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Fancy a Cup? 想喝杯咖啡吗？

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Coffee is the world’s favorite drink. We love it so much that we drink 400 billion cups a year. Many of us depend on a hot “cuppa joe” in the morning to kick-start our day.

咖啡是全世界最受欢迎的饮料，受欢迎的程度到达每年要消耗四千亿杯的咖啡。许多人在每天早晨要喝一杯热腾腾的咖啡才能展开一天的生活。

Although coffee has long been prized for its stimulating properties, how we consume it has changed greatly over the centuries. In about 600 C.E., an Ethiopian farmer noted the unusual effect some small red berries had on his goats. Trying them himself, he became alert and wide-awake. Word about the berries speed quickly, and soon monks were eating them wrapped in animal fat to stay awake during long prayer sessions.

长久以来咖啡因为可以提神早已备受各方喜爱，不过人们用什么方法喝咖啡，在历经数世纪以来有很大改变。大约公元600年【注】时，一位衣索匹亚农夫注意到有些红色的小浆果对他的羊群别具效果。他亲自尝试了一下，发觉自己变得机警而敏锐。很快地一传十、十传百，不久后连僧侣也用动物油裹上这种小浆果来吃，以便在长时间的祈祷仪式里保持清醒。

By 1000 C.E., traders had introduced coffee to Arabia, where the beans inside the berry were boiled to make a simple drink known as qahwa (literally “that which prevents sleep”).

到了公元1000年，商人把咖啡传进了阿拉伯，在当地咖啡浆果里的豆子被煮沸，成为一种叫做「甘滑」的简单饮料（字面意思就是「让人睡不着」）。

In the 1200s, possibly by accident, the Turks discovered that roasting and grinding the beans to powder rendered a more delicious drink. They brewed it in large metal pots, producing a thick, dark liquid to which spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, and anise were added. Turkish coffee, then known as Arabian wine, was so popular it became law that wives could divorce husbands who failed to provide them with sufficient coffee!

13世纪中，或许出于偶然，土耳其人发现咖啡豆用火烤过并磨成粉，能变成更好喝的饮料。他用大型的金属锅把咖啡煮成浓稠的黑色液体，并在里面加上肉桂、豆蔻、和茴香等调味料。当时被称作阿拉伯酒的土耳其咖啡，大受欢迎，甚至有法律明文规定，如果先生无法提供足够的咖啡给太太喝，太太还可以诉请离婚呢！

【注】：说明年代的附加词，公元前B.C.(Before Christ)和公元后A.D.(Anno Domini)现在已经逐渐被公元前Before the Common Era (B.C.E.)和公元The Common Era (C.E.)所取代，特别是用在讨论非基督教文化时。

Vocabulary

单词发音

fancy [ˋfænsɪ] v.【口】喜爱，爱好；想要[+v-ing]

kick-start [ˋkɪk͵stɑrt] v. 启动; 促进

stimulating [`stɪmjəˏletɪŋ] adj. 使人振奋的; 使人兴奋的

Ethiopian [͵iθɪˋopɪən] adj. 衣索比亚（人）的

berry [ˋbɛrɪ] n.（葡萄，西红柿等）浆果

wide-awake [ˋwaɪdə͵wek] adj. 机警的；警觉的; 完全醒着的

render [ˋrɛndɚ] v. 使得，使成为; 给予，提供

brew [bru] v. 煮（咖啡），调制（饮料）

cinnamon [ˋsɪnəmən] n. 桂皮香料; 肉桂

cardamom [ˋkɑrdəməm] n.【植】小豆蔻；豆蔻果实（药用或作香料）；豆蔻类植物

anise [ˋænɪs] n.【植】大茴香

Sentence of the Day

Coffee kept them on the go.

咖啡让他们充满活力。

on the go  活跃, 忙碌

课文讲解

As coffee gained popularity in Europe in the late sixteenth century, some Christians sought to have it banned, believing it to be the Devil’s drink. They were so persuasive that in 1600, Pope Vincent IIIdecided to rid Christendom of coffee. Upon tasting it, however, he baptized it, declaring: “Coffee is so delicious it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it.”

16世纪末咖啡在欧洲极受欢迎，有些基督徒认为它是魔鬼的饮料，因而希望禁掉它。他们的鼓吹很具说服力，所以在1600年教皇文生三世，决定整个基督教世界将禁用咖啡。不过事实却是教皇自己品尝了一下，结果洗刷掉咖啡的罪名，并向各界宣示：这么好喝的咖啡只给异教徒享用太可惜了。

In 1652, coffee houses were introduced in England and soon become known as “penny universities,” where, for a penny, one could receive a coffee and endless hours of learned conversation. Likewise, coffee houses had already been known in Turkey for centuries as “school of wisdom.”

在1652年时，咖啡屋被介绍到英国，而且很快地被称作「一分钱大学」，因为在咖啡屋只需花一分钱买杯咖啡，就可以获得无数小时与学者座谈的机会。同样情况在土耳其，咖啡屋几世纪以来已经被称作「智慧殿堂」。

By the mid-eighteenth century, coffee was sufficiently affordable that it had spread all over the world. It even replaced beer as New York City’s favorite breakfast drink!

至18世纪中叶，咖啡已成为充足且价廉的饮料，传遍全球，它甚至取代了啤酒，成为纽约市民早餐最受欢迎的饮料！

Coffee brewing got much more sophisticated throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with devices such as the plunger, the vacuum filter, and the drip filter coming into common use. In 1946, Achilles Gaggia of Italy perfected that espresso machine, the most advanced of coffee brewing tool. Coffee is now light years more sophisticated than chewing berries wrapped in animal fat – and infinitely more delectable.

