Unit-6-Food新编大学英语第二版第二册课文翻译

Unit 6 Food

Food and Culture

[1] We all have ideas about what kinds of foods are good to eat. We also have ideas about what kinds of foods are bad to eat. As a result, people from one culture often think the foods that people from another culture eat are disgusting or nauseating. When the famous boxer Muhammad Ali visited Africa, for example, one member of his group became quite sick when he saw someone pick up a butterfly and eat it. Many people would find it disgusting to eat rats, but there are forty-two different cultures whose people regard rats as appropriate food.

[2] Some people in Africa think African termites make a delicious meal. Many other people would probably be sick if they had to eat termites, but one hundred grams of termites contain more than twice as many calories and almost twice as much protein as one hundred grams of cooked hamburger.

[3] However, food likes and dislikes do not always seem related to nutrition. For example, broccoli is first on a list of the most nutritious common vegetables, but it is twenty-first on a list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat. Tomatoes are sixteenth on the list of most nutritious vegetables, but they are first on the list of vegetables that Americans like most to eat.

[4] But dislike is not the only reason why some cultures will not eat a certain food. In some cultures, certain foods are taboo. Taboo is a word from the language of the Fiji Islands that is used to describe something that is forbidden. Some foods are taboo in certain religions, but there are also other food taboos that are not connected to a religion. We do not usually think about why certain things are taboo in our culture. We may not even know why they are taboo. Anthropologists try to discover the hidden reasons for taboos. For example, the sacred cows of India are well known. Cows can go wherever they want to in the streets of India, and they can eat anything they want from the supplies of the foodsellers on the street. As a result, the cows are a problem. However, no one in India will kill them or eat them. It is taboo to do so. This custom seems strange to other people, but anthropologists believe that there are reasons for it. First, cows are valuable because the farmers need them to help plow their fields. Second, cow manure is used as a fertilizer on the fields. In India, many farmers cannot afford to spend money on fertilizer. Third, the cow manure can be dried and burned to make cooking fires. Therefore, farmers that kill their cows for meat soon find that they cannot plow or fertilize their fields or make a cooking fire.

[5] Another example is that Americans do not eat dogs, although people from some

other cultures regard them as good food. In the United States, dogs are very important to people as pets. They are usually regarded as part of the family, almost like a child in some cases. In addition, dogs have value as protection against criminals. Thieves will not usually enter a house where there is a dog because the dog will bark and possibly attack a stranger who is trying to get into a house. Apparently, the dog's place in society as a companion and as protection against criminals makes the dog taboo as food.

[6] The taboo against eating pork occurs in more than one culture. There is some evidence that some ancient Egyptians did not eat pork. The ancient Israelites also regarded pork as taboo. One explanation for the pig-eating taboo is that pork that is not cooked sufficiently may spread a disease called trichinosis. However, most people no longer think that this is a good explanation for the pork taboo. Another explanation is that the Israelites were nomads—they were always moving from place to place. People have to stay in one place to raise pigs. The Israelites did not want to stay in one place because they did not want to change their culture. As a result, they did not eat pigs.

[7] Anthropologists believe that most food likes and dislikes are a result of the ways of life of different people. Some people live in areas where there are both large animals and many insects. It is difficult for these people to kill large animals, and it requires a lot of energy. It is easier for them to use insects for food because it is not difficult to catch insects and it does not require a lot of energy. Nomadic people who move around will not want to keep pigs for food. People will not eat pets such as dogs. Americans eat a lot of beef because there is plenty of land for raising cattle and their meat can be shipped cheaply for long distances by railroads.

饮食与文化

1 对于什么样的食物好吃，我们都有自己的主见。对于什么样的食物不好吃，我们也有自己的看法。因此，某种文化背景的人常常会觉得另一种文化背景的人吃的食物难以忍受或者令人作呕。比如，在著名的拳击手穆罕默德·阿里访问非洲时，团里的一名成员看到有人抓起一只蝴蝶就吃了下去时便恶心得想呕吐。许多人会发觉吃老鼠肉令人恶心，但世界上有42种不同文化的人认为鼠肉是合适的食物。

2 在非洲有些人认为非洲白蚁可以做成美餐。对于许多其他人来说，如果非吃（白蚁）不可的话，他们很可能会呕吐。但是，如果拿100克的白蚁和100克制作好的汉堡包相比，前者所含的热量是后者的两倍多，其所含的蛋白质也几乎是后者的两倍。

3 不过，对食物的好恶似乎并不一定与营养有关。例如，花椰菜在营养最丰富的常见蔬菜中排名第一，但它在美国人最喜欢的蔬菜中仅名列第二十一位。西红柿在营养最丰富的蔬菜中排名十六，但它在美国人最喜欢的蔬菜中却名列榜首。

