VOA标准英语2012--A Century Later, Candy Man Still Sells Taffy

 

A Century Later, Candy Man Still Sells Taffy

The colorful old southern seaport¹ of New Orleans, Louisiana, is full of character - and characters: mimes² and clowns on Jackson Square, “Lucky Dog” men who sell hot dogs from carts shaped like wieners in a bun, boys who’ll shine your shoes and tap-dance in the street for a dollar or two.

And eccentrics of all sorts, some in scandalous costumes or barely any costume at all, each year during Carnival³ season.

One New Orleans character who’s still going strong after nearly a century is the “Roman Candy Man,” with his Roman Chewing Candy wagon⁴ pulled by a mule⁵ named Patsy.

Here’s his story.

Back in 1915, when Ron Kottemann’s grandfather, Sam Cortese, was a young man, he used to sell fruit and vegetables and a little bit of homemade Italian taffy, or soft “pull candy,” that Cortese’s mother made back in her kitchen.

He sold all this from a white wagon pulled by a mule, and he’d ring a gong to let everyone know he was passing through.

Pretty soon, the candy was selling better than the produce, so he repainted the wagon, called it the “Roman Chewing Candy Wagon,” and went back to rolling about town. Just one cart and one mule.

Cortese’s mother had other things to do than make taffy, so Sam figured out a way to make candy on the move, inside the wagon, using a very hot stove and a vat⁶ to cool the taffy in.

He’d boil taffy in three flavors - chocolate, vanilla⁷, and strawberry. After a big wad of it had cooled, he’d scoop⁸ it up with a stick and throw it onto a big hook, hanging in the window of his wagon. Then he’d tug⁹ on the taffy, pull out a long string of it, snip¹⁰ it off with scissors, wrap it waxed paper, and sell it to people who lined up on the street. 

Back then, a long strand¹¹ of Roman taffy cost a nickel - five cents.

Almost a century later, Ron Kottemann does exactly the same thing that his grandfather did. He’s been at it for 40 years, and he has 40 years’ worth of stories. They include one about the time a car hit his wagon and knocked it over, spilling red-hot taffy all over him. His mule, Rosie, came through it OK.

These days, the taffy costs a dollar a strip - 20 times as much as it did in Sam Cortese’s day - and the candy is now also made in a little factory in town that ships it to taffy-lovers around the world.

But on the streets of Old New Orleans, there’s still just one Roman Chewing Candy wagon, one taffy peddler, and one mule, named Patsy.

1 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

2 mimes   

n.指手画脚( mime的名词复数 )；做手势；哑剧；哑剧演员v.指手画脚地表演，用哑剧的形式表演( mime的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Hanks so scrupulously, heroically mimes the wasting wought by the disease. 汉克斯咬紧牙关，一丝不苟地模仿艾滋病造成的虚弱。 来自互联网
• On an airplane, fellow passengers mimicked her every movement -- like mimes on a street. 在飞机上，有乘客模拟她的每个动作—就像街头模拟表演。 来自互联网

3 carnival   

n.嘉年华会，狂欢，狂欢节，巡回表演

参考例句：

• I got some good shots of the carnival.我有几个狂欢节的精彩镜头。
• Our street puts on a carnival every year.我们街的居民每年举行一次嘉年华会。

4 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

5 mule   

n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人

参考例句：

• A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
• He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。

6 vat   

n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶

参考例句：

• The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
• His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。

7 vanilla   

n.香子兰，香草

参考例句：

• He used to love milk flavoured with vanilla.他过去常爱喝带香草味的牛奶。
• I added a dollop of vanilla ice-cream to the pie.我在馅饼里加了一块香草冰激凌。

8 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

9 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

10 snip   

n.便宜货，廉价货，剪，剪断

参考例句：

• He has now begun to snip away at the piece of paper.现在他已经开始剪这张纸。
• The beautifully made briefcase is a snip at £74.25.这个做工精美的公文包售价才74.25英镑，可谓物美价廉。

11 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。