读者文摘:一只猪的独白(1)

It is my favorite episode of The Simpsons of all time.

这是我最喜欢的《辛普森一家》的一集。

Homer is holding forth¹ at his dinner table about the diverse deliciousness of bacon, ham, pork chops, and other porcine products.

霍默在餐桌上滔滔不绝地谈论着各种美味的培根、火腿、猪排和其他猪肉制品。

“Dad, those all come from the same animal,” his daughter says helpfully. “Yeah, right, Lisa,” Homer responds, amused by her naivete.

“爸爸，这些都来自同一种动物，”他的女儿帮助地说。霍默被她的天真逗乐了，说道，“对，丽莎。”

“A wonderful, maaaagical animal!” As is usually the case,

“一种绝妙的有魔力的动物！”通常都是这样，

Homer was speaking a fundamental truth to which he happened to be hilariously² oblivious³: I am pretty magical.

霍默说的是一个基本的事实，而他恰巧可笑地忘记了这个事实：我很有魔力。

For starters, my fellow pigs are as smart as most any dog, capable of being taught how to play video games.

首先，我的猪伙伴们和大多数狗一样聪明，能够被教如何玩电子游戏。

I also make a great pet that can live for 20 years. But if eating me is the route you prefer, so be it.

我也可以成为一个可以活20年的宠物。但是如果你喜欢吃我的话，那就吃吧。

After all, I’m the sole farm-raised animal whose main purpose is to be food:

毕竟，我是唯一一种以食用为主要目的的农场饲养动物：

I don’t graze pastures, pull plows⁴, lay eggs, produce drinkable milk, or make wool.

我不去放牧，不拉犁，不下蛋，不产奶，也不产羊毛。

Nearly every part of me is useful and succulent, and my range of flavors and textures⁵ is unrivaled.

几乎我的每一部分都是有用的和多汁味美的，我的各种口味和质地是无与伦比的。

No wonder I am the most-consumed meat in the world—even as two major religions, Judaism and Islam, prohibit eating pork.

难怪我是世界上消耗量最大的肉类，即使两大宗教，犹太教和伊斯兰教都禁食猪肉。

The rest of you grill⁶ my chops, braise my shanks, cure my legs into hams and prosciutto,

其余的人会烤我的排骨，炖我的小腿，把我的腿做成火腿和熏火腿，

devour⁷ me in pates⁸, fry my skin into crispy pork rinds, and so much more.

蘸法式肉酱把我吃下去，把我的皮炸成脆猪皮，还有很多。

I am the cornerstone meat of barbecue, my ribs⁹ and shoulders slowly smoked over hardwood until tender and flavorful.

我是烧烤的主力肉，我的肋骨和肩膀在硬木上慢慢地烟熏，直到变软变香。

And then there’s bacon, the darling of breakfast, burgers, BLT s, salads, and, let’s be honest, pretty much anything else you put on a plate.

然后是培根，早餐的宠儿，汉堡，培根、生菜、番茄三明治，沙拉，说实话，还有几乎所有你放在盘子里的食物。

Hungry yet? My fat is arguably what makes me so extraordinary.

现在饿了吗？我的脂肪可以说是使我如此独特的东西。

It’s saturated¹⁰ just enough to be solid yet silky at room temperature, making me perfect for chopping,

它的饱和程度刚好在室温下结实而柔滑，这让我非常适合被切，

mixing with seasonings¹¹ and other meats, and curing into delectable¹² sausages, terrines, and rilletts.

与调味料和其他肉类混合，腌制成美味的香肠、鹅肝酱和腊肠。

In fact, it’s the foundation of the whole centuries-old tradition of curing meat.

事实上，它是悠久的腌制肉传统的基础。

Charcutiers can’t produce quite the same sublime¹³ mouthfeel with beef, chicken, or game that they can with porky old me.

猪肉商不能像用猪肉那样，用牛肉、鸡肉或野味来制作极端美味的口感。

All this talk of fat might have you confused if you remember “The Other White Meat.”

如果你还记得“另类白肉”，所有这些关于脂肪的说法可能会让你感到困惑。

This was the ad slogan developed in 1987 for the National Pork Board as a way of keeping me relevant during the anti-fat craze of the time.

这是1987年为国家猪肉委员会想出的广告语，用它来让我和当时的减肥热潮产生关系。

It worked: My U.S. sales grew 20 percent by 1991 as consumers began to view me as a health-conscious choice alongside white-meat chicken.

它奏效了：到1991年，我在美国的销售额增长了20%，因为消费者开始将我视为与白鸡肉一样的健康选择。

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

2 hilariously   

参考例句：

• Laughing hilariously, Wu Sun-fu left the study and ran straight upstairs. 吴荪甫异样地狂笑着，站起身来就走出了那书房，一直跑上楼去。 来自互联网
• Recently I saw a piece of news on the weband I thought it was hilariously ridiculous. 最近在网上的新闻里看到一则很好笑的新闻。 来自互联网

3 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

4 plows   

n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• Alex and Tony were turning awkward hands to plows and hoe handles. 亚历克斯和托尼在犁耙等农活方面都几乎变成新手了。
• Plows are still pulled by oxen in some countries. 在一些国家犁头仍由牛拖拉。

5 textures   

n.手感( texture的名词复数 )；质感；口感；（音乐或文学的）谐和统一感

参考例句：

• I'm crazy about fabrics textures and colors and designs. 我喜欢各式各样的纺织物--对它的质地，色彩到花纹图案--简直是入了迷。 来自辞典例句
• Let me clear up the point about the textures. 让我明确了一点有关的纹理。 来自互联网

6 grill   

n.烤架，铁格子，烤肉；v.烧，烤，严加盘问

参考例句：

• Put it under the grill for a minute to brown the top.放在烤架下烤一分钟把上面烤成金黄色。
• I'll grill you some mutton.我来给你烤一些羊肉吃。

7 devour   

v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷

参考例句：

• Larger fish devour the smaller ones.大鱼吃小鱼。
• Beauty is but a flower which wrinkle will devour.美只不过是一朵，终会被皱纹所吞噬。

8 pates   

n.头顶，（尤指）秃顶，光顶( pate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Fat paunches have lean pates. 大腹便便，头脑空空。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whether the therapy works on human pates remains to be seen. 这种疗法是否对人的头部有效，尚待进一步观察。 来自互联网

9 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

10 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

11 seasonings   

n.调味品，佐料( seasoning的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It emphasizes the use of seasonings, so no two dishes ever taste alike. 它对调味品十分讲究。因此，没有两个菜会有同样的味道。 来自地道口语脱口SHOW 高中超越版
• The food made of flour and various seasonings is called moon cake. 中秋节的食品也是圆圆的，也象征着团圆，这种用面和各种作料做的食品叫月饼。 来自互联网

12 delectable   

adj.使人愉快的；美味的

参考例句：

• What delectable food you cook!你做的食品真好吃！
• But today the delectable seafood is no longer available in abundance.但是今天这种可口的海味已不再大量存在。

13 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。