自助餐的隐秘生活 - 6分钟英语：英语精读讲义

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

bbclearningenglish.com 的《六分钟英语》。

Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

大家好，这里是 BBC 英语教学的《六分钟英语》。

I'm Neil.

我是 Neil。

And I'm Sam.

我是 Sam。

Have you ever been to an all-you-can-eat buffet, Sam? 講解

你去过自助餐厅吗，Sam？

You know, a meal in a restaurant

就是那种在餐厅里用餐，

where you can eat as much food as you like. 語法

可以随心所欲想吃多少就吃多少的地方。

Yes, I went to an Indian buffet once.

去过，有次我去吃了一家印度自助餐。

I didn't eat all day before the meal,

饭前我一整天都没吃东西，

but I only managed to finish three or four plates. 短語搭配

但也只吃完了三四盘。

Well, maybe five.

嗯，也许是五盘。

It sounds like your eyes were bigger than your belly, 習語

听起来你是“眼大肚子小”（eyes bigger than your belly），

or stomach.

或者是“eyes bigger than your stomach”。

A phrase describing someone who has taken more food than they can eat. 語法

这个短语用来形容一个人拿的食物超出了自己的食量。

In this program, we'll be discussing buffets, 表達脈絡

在本期节目中，我们将讨论自助餐，

a feast of many different food dishes where diners are allowed to eat as much as they want, 講解

这种提供多种不同美食的盛宴，食客想吃多少就吃多少，

or as much as their stomachs will allow.

或者说肚子能装下多少就吃多少。

And of course, we'll be learning some new vocabulary as well.

当然，我们还会学习一些新词汇。

The popularity of buffets is booming, especially in Middle Eastern and Asian countries 用詞

自助餐正变得越来越受欢迎，尤其是在中东和亚洲国家，

where the variety of foods means there's something for everyone. 短語搭配

那里食物种类繁多，意味着每个人都能找到自己喜欢的。

But feasts are big and boastful. 習語

但是这种盛宴既庞大又铺张。

Usually, too much is cooked,

通常会烹饪过量的食物，

and buffets have been criticized for waste. 短語搭配

因此自助餐常常因浪费而受到批评。

We'll hear more soon,

稍后我们会听到更多内容，

but first I have a question for you, Sam.

但首先我要问你一个问题，Sam。

The word buffet originated from the French name for the table on which food was served. 講解

“buffet”（自助餐）一词源于法语中用来摆放食物的桌子的名称。

But buffets themselves don't come from France.

但自助餐本身并非来自法国。

So, in which country did buffets begin? 語法

那么，自助餐起源于哪个国家呢？

Was it A, the United States of America,

是 A、美国，

B, Sweden,

B、瑞典，

or C, China?

还是 C、中国？

Well, the US is famous for supersizing food, 用詞

嗯，美国以食物份量超大而闻名，

so I'll guess A, America.

所以我猜是 A，美国。

Okay, Sam.

好的，Sam。

We'll find out the answer later in the program. 短語動詞

我们将在节目稍后揭晓答案。

John Wood, owner of cooking company Kitchen Cut, knows a lot about buffets.

烹饪公司 Kitchen Cut 的老板 John Wood 对自助餐非常了解。

He used to run a 1,000 seat breakfast buffet at the five-star Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai. 講解

他曾在迪拜的五星级卓美亚海滩酒店经营过一家拥有 1000 个座位的早餐自助餐厅。

Here John shares his observations on human buffet behavior 表達脈絡

下面 John 将分享他对人们吃自助餐时行为的观察，

with BBC World Service program The Food Chain.

采访来自 BBC 世界服务频道的节目《食物链》。

There are different people that treat buffets in different ways. 用詞

不同的人对待自助餐的方式也不同。

Some people think this is a great opportunity to try little bits and lots of everything and come back as many times as I like. 講解

有些人认为这是一个绝佳的机会，每样都尝一点点，然后想拿多少次就拿多少次。

And other people just, you know, whether they don't like getting up and down, 短語搭配

而另一些人，你知道的，也许是不喜欢起身上下走动，

which is understandable, uh, from their table,

这可以理解，呃，离开他们的餐桌，

just want to pile it high. 短語搭配

就只想把食物堆得高高的。

And people, you know, they want to get value for money. 短語搭配

而且人们，你知道的，他们想要物有所值。

So, you know, if you're paying, you know, $100, $200 a head for a buffet, 用詞

所以，你知道，如果你为了吃一顿自助餐花上一两百美元，

you're going to pile it up high and take the most expensive things you can, 短語動詞

你就会把食物堆得高高的，并且尽可能拿最贵的东西，

you know, and get your money's worth. 短語搭配

你懂的，为了让钱花得值。

John says buffet diners want to get their money's worth,

John 说自助餐食客想要让钱花得值（get their money's worth），

get good value for the money they spend,

就是让他们花的钱获得好的价值，

so they often pile up food on their plate.

所以他们经常在盘子里把食物堆成山。

If you pile something up,

如果你堆积（pile up）某物，

you gather a large amount of it into one place to build what's called a pile.

你就是把大量东西聚集在一个地方，形成所谓的“一堆”（pile）。

But buffets are not just about eating until you explode. 習語

但自助餐不仅是为了吃到撑破肚皮。

They're also an opportunity to show off to your friends. 短語動詞

它们也是向朋友炫耀的机会。

Weddings are big in India and usually include a buffet. 文化背景

印度的婚礼办得很隆重，通常都包括自助餐。

The richer the people getting married, 語法

结婚的人越富有，

the bigger the buffet.

