英国卫报：此时蜜糖,彼时砒霜(5)

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Unlike alcohol, which was the only commonly available psychoactive substance in the old world until they arrived,

在它们到来之前，酒精是旧世界唯一常见的精神活性物质，

sugar, nicotine¹ and caffeine had at least some stimulating² properties, and so offered a very different experience, one that was more conducive³ to the labour of everyday life.

而糖、尼古丁和咖啡因不一样，它们至少有一些刺激作用，因此能够提供一种非常不同的体验，一种对日常生活的劳动更有益的体验。

These were the "18th-century equivalent of uppers", writes the Scottish historian Niall Ferguson.

苏格兰历史学家尼尔·弗格森写道，它们都属于“18世纪的上流社会”。

"The empire, it might be said, was built on a huge sugar, caffeine and nicotine rush – a rush nearly everyone could experience."

“可以说，这个帝国是建立在对糖、咖啡因和尼古丁的强烈刺激上的——几乎每个人都能体验到这种刺激。”

Sugar, more than anything, seems to have made life worth living (as it still does) for so many,

糖似乎比任何东西都更能让很多人的生活变得有意义(现在仍然如此)，

particularly those whose lives lacked the kind of pleasures that relative wealth and daily hours of leisure might otherwise provide.

尤其是那些生活中缺乏相对财富和每日休闲时间所能提供的那种乐趣的人。

Sugar was "an ideal substance", says Mintz. "It served to make a busy life seem less so; it eased, or seemed to ease, the changes back and forth⁴ from work to rest;

糖是“一种理想的物质”，明茨说。“它让忙碌的生活看起来不那么忙碌，它减轻了(或似乎减轻了)工作与休息之间的变化。

it provided swifter sensations of fullness or satisfaction than complex carbohydrates⁵ did; it combined with many other foods …

与复合碳水化合物相比，它能更快地提供饱腹感或满足感。它和许多其他食物结合在一起……

No wonder the rich and powerful liked it so much, and no wonder the poor learned to love it."

难怪有钱有势的人这么喜欢它，也难怪穷人学会了喜欢它。”

What Oscar Wilde wrote about a cigarette in 1891 might also be said about sugar: It is "the perfect pleasure. It is exquisite⁶, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?"

奥斯卡·王尔德于1891年写的一篇关于香烟的文章也可以说是关于糖的：它是“完美的愉悦”。它是精致的，让人不满意。一个人还想要什么呢？”

Children certainly respond to sugar instantaneously.

孩子们对糖的反应当然是瞬间的。

Give babies a choice of sugar water or plain, wrote the British physician Frederick Slare 300 years ago, and "they will greedily suck down the one, and make Faces at the other:

300年前英国医生弗雷德里克·斯拉曾写道：如果让宝宝们从糖水和纯净水里选，“他们会贪婪地吮吸完一个，然后对着另一个做鬼脸：

Nor will they be pleas'd with Cows Milk, unless that be bless'd with a little Sugar, to bring it up to the Sweetness of Breast-Milk".

他们也不会喜欢喝牛奶的，除非在牛奶里加一点糖，使它的甜味和母乳的甜味一致。”

One proposition commonly invoked⁷ to explain why the English would become the world's greatest sugar consumers and remain so through the early 20th century – alongside the fact

为什么英国人会成为世界上最大的食糖消费国并且一直保持到20世纪初

that the English had the world's most productive network of sugar-producing colonies – is that they lacked any succulent native fruit,

(同时英国人还拥有世界上最多产的制糖殖民网络)？通常被用来解释这一问题的命题就是，英国本地没有多汁的水果，

and so had little previous opportunity to accustom⁸ themselves to sweet things, as Mediterranean⁹ populations did.

所以之前很少有机会像地中海人那样习惯吃甜食。

The sweet taste was more of a novelty to the English, and their first exposure to sugar occasioned a population-wide astonishment¹⁰.

对于英国人来说甜味是一种新奇的东西，所以糖初次到英国时便惊艳了全英国人。

1 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

2 stimulating   

adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的

参考例句：

• shower gel containing plant extracts that have a stimulating effect on the skin 含有对皮肤有益的植物精华的沐浴凝胶
• This is a drug for stimulating nerves. 这是一种兴奋剂。

3 conducive   

adj.有益的，有助的

参考例句：

• This is a more conducive atmosphere for studying.这样的氛围更有利于学习。
• Exercise is conducive to good health.体育锻炼有助于增强体质。

4 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。

5 carbohydrates   

n.碳水化合物，糖类( carbohydrate的名词复数 )；淀粉质或糖类食物

参考例句：

• The plant uses the carbohydrates to make cellulose. 植物用碳水化合物制造纤维素。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All carbohydrates originate from plants. 所有的碳水化合物均来自植物。 来自辞典例句

6 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

7 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 accustom   

vt.使适应，使习惯

参考例句：

• It took him a while to accustom himself to the idea.他过了一段时间才习惯这个想法。
• It'shouldn't take long to accustom your students to working in groups.你的学生应该很快就会习惯分组学习的。

9 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

10 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。