【英语趣味课堂】意大利食物-Deliciously Italian

Todd: What did you think about Italian food in America? Italian food is very popular in America., but is it similar to Italian food in Italy?

Yuri: Oh, that’s a good topic. I would say that if really...you want to try the best Italian food, you have to go to Italy. It’s really different. I’ve been to many countries in Europe and I wanted to try Italian food in some restaurants -- very rarely¹ it was good. It’s not bad, but...I’m sure there are some fantastic restaurants, but it is quite different, yeah...

 

Todd: So basically² the Italian food in America has been Americanized -- it’s not like Italian food in Italy.

 

Yuri: Yeah, for example pizza. You want to buy a good pizza? Italy. That’s it.

 

Todd: What’s the difference between pizza in America and pizza in Italy?

 

Yuri: Oh, it’s a lot of differences. There are a lot of differences. It’s just the crust³ is different, the ingredients⁴ are different, the water is different, the way they make it, yeah...

 

Todd: So is the crust thicker or thinner?

 

Yuri: In Italy usually it is very thin.

 

Todd: Oh right.

 

Yuri: And it’s very tasty, the tomatoes are fantastic, the mozzarella is real mozzarella, you know, so it’s different.

 

Todd: So if you go to an Italian restaurant in America, it’s almost all pasta⁵. When we think of Italian, we think of, you know, pasta for everything. What about in Italy, is that the same? Like, do most restaurants just serve pasta?

 

Yuri: Yes, we serve pasta as a first course, but we have so much other food...a lot. It’s quite amazing. Also in Italy you can really change food region⁶ by region. You can move around and the food changes. In the States I think you will just have this idea of Italy food -- all of it together.

 

Todd: Right, so when you say that pasta is the first course, so that’s quite different. It’s not the main course of a meal. Like in America, you go to a restaurant and you order spaghetti⁷, like, or lasagna or whatever...that’s it. That’s the main dish.

 

Yuri: No, that’s not the way we eat in Italy.

 

Todd: How do you eat in Italy?

 

Yuri: Well traditionally⁸ you have the first course, usually it’s pasta or gnocchi, whatever. And then you go to a meat dish with vegetables. And after that you get some cheese and fruits and coffee (espresso).

 

Todd: Do you have like main meat dishes? You know, like a steak or stuff⁹ like that?

 

Yuri: Yeah, of course, we have a lot. Arrosta for example, I can tell you hundreds of Italian names. And maybe many people outside of Italy they would not even know.

 

Todd: Oh really?

 

Yuri: Yeah.

 

Todd: So in Italy you said the food is different by region. What region has the best food do you think?

 

Yuri: Oh, that’s complicated¹⁰ because I’m from North Italy so I would say North Italy but it’s not true because there is a lot of food from the South and I just love it.

 

Todd: Oh, so it’s all good.

 

Yuri: Yeah.

 

Todd: Ok, well anyway, it was nice talking with you Yuri.

 

Yuri: Thank you very much.

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson

Americanized

 

So basically the Italian food in America has been Americanized.

 

When something that came from a foreign country becomes more American in style, to suit local American tastes, it is described as "americanized". 

Study the following examples:

 

A lot of music around the world has been Americanized to sound like hip-hop music.

Their kids used to be very formal but now they are very Americanized.

crust

 

So is the crust thicker or thinner?

 

Crust is the bread-like part of a pizza made from flour. Crust is also the hard part around the edges¹¹ of bread. See the two examples below:

 

When I was a kid, I used to take the crust off the edges of my bread.

I like to eat pizza with a very thick crust.

region by region

 

Also in Italy you can really change food region by region.

 

A region is a large area. It is often used to describe part of a country. “Region by region” refers to the many different areas within one country. Notice the following examples:

 

I noticed that in each region, people spoke¹² with a different accent.

Region by region, the weather is different. The north is cold and the south is hot.

main dish

 

That’s the main dish.

 

A main dish is the biggest part of a meal or dinner. See the following examples:

 

What would you like to have for the main dish?

After the main dish, I like to drink coffee.

that’s complicated

 

That’s complicated because I’m from North Italy.

 

When something is complicated it is not simple. It has many parts that are confusing¹³ to understand clearly. Study the two examples below:

 

Learning¹⁴ a language is very complicated.

When we first started dating everything was easy, but now it’s so complicated.

1 rarely   

adv.很少，难得；非常地，非凡地

参考例句：

• Such fish is rarely met with in the north country.这种鱼在北方难得看到。
• He rarely comes here anymore.现在他难得来这儿了。

2 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

3 crust   

n.(一片)面包皮，硬外皮，外壳；地壳

参考例句：

• This article focuses on radiation present in the earth crust.本文重点介绍源自地壳的辐射。
• Earth quakes can result from stresses in the earth's crust.地壳内的应力可能引起地震。

4 ingredients   

n.（混合物的）组成部分( ingredient的名词复数 )；（烹调的）原料；（构成）要素；因素

参考例句：

• All ingredients are readily available from your local store. 所有的原料都可以方便地从你当地的商店买到。
• We never use second quality ingredients to build building. 我们决不使用次等材料用于建筑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pasta   

n.生面团，意大利通心粉

参考例句：

• Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling water.在一大锅沸水中煮意大利面。
• Would you like some pasta?想来点意大利面食吗？

6 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

7 spaghetti   

n.意大利式细面务

参考例句：

• I think you like spaghetti.我以为你喜欢意大利面条。
• People served a spaghetti supper in the parish house.人们在教堂交谊厅吃意大利面晚餐。

8 traditionally   

adv.传说地；传统地

参考例句：

• Traditionally,people clean the house before the Spring Festival.传统上，人们在春节前打扫房子。
• Medicine is traditionally the first of the Nobel prizes awarded each year.根据传统，医学奖是诺贝尔奖每年颁发的第一个奖项。

9 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

10 complicated   

adj.错综复杂的，麻烦的，结构复杂的

参考例句：

• The poem is so complicated that I cannot make out its meaning.这首诗太复杂，我理解不了它的意思。
• This is the most complicated case I have ever handled.这是我所处理过的最为复杂的案子。

11 edges   

n.边( edge的名词复数 )；优势；（悬崖、峭壁的）边缘；锋利

参考例句：

• Blood began to coagulate around the edges of the wound. 血液开始在伤口的边缘凝固。
• a surface with rounded edges 带圆边的面

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 confusing   

adj.混乱的，令人困惑的

参考例句：

• The instructions on the box are very confusing.盒子上的使用说明含混不清。
• It's very confusing to learn a new language.学习一门新语言是很令人困惑的。

14 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。