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畅游文化，乐学英语试读：
☆舌尖上的文化
Afternoon Tea
舌尖上的英伦风情之下午茶
◎ By Ben Johnson 译 / Jasmine英国人极其重视下午茶，即使你有天大的事，也得恭候英国人喝完了下午茶再说，这是雷打不动的规矩。有民谣为证：“当时钟敲响四下时，世上的一切瞬间为茶而停。”小说《贵妇画像》的作者亨利·詹姆斯(Henry James)更是赞叹道：“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. (人生鲜有比全心全意享受下午茶这一仪式更令人惬意的时刻。)”下面就让我们一起来品味下午茶这一独特的英伦风情吧！
Afternoon tea, that most quintessential[1] of English customs is, perhaps surprisingly, a relatively new tradition. While the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China and was popularized in England during the 1660s by King Charles II and his wife, the Portuguese Infanta[2] Catherine de Braganza, it was not until the mid 19th century that the concept of "afternoon tea" first appeared.
下午茶作为英国风俗的精髓，是一种相对较新的传统，这也许让人惊讶。虽然喝茶的习俗最早应追溯到公元前3000年的中国，并于17世纪60年代由国王查理二世和他的妻子葡萄牙布拉干萨王朝的凯瑟琳公主在英国推广开来，但直到19世纪中期，“下午茶”这一概念才首次出现。
Afternoon tea was introduced to England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would become hungry and complain of "having that sinking feeling" around four o'clock in the afternoon. At the time it was usual for people to take only two main meals a day: breakfast and dinner at around 8 o'clock in the evening. The evening meal in her household was also served fashionably late at eight o'clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. Later friends were invited to join her in her country house at Woburn Abbey and this summer practice proved so popular that the Duchess continued it when she returned to London, sending cards to her friends asking them to join her for "tea and a walking".
下午茶是在1840年由贝德福德公爵七世的夫人安娜引入英国的。公爵夫人经常在下午4点左右感到很饿，并抱怨自己“有一种心情低沉的感觉”。那时候，人们通常一天只吃两顿正餐——早餐和晚上8点左右的晚餐。公爵夫人家也按照这一潮流，晚餐提供得很晚，都在8点。这样一来，午餐和晚餐之间就隔了好长一段时间。于是，公爵夫人便让人在下午晚些时候送一托盘的茶、面包、黄油和蛋糕到她房间。后来，她还邀请朋友们来她位于沃本修道院的乡间邸宅共享下午茶。事实证明，这样的夏日安排很受欢迎，于是公爵夫人在回到伦敦后便将之延续下去，给她的朋友们寄卡片邀请她们一起“喝喝茶、散散步”。
This pause for tea became a fashionable social event. During the 1880's upper-class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea, which was usually served in the drawing room[3] between four and five o'clock.
后来，这种茶歇就成了一种时髦的社交活动。在19世纪80年代，上流社会和社交界的女士们会换上长裙，戴上手套和礼帽去喝下午茶——通常在下午4~5点在餐后休息室里进行。
Traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of dainty[4] sandwiches (including, of course, thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches), scones[5] served with clotted cream[6] and preserves[7]. Cakes and pastries[8] are also served. Tea grown in India or Ceylon is poured from silver tea pots into delicate bone china cups.
传统的下午茶包括精选的美味三明治(其中当然有夹薄黄瓜片的三明治)，配有浓缩奶油的司康饼以及果酱，还包括蛋糕和油酥点心。还会有产自印度或锡兰的茶从银色的茶壶里被缓缓倒入精美的骨瓷茶杯里。
Nowadays however, in the average suburban home, afternoon tea is likely to be just a biscuit or small cake and a mug of tea, usually produced using a teabag.
