《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》54 Slow Food Movement

　　Unit 54
Slow Food Movement
The International Slow Food Movement was founded in 1986 by leftist journalist Carlo Petrini in a determined¹ effort to wage intellectual war on the homogenization of food around the world. Spurred by the opening of Italy's first McDonald's in Rome, Carlo started the organization determined to save regional foods and small producers from extinction² and to revive taste and the senses.
The backbone³ of the non-profit organization are groups of people who meet informally to share and promote local small producers, to learn about culinary traditions and cultures, and to arrange tastings. An important aspect of Slow Food was introduced to identify and publicize endangered foods such as tuna roe⁴ and Moselle red peaches, and to encourage people to seek them out, with the theory that if the market demands, supply will increase. Another important component⁵ of Slow Food is the commitment to teach children about taste and food and to develop their senses and their appreciation⁶ of food and the pleasures of the table.
Slow Food Festivals are broad-reaching, not only acknowledging and encouraging individual artisans, but also celebrating the role of food throughout every aspect of culture. Workshops where tastes are explored in their cultural context are an important component of the International Slow Food Movement. For instance, the Germany's Festival had 30 different ones, each about an hour and half long. They sell out quickly too. A speaker at a head table discoursed⁷ on the history of dishes people were eating, and the relationship of food, work, and eating to the life and culture of the German province of Schleswig Holstein.
In an attempt to popularize the Slow Food Movement in the United States, Carlo Petrini made a 10-day trip across the United States, ending up as the honorary guest at the Berkeley meeting, slow, 10-course dinner celebrating simply prepared, regional products. Guests sampled appetizers⁸ of ferns, sipped⁹ wines and chatted, before sitting down to salmon¹⁰ with lime oil, followed by white asparagus in herbs. This dish was preceded by a dining-room demonstration¹¹ of chef Jean-Pierre Moulle showing how to clean the fish without cutting it open, a performance cheered by the group, a collection of over 50 enthusiasts¹² seated at long tables.
To defend biodiversity we have to defend small producers. The Slow Food Movement is different from ecological¹³ movements and from gastronomy¹⁴ movements. Gastronomical¹⁵ movements don't defend the small producers and their products, and ecological movements fight the battles, but can't cook. Slow Food Movement has both at the same time.
The Slow Food Movement has been likened to Don Quixote fighting the windmills, but if the recent enthusiasm for this complex organization with its ecological and gastronomical goals and sense of fun is any indication, the quixotic figure of Carlo Petrini may be triumphant¹⁶.

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

3 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

4 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

5 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

6 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

7 discoursed   

演说（discourse的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He discoursed on an interesting topic. 他就一个有趣的题目发表了演讲。
• The scholar discoursed at great length on the poetic style of John Keats. 那位学者详细讲述了约翰·济慈的诗歌风格。

8 appetizers   

n.开胃品( appetizer的名词复数 )；促进食欲的活动；刺激欲望的东西；吊胃口的东西

参考例句：

• Here is the egg drop and appetizers to follow. 这是您要的蛋花汤和开胃品。 来自互联网
• Would you like appetizers or a salad to go with that? 你要不要小菜或色拉？ 来自互联网

9 sipped   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sipped his coffee pleasurably. 他怡然地品味着咖啡。
• I sipped the hot chocolate she had made. 我小口喝着她调制的巧克力热饮。 来自辞典例句

10 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

11 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

12 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

13 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

14 gastronomy   

n.美食法；美食学

参考例句：

• He studied gastronomy but cannot make a living as a cook.他学习了烹饪但却无法靠厨艺过活。
• Burgundy has always been considered a major centre of gastronomy.勃艮第大区一向被视为重要的美食中心。

15 gastronomical   

adj.美食法的，美食学的

参考例句：

16 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。