自助餐的规模就越大。

Sometimes inviting as many as 5,000 guests. 語法

有时邀请的宾客多达 5000 人。

If each guest eats around six dishes,

如果每位客人吃大约六道菜，

we're talking about a seriously big buffet. 表達脈絡

我们谈论的就是一场规模极其庞大的自助餐了。

Sandeep Sreedharan is a wedding caterer in Goa in South India. 用詞

Sandeep Sreedharan 是印度南部果阿的一名婚礼餐饮承办商。

He owns a company which provides the food and drink for special social occasions. 用詞

他拥有一家为特殊的社交场合提供餐饮的公司。

Here he talks with Ruth Alexander, presenter of BBC World Service The Food Program,

在这里，他与 BBC 世界服务频道《食物节目》的主持人 Ruth Alexander，

about organizing an Indian wedding buffet.

谈论了关于组织印度婚礼自助餐的事情。

It's a very vicious circle, 習語

这是一个非常恶性的循环（vicious circle），

I think, right?

我觉得，对吧？

Everybody wants to overwhelm everybody around you. 用詞

每个人都想在气势上压倒周围的所有人。

Okay.

没错。

That's the aim.

那就是目的。

They are out to impress. 短語搭配

他们就是为了给人留下深刻印象。

They want to wow the guests, 用詞

他们想让客人们惊叹（wow），

knock their socks off. 習語

让他们大吃一惊（knock their socks off）。

Knock their socks off.

大吃一惊。

They should just go back saying, 短語搭配

他们回去的时候应该会说，

I couldn't eat even half of it,

我连一半都没吃完，

you know?

你懂吧？

Some people just come for eating.

有些人就是为了吃而来的。

They don't even worry about whose wedding it is... 語氣意圖

他们甚至不关心这是谁的婚礼……

They know that who is the caterer,

他们知道谁是餐饮承办商，

you know, oh, these guys are catering, 用詞

你知道，哦，是这些家伙在做餐饮，

you know, oh, my god,

你知道，哦，天哪，

this is going to be great.

这肯定会很棒。

Wedding buffets are designed to amaze and overwhelm the guests with their huge displays of food. 講解

婚礼自助餐的设计旨在用其巨大的食物陈列让客人们感到惊叹和震撼。

They need to wow the guests,

他们需要让客人惊叹，

or knock their socks off,

或者“knock their socks off”，

an idiom meaning to amaze and impress someone.

这是一个习语，意思是让某人感到惊叹和印象深刻。

The problem is that no matter how extravagant and expensive one buffet is, 語法

问题在于，无论一场自助餐多么铺张昂贵，

the next one has to be even more impressive. 語法

下一场都必须更加令人印象深刻。

Something Sandeep calls a vicious circle.

Sandeep 称之为“vicious circle”（恶性循环）。

A difficult situation which has the effect of creating new problems, 短語搭配

这是一种困难的处境，会导致产生新的问题，

which then make the original situation even worse.

进而使最初的情况变得更糟。

It seems the secret to enjoying a buffet is trying a little bit of everything 語法

看来享受自助餐的秘诀是每样都尝试一点，

without stuffing yourself until you can't move. 短語搭配

而不是把自己塞得饱饱的直到走不动路。

Although in the past, 表達脈絡

尽管在过去，

I think that was exactly the idea.

我认为这正是人们吃自助餐的想法。

Mm, okay.

嗯，好的。

It's time to reveal the answer to my question. 短語搭配

到了揭晓我问题答案的时间了。

Where did the buffet originally come from?

自助餐最初来自哪里？

I guessed it was from the United States.

我猜是来自美国。

Was I right?

我猜对了吗？

That was the wrong answer,

恐怕那个答案是错的，

I'm afraid, Sam. 語氣意圖

Sam。

In fact,

事实上，

buffets are thought to have come from Sweden in the Middle Ages. 講解

自助餐被认为是中世纪时起源于瑞典的。

Okay, let' recap the vocabulary we've learned,

好了，让我们回顾一下学过的词汇，

starting with the expression eyes bigger than your belly,

首先是表达“eyes bigger than your belly”，

or eyes bigger than your stomach,

或者是“eyes bigger than your stomach”，

used when someone has taken more food than they can eat.

用来形容某人拿的食物超出了自己的食量（眼大肚子小）。

If you pile up your plate,

如果你“pile up”你的盘子，

you gather a large quantity of food together into a pile.

就是把大量食物聚集在一起堆成一座山。

The phrase to get your money's worth means to get good value for the money you have spent.

短语“to get your money's worth”的意思是让你花的钱获得良好的价值（物有所值）。

A vicious circle is a problematic situation having the effect of creating new problems,

“A vicious circle”是一个成问题的局面，会导致产生新的问题，

which then make the first situation even worse.

然后让最开始的情况变得更糟（恶性循环）。

The idiom to knock your socks off means to wow,

习语“to knock your socks off”的意思是让人惊叹，

amaze,

使人震惊，

or impress someone.

或者给某人留下深刻印象。

And finally, a caterer is a person or company which provides food and drink for special social occasions.

最后，“caterer”是指为特殊的社交场合提供餐饮的人或公司（餐饮承办商）。

Once again,

再一次，

our 6 minutes are up. 短語搭配

我们的 6 分钟时间到了。

Bye for now. 短語搭配

暂且再见。

Bye-bye.

拜拜。

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

bbclearningenglish.com 的《六分钟英语》。