然而现在，普通郊区居民家中的下午茶可能只有一块饼干或一个小蛋糕再加一大杯通常用茶包泡的茶。
To experience the best of the afternoon tea tradition, indulge yourself with a trip to one of London's finest hotels or visit a quaint[9] tearoom in the West Country[10]. The Devonshire Cream Tea[11] is famous world wide and consists of scones, strawberry jam and the vital ingredient, Devon clotted cream, as well as cups of hot sweet tea served in china teacups. Many of the other counties in England's West Country also claim the best cream teas: Dorset, Cornwall, and Somerset.
想要体验最地道的英式下午茶，就得放纵一下自己，去探访伦敦一家最好的酒店或是英格兰西南部某个传统而雅致的茶室。德文郡下午茶世界闻名，包括司康饼、草莓酱，以及最重要的德文郡浓缩奶油，还有瓷质茶杯中热气腾腾的甜茶。英格兰西南部许多其他郡也自称拥有最好的下午茶，如多塞特、康沃尔和萨默塞特。
[1] quintessential [ˌkwɪntɪˈsenʃl] adj. 精华的，精髓的
[2] infanta [ɪnˈfæntə] n. (西班牙、葡萄牙的)公主
[3] drawing room: 客厅，起居室；女士餐后的休息室
[4] dainty [ˈdeɪnti] adj. (食物)美味的，可口的；精美的
[5] scone [skɒn] n. 烤饼，司康(一种源于英国用大麦或燕麦面粉加苏打、糖、盐等烤制而成的西式茶点)
[6] clotted cream: <英> (把牛奶用文火加热而成的)浓缩奶油。clotted [klɒtɪd] adj. <英>集中的，浓缩的
[7] preserve [prɪˈzɜːv] n. [常作~s] (用腌制等方法)加工成的食品(如蜜饯、果酱、罐头等)
[8] pastry [ˈpeɪstri] n. 油酥点心(如馅饼、果馅饼)
[9] quaint [kweɪnt] adj. 老式而别致的；雅致的
[10] West Country: 英格兰西南部诸郡，是一种非正式的说法。
[11] Devonshire Cream Tea: 德文郡下午茶，一种传统英式下午茶套餐，包括茶水、面包、司康饼、浓缩奶油和果酱。
The Story of Macarons
马卡龙自述
◎From madmacnyc.com 译 / 阿琼马卡龙精致可爱的外形、柔美缤纷的色彩和甜蜜的香气挑动着人们的味蕾，让无数人对其一见倾心，法国人更是对其爱到无以复加。原来如此诱人的小物是法国传统的殿堂级甜点，有着悠久的历史。今天，让我们听听马卡龙讲述自己的故事吧。
Let me tell you a bit about myself. My name is "Macaron" or "Gerbet[1]", but between the two of us, I prefer to be called "Macaron". I am round and tempting to the eye. I am made primarily of almond flour, sugar and egg whites. Throughout the years, very little has changed in terms of my components. I have always had a very classic flavor and my colors have always been very mellow[2], but recently, two renowned[3] chefs have experimented with me by giving me countless colors and flavors beyond your wildest imagination. Over the years many have experimented with my shape, but whenever possible, I prefer my classic round form.
让我跟你简单说说我自己。我的名字叫“马卡龙”或者“热尔贝”，但这里偷偷告诉你，我更喜欢被称作“马卡龙”。我体态圆润，长相诱人，主要由杏仁粉、白砂糖和蛋白制作而成。这么些年来，我的成分几乎没怎么变过。我一直保持着非常经典的口味，颜色也一直相当柔美。不过，最近有两位挺有名气的主厨在我身上做实验，让我变得五颜六色，还赋予了我不同的口味，颜色和口味多到不可思议。这些年以来，许多人都在我的外形上做过实验，不过只要有可能，我还是喜欢我经典的圆形。
I have become the most coveted[4] cookie in France, particularly in Paris. I am a bit of a trendy item for people to serve, the favorite sweet of children, the ideal breakfast treat, the beloved cookie of Parisian tea salons, the fashionable gift to give, and the ideal cookie for holidays such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, and finally, without sounding pretentious[5], I am a bit of a "Star".
