Wake Up and Smell the Coffee 饮咖啡也要思源
- 详细资料
- 创建于 2004年12月15日
- 最后更新于 2024年5月25日
- 发布于 2011年8月09日
- 作者：Mike Lee
- 点击数：359
课文朗读
课文讲解
Some people cannot imagine starting the day without a cup of coffee. From the most fashionable cafes of Paris to the breakfast stands lining the streets of Taipei, coffee has firmly established itself as one of the world’s favorite beverages. For such a well-loved drink, however, few people are aware of its curious origins.
对某些人来说，不喝咖啡恐怕很难开启一天的生活。从巴黎最流行的咖啡厅到台北街头林立的早餐店，咖啡已跻身世界最受欢迎的饮品。像这样广受喜爱的饮料，却很少人知晓它奇妙的起源。
As legend goes, coffee berries were first discovered in 850 by an Ethiopian goat herder who noticed his goats were much friskier after having eaten the red berries of a local bush. After trying the berries himself, the goat herder felt much more energetic than usual. He disseminated the news about the wonderful berry, and soon monks were hailing it as an elixir and drinking the brew to stay awake during evening prayers.
传说咖啡的果实是在公元850年，由一个衣索匹亚的牧羊人发现。他注意到羊群吃了当地某种灌木的红色果实之后，便活蹦乱跳起来。自己试吃后则发现比平常更精力充沛。他到处散播这种神奇果子的讯息，没多久，僧侣们就将其奉为仙丹，晚祷时藉喝它的酿造物来保持清醒。
Although coffee originated on the plateaus of Ethiopia, it was the Arabs who first cultivated it around 1100. They were also the first people to roast it and boil it. By 1475, people in Constantinople were enjoying a cup of coffee in the world’s first coffee shop. Coffee spread to Europe around 1600 and to the New World seven years later.
咖啡虽然先在衣索匹亚高原发现，首先耕种的却是公元1100年左右的阿拉伯人。他们同时也是第一个烘焙、烹煮咖啡的民族。于公元1475年，君士坦丁堡人就在全世界第一间咖啡馆里享用咖啡了。咖啡约于公元1600年传至欧洲，七年后再传入新大陆。
These days, it seems you can get a cup of coffee just about everywhere you go. Every year, coffee lovers consume more than 400 billion cups of one of the world’s biggest commodities – second only to oil.
现在，无论你身在何方，咖啡似乎都唾手可得。咖啡爱用者每年要喝掉四千亿杯的咖啡。咖啡俨然成为世界最大宗的民生必需品──仅次于油。
Vocabulary
单词发音
well-loved adj. 备受喜爱的
frisky [ˋfrɪskɪ] adj. 活跃的; 活泼的; 欢蹦乱跳的
disseminate [dɪˋsɛmə͵net] v. 散播；宣传
elixir [ɪˋlɪksɚ] n.【文】灵丹妙药; 不老药
brew [bru] n. 酿制饮料
Ethiopia [͵iθɪˋopɪə] n. 衣索比亚（东非国家）
Constantinople [ˌkɑnstæntəˈnopəl] n. 君士坦丁堡
commodity [kəˋmɑdətɪ] n. 商品；日用品
Sentence of the Day
The rest is history.
其他部份就如大家所知道的。
课文讲解
Jerry and Lisanne are shopping for coffee at the supermarket. 杰瑞和莉莎妮正在超市选购咖啡。
L: Any suggestions?
给点建议吧。
J: Anything but what we got last time. That stuff nearly sent me into spasms!
别买我们上次买的那种就好。那东西险些害我痉挛。
L: In that case, let’s go for arabica.
这样啊，那我们选阿拉比卡好了。
J: Arabica? I don’t see that anywhere.
阿拉比卡？没看过那个牌子啊。
L: It’s not a brand name, silly. It’s a species of coffee, and it has a low caffeine content.
傻瓜，那不是品牌的名字。那是咖啡的一种，它的咖啡因含量较低。
J: Never heard of it – and I’m a confirmed coffee freak.
没听过。我可是不折不扣的咖啡白痴。
L: You’d probably be more familiar with its subvarieties, like Brazilian.
你可以多了解一下咖啡有哪些种类，譬如巴西咖啡。
J: OK, so what was that ultra-stimulating stuff we were drinking before?
好吧，那请问我们之前喝的那种超刺激的是什么？
L: That was a variety of robusta, which is mostly used in specialty blends because of its high caffeine content and strong character.
那是罗巴斯塔的一种。它的咖啡因含量高、口味浓烈，大部分用于特殊调配。
J: No wonder I couldn’t sit still. So there are big differences between the two?
怪不得我会坐立难安。这样说来，妳刚提的那两种之间差别很大啰？
L: Even the beans look different. Arabica beans are greenish-blue and elongated, while Robusta beans are round and brownish-yellow.
连咖啡豆看起来都不一样呢。阿拉比卡的咖啡豆是长形蓝绿色的，罗巴斯塔则是圆形黄褐色的。
J: I assume that Arabica comes from Arabia, but where does robusta come from?
可以想象阿拉比卡该是源于阿拉伯，罗巴斯塔呢？
L: It was first discovered in the Congo more than a hundred years ago, but now you can find it wherever the climate is unsuitable for arabica.
百年前，它在刚果初现芳踪，但现在你可以在任何天候不宜种植阿拉比卡的地区看到罗巴斯塔。
J: I guess the name says it all – it’s a hardy species.
顾名思义──它是个韧性超强的品种吧。
L: Yes, and it’s more resistant to parasites.
没错，而且对寄生虫的抵抗力较强。
J: Well, that all may be in its favor, but I still prefer to get my fix without the jitters.
八成是因为它的味道，不过我还是想要那种不会让我心神不宁的咖啡。
－End
Vocabulary
单词发音
spasm [ˋspæzm] n. 痉挛，抽搐
arabica [ə'ræbɪkə] n. 阿拉伯咖啡
freak [frik] n.【俚】背离社会习俗的人; 【俚】狂热爱好者
stimulating [`stɪmjəˏletɪŋ] adj. 使人兴奋的
robusta 粗壮咖啡豆
elongated [ɪˋlɔŋgetɪd] adj.（极其）瘦长的
Congo [ˋkɑŋgo] n. 刚果（非洲中部的国家）
in one’s favor 对其有利 to its advantage
fix [fɪks] n. (维持身体或心理需要所需的)一个剂量; 状态
get one’s fix to get something that someone has been wanting or craving
jitter [ˋdʒɪtɚ] n. 紧张不安的状态
Sentence of the Day
It keeps me on my toes.
它使我战战兢兢。
keep someone on their toes: 使某人随时准备行动; 使某人保持警觉