从19世纪到20世纪初，因为活塞杆、真空滤器、滴槽滤网等咖啡煮器的问世和普及，煮咖啡的方式变得愈来愈复杂。1946年意大利人阿基利斯．盖吉亚将煮浓缩咖啡的机器改良成功，成为目前最进步的煮咖啡机器。比起当年仅仅是咀嚼裹着动物油脂的咖啡浆果，现在喝咖啡的学问已是不可同日而语了，而且更加香醇美味。

Vocabulary

单词发音

persuasive [pɚˋswesɪv] adj. 有说服力的

Pope [pop] n.（常大写）（罗马天主教）教皇

Christendom [ˋkrɪsndəm] n.【过时】〔全世界所有的〕基督教徒; 基督教国家

baptize [bæpˋtaɪz] v. 给……施浸礼（或洗礼）

pity [ˋpɪtɪ] n. 可惜的事，憾事

infidel [ˋɪnfəd!] n. 无宗教信仰的人，不信教的人

sophisticated [səˋfɪstɪ͵ketɪd] adj. 复杂的，精密的，高度发展的

plunger [ˋplʌndʒɚ] n.【术语】〔机器的〕活塞﹐ 柱塞

perfect [ˋpɝfɪkt] v. 使完善；使完备；使完美

espresso [ɛsˋprɛso] n.（用蒸汽加压煮出的）浓咖啡

light years【非正式】很长的时间 Informal A long way.

infinitely [ˋɪnfənɪtlɪ] adv. 无限地，无穷地；极其

delectable [dɪˋlɛktəb!] adj. 好吃的，甘美的

Sentence of the Day

If you can't beat'em, join'em.

无力胜之则从之。

课文讲解

Jasmine is having coffee at Paul’s place:  贾丝敏在保罗的住处喝咖啡：

J: This coffee has such a smooth texture! Where’d you get it?

这咖啡真是滑润香醇！你在那儿买的？

P: It’s organic coffee from East Timor. Since the country’s independence from Indonesia, coffee has become a major export.

这是从东帝汶来的有机咖啡。自从它脱离印度尼西亚独立建国以后，咖啡就成为主要出口商品了。

J: I heard that, in Indonesia, consumer demand for coffee has led to the clearing of indigenous rainforests to make room for sun-grown coffee plants.

我有耳闻，在印度尼西亚，因为买咖啡的需求强烈，结果就砍伐原始雨林，以取得更多土地种植接受日照的咖啡。

P: Sun-grown? Isn’t coffee grown in the shade?

日照咖啡？种植咖啡不是有屏蔽的吗？

J: Traditionally … but sun-grown coffee has a higher yield, so many farmers grow it to compensate for record low coffee prices.

传统式是有屏蔽…，但是接受日照的咖啡产量较大，所以很多种植户改种日照咖啡，以弥补目前咖啡跌落有史以来最低价格所蒙受的损失。

P: Well, this coffee comes with a “Fair Trade” seal certifying that its sale genuinely gives growers the chance at a better life.

购买贴有「公平交易」卷标的咖啡，可确保为种植户带来改善他们生活的机会。

J: At what cost? While endangered tigers and rhinos are losing their habitats, we get a tastier cup of coffee and the false belief that we’re helping.

代价是什么呢？我相信喝到一杯更美味的咖啡，并错误地相信我们在帮助他人，而老虎和犀牛这些濒临绝种的动物却不断地失去牠们的栖息地。

P: Hold on. There’s nothing false about it. Buying fair trade coffee ensures sustainable agriculture and reasonable profits for growers.

慢点，这可不是什么虚假信念。购买有公平交易标志的咖啡，可以确保农业维持一定水平，并且让种植户享受合理利润。

J: It’s hard to see how it’ll work as long as the world’s greatest coffee consumer refuses to participate in the U.N.’s coffee regulatory body, which guarantees sustainable prices for growers.

联合国的咖啡价格调节机构确保种植户得到合理价格，只要美国这个全世界第一大咖啡消耗国不参加这个组织，很难想象这套制度要怎么运作。

P: I know what you mean. If the U.S. would rejoin the International Coffee Organization, coffee mightn’t leave such a bitter taste in our mouths.

我懂妳的意思。如果美国能再加入国际咖啡组织，我们嘴里的咖啡就不会留下那么重的苦涩味了。

－by Eddie Cameron

Vocabulary

单词发音

texture [ˋtɛkstʃɚ] n. 质地; (尤指食品、土壤的)结构

organic [ɔrˋgænɪk] adj.【化】有机的

clearing [ˋklɪrɪŋ] n. 腾出地方; 清除；扫除

indigenous [ɪnˋdɪdʒɪnəs] adj.〔动﹑植物等〕土生土长的; 本地的

yield [jild] n. 产量；收获量；收益，利润

seal [sil] n. 封条；（装饰用的）贴纸

certify [ˋsɝtə͵faɪ] v. 担保；保证; 证明，证实

habitat [ˋhæbə͵tæt] n.（动物的）栖息地；（植物的）产地

regulatory [ˋrɛgjələ͵torɪ] adj.【正式】调整的; 管理的﹐控制的

Sentence of the Day

They're waking up and smelling the coffee.

他们觉醒了

smell the coffee  清醒过来，认识到事物的本质