午餐透露你的性格
What your lunch says about you
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English
大家好,欢迎收听六分钟英语,我是凯瑟琳。
the show that brings you an interesting topic, authentic listening practice and six items of incredibly useful vocabulary.
该节目会奉上有趣的话题,纯正的听力练习和单词,以及六个非常实用的单词。
I'm Dan…
我是丹。
And I'm Neil.
我是尼尔。
In this programme we’ll be discussing the lovely topic of lunch – and what our lunch choices say about us.
在今天的节目中我们将讨论关于午餐的有趣话题,以及午餐能够体现我们的什么特点。
So, Dan, what are you doing for lunch today?
丹,你今天午餐准备吃什么?
Ah Neil, are you asking me to join you?
尼尔,你在邀请我一起吃午餐吗?
I’d love to, thanks.
我很乐意的,谢谢。
There's this great little Vietnamese place we have to check out, right next to the office if you just…
这有一家越南菜餐馆,我们可以去看看,就在办公室旁边,如果你想……
Ah, actually – I was just asking to… open up today’s topic. Sorry.
额,事实上,我只是想引出今天的话题。不好意思。
You see, I’ve brought a sandwich.
你看,我已经带了一个三明治。
Oh, a sandwich. Again! How dull.
三明治。又是三明治!太无趣了。
Well, you’re not the only one – a survey from 2012 showed a third of Britons eat exactly the same thing for lunch – every day!
也不仅仅是你这样。2012年的一项调查显示三分之一的英国人每天午餐都吃一样的食物!
And yes, it’s mostly sandwiches.
没错,大多都是三明治。
I had a curry yesterday.
昨天我吃了咖喱。
Well, it’s almost lunchtime so we’d better get on with our question,
现在快午餐时间了,我们最好看看今天的问题。
which is: how long is the average lunch break in the UK?
在英国平均午餐时长是多久?
Is it:a) An hour and a half, b) 45 minutes, c) 25 minutes?
a) 一个半小时, b)45分钟,还是 c)25分钟?
Oh, I wish it was an hour and a half, but I’m pretty sure it must be c) 25 minutes.
我希望是一个半小时,但我很确定是c)25分钟。
Well, we’ll find out if you’re right… just before lunch!
午餐前,我们来看看你回答得是否正确。
All this talk of lunch is actually making me feel a bit peckish.
一直在谈论午餐,让我感觉有些饿了。
Peckish is a great word isn’t it – it’s a slang word for being a bit hungry.
Peckish是一个不错的词,不是吗?这是个俚语单词,指有点饿。
Feeling peckish, Dan?
感觉有点饿了,丹?
I am now. Now, about you and your sandwiches Neil.
是的。现在我们谈谈你和你的三明治。
Two slices of bread with filling might be the most popular British lunch choice, but it didn’t use to be that way.
两片面包中间加点馅料也许是如今英国人最喜爱的午餐选择,但过去并不是这样。
Listen to food writer Bee Wilson.
我们听听饮食作家比·威尔逊的看法。
Which adjective does she use to describe sandwiches?
她用了哪个形容词来描述三明治?
They were what you had in an emergency.
它们是你在紧急时可以食用的食物。
They were what you had on a long train journey.
它们是你在长途火车上可以享用的食物。
It was a kind of makeshift lunch when you couldn’t get anything better.
这是当你没有更好选择时的一种临时凑合的食物。
So – sandwiches had humble origins as makeshift meals.
所以三明治的出身很卑微,是作为临时凑合的食物。
Makeshift describes something temporary and low quality – a solution you create when you can't do anything better.
Makeshift是指临时的,低品质的东西,是指没有更好选择时的一种解决办法。
I can’t help feel this is all getting a little personal, Dan.
我禁不住想,这和个人有关系。
There's a sometimes very practical reason to eat a sandwich – like on a train.
有时候是有现实原因要吃三明治的,例如在火车上,
On a weekday in the office though, there’s no excuse.
但工作日在办公室的时候也是,这就没什么借口了吧。
If you worked as hard as I did, Dan – you’d only have time for a sandwich!
如果你和我一样努力工作,你也只有时间吃三明治。
Which is just what Bee Wilson was saying – we treat lunchtime as if it were an emergency.
这就是威尔逊刚刚说到的,我们对待午餐时间就像对待紧急事件一样。
It says something about our attitude to work and food in the UK.
这也说明了在英国,我们对待工作和食物的态度。
Next, let’s hear from philosopher Julian Baggini with his view on eating the same thing every day.
接下来,我们听听哲学家朱利安·巴吉尼关于每天吃相同食物的看法。
And let’s teach one more word first – utilitarian.
我们先学一个词:功利主义。
It describes something practical and useful, rather than attractive.
它描述一个实用但不具吸引力的事物。
What lunch says about us is that we’re still very much stuck in this kind of quite functional,
午餐透露出我们对待午餐仍然是关注于它的功能性,
you know, efficient, utilitarian attitude of how we should construct our daily lives;
对于我们构建个人生活时,抱着高效功利主义的态度。
and that for all our embrace of this great food culture and everything, we haven’t managed to make that an everyday thing
这也透露了我们拥护饮食文化,却并未将其作为日常事物,
– it remains something for the special occasions.
依旧将其看作是特殊场合才认真对待的事物。
So – he thinks we live in a world where we value being efficient – where we have a functional, utilitarian attitude to life.
