美食英语：“蟠桃”原来是“扁桃”

 　　一年一度的“上海金山蟠桃节”8月3日开幕，被昵称为“世博桃”的金山皇母蟠桃是世博会特供水果——你知道“蟠桃”用英语是怎么说的么？其实英文名直译回来，是“扁桃”，也就是flat peach：

　　Flat peaches are also known as “saucer” or “doughnut-type” peaches because of their round, oblate to squat¹ appearance.

　　蟠桃因其外形扁平，所以又被称作“茶碟”或“油炸圈”状桃子。

　　明明是延年益寿的仙桃啊，为什么看着flat peach这个名字就提不起神呢……也许在外国人眼里，桃子不过是一种水果，但在中国传统中，桃子还有更进一步的象征意义：

　　In China, the peach was said to be consumed by the immortals² due to its mystic virtue³ of conferring longevity⁴ on all who ate them.

　　在中国，人们认为食用桃子能使人长生。

　　The immortals residing in the palace of Xi Wangmu were said to celebrate an extravagant⁵ banquet called the Pantao Hui or "The Feast of Peaches".

　　神话传说中，西王母的住处会举办盛大的蟠桃会。

　　The immortals waited six thousand years before gathering⁶ for this magnificent feast; the peach tree put forth⁷ leaves once every thousand years and it required another three thousand years for the fruit to ripen⁸.

　　仙人们每六千年才能参加一次蟠桃会，因为蟠桃树要一千年才长出叶子，三千年才结果。

1 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

2 immortals   

不朽的人物( immortal的名词复数 )； 永生不朽者

参考例句：

• Nobody believes in the myth about human beings becoming immortals. 谁也不相信人能成仙的神话。
• Shakespeare is one of the immortals. 莎士比亚是不朽的人物之一。

3 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

4 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

5 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 ripen   

vt.使成熟；vi.成熟

参考例句：

• I'm waiting for the apples to ripen.我正在等待苹果成熟。
• You can ripen the tomatoes on a sunny windowsill.把西红柿放在有阳光的窗台上可以让它们成熟。