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The World’s First and Freshest Fast Food 新鲜快餐叫我第一名

課文朗讀

課文中英文講解

繁體中文譯本

Surprisingly, Japan’s most famous food – sushi– doesn’t originally come from Japan. Japan borrowed the idea from China, where people were eating vinegar rice and raw fish by 1280. Sushi as we know it was invented in the 1820’s, when an imaginative Tokyo chef named Hanaya Yohei began serving raw fish, or sashimi, with balls of vinegar rice. Before his invention, sushi could take months to prepare because the fish had to be fermented in vinegar. By contrast, Yohei’s sushi, called nigiri sushi, was fresh, quick to make, and could be sold from small street stalls, making it perfect for the busy Tokyo lifestyle.

令人惊讶的是，日本最有名的食物—寿司—并不是源自于日本，而是像中国取经的，中国在公元1280年以前就开始吃醋泡饭以及生鱼片。我们知道，寿司是在公元1820年代发明的。当时一位很有想象力的东京大厨华屋与兵卫，开始供应一种生鱼片与醋饭团混在一起的料理。在他发明以前，可能要花上几个月的时间准备寿司，因为必须得将鱼泡醋发酵。相较之下，兵卫的寿司(又称为握寿司)既新鲜又好做，而且在小小的路边摊就能卖，对于东京忙碌的生活方式来说，真的是再完美不过了。

Sushi was soon everywhere in Japan’s cities. It was served during breaks at traditional kabuki performances, and it could be found in every factory worker’s lunchbox. Now people around the world are discovering this tasty dish that, unlike most fast food, is actually healthy.

日本各地城市很快就有了寿司。在传统歌舞伎的中场休息时会供应寿司，而每个工厂工人的午餐盒里也有寿司。现今世界各地的人们开始发现这道美味佳肴和大部分的快餐不一样，它其实是有益健康的。

Sushi is low in fat, high in protein, and loaded with omega-3 fatty acid, which is said to make you smarter. Furthermore, a typical serving of 8 to 10 pieces of sushi only has about half the calories of a McDonald’s Big Mac.

寿司低脂、高蛋白，又富含omega-3脂肪酸，据说这种脂肪酸可以使人变聪明。此外，一份八到十个典型的寿司内含的卡路里大概只有一个麦当劳麦香堡的一半。

With people around the world increasingly worried about a healthy diet, sushi restaurants have exploded in popularity. In almost every big city across Europe and North America, a good sushi restaurant can be found. Now that sushi is a globally-known food, it’s being made with a range of new ingredients like avocados, cream cheese, and even mangoes. With so many people enjoying sushi, maybe there will be another innovation in sushi like the one Hanaya Yohei started nearly 200 years ago.

因为全世界的人们越来越关切健康饮食，寿司餐厅人气爆增。在欧洲和北美洲，几乎每一个大城市里都找得到好的寿司餐厅。既然寿司已经是全球知名的食物，它也有相当多的新食材，包括酪梨、奶油奶酪，甚至芒果口味的寿司。有这么多人喜爱寿司，说不定像华屋与兵卫在将近两百年前首创的寿司一样，又会有另一波寿司革命出现。

