Lesson45 Chocolate
We now think of chocolates as sweet， but once it was bitter． Today wethink of it as a candy， but once it was a medicine． Chocolate is a productof a cocoa tree． Its beans taste bitter． Workers must first dry and thenroast them in order to remove the bitter taste．The word “chocolate” comes from a Mayan word． The Mayas were an ancientpeople who once lived in Mexico． They valued the cocoa tree． Some used thebeans for money， while otherscrushed them to make a drink． When the Spaniards came to Mexico in thesixteenth century， they started drinking cacao too． Because the drink wasstrong and bitter， they thought itwas medicine． No one had the idea of adding sugar． The Spaniards took somebeans back to Europe and opened cafes．Wealthy people drank cocoa and said it was good for the digestion．In the1800s the owner of a chocolate factory in England discovered that sugarremoved the bitter taste of cocoa． It quickly became a cheap and populardrink． Soon afterward， a factory made the first solid block of sweetenedchocolate． Later on， another factory mixed milk and chocolate together．People like the taste of milk chocolate even better．
Maya 玛雅
Mayan 玛雅的，玛雅人的
crush 压碎，磨碎
Spaniard 西班牙人
digestion 消化
巧克力
现在我们认为巧克力是甜的，但它曾经是苦的。现在我们认为它是一种糖果，但它曾经是药。巧克力是可可树上的产物。它的豆是苦的，工人们必须先将其弄干，然后经烘烤才能去除苦味。
“巧克力”这个词来源于玛雅文字。玛雅是一个曾经居住在墨西哥的古老民族。玛雅人非常珍视可可树。一些人用可可豆当成货币，而另一些人将其磨碎做成饮料。16世纪西班牙人来到了墨西哥，他们也开始喝可可饮料。由于这种饮料