在法国，特别是在巴黎，我已经成为最令人垂涎的甜点了。我可以算得上是人们用来待客的潮品、孩子们最喜欢的甜食、理想的早餐佳肴、巴黎特色茶沙龙钟爱的饼干、时髦的馈赠佳品、适合情人节和母亲节等节日享用的完美点心。最后，毫不矫情地说，我多少也算是个“明星”呢。
Despite my popularity in Europe and France in particular, I have not had much success yet here in the United States. Although it is possible for you to find me here, more often than not it is at extremely expensive prices. Even when I am sold at reasonable prices, perhaps I am not as crunchy[6] outside or as creamy inside as I should be, or perhaps I am too dry, or made with poor ingredients.
尽管我在欧洲特别是法国很受欢迎，但在美国，我还算不上太成功。虽然你没准也能在这里找到我，但价格通常都贵得要死。即使我的售价较合理时，口感可能也不像本来应有的那样外酥里嫩，抑或吃着太干或是用料欠佳。
Presently, two distinguished pastry[7] chefs are planning to make me a "Star" in New York and the United States. These chefs are Florien Bellanger and Ludovic Augendre. They understand me and love me, and you will too.
目前，两位著名的糕点师正计划把我打造成纽约乃至全美的“明星”。这两位厨师是弗洛里恩·贝朗热和卢多维克·奥让德尔，他们懂我，爱我，将来你也会的。A Bit of History：
The Macaron cookie was born in Italy, introduced by the chef of Catherine de Medicis in 1533 at the time of her marriage to the Duc d'Orleans who became king of France in 1547 as Henry II. The term "macaron" has the same origin as the word "macaroni"—both mean "fine dough[8]".
The first Macarons were simple cookies, made of almond powder, sugar and egg whites. Many towns throughout France have their own prized tale surrounding this delicacy[9]. In Nancy, the granddaughter of Catherine de Medicis was supposedly saved from starvation by eating Macarons. In Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the macaron of Chef Adam regaled[10] Louis XIV and Marie-Therese at their wedding celebration in 1660.
Only at the beginning of the 20th century did the Macaron become a "double-decker[11]" affair. Pierre Desfontaines, the grandson of Louis Ernest Laduree (the founder of Laduree pastry and salon in Paris) had the idea to fill them with a "chocolate panache[12]" and to stick them together.
Since then, French Macaron cookies have been nationally acclaimed in France and remain the best-selling cookie in pastry retail stores.历史简述：
马卡龙甜点诞生于意大利，1533年在凯瑟琳·德·美第奇(编注：意大利公主)与奥尔良公爵的婚礼上，经由凯瑟琳的厨师被引入了法国——奥尔良公爵于1547年登基成为法国国王亨利二世。“马卡龙”一词与“通心粉”一词同源，二者都指“ 美味的面团”。
早期的马卡龙只是简简单单的饼干，由杏仁粉、白砂糖和蛋白制成。围绕这一美食，法国各个城镇都有各自珍视的故事。在南锡市，凯瑟琳·德·美第奇的孙女据说是靠吃马卡龙才免于挨饿。在1660年的圣让-德吕兹，亚当大厨的马卡龙让路易十四和玛丽-泰蕾兹在其结婚典礼上吃得心满意足。
直到20世纪初期，马卡龙才变成了“双层夹心”甜点。(巴黎拉杜丽甜品店的创始人)路易斯·埃内斯特·拉杜丽的孙子皮埃尔·德方丹斯想到了在两块饼干间填满“羽毛状的黏稠巧克力”并将它们黏在一起的主意。
自那以后，法国的马卡龙甜点在法国全境都赢得了赞誉，也一直是糕点零售商店里最畅销的甜点。
[1]Gerbet: 热尔贝，有一种说法是一位名叫Claude Gerbet的巴黎厨师发明了马卡龙。
[2]mellow [ˈmeləʊ] adj. (颜色)柔美的
[3]renowned [rɪˈnaʊnd] adj. 著名的