Vocabulary

vinegar [ˋvɪnɪgɚ] n. 醋

raw [rɔ] adj. 生的

ferment [fɝˋmɛnt] v. 发酵

by contrast 相比之下

stall [stɔl] n. 摊位

be loaded with 装有,载有; 充满, 富含

ingredient [ɪnˋgridɪənt] n.（烹调的）原料

More Information

sashimi [sɑˋʃimɪ] n.（日本料理之）生鱼片

nigiri sushi 握寿司

kabuki [kɑˋbuki] n. 歌舞伎

omega-3 fatty acid  omega-3脂肪酸

explode [ɪkˋsplod] v. 激增，迅速扩大

avocado [͵ævəˋkɑdo] n. 鳄梨；鳄梨树

mango [ˋmæŋgo] n. 芒果

Reading Questions

1. What is the main idea of the article?

A. Although sushi was found all over Japan, factory workers did not enjoy having it for lunch.

B. Sushi has grown in popularity around the world because it’s a convenient and healthy food.

C. Raw fish was the only ingredient of sushi, but now other things are used as well.

D. Despite its tasty flavor, sushi isn’t as popular as other kinds of fast foods.

2. Why do people around the world think sushi is a healthy food?

A. It does not contain any protein.

B. A typical serving of sushi has twice the calories of a Big Mac.

C. One of the nutrients, omega-3 fatty acid, might make one smarter.

D. Sushi is rich in fat.

3. What does the word “exploded” mean in the fourth paragraph?

A. increased quickly

B. proved untrue

C. were destroyed

D. showed emotion

4. Which of the following statement is NOT true about the origin of sushi?

A. It became a popular food in Japan because it suited the busy lifestyle of Japan.

B. Yohei’s sushi took months to prepare because the fish had to be fermented.

C. The idea of eating raw fish with rice originally came from China, not from Japan.

D. It was in the 1820’s that a Tokyo chef invented nigiri sushi.

課文中英文講解

With sushi bars popping up everywhere, it is easy to forget that hundreds of years have been spent perfecting the art of preparing and eating sushi. Of course, ___1___ the Japanese do not follow all of the old traditions, but it is still important to understand and respect them.

随着寿司吧如雨后春笋般开幕，我们很容易忘记这门制作和品尝寿司的艺术是花了数百年的时间才臻至完美。当然，即便是日本人都不见得遵循所以得古老传统，但是了解及尊重这些传统仍十分重要。

Japanese culture has a very deep respect for nature. One way they show this respect is__2___ arranging food to enhance its natural beauty. Similarly, a sushi chef takes great___3___ the art of preparing sushi. They are considered skilled artists, and should be treated as such. For example, it is insulting to order a drink from a sushi chef or pay him money directly. An even___4___insult is to ask for a knife. This implies that the chef has not cut the sushi properly and it is too___5___.

日本文化对自然有很深的敬意。他们表达这种敬意的方法之一乃是藉由摆置食物来提升它的自然美。同样地，寿司师傅视做寿司为一门引以为荣的艺术。他们被视为技术熟练地艺术家，而且也应该被如此看待。举例来说，直接向寿司师傅点饮料，或是直接付钱给他，是很污辱对方的。比以上更糟的侮辱是向寿司师傅要一把刀子，这表示师傅切生鱼片的刀工不好，而且生鱼片肉质太老。

There are also many faux pas that could insult fellow___6___ at a sushi restaurant. Food should not be passed back and forth with chopsticks because it could bring bad luck. Also, it’s considered crude to bite into something and then put it back into your plate. ___7___, nobody should smoke in a sushi bar. It insults the chef and spoils the taste for other diners, and that delicate taste is___8___sushi-lovers crave. You’ll see why after a master chef serves up some freshly sliced sushi for you.

还有很多失礼的行为可能会冒犯到在同一家寿司餐厅用餐的客人。食物不应该用筷子夹来夹去，因为这可能厄运。还有，食物咬了后再放回盘子里是很粗鲁的。最后，寿司吧里是全面禁烟的。抽烟不但侮辱了师傅，而且还会破坏了其他客人要尝的味道，那是一种所以寿司饕客都为之疯狂的美味。等到一位大师傅为你献上一些现切的寿司之后，你就会明白个中道理了。

－By Charles Yonts

Vocabulary

perfect [ˋpɝfɪkt] v. 使完美

has respect for something 尊重,敬重..

enhance [ɪnˋhæns] v. 提高，增加

insult [ɪnˋsʌlt] v. 侮辱，羞辱

imply [ɪmˋplaɪ] v. 暗指；暗示

back and forth 来来回回地

spoil [spɔɪl] v. 损坏；糟蹋

delicate [ˋdɛləkət] adj. 鲜美的；清淡可口的

More Information

faux pas [fo pɑ]【法】失礼

crude [krud] adj. 粗野的，没教养的

crave [krev] v. 渴望获得

slice [slaɪs] v. 切片

Japan Sukiyabashi Jiro 3-Star Sushi

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