VOA慢速英语2020--疫情期间的烹饪

Cooking During the Pandemic

For the past several months, many restaurants have either been closed or are offering limited services because of the coronavirus health crisis¹.

This means people all around the world have had to prepare meals for themselves. The COVID home cooking experiences are "all over the map" -- meaning something with a lot of different results: some good and others not-so-good.

For those who like to cook and are good at it, cooking during the coronavirus pandemic is business as usual. But they still may tire of it. Cooking every single meal, day after day, is difficult. Yet others may have learned² how to cook for the first time and found that they like it!

Erika Navarrete Nagle is from Denver, Colorado. The 33-year-old television producer told The Associated Press (AP) that she was not very good at cooking. In fact, before she started working from home in late March, she had never cooked chicken.

Navarrete Nagle explains that she "grew up in a Cuban family with a mother and sister" who always cooked for her. So, she did not learn to cook for herself. Plus, she describes herself as a workaholic -- someone who likes to work and works³ all the time. She never had the time to cook nor did she want to.

Then COVID struck.

"It took a global pandemic and mandatory⁴ quarantine for me to learn (to cook)," she said.

But now, she says she feels great about her progress. "I jumped up and down when I sautéed my first onions and garlic." She said she "almost took to social media to brag⁵."

Her experience is different from John Wing, a travel agent in New York City. He used to spend a lot of time in his car, taking his children from one activity to another.

Wing was already the main cook in his family of 5 people. But since March, he has cut back on his driving duties. So, he has been cooking more than ever!

Wing still cooks things his children will eat. But he also has started a few cooking projects. He has been learning⁶ how to make some new dishes. His family has begun ordering more takeout meals from restaurants. And his children have started making baked goods -- things like bread, cakes, and cookies.

When it comes to buying food, Wing likes to make his own choices. He describes himself as that guy who picks up and looks at almost every piece of fruit before buying one.

However, since the pandemic started, he has been ordering fruit, vegetables, and other groceries online. This has been a little difficult for him to get used to.

Emmie Lee also lives in New York City with her husband and two teenage children. She was already an active cook. But she has used her time during the pandemic to learn to make difficult dishes.

One of her cooking goals is to make Chinese dumplings. If you know anything about making Chinese dumplings – this is not an easy dish to make.

Lee started her quarantine cooking by making foods her family usually ordered at restaurants. These are the dishes that you think about and then want to eat immediately – in other words, you crave⁸ them.

She also started exploring time-saving methods. For example, she would cook a big piece of meat and then use it in several meals.

But then Lee got tired of cooking.

Lee said she "could not spend all day in the kitchen." So, now she cooks dinner and the family eats it together at sunset. But anything earlier in the day -- for example, breakfast and lunch -- has become DIY meals, in other words do-it-yourself.

Lee says she still enjoys cooking but has had "dark days" – times when she is not so happy to cook. One way she plans to brighten⁹ her dark days this summer is to organize socially distanced outdoor meals with friends.

Wing, the father in New York City, says once things are back to normal, his family will go back to ordering more meals from restaurants. And he will go to supermarkets for food ... in person.

Navarrete Nagle, the TV producer in Denver, says she feels empowered now that she can cook. She can feed her family more than just simple meals. And that, she said, feels good.

And Emmie Lee, the mother from New York, cannot wait to return to restaurants with friends. She plans to eat all the foods she has craved¹⁰ but not tried to cook at home.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

And I'm Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

mandatory – adj. required by a law or rule

quarantine – n. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease¹¹ or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading

sauté – v. to fry (food, such as small pieces of meat or vegetables) in a small amount of fat

brag – v. to talk about yourself, your achievements, your family, etc., in a way that shows too much pride

bake – v. to make (food, such as bread and cake) by preparing a dough¹², batter¹³, etc., and cooking it in an oven¹⁴ using dry heat

groceries – n. food sold by a grocer⁷ : food bought at a store

kitchen – n. a place (such as a room) with cooking facilities

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

4 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

5 brag   

v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的

参考例句：

• He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
• His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。

6 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。

7 grocer   

n.食品商；杂货商

参考例句：

• Go down to the grocer's and get some sugar.去杂货店给我买点糖来。
• That grocer always overcharges.那个杂货商总是要高价。

8 crave   

vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求

参考例句：

• Many young children crave attention.许多小孩子渴望得到关心。
• You may be craving for some fresh air.你可能很想呼吸呼吸新鲜空气。

9 brighten   

vt.使发亮，使开颜；vi.发光，发亮，生色

参考例句：

• Brighten the kitchen by painting it yellow.给厨房涂上黄色，使它发亮。
• She has brighten up my whole life.她给我的整个生活带来快乐。

10 craved   

渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• She has always craved excitement. 她总渴望刺激。
• A spicy, sharp-tasting radish was exactly what her stomach craved. 她正馋着想吃一个香甜可口的红萝卜呢。

11 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

12 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

13 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

14 oven   

n.烤炉；烤箱

参考例句：

• You put food inside an oven to cook it.你把食物放进烤箱里热一下。
• She baked bread in an oven.她用烤炉烤面包。