The story of chocolate begins with the discovery of America. Until1492, the Old World knew nothing at all about the delicious and stimulatingflavor that was to become the favorite of millions.
The court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella got its first look atthe principal ingredient of chocolate when Columbus returned in triumph fromAmerica and laid before the Spanish throne a treasure trove of many strange andwonderful things.
Among these were a few dark brown beans that looked likealmonds and seemed most unpromising. They were cocoa beans — today’ s source ofall our chocolate and cocoa.
The King and Queen never dreamed how important cocoa beans could be,and it remained for Hernando Cortez — the great Spanishexplorer, to grasp the commercial possibilities of the new world offerings.
1492年 ,哥伦布从 美洲凯旋归 来,在西班牙君主面前 展示他带回 的令 人惊奇 的财宝 ,费迪南德 国王 和伊莎贝拉女皇自此第一次见到了巧克力的主 要原 料——黑棕色的可可豆——我们所有巧克力和可可的原 料。尽管可可豆的重要性并未得到费迪南德 国王 和伊莎贝拉女皇的重视,但它仍被埃尔南 多•科尔特斯这位伟大的西班牙 探险家保留了下来,世界商品贸易的格局也因此而改变。
The World’ s Top Chocolate Spots Flanders, Belgium(不能没有巧克力的弗兰德 斯)
Belgians love chocolate almost as much as they love beer. And it’ s not justany old chocolate: the Belgians are proud of quality and innovation, andFlanders in particular boasts some of the planet’ s finest and mostimaginative chocolatiers. Both Bruges and Brussels boast museums where you canlearn more about the history and production of chocolate.
弗兰德 斯是当之无愧的巧克力圣地,那里拥有世界上品质最好、最有创意的巧克力品牌。在布 鲁日和布 鲁塞尔还有很多在 别处很难见到的巧克力博物馆,在 那里你可以了解更多有关巧克力的制作工艺与发展历史。
Birmingham, England(英 国伯明翰——吉百利巧克力的故乡) It’ s not quite Willie Wonka’ s Chocolate Factory,but
Birmingham’ s Cadbury World feeds the need in us all to drool over big vats ofbrown liquid loveliness and watch naked bars whizz through wrapping machines.Take the tour, taste the goods and go wild in the world’ s Biggest Cadbury Shop.
这里有世界上最大的吉百利巧克力商店——虽然并不像威利•旺卡的巧克力工厂那样,但这里棕色的巧克力浓浆和不加任何修饰的巧克力棒也足以让你大呼过瘾。
Switzerland(瑞士——当之无愧的“巧克力之都”)
This compact nation has the highest per-capita chocolate consumptionin the world. For factory fun visit the Nestlé-Calliers site nearGruyères, or for handmade pralines and top truffles try one of the Sprüngli outlets— the company has been crafting cocoa since 1836.
这个西 欧小国有着全世界最高的巧克力人均消费 量。如果你对巧克力工厂感兴趣,可以去参观格吕耶尔附近的雀巢工厂。如果你更偏爱手工糖果和顶级的松露巧克力,那么就一定要去有一百多年 历史的瑞士莲特卖场。
Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA(美国宾夕法尼亚州的“好时帝国”) Welcome to the self-declared Sweetest Place on Earth!
Thischocolate-scented town, HQ of the Hershey’ s empire, is a USinstitution and has spawned a whole resort of Chocó themedentertainment. Sip choc martinis in a Hershey-themed restaurant and slap yourpicture on a chocolate bar at Hershey’ s Chocolate World before being smearedwith therapeutic cocoa at the Hershey’ s Chocolate Spa.
这个充满巧克力香气的小镇就是好时巧克力帝国。在 这里,找一家好时主 题餐厅啜饮一杯巧克力马提尼,或是去好时帝国享受一次巧克力Spa都是不错的选择。
Ghana(世界上最大的可可出口国——加纳)
Next time you munch a bar of Dairy Milk, think of Tetteh Quarshie.Who? The man who planted the first cacao seeds in Ghana, germinating theagricultural industry that made Ghana the largest cocoa exporter for most ofthe 20th century. You can visit Ghana’ s first cocoa plantat Quarshie’ s farm, and learn about chocolate production at the Tafo CocoaResearch Institute.
在 加纳种植可可的第一人——特塔•夸尔什使可可成为了加纳的主要农作物。在 二十世纪很长一段时间里,加纳一度成为世界上最大的可可出口国。现在 ,在 夸尔什的农场里还可以见到他 种植的第一棵可可树
,此外,你还可以在 就近的可可研究院学习如何制作巧克力。
我们了解一些文章中的单词:
stimulating adj 刺激的
trove n. 被发现的东西 ,收藏物
unpromising 无前 途的
whizz n. 专家,英 明的人
praline n. 果仁糖
truffle n. 松露
smear v. 涂上
munch v. 用力的咀嚼
答案待补充