英闻天下——35 How to Pack up Your Leftovers Wisely

 　　Wasted food is often seen in China. But why don't get a box to go?

 

　　"Many people don't pack up leftovers¹ mainly because of sanitary² concerns. If you're dining with people you don't know, they could have diseases."

 

　　"When I attend wedding banquets, I usually find people I don't know sitting beside me, so I don't want to take away any leftovers from the banquet."

 

　　Also, many don't want to lose face by ordering too little.

 

　　Yue Fengchun, folklore⁴ expert in Lanzhou city, says providing guests big meal is a traditional custom.

 

　　"Hospitality to guests is the tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years in China. When inviting⁵ someone for meal, we have a subconscious⁶ feeling to provide guests with a big meal. Therefore, it's usually considered disrespectful to guests to order less."

 

　　Head of the catering⁷ industrial association in Sichuan province He Tao says.

 

　　"It's a consumption custom; having leftovers after meal has become the folklore in China, especially in wedding banquets, and business meals."

 

　　Today, when dining out is part of everyday life, more people are aware that rational consumption is the right thing to do.

 

　　Packing up your leftovers is a good habit, but expert Li Xiaojuan from the local Food and Drug Administration in Lanzhou city gives some advice.

 

　　"When packing leftovers, I suggest taking staple⁸ foods such as steamed bread. However, leftovers of cold dishes should not be packed up, as the cold dishes can not be heated after bringing them home and may cause food poisoning."

 

　　Li Xiaojuan adds that leftovers should be kept properly after being brought home. Food should be kept at temperatures below 10 degrees centigrade or higher than 70 degrees centigrade.

 

　　But if the packed food is put under room temperatures, they should be eaten within four hours.

 

　　Properly packing leftovers is important, but what's more important is how to order the right number of dishes. Manager of a restaurant in Shanghai Chen Changlei says food is wasted less nowadays.

 

　　"Previously⁹ when we had 600 diners in our restaurant, we would have to collect 15 buckets of slops every day, but now the situation is improved, the number decreased to 6 or 7 buckets every day."

 

　　Chen adds their restaurant usually gives diners advices about how many dishes are enough when they are ordering, that largely avoids food waste.

 

　　For CRI, I am Zhang Wan³.

1 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

2 sanitary   

adj.卫生方面的，卫生的，清洁的，卫生的

参考例句：

• It's not sanitary to let flies come near food.让苍蝇接近食物是不卫生的。
• The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。

3 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

4 folklore   

n.民间信仰，民间传说，民俗

参考例句：

• Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
• In Chinese folklore the bat is an emblem of good fortune.在中国的民间传说中蝙蝠是好运的象征。

5 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

6 subconscious   

n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的)

参考例句：

• Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。
• My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。

7 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

8 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

9 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。