[4]covet [ˈkʌvət] vt. 垂涎
[5]pretentious [prɪˈtenʃəs] adj. 矫饰的；做作的
[6]crunchy [ˈkrʌntʃi] adj. 松脆的
[7]pastry [ˈpeɪstri] n. 各式烘烤糕点(如蛋糕、小甜面包等)
[8]dough [dəʊ] n. (用以做糕点、饼干等的)生面团
[9]delicacy [ˈdelɪkəsi] n. (尤指稀有、昂贵的)美食，美味，佳肴
[10]regale [rɪˈɡeɪl] vt. 使快乐，使喜悦
[11]double-decker: 双层结构的
[12]panache [pəˈnæʃ] n. 羽饰
A Brief History of Chocolate
巧克力现形记
◎By Amanda Bensen 译 / 赵越想到巧克力，不禁口水直流。到底是从什么时候起，世界上就有了这种美味的食物呢？从“给猪喝的苦涩饮料”到风靡欧洲的时髦饮品，从贵族特权到全民之爱，巧克力辗转完成变身，在人类千年的宠爱中向着更加精致美味的方向继续前行……
When most of us hear the word chocolate, we picture a bar, a box of bonbons[1], or a bunny[2]. The verb that comes to mind is probably “eat”, not “drink”, and the most apt[3] adjective would seem to be “sweet”. But for about 90 percent of chocolate’s long history, it was strictly a beverage, and sugar didn’t have anything to do with it.
“I often call chocolate the best-known food that nobody knows anything about,” said Alexandra Leaf, a self-described “chocolate educator” who runs a business called Chocolate Tours of New York City.
大多数人听到巧克力这个词时，就会联想到一条巧克力棒、一盒奶油夹心巧克力糖，或一只巧克力兔子。进入脑海的动词则很可能是“吃”，而并非“喝”；而我们想到的最恰当的形容词大概是“甜”。然而严格说来，在巧克力发展的漫长历史中，人们在绝大部分时间里都把它当做一种饮料，而且糖跟它一点关系也没有。“我常说，巧克力是人人都知道但却对它一无所知的食品。”亚历山德拉·利夫如是说。她自诩为“巧克力教师”，还经营着一家名为“纽约巧克力之旅”的商店。The Origin of Chocolate
The terminology can be a little confusing, but most experts these days use the term “cacao” to refer to the plant or its beans before processing[4], while the term “chocolate” refers to anything made from the beans. “Cocoa” generally refers to chocolate in a powdered form, although it can also be a British form of “cacao”.
Etymologists[5] trace the origin of the word “chocolate” to the Aztec[6] word “xocoatl”, which referred to a bitter drink brewed from cacao beans. The Latin name for the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, means “food of the gods”.
Many modern historians have estimated that chocolate has been around for about 2000 years, but recent research suggests that it may be even older.
In the book The True History of Chocolate , authors Sophie and Michael Coe make a case[7] that the earliest linguistic evidence of chocolate consumption stretches back three or even four millennia[8], to pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica[9] such as the Olmec[10].
Last November, anthropologists from the University of Pennsylvania announced the discovery of cacao residue[11] on pottery excavated in Honduras[12] that could date back as far as 1400 B.C.E. It appears that the sweet pulp[13] of the cacao fruit, which surrounds the beans, was fermented[14] into an alcoholic beverage of the time.
