英闻天下——284 Traces of Horsemeat Found in Britain

 　　British authorities say traces of horsemeat have been found in school meals, restaurant dishes and hospital food, as well as in supermarket products.

 

　　The announcement came as the European Union agreed to begin random¹ DNA² checks on meat products in a bid to regain³ control of the spreading scandal over horsemeat.

 

　　Whitbread PLC, Britain's largest hotel and restaurant company, said horse DNA had been found in lasagne and burgers on menus at its outlets⁴.

 

　　Officials also said horsemeat was present in cottage pies delivered to 47 schools in Lancashire County, northern England, and in hospital meals in Northern Ireland.

 

　　Customers voiced their outrage⁵ over the revelation they may have consumed horsemeat unwillingly⁶.

 

　　"Well, I'm absolutely amazed to be quite honest, but I just find it absolutely disgusting that it is on the market. It has probably been on the market for years."

 

　　"Just everything is not what you expect it to be anymore, you know? But I think it is terrible because I think you should be eating what it says on the labels."

 

　　Horsemeat itself is not harmful and is eaten in several European countries, including France, Germany and Italy.

 

　　In English-speaking countries, including Britain and Ireland, eating horses is widely considered taboo⁷.

 

　　The horsemeat scandal has involved a dozen of European countries with millions of products being pulled from store shelves. Supermarkets and food suppliers have been told to test processed beef products for horse DNA.

1 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

2 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

3 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

4 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

6 unwillingly   

adv.不情愿地

参考例句：

• He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
• Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。

7 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？