自助餐的隱秘生活 - 6分鐘英語：英語精讀講義

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

bbclearningenglish.com 的《六分鐘英語》。

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

大家好，這裡是 BBC 英語教學的《六分鐘英語》。

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

你去過吃到飽的自助餐廳嗎，Sam？

You know, a meal in a restaurant

就是那種在餐廳裡用餐，

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

可以隨心所欲想吃多少就吃多少的地方。

Yes, I went to an Indian buffet once.

去過，有次我去吃了一家印度自助餐。

I didn't eat all day before the meal,

飯前我一整天都沒吃東西，

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

但也只吃完了三四盤。

Well, maybe five.

嗯，也許是五盤。

It sounds like your eyes were bigger than your belly, 慣用語

聽起來你是「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. 文法

這個短語用來形容一個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

在本期節目中，我們將討論自助餐，

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

這種提供多種不同美食的盛宴，食客想吃多少就吃多少，

or as much as their stomachs will allow.

或者說肚子能裝下多少就吃多少。

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

當然，我們還會學習一些新詞彙。

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

自助餐正變得越來越受歡迎，尤其是在中東和亞洲國家，

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

那裡食物種類繁多，意味著每個人都能找到自己喜歡的。

But feasts are big and boastful. 慣用語

但是這種盛宴既龐大又鋪張。

Usually, too much is cooked,

通常會烹飪過量的食物，

and buffets have been criticized for waste. 片語搭配

因此自助餐常常因浪費而受到批評。

We'll hear more soon,

稍後我們會聽到更多內容，

but first I have a question for you, Sam.

但首先我要問你一個問題，Sam。

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

「buffet」（自助餐）一詞源於法語中用來擺放食物的桌子的名稱。

But buffets themselves don't come from France.

但自助餐本身並非來自法國。

So, in which country did buffets begin? 文法

那麼，自助餐起源於哪個國家呢？

Was it A, the United States of America,

是 A、美國，

B, Sweden,

B、瑞典，

or C, China?

還是 C、中國？

Well, the US is famous for supersizing food, 用詞

嗯，美國以食物份量超大而聞名，

so I'll guess A, America.

所以我猜是 A，美國。

Okay, Sam.

好的，Sam。

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

我們將在節目稍後揭曉答案。

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

烹飪公司 Kitchen Cut 的老闆 John Wood 對自助餐非常了解。

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

他曾在杜拜的五星級卓美亞海灘飯店經營過一家擁有 1000 個座位的早餐自助餐廳。

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

下面 John 將分享他對人們吃自助餐時行為的觀察，

with BBC World Service program The Food Chain.

採訪來自 BBC 世界服務頻道的節目《食物鏈》。

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

不同的人對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

有些人認為這是一個絕佳的機會，每樣都嚐一點點，然後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, 片語搭配

而另一些人，你知道的，也許是不喜歡起身上下走動，

which is understandable, uh, from their table,

這可以理解，呃，離開他們的餐桌，

just want to pile it high. 片語搭配

就只想把食物堆得高高的。

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

而且人們，你知道的，他們想要物超所值。

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

所以，你知道，如果你為了吃一頓自助餐花上一兩百美元，

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

你就會把食物堆得高高的，並且盡可能拿最貴的東西，

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

你懂的，為了讓錢花得值。

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

John 說自助餐食客想要讓錢花得值（get their money's worth），

get good value for the money they spend,

就是讓他們花的錢獲得好的價值，

so they often pile up food on their plate.

所以他們經常在盤子裡把食物堆成山。

If you pile something up,

如果你堆積（pile up）某物，

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

你就是把大量東西聚集在一個地方，形成所謂的「一堆」（pile）。

But buffets are not just about eating until you explode. 慣用語

但自助餐不僅是為了吃到撐破肚皮。

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

它們也是向朋友炫耀的機會。

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

印度的婚禮辦得很隆重，通常都包括自助餐。

The richer the people getting married, 文法

結婚的人越富有，

the bigger the buffet.

