittles (n pl) 食物

version (n) 版本；式樣
savory (adj) 可口的；開胃的
gourmet (adj) 美食家的
on the run (prep) 匆忙的；趕時間的
snap (n) 輕而易舉之事
jelly (n) 果凍

opt (v) 選擇
additive (n) 添加物

 

@The Day's Phrase
Fewer employees are doing more-why being multitalented could boost your career options
員工人數更少卻能做更多事情─多才多藝能提升職業生涯的原因

Paul doesn't mind criticism. In fact, he expects it. He always says,
"to survive through difficulties, you need to roll with the punches."
保羅並不在意批評。事實上，他期待批評。他總是說：
「要在困難中生存，你要能禁得起逆境。」

If you want to make this program a success, you will have to take the bull by the horns
and do it yourself.
如果你想要讓這個方案成功的話，你就必須要不畏艱難並且親自去做。

Tablets are the cool new tool in helping challenged children embrace education
平板電腦成了酷炫的新工具，能幫助罹患某種障礙的兒童接受教育

Your name is Harold, right?" she asked. "Close but no cigar," he replied, "my name is Henri."
「你的名字叫做哈洛?，對吧？」她問道。「很接近，不過還是錯了，」他答道，「我的名字叫做亨利。」

Celebrating Lunar New Year requires familiarity with age-old rituals and traditions
慶祝農曆年得熟悉古老的傳統與習俗

Norma didn't invite me to go bowling with them. But I think I will crash the party anyway.
諾瑪沒有邀請我跟他們一起去打保齡球。不過我想我還是會不請而去的。

For the final race of the season, Brittany decided to let it all hang out. I think that was the fastest she ever drove.
由於是本季最後的比賽，布瑞塔妮決定要使出渾身解數。我認為那是她開得最快的一次。

Sylvester had already tipped his hand. So when he made the final announcement, it was not much of a surprise.
席維斯特已經講明了他的意圖。所以當他最後宣佈時，沒有太多人訝異。

Storing digital information is getting easier, but there may be a price to pay
儲存數位資訊已變得愈來愈容易，但可能也要付出代價

Arnold likes to ride horses, but he has very poor balance. Last night while riding around the garden, Arnold bit the dust, but fortunately he was not hurt.
阿諾喜歡騎馬，但是他的平衡感很差。昨晚阿諾繞著花園騎馬時，他從馬上摔下來，不過幸好他沒有受傷。