【轻松英文阅读】巧克力的益处

 We love chocolate. We love it so much we eat five kilograms of it a year. But how did it get so popular?

 

 

 

Chocolate was first introduced to Europe about 400 years ago. But it was quite different from the chocolate of the Aztecs in Mexico who first produced it. The Aztecs took the beans of the cocoa tree and ground them into a paste, which was added to water and drunk. It was incredibly bitter. When the Spanish explorers discovered it in the 1600s, they added sugar to sweeten it. This helped it to become popular among the ruling class in Europe.

 

As it spread across Europe, its price decreased and more people were able to experience its wonderful taste. Over the years, advancements¹ were made in processing the beans and today its taste is very consistent.

 

But chocolate sadly has a dark side as well. Often, small children are forced to work on cocoa plantations². Because of this, the Fair-Trade Foundation has worked with cocoa growers to make sure they are not using child labor³. By buying Fair-Trade chocolate, we can have chocolate that is both good for us and good for others.

1 advancements   

n.（级别的）晋升( advancement的名词复数 )；前进；进展；促进

参考例句：

• Today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements. 当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Great advancements in drought prediction have been made in recent years. 近年来，人们对干旱灾害的预报研究取得了长足的进步。 来自互联网

2 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。