2019年双语新闻 内脏美食：重口味的诱惑

How we see meat

内脏美食：重口味的诱惑

US food author M.F.K. Fisher once wrote about humans, "First we eat, then we do everything else."

美国美食作家M·F·K·费希尔曾如此描写人类：“先吃饱了饭，才能去干别的事。”

This is why each year we celebrate World Food Day, which falls on Oct 16.

这便是每年10月16日我们都会庆祝世界粮食日的原因。

But despite the importance of food around the world, food cultures often differ greatly from country to country.

尽管食物在全球各地都至关重要，但国与国之间的饮食文化却大相径庭。

For example, things like chicken feet, duck heads, and pig brains are commonly eaten in Asia.

比如，鸡爪、鸭头、猪脑等食物在亚洲很常见。

If you asked most Westerners² to try one of these things, though, the very thought would probably be enough to make them give up meat altogether.

但如果你要让大多数西方人尝试一下，估计他们一想到此，就足以改吃素食了。

At the same time, however, the majority of people in Western nations regard themselves as meat eaters. So, what could be the reason behind this double standard?

但与此同时，西方国家的大多数人都认为自己是肉食主义者。那么，是什么导致了这样的不同呢？

There are a number of possible answers to that question, yet one major reason could lie in recent cultural changes.

这个问题或许有多种答案，但其中的一大原因或许是近代的文化变迁。

During the mid¹ 20th century and the years following it, eating most parts of an animal was common in many Western countries such as the UK – perhaps owing³ to rationing⁴ as a result of World War II (1939-1945).

在20世纪中期以及接下来的数年间，食用动物身体的大多数部位在英国等西方国家十分常见 ——这或许与二战期间的定量配给政策有关。

But later, during the 1960s and 70s, following the introduction⁵ of highways in the US and the UK, the popularity⁶ of supermarkets in those countries increased, wrote Francesco Burnett, author of Cultural History of Meat: 1900-The Present.

但后来，在上世纪60-70年代，随着英美等国建起了高速公路，超市在这些国家也普及开了，《肉类文化史：1900年至今》一书的作者弗朗西斯科·伯内特如此写道。

Thanks to the popularity and convenience of supermarkets, which tend not to sell animal parts such as the head or limbs⁷, the public's attitude of meat soon shifted⁸.

由于超市的普及和便利，很少售卖动物部位，如头、四肢等等，公众对于肉的态度很快也发生了变化。

"The 'animal' gradually⁹ disappeared from meat, and people's ignorance¹⁰ about what animal the meat they ate came from increased," Burnett added¹¹.

“‘动物'的概念慢慢地从“肉类”一词中消失了，人们开始日益忽略他们所吃的肉是哪些动物的，”伯内特补充道。

As a result, it's believed that many Western cultures slowly began to view meat as simply a food product, rather than as something that came from an animal.

因而人们认为，许多西方文化渐渐地只是将肉类视为一种食品，而非动物的一部分。

However, this theory may go even further back if we look at the words the English language uses to describe meat.

但这种说法或许还能追溯回更早的时间，看看英文中用于形容肉类的词汇就知道了，

"We 'de-animalize' certain foods that we eat by giving them different names," Hal Herzog, author of Why It's So Hard To Think Straight About Animals, told online magazine Grist.

“我们给一些食物起了不同的名字，消除了这些食物与动物的联系，”《为什么很难想到动物》一书的作者哈尔·赫尔佐格在接受线上杂志《Grist》采访时如此说道。

"We don't say it's cooked pig; we say it's pork. And we don't say hamburger is made of cow; we say it's made of beef."

“我们不会说煮熟的猪，而是说猪肉。我们不会说汉堡包由牛制成，而是说由牛肉制成。”

So it seems that there's not one simple answer to this question. When it comes to eating meat, however, perhaps we should simply just enjoy the taste.

所以，这个问题似乎没有一个简单的答案。而吃肉时，或许我们只需享受美味即可。

1 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

2 westerners   

n.西部人( westerner的名词复数 )；西方人，欧美人

参考例句：

• The disease was brought by Westerners after the Cheng-te period of the Ming dynasty. 明朝正德以后，这病由洋人带来。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
• Most westerners want to stay young because old age is not a happy time. 多数西方人都想保持年轻，因为老年时光不快乐。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

3 owing   

adj.应付的，未付的

参考例句：

• He paid what was owing.他付清了所有应付的钱。
• We have several hundred pounds owing on our car.我们的车还欠几百英镑未付清。

4 rationing   

n.定量供应

参考例句：

• Wartime austerities included food rationing and shortage of fuel. 战时的艰苦包括食物配给和燃料短缺。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。

5 introduction   

n.(to)介绍；传入，引进；导言，导论，绪论

参考例句：

• The introduction tells you how to use the book.引言告诉你怎样使用这本书。
• A letter of introduction will ensure you an interview.凭一封介绍信准保会接待你。

6 popularity   

n.普及，流行，名望，受欢迎

参考例句：

• The story had an extensive popularity among American readers.这本小说在美国读者中赢得广泛的声望。
• Our product enjoys popularity throughout the world.我们的产品饮誉全球。

7 limbs   

肢( limb的名词复数 )； 大树枝； 肢体

参考例句：

• For a while, she lost the use of her limbs. 好一会儿她四肢都动弹不得。
• The prisoner's limbs flailed violently because of the pain. 那囚犯因为疼痛，四肢剧烈地抖动着。

8 shifted   

v.改变( shift的过去式和过去分词 )；去掉；摆脱掉；换挡

参考例句：

• He shifted his position from the horizontal. 他从水平姿势变换成其他姿势。
• He nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. 他很紧张，重心在双脚之间来回换。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 gradually   

adv.逐渐地

参考例句：

• The roaring sea gradually calmed down.咆哮的大海逐渐平静下来。
• Gradually he became silent.渐渐地他变得沉默寡言了。

10 ignorance   

n.无知，愚昧，不了解，（of，about）不知道

参考例句：

• The relation of disease to poverty and ignorance is easy to see.疾病与贫穷、无知之间的关系是显而易见的。
• Maybe it is all due to my own ignorance.也许是我少见多怪。

11 added   

adj.更多的，附加的，额外的

参考例句：

• They have added a new scene at the beginning.在开头他们又增加了一场戏。
• The pop music added to our enjoyment of the film.片中的流行音乐使我们对这部电影更加喜爱。