“Who would have thought, looking at this, that you can eat it?” said Richard Hetzler, executive chef of the café at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, as he displayed a fresh cacao pod[15] during a recent chocolate-making demonstration. “You would have to be pretty hungry, and pretty creative!”巧克力的起源
虽然有点儿让人无法理解，可如今的大多数专家都用“可可”这一术语指代可可树或尚未加工的可可豆，而用“巧克力”这一术语指代任何经由可可豆加工而成的食品。一般而言，“可可粉”是指粉末状的巧克力，虽然它在英国人眼里也是“可可”的一种形式。
词源学家对“巧克力”一词追根溯源，认为它来自阿兹特克语中“xocoatl”一词，该词指的是一种由可可豆酿制而成的苦涩饮料。在拉丁语中，可可树被称作“Theobroma cacao”，意为“神灵的食物”。
据许多现代历史学家估算，巧克力已有大约两千年的历史，但最新研究表明，它的历史可能还要更久。
在《巧克力的真实历史》一书中，作者索菲和迈克尔·科以充分的证据证实，关于食用巧克力的最早文字记录可追溯至三千甚至四千年前，那是哥伦布发现新大陆之前的中美洲文明——如奥尔梅克文明——所在的年代。
去年11月，宾夕法尼亚大学的人类学家宣布在从洪都拉斯出土的瓷器上发现了可可豆残渣的遗迹，其年代之久远可追溯至公元前1400年。看来，当时人们好像把包裹可可豆的甜美果肉发酵酿制成了一种含酒精的饮料。“看看这个，谁会认为这可以吃呢？”美国史密苏尼国家博物馆印第安人馆咖啡厅的行政总厨理查德·赫茨勒在最近的一次巧克力制作演示中展示一个新鲜的可可豆荚时这样说道，“要是你能想到，那你当时肯定饥肠辘辘，同时还得有丰富的创造力。”Valuable and Fashionable Chocolate Beverage
It’s hard to pin down[16] exactly when chocolate was born, but it’s clear that it was cherished from the start. For several centuries in pre-modern Latin America, cacao beans were considered valuable enough to use as currency. One bean could be traded for a tamale[17], while 100 beans could purchase a good turkey hen, according to a 16th-century Aztec document.
Both the Mayans and Aztecs believed the cacao bean had magical, or even divine, properties[18], suitable for use in the most sacred[19] rituals of birth, marriage and death. According to Chloe Doutre-Roussel’s book The Chocolate Connoisseur[20], Aztec sacrifice victims who felt too melancholy[21] to join in ritual dancing before their death were often given a gourd of chocolate (tinged with the blood of previous victims to cheer them up.
Sweetened chocolate didn’t appear until Europeans discovered the Americas and sampled the native cuisine. Legend has it that the Aztec king Montezuma[22] welcomed the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortés with a banquet that included drinking chocolate, having tragically mistaken him for a reincarnated[23] deity instead of a conquering invader. Chocolate didn’t suit the foreigners’ taste buds[24] at first—one described it in his writings as “a bitter drink for pigs”—but once mixed with honey or cane sugar, it quickly became popular throughout Spain.
By the 17th century, chocolate was a fashionable drink throughout Europe, believed to have nutritious, medicinal and even aphrodisiac[25] properties. But it remained largely a privilege of the rich until the invention of the steam engine made mass production possible in the late 1700s.珍贵时髦的巧克力饮料
我们很难确定巧克力诞生的确切年代，但有一点是很明确的，那就是自诞生之初，巧克力就一直备受珍爱。在前现代的拉丁美洲，人们在几个世纪里一直把可可豆视若珍宝，甚至把它当做货币使用。根据一份16世纪的阿兹特克文件记载，用一颗可可豆可以换来一个墨西哥玉米粉蒸肉卷，而用一百颗可可豆可以买到一只上好的母火鸡。
玛雅人和阿兹特克人都认为可可豆具有神秘的甚至是神圣的特性，适合在诸如出生、结婚和死亡这些最神圣的仪式上使用。根据克洛艾·杜特-鲁塞尔的《巧克力鉴赏家》一书所述，阿兹特克的被献祭者因极度抑郁而无法参加祭祀之舞时，人们就在他们被献祭之前给他们喝下一瓢巧克力(含有少许已故祭祀品的血)，使他们振奋起来。
后来，欧洲人发现了美洲大陆，并品尝了当地的菜肴，至此加糖的巧克力才出现。据传说，阿兹特克国王蒙提祖马准备了一桌以巧克力为饮料的盛宴，为西班牙探险者埃尔南多·科尔特斯接风洗尘——国王不但没有把他当做前来征战的入侵者，反而可悲地误以为他是转世神灵。起初，外国人并不能接受巧克力的味道——有人在著作中把巧克力描述为“一种给猪喝的苦涩饮品”——不过，在添加了蜂蜜或蔗糖以后，巧克力饮料立刻红遍西班牙各地。
到17世纪时，巧克力成了风靡整个欧洲的时髦饮品。人们认为它有营养，能入药，甚至还能催情。但它仍旧是有钱人才能享用的奢侈品，直到18世纪末蒸汽机的发明使得大规模生产成为可能以后，这种情况才得以改善。The Birth of Solid Chocolate
In 1828, a Dutch chemist found a way to make powdered chocolate by removing about half the natural fat (cacao butter) from chocolate liquor, pulverizing [26]what remained and treating the mixture with alkaline[27] salts to cut the bitter taste. His product became known as “Dutch cocoa”, and it soon led to the creation of solid chocolate.