他认为我们如今的世界重视高效,人们对待生活的态度是功能性、功利主义的。
Exactly, we're aware of a great food culture, we embrace this culture – but only for special occasions.
确实,我们了解饮食文化,也拥护这种文化,但仅仅是在特殊场合。
Yes – let’s look at that word embrace.
我们看看这个词embrace。
It normally means this… let me just…
通常情况下这是指……让我想想。
Oh Neil, I didn’t know you cared.
我不知道你居然介意这个。
Neil just hugged me, wrapped his arms around me, embraced me.
尼尔,拥抱我,将胳膊环绕我,拥抱我。
Just as we can embrace physical things and people – we can also embrace ideas.
我们可以拥抱实物和人,我们也可以拥护想法。
Here’s an idea I embrace, Neil.
有一个我支持的想法。
We should all embrace new foods.
我们应当接受所有新的食物。
Broaden our horizons.
拓宽眼界。
To broaden our horizons means to open our minds and experience new things.
拓宽眼界是指打开思想,体验新事物。
Let me broaden your horizons right now.
现在让我来拓宽一下你的眼界。
Experts from Cornell University say it leads to better team spirit if colleagues eat together.
康奈尔大学的专家表示如果同事们能一起用餐,会更好得激发团队精神。
OK, I get the picture. I should ditch my sandwich and eat with you.
我领会到了。我应当丢弃我的三明治,和你一起吃饭。
In the name of team spirit – that is – getting on well with team members – having a feeling of belonging.
团队精神是指和团队成员相处融洽,有归属感。
Finally. Vietnamese?
所以,一起吃越南菜?
Oh yes, but not before you tell me the answer to today’s question.
好的,但你得先告诉我今天问题的答案。
How long do Brits take for lunch?
英国人吃午餐平均多长时间?
Well the answer was c) 25 minutes.
答案是c) 25分钟。
That comes from a survey done by the BBC this year to find out about our modern dining habits.
这来自今年BBC的一项关于我们现代饮食习惯的调查。
25 minutes? It’s a crying shame, Dan.
只有25分钟?这真是奇耻大辱。
But before we have lunch ourselves, let’s run over the vocab one more time.
在我们吃午餐前,我们再次回顾下今天的单词。
First up we had peckish. It means hungry – just a little hungry.
首先我们提到peckish。它指饥饿的,有点饿。
I’m feeling rather peckish at the moment, you?
我现在感到很饿,你呢?
I think I’ve gone beyond peckish, Dan. Roll on lunch. Next?
我觉得我已经不是有点饿了。继续说吧,下一个是?
We had makeshift – which describes a temporary or low quality solution.
makeshift描述临时的,低品质的解决办法。
For example, last week my team’s goalkeeper was sick, so I had to replace him as a makeshift goalie.
例如,上周我们队的守门员病了,所以我不得不替代他作为临时守门员。
Or, another example – when I was a student I used the steel bin in my room as a makeshift drum.
另一个例子,我还是学生时,在家我用铁箱临时替代鼓。
I’m sure the neighbours loved that.
我相信你的邻居们很喜欢。
Now what about this word utilitarian?
现在我们谈谈功利主义的这个词。
In the context we used it, it means simple and functional, rather than beautiful.
在我们使用的语境中,它是指简单的,功能性的,但不美好。
Do you think it would be fair to describe your polo shirt as utilitarian?
你觉得用它来描述你的Polo衫怎么样呢?
I prefer classic and timeless. Please.
我还是喜欢说它很经典,不过时。
But enough of all this banter.
这只是无伤大雅的玩笑。
You know, I believe we should all just get along.
我认为我们应当好好相处。
Oh, are you going to hug me again? To embrace me?
你又要拥抱我了?要拥抱我吗?
Not this time, let’s stick with the metaphorical meaning – to accept a new belief or idea.
不是现在,我们说说它的比喻意,接受一种新信仰,新观点。
For example, I wasn’t sure about the new website design, but now I fully embrace it.
例如,我不确信新的网页设计很好,但我完全接受它。
Very nice. And I embrace your suggestion that colleagues should eat together.
非常好,我支持你所提的同事应当一起用餐的建议。
It looks like you’ve broadened your horizons.
看起来你已经拓宽了眼界。
Well, when I taught English in Spain, Japan, Poland and the Czech Republic, it really broadened my horizons and taught me about new ways of life.
当我在西班牙、日本、波兰和捷克共和国教英语时,那份经历真的拓宽了我的眼界,教会了我新的生活方式。
How about you?
你呢?
Yes, they say travel broadens the mind – it certainly broadened my horizons too.
他们说旅行会拓宽思想,也确实拓宽了我的眼界。
Even better – why don’t we go travelling together – with the whole Learning English team?
我们为什么不一起旅行呢,和我们所有的英语学习团队?
Yeah! That would be wonderful for team spirit –the good feeling of being together.
对!对团队精神的建设一定很有帮助!团队精神是指一起工作时的良好心情。
Maybe to Cambodia?
也许一起去柬埔寨?
It certainly would.
可能吧。
And that's the end of today's 6 Minute English.
今天的六分钟英语就到这里。
Please join us again soon, after our delicious lunch!
欢迎下次午饭后再次收听我们的节目!
And we are on social media too. Make sure to visit our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube pages.
我们也有社交媒体,记得访问我们的Twitter, Facebook, Instagram 和 YouTube。
Bye!
再见!