4 但不喜欢并不是某些文化（中人们）不吃某种食物的唯一原因。在有些文化中，有些食物是禁忌。“禁忌”一词来源于斐济群岛的语言, 用来表示禁止做的事。有些食物在某些宗教中被列为禁忌，但也有一些饮食禁忌与宗教无关。通常我们不去考虑为什么在我们的文化中有些东西是禁忌。我们也许甚至不知道它们为什么是禁忌。人类学家试图发现禁忌背后隐藏的原因。例如，印度“圣牛”为人们所熟知。牛可以在印度的大街上到处走，它们可以吃街上食品摊主所供应的食物中任何它们想吃的东西。结果，牛就成了问题。可是，在印度没人会去杀牛或吃牛肉。杀牛或吃牛肉是禁忌。这种习俗在其他人看起来似乎很奇怪，但人类学家相信这自有其原因。首先，牛是很宝贵的，因为农民需要它们帮助犁地。其次，牛粪可作地里的肥料。在印度，许多农民买不起肥料。还有，牛粪弄干后可用来烧火做饭。因此，杀牛食肉的农民很快发现他们无法犁地，无法给庄稼施肥，或者无燃料做饭。

5 再比如，美国人不吃狗肉, 尽管其他一些文化背景的人视狗肉为佳肴。在美国，狗作为宠物对人们极为重要。通常它们被视为家庭的一部分，有时甚至还把狗当成自己的孩子。此外，狗的价值还在于防范罪犯。盗贼一般不进入有狗的住宅，因为狗会吠叫，而且可能会袭击试图进入屋子的陌生人。显而易见，狗在社会中作为伙伴及防范罪犯的卫士的角色使吃狗肉成为禁忌。

6 不止一种文化忌食猪肉。有迹象表明一些古埃及人不吃猪肉。古代以色列人也视猪肉为禁忌。对禁食猪肉的一种解释是，未被煮透的猪肉可能会传播一种疾病，叫旋毛虫病。但大多数人不再认为这能很好地解释禁食猪肉的原因。另一种解释是以色列人原属游牧民族——他们总是居无定所。要养猪，人们就得在某地定居下来。从前以色列人不愿在一个地方定居，因为他们不想改变自己的文化。正因如此，他们便不食猪肉。

7 人类学家相信，对食物的好恶大多是不同人不同生活方式的结果。有些人生活在既有大型动物又有许多昆虫的地区。他们杀死大型动物有困难，需要花很大的力气。对他们来说，以昆虫为食要容易些，因为捕捉昆虫既不困难又不需花太大的力气。四处流动、过游牧生活的人不愿意为吃肉而养猪。人们也不吃像狗那样的宠物。美国人牛肉吃得很多，因为有大量的土地可用来养牛，而且牛肉可以通过铁路以低廉的价格进行长途运输。

The Menu Jim Heimann

[1] Food history tells us that in early restaurants the recitation of the available food dishes became an increasingly time-consuming chore; therefore, written menus were developed to help guide diners in their eating choices. This written menu was commonly handwritten on a chalkboard or listed on a board that could be easily seen by the customers. Developments in printing finally led to a change and the larger restaurants' floor plans made a single handwritten menu impractical, so printed menus were introduced.

[2] Delmonico's restaurant in New York City is often given credit for introducing the first printed menu in the United States in 1834. That menu, as well as others of the period, was simple in design and offered specific information. Special occasions led to a call for unique designs and eventually led to more highly decorated menus.

[3] For the most part, however, menu decoration followed the art movements of the time. The highly decorated late 19th century menus, which were influenced by Victorian art, gave way to modern art in the 20th century. Developments with graphics and printing allowed distinctive menu cover art.

[4] By the 1930s, the menu was seen as a part of the restaurant's plan to create a memorable meal. It could develop an appetite, tell a joke, explain a food item, create a mood, tell something of the history of the restaurant, and, above all, sell some food. Restaurant trade publications encouraged the use of the menu as part of the business strategy, and the National Restaurant Association promoted effective menu graphics in its annual competition of best menus in the nation. Its guidelines for judging included (1) originality, (2) legibility, (3) ease of handling, and (4) sales effectiveness. Restaurant Management magazine in its November 1935 issue stated that most restaurant owners considerably underestimated the importance of the appearance of the menu. The magazine went on to say that the menu really has two important functions: (1) to sell food, and (2) to repeat and emphasize the unique atmosphere of that restaurant.

[5] In spite of the Depression of the 1930s, restaurants did well and menu design became important. There were increasing numbers of many different types of restaurants during this decade, including cafeterias, drive-ins, and lunch counters in stores, as well as the traditional, more formal restaurants. Many of the restaurants developed themes in food, decoration and menu styles.

[6] Progress in printing, photography, and especially color photography opened up more opportunities for creative expression. During the Second World War food rationing often hurt the business of restaurants, but as soon as victory was achieved, eating out became very popular again.

[7] In spite of the risks of casual dining and fast-food restaurants, the mid-20th century provided many new opportunities for creative menu design. By the end of the 1960s, the increasingly popular coffee shops and restaurants that featured a singular item such as pizza, steak, or pancakes used new menu graphics. The 1970s brought a decline in eating out, but the 1980s, especially in homes where both parents were working, brought a big increase in the demand for many types of restaurants. Since then, menu design has provided the American public with a pleasing prelude to the dining experience.