The creation of the first modern chocolate bar is credited to Joseph Fry, who in 1847 discovered that he could make a moldable chocolate paste by adding melted cacao butter back into Dutch cocoa.
By 1868, a little company called Cadbury was marketing boxes of chocolate candies in England. Milk chocolate hit the market a few years later, pioneered[28] by another name that may ring a bell[29]—Nestle.固态巧克力的诞生
1828年，一位荷兰化学家找到了制作巧克力粉的方法：他从巧克力饮料中去除了近一半的天然脂肪(即可可脂)，然后把剩下的成分研磨成粉，并在其中添加碱盐以减轻苦涩味道。他的产品被称为“荷兰可可粉”，由此很快诞生了固态巧克力。
第一条现代巧克力棒的产生应归功于约瑟夫·弗赖伊。1847年，弗赖伊发现，通过往荷兰可可粉中重新添加融化的可可脂，能够做出可塑形的糊状巧克力。
到了1868年，一家名为“吉百利”的小公司开始在英国出售盒装巧克力糖果。几年以后，另一个令人耳熟的公司——雀巢——开发出的牛奶巧克力面市了。Prosperous Chocolate Industry
In America, chocolate was so valued during the Revolutionary War[30] that it was included in soldiers’ rations[31] and used in lieu of[32] wages. While most of us probably wouldn’t settle for[33] a chocolate paycheck these days, statistics show that the humble cacao bean is still a powerful economic force. Chocolate manufacturing is a more than 4-billion-dollar industry in the United States, and the average American eats at least half a pound of the stuff per month.
In the 20th century, the word “chocolate” expanded to include a range of affordable treats with more sugar and additives[34] than actual cacao in them, often made from the hardiest but least flavorful of the bean varieties.
