人教版英语选修第二册 unit 3 Reading and Thinking

CULTURE AND CUISINE

文化与美食

The French author Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once wrote, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”

法国作家让·安泰尔姆·布里亚-萨瓦兰曾写道：“告诉我你平时吃什么，我就可以说出你是个什么样的人。”

Put more simply, this means “You are what you eat.”

简单地说，这句话就是“人如其食”的意思。

Most people today relate this saying to healthy eating.

如今，大多数人把这条谚语与健康饮食联系起来。

However, Brillat-Savarin was actually referring to our personality, character, and culture.

然而，布里亚-萨瓦兰实际上指的是我们的个性、品格及文化。

Certainly, in many ways this seems to be true.

当然，从很多方面来看，此话不假。

Chinese cuisine is a case in point.

中国菜就是个很好的例子。

Prior to coming to China, my only experience with Chinese cooking was in America, with Chinese food that had been changed to suit American tastes.

来中国之前，我只在美国接触过中式烹饪，那里的中国食物已被改良，以适应美国人的口味。

For example, America’s most popular Chinese dish is General Tso’s chicken, which consists of fried chicken covered in a sweet sauce, flavoured with hot red peppers.

例如，在美国最受欢迎的中国菜是左宗棠鸡，它由裹着甜酱、辅以红辣椒调味的炸鸡制成。

This is probably not an authentic Chinese recipe, however, so it cannot tell us much about the Chinese.

然而，这或许并不是地道的中餐做法，因此并不能让我们充分了解中国人。

On the other hand, it does tell us a lot about Americans.

不过另一方面，它却能让我们深入了解美国人。

It tells us, for example, that Americans love bold, simple flavours.

比如，这道菜体现出美国人喜爱浓郁、直白的口味。

And, since the dish was also invented recently, it tells us that Americans are not afraid to try new foods.

另外，这道菜问世时间不长，也说明美国人敢于尝试新式菜品。

Later, I had a chance to experience authentic Chinese food by coming to China.

后来，我来到中国，才有机会品尝地道的中国美食。

When my family and I had just arrived in China, we went looking for a good place to eat in Beijing.

我和家人刚抵达中国时，就在北京四处寻觅一家不错的餐馆。

A Sichuan restaurant had been recommended to us by a friend, and finally, we found it.

一位朋友向我们推荐了一家川菜馆，我们最终找到了这家店。

Tired, hungry, and not knowing a word of Chinese, we had no idea how to order, so the chef just began filling our table with the best food we had ever eaten.

我们疲惫不堪、饥肠辘辘，又完全不懂中文，不知道如何点餐，于是厨师直接端上一道道佳肴摆满餐桌，那是我们吃过最美味的食物。

With this, we had the pleasure of experiencing an entirely new taste: Sichuan peppercorns.

就这样，我们有幸体验到一种全新的风味：四川花椒。

The food was wonderful and different, but what was even more important was the friendship offered us.

菜品美味独特，但更为珍贵的是我们收获的情谊。

We soon moved to Shandong Province in the eastern part of North China.

不久之后，我们搬到了位于华北东部的山东省。

My favourite dish there was boiled dumplings served with vinegar.

在那里我最爱吃的就是蘸醋水饺。

I observed that family is important to the people there.

我留意到当地人十分看重家庭。

It has become a favourite traditional dish of the people in North China, where making dumplings has always been a family affair with everyone—from the youngest to the oldest—joining in to help.

水饺是华北民众喜爱的传统美食，包饺子向来是全家参与的活动，无论老少都会搭手帮忙。

Later, I learnt that the most famous food in Shandong is pancake rolls stuffed with sliced Chinese green onions.

后来我了解到，山东最出名的美食是煎饼卷大葱。

Then we moved to northern Xinjiang.

之后我们前往新疆北部。

Some of our friends were Kazak and Inner Mongolian.

我们有几位哈萨克族和蒙古族朋友。

These groups traditionally wandered the open range on horses.

依照传统，这些民族骑马驰骋在辽阔的草原上。

As a result, their traditional foods are what you can cook over an open fire—usually boiled or roasted meat, such as lamb kebab.

因此，他们的传统食物都适合篝火烹制，大多是煮肉或是烤肉，比如烤羊肉串。

Our travels then took us to South China, and then on to central China.

接下来我们一路游历到华南，随后又去往华中。

In each place we went, we experienced wonderful local dishes, from Guangdong’s elegant dim sum—small servings of food in bamboo steamers—to the exceptional stewed noodles in Henan.

每到一处，我们都品尝到独具特色的当地美食，从广东精致的点心——竹蒸笼盛放的小份吃食，到河南风味独特的烩面。

Everywhere, the food was as varied as the people.

各地美食和当地民众一样多姿多彩。

However, one thing is always true: Through food, Chinese people everywhere show friendship and kindness.

但有一点始终不变：各地中国人都借美食传递友善与热忱。

At a minimum, the kinds of food local people consume tell us what they grow in their region, what kinds of lives they lead, and what they like and do not like.

至少，当地人的饮食能够反映出当地种植的作物、人们的生活方式，以及他们的好恶。

Could we also say, for example, that those who like bold flavours are bold themselves?

比如我们是否可以认为，偏爱浓郁口味的人性格也豪爽果敢？

Or, that those who like spicy food tend to have a hot temper?

或是爱吃辣味的人往往脾气急躁？

Maybe. Maybe not.

或许是，或许不是。

What we can say, however, is that culture and cuisine go hand in hand, and if you do not experience one, you can never really know the other.

但我们可以确定：文化与美食密不可分，倘若不曾体会其中一方，就无法真正理解另一方。