方便面是世界上最成功的工業(yè)化食品之一。這種食品為什么如此受人歡迎？它是如何被發(fā)明的？又是什么讓它火遍全球，成為了既省時(shí)又省錢的首選方便食品？本期節(jié)目討論方便面的前世今生。

詞匯：food 食物

What do a student in China, an office worker in the UK and an astronaut in space all have in common? They all eat instant noodles. And they're not alone – over 100 billion?servings?of instant noodles are?consumed?globally each year, making them one of the world's most successful?industrial foods. But how did this happen?

中國的學(xué)生、英國的上班族和太空中的宇航員有什么共同之處?他們都吃方便面。他們并不孤單——全球每年消費(fèi)超過1000億份方便面，使其成為世界上最成功的工業(yè)食品之一。但這是怎么發(fā)生的呢?

Put simply, they're cheap to produce and cheap to buy, which was exactly what their?creator?intended. Momofuku Ando, a Japanese entrepreneur, spent a year perfecting the recipe just after the Second World War. He wanted to make something similar to traditional Japanese ramen noodles, while using the?wheat flour?given to Japan as?food aid?by the US government. His?creation?was instantly popular, playing a part in Japan's post-war?economic rise. Even in the year 2000 – according to a poll by the Fuji Research Institute – instant noodles were voted Japan's most successful?invention, ahead of high-speed trains, laptops and karaoke.

簡而言之，它們生產(chǎn)和購買都很便宜，這正是它們的創(chuàng)造者所希望的。日本企業(yè)家安藤百福(Momofuku Ando)在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)后花了一年時(shí)間完善這一配方。他想用美國政府作為糧食援助給日本的小麥粉，制作類似日本傳統(tǒng)拉面的東西。他的作品立即受到歡迎，對日本戰(zhàn)后的經(jīng)濟(jì)崛起起到了一定作用。早在2000年，根據(jù)富士研究所的一項(xiàng)民意調(diào)查，方便面就被評為日本最成功的發(fā)明，超過了高速列車、筆記本電腦和卡拉ok。

But Japanese people are not alone in their?devotion?to?instant noodles. According to the World's Instant Noodles Association, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and India – in that order – all consumed more instant noodles than Japan in 2021. Instant noodles' popularity abroad is in part due to how easy they are to?adapt?to local?tastes. In Thailand, for example, you can get?green curry flavour, while in Mexico the noodles are?garnished?with?lime and?salsa. And it seems that?consumers?have grown to expect?innovation. Nissin, the food company founded by Ando,?launches?over 300 products yearly, just in Japan, according to employee Kasura Suzuki.

但并非只有日本人熱愛方便面。根據(jù)世界方便面協(xié)會的數(shù)據(jù)，2021年，中國、印度尼西亞、越南和印度的方便面消費(fèi)量都超過了日本。方便面在國外很受歡迎，部分原因是它們很容易適應(yīng)當(dāng)?shù)厝说目谖丁＠?，在泰國，你可以吃到綠咖喱味的面條，而在墨西哥，你可以用酸橙和莎莎醬來裝飾面條。而且消費(fèi)者似乎越來越期待創(chuàng)新。安藤創(chuàng)立的日清食品公司每年僅在日本就推出300多種產(chǎn)品，員工鈴木Kasura Suzuki說。

Instant noodles have their critics, too. Their rise in popularity has?come at?an environmental?cost?– they're made with?palm oil, contributing to deforestation, and their packaging is plastic. And while they are a hot, tasty and?filling?meal, instant noodles don't have much?nutritional value, and include high levels of salt and fat. Nevertheless, instant noodles are undoubtedly?lifesavers?in emergency or extreme situations.

方便面也有批評者。它們的流行是以環(huán)境為代價(jià)的——它們是用棕櫚油制成的，導(dǎo)致森林砍伐，它們的包裝是塑料的。雖然方便面是一種熱、美味、飽腹的食物，但它沒有太多的營養(yǎng)價(jià)值，而且鹽和脂肪含量很高。然而，方便面無疑是緊急或極端情況下的救星。

More than 60 years after their invention, instant noodles have become the?default?food for anyone short on money, time, or even a kitchen.

在方便面被發(fā)明60多年后，它已經(jīng)成為任何缺錢、沒時(shí)間、甚至沒廚房的人的默認(rèn)食物。

詞匯表

serving （供一人食用的）一份
consume （大量地）吃，吃掉
industrial foods 工業(yè)化食品，經(jīng)大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)和加工制成的食品
creator 發(fā)明者
wheat flour 小麥粉
food aid 食品援助
creation 創(chuàng)造物
economic rise 經(jīng)濟(jì)增長
invention 發(fā)明
devotion to 對…的熱愛、熱衷
adapt 改變以適應(yīng)
taste (n) 口味
green curry flavour 青咖喱口味
garnish with 在（食物）上加（飾菜）
salsa 薩爾薩辣醬（洋蔥、番茄和辣椒制成的辣味調(diào)汁）
consumer 消費(fèi)者
innovation 創(chuàng)新
launch 推出
come at a cost 有代價(jià)的
palm oil 棕櫚油
filling 容易填飽肚子的
nutritional value 營養(yǎng)價(jià)值
lifesaver 救星，能救急的事物
default 首選，默認(rèn)的選擇

測驗(yàn)與練習(xí)

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. How many servings of instant noodles are eaten around the world each year?

2. True or False??The creator of instant noodles wanted to make them cheap.

3. Which country ate the most instant noodles in 2021?

4. What are two criticisms made of instant noodles?

5. Are instant noodles useful in an emergency?

2.?選擇意思恰當(dāng)?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. The recipe makes enough for six _______.

tastes? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? wheat flours? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?food aids? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?servings

2. She's an excellent doctor. Her _______ her patients is clear for all to see.

food aid? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?devotion to? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?due to? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? innovation

3. Remember to _______ the soup _______ herbs and chilli before eating.

nutritional value? ? ? ? ? ? devotion to? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?garnish with? ? ? ? ? ? ? founded by? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??

4. Always carry a battery pack with you. If your mobile phone dies, it can be a _______.

innovation? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?critic? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?lifesaver? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? default

5. For many people in the UK, black tea is the _______ hot drink.

filling? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?currency? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?default? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?trade

答案

1.?閱讀課文并回答問題。?

1. How many servings of instant noodles are eaten around the world yearly?
Over 100 billion servings of instant noodles are consumed globally each year.

2. True or False??The creator of instant noodles wanted to make them cheap.
True. Momofuku Ando intended to make a product that was cheap to produce and cheap to buy.

3. Which country ate the most instant noodles in 2021?
According to the World's Instant Noodles Association, China consumed the most instant noodles in 2021.

4. What are two criticisms made of instant noodles?
Instant noodles production has negative consequences for the environment, and instant noodles are not very nutritious.

5. Are instant noodles useful in an emergency?
Yes, they can be lifesavers.

2.?選擇意思恰當(dāng)?shù)膯卧~或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. The recipe makes enough for six?servings.

2. She's an excellent doctor. Her?devotion?to?her patients is clear for all to see.

3. Remember to?garnish?the soup?with?herbs and chilli before eating.

4. Always carry a battery pack with you. If your mobile phone dies, it can be a?lifesaver.

5. For many people in the UK, black tea is the?default?hot drink.

文章來源BBC，侵權(quán)刪，本文僅用于英語學(xué)習(xí)。