自助餐的規模就越大。

Sometimes inviting as many as 5,000 guests. 文法

有時邀請的賓客多達 5000 人。

If each guest eats around six dishes,

如果每位客人吃大約六道菜，

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

我們談論的就是一場規模極其龐大的自助餐了。

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禮餐飲承辦商。

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

他擁有一家為特殊的社交場合提供餐飲的公司。

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

在這裡，他與 BBC 世界服務頻道《食物節目》的主持人 Ruth Alexander，

about organizing an Indian wedding buffet.

談論了關於組織印度婚禮自助餐的事情。

It's a very vicious circle, 慣用語

這是一個非常惡性的循環（vicious circle），

I think, right?

我覺得，對吧？

Everybody wants to overwhelm everybody around you. 用詞

每個人都想在氣勢上壓倒周圍的所有人。

Okay.

沒錯。

That's the aim.

那就是目的。

They are out to impress. 片語搭配

他們就是為了給人留下深刻印象。

They want to wow the guests, 用詞

他們想讓客人們驚嘆（wow），

knock their socks off. 慣用語

讓他們大吃一驚（knock their socks off）。

Knock their socks off.

大吃一驚。

They should just go back saying, 片語搭配

他們回去的時候應該會說，

I couldn't eat even half of it,

我連一半都沒吃完，

you know?

你懂吧？

Some people just come for eating.

有些人就是為了吃而來的。

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

他們甚至不關心這是誰的婚禮……

They know that who is the caterer,

他們知道誰是餐飲承辦商，

you know, oh, these guys are catering, 用詞

你知道，哦，是這些傢伙在做餐飲，

you know, oh, my god,

你知道，哦，天哪，

this is going to be great.

這肯定會很棒。

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

婚禮自助餐的設計旨在用其巨大的食物陳列讓客人們感到驚嘆和震撼。

They need to wow the guests,

他們需要讓客人驚嘆，

or knock their socks off,

或者「knock their socks off」，

an idiom meaning to amaze and impress someone.

這是一個習語，意思是讓某人感到驚嘆和印象深刻。

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

問題在於，無論一場自助餐多麼鋪張昂貴，

the next one has to be even more impressive. 文法

下一場都必須更加令人印象深刻。

Something Sandeep calls a vicious circle.

Sandeep 稱之為「vicious circle」（惡性循環）。

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

這是一種困難的處境，會導致產生新的問題，

which then make the original situation even worse.

進而使最初的情況變得更糟。

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

看來享受自助餐的秘訣是每樣都嘗試一點，

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

而不是把自己塞得飽飽的直到走不動路。

Although in the past, 表達脈絡

儘管在過去，

I think that was exactly the idea.

我認為這正是人們吃自助餐的想法。

Mm, okay.

嗯，好的。

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

到了揭曉我問題答案的時間了。

Where did the buffet originally come from?

自助餐最初來自哪裡？

I guessed it was from the United States.

我猜是來自美國。

Was I right?

我猜對了嗎？

That was the wrong answer,

恐怕那個答案是錯的，

I'm afraid, Sam. 語氣意圖

Sam。

In fact,

事實上，

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

自助餐被認為是中世紀時起源於瑞典的。

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

好了，讓我們回顧一下學過的詞彙，

starting with the expression eyes bigger than your belly,

首先是表達「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.

用來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」你的盤子，

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.

短語「to get your money's worth」的意思是讓你花的錢獲得良好的價值（物超所值）。

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

「A vicious circle」是一個成問題的局面，會導致產生新的問題，

which then make the first situation even worse.

然後讓最開始的情況變得更糟（惡性循環）。

The idiom to knock your socks off means to wow,

習語「to knock your socks off」的意思是讓人驚嘆，

amaze,

使人震驚，

or impress someone.

或者給某人留下深刻印象。

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

最後，「caterer」是指為特殊的社交場合提供餐飲的人或公司（餐飲承辦商）。

Once again,

再一次，

our 6 minutes are up. 片語搭配

我們的 6 分鐘時間到了。

Bye for now. 片語搭配

暫且再見。

Bye-bye.

拜拜。

6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

bbclearningenglish.com 的《六分鐘英語》。