But more recently, there’s been a “chocolate revolution,” Leaf said, marked by an increasing interest in high-quality, handmade chocolates and sustainable, effective cacao farming and harvesting methods. Major corporations like Hershey’s have expanded their artisanal[35] chocolate lines by purchasing smaller producers known for premium[36] chocolates, such as Scharffen Berger and Dagoba, while independent chocolatiers continue to flourish as well.繁荣的巧克力产业
美国独立战争时期，巧克力极为珍贵，不仅用于士兵的军需补给，还用来代替薪水向士兵发放。现在，我们中的大多数人很可能并不会满足于拿巧克力薪水，但统计数据证明，不起眼的可可豆仍是一股强有力的经济力量。在美国，巧克力制造业的市值可达四十多亿美元，美国人平均每月至少食用0.5磅的巧克力。
在20世纪，“巧克力”一词的范围扩展到一系列人们买得起的巧克力糖果，这些糖果中添加的糖和添加剂比可可豆成分更多，并且选用的可可豆也是最硬而且口味最差的品种。
但是，近来掀起了一场“巧克力革命”，这场革命以不断增长的对高品质的追求、手工巧克力制作和高效且可持续的可可种植及采集方式为特点。通过收购诸如“沙尔芬贝格”和“叠哥芭”等小型优质巧克力生产企业，像“好时”巧克力这样的大型企业扩大了他们的手工生产线。而与此同时，独立的巧克力生产企业也繁荣依旧。
[1] bonbon [ˈbɒnbɒn] n. 夹心巧克力糖果
[2] bunny [ˈbʌni] n. 兔子，尤指小兔子。西方复活节常见的食品之一便是小兔子造型的巧克力。
[3] apt [æpt] adj. 恰当的，适当的
[4] process [ˈprəʊses] v. 加工
[5] etymologist [ˌetɪˈmɒlədʒɪst] n. 词源学家
[6] Aztec: 阿兹特克人的。阿兹特克人是印第安人的一个分支，主要分布在墨西哥中部和南部。阿兹特克文明是古代阿兹特克人所创造的印第安文明，是美洲古代三大文明之一，1521年被西班牙人征服。
[7] make (out) a case (for): 证明……有理由，提出有利于……的理由
[8] millennia [mɪˈleniəm] n. 一千年[millennium的复数]
[9] Mesoamerica [ˌmɛsəʊəˈmɛrɪkə] n. 中美洲，其范围从墨西哥中部向南向东延伸，包括危地马拉、伯利兹、洪都拉斯及尼加拉瓜在内的地区。在哥伦布发现新大陆以前的时代，这里喝巧克力饮料的贵族曾存在过各种文明，包括玛雅文明及奥尔梅克文明。
[10] Olmec: 奥尔梅克人(墨西哥古印第安人)
[11] residue [ˈrezɪdjuː] n. 残余，渣滓
[12] Honduras [hɒnˈdjʊərəs] n. 洪都拉斯(拉丁美洲国家)
[13] pulp [pʌlp] n. (水果的)果肉
[14] ferment [fə(r)ˈment] vt. (使)发酵
[15] pod [pɒd] n. 豆荚
[16] pin down: 确定，证实
[17] tamale [təˈmɑːli] n. (墨西哥的)玉米粉蒸肉卷(以玉米粉同肉末拌和，加胡椒，用玉米面包好后蒸熟)
[18] property [ˈprɒpə(r)ti] n. 特性，性质
[19] sacred [ˈseɪkrɪd] adj. 神圣的
[20] connoisseur [ˌkɒnəˈsɜː(r)] n. (艺术品的)鉴赏家，鉴定家，内行
[21] melancholy [ˈmelənkəli] adj. 忧郁的
[22] Montezuma [mɒntɪˈzuːma] 蒙提祖马，这里指蒙提祖马二世(1466?~1520)，(墨西哥)阿兹特克帝国的国王，曾一度称霸中美洲，在西班牙征服墨西哥之战(Spanish Conquest of Mexico)初期被杀害。他在位期间，阿兹台克帝国的疆土达到最大，本土文明和欧洲文明首次发生碰撞。
[23] reincarnated [ˌriːɪnkɑː(r)ˈneɪtɪd] adj. 转世的
[24] taste bud: 味蕾
[25] aphrodisiac [ˌæfrəˈdɪziæk] adj. 催情的
[26] pulverize [ˈpʌlvəraɪz] vt. 研磨成粉
[27] alkaline [ˈælkəˌlaɪn] adj. 【化】碱的, 碱性的
[28] pioneer [ˌpaɪəˈnɪə(r)] vt. 开辟；倡导
[29] ring a bell: <口> 引起模糊回忆
[30] Revolutionary War: 这里指美国革命战争(1775~1783)，或称美国独立战争(American War of Independence)，是北美13个英属殖民地反抗英国殖民统治、争取民族独立的革命战争。
[31] ration [ˈræʃ(ə)n] n. (给战士或食品短缺地区的人提供的)定量口粮
[32] in lieu of: 代替
[33] settle for: 勉强接受
[34] additive [ˈædətɪv] n. 添加剂
[35] artisanal [ˈɑː(r)tɪzənəl] adj. 手工艺的
[36] premium [ˈpriːmiəm] adj. 优质的
☆你不知道的节日
A Brief History of Boxing Day
追本溯源节礼日
◎By Claire Suddath 译 / 朵朵圣诞节次日也是一个节日，名叫Boxing day。不过，其中的Boxing可不是”拳击”的意思，而是由装礼物的box而来的。想了解这个节日的来龙去脉，就随本文一起探究一下吧！
If you are looking for something that explains the origins of Boxing Day, well, you are not going to find it here. The day-after-Christmas holiday is celebrated by most countries in the commonwealth[1], but in a what-were-we-doing-again? Bout[2] of amnesia[3], none of them are really sure what they’re celebrating, when it started or why.
如果你想在这篇文章里寻找讲解节礼日起源的内容，那么你是找不到的。大多数英联邦国家都会庆祝这个圣诞节次日的节日，不过我们以前都在做什么来着？就像健忘症突然发作一样，这些国家没有哪个真正清楚他们在庆祝些什么、这个节日起源于何时以及为什么要庆祝。The Origins
The best clue to Boxing Day’s origins can be found in the song “Good King Wenceslas [4]”. According to the Christmas carol[5], Wenceslas was surveying his land on St. Stephen’s Day—Dec. 26—when he saw a poor man gathering wood in the middle of a snowstorm. Moved, the king gathered up surplus[6] food and wine and carried them through the blizzard[7] to the peasant’s door. The almsgiving[8] tradition has always been closely associated with the Christmas season—hence the canned-food drives[9] and Salvation Army [10]Santas that pepper[11] our neighborhoods during the winter—but King Wenceslas’s good deed came the day after Christmas, when the English poor received most of their charity.
King Wenceslas didn’t start Boxing Day, but the Church of England might have. During Advent [12], Anglican parishes [13]displayed a box into which churchgoers put their monetary donations. On the day after Christmas, the boxes were broken open and their contents distributed among the poor, thus giving rise to the term Boxing Day. Maybe.
But wait: there’s another possible story about the holiday’s origin. The day after Christmas was also the traditional day on which the aristocracy[14] distributed presents (boxes) to servants and employees—a sort of institutionalized[15] Christmas-bonus party. The servants returned home, opened their boxes and had a second Christmas on what became known as Boxing Day.起源
我们可以从《好国王文西斯劳斯》这首歌曲中找到节礼日起源的最佳线索。根据这首圣诞颂歌，文西斯劳斯国王在圣斯蒂芬节(也就是12月26日)考察国土民情时，看到一位在暴风雪中捡柴火的贫穷男子。国王被这一景象所打动，便将多余的食物和葡萄酒收集起来，冒着大风雪将它们送到这位农夫的门口。这种救济他人的传统原本就一直与圣诞假期密切相关——因此才有了在冬季布满各个街区的“捐罐头食品”活动和装扮成圣诞老人的“救世军”——不过文西斯劳斯国王的善行发生在圣诞节次日，在那一天，英国的穷人得到了大部分的救济品。
文西斯劳斯国王并没有设立节礼日，不过，这倒有可能是英国圣公会的功劳。在降临节期间，英国圣公会的牧区里会摆上一个盒子，那些常去教堂做礼拜的人可以把捐款放入盒子里。在圣诞节次日，这些盒子会被打开，里面的捐款都会被分给穷人，“节礼日”一词便应运而生。也许节礼日就是这样来的吧。
不过先别急：有关这个节日的起源还有一个尚可接受的版本。圣诞节次日也是贵族阶级依照传统向佣人及雇工分发礼品(礼盒)的日子——一种制度化的圣诞红包派发聚会。佣人们回到家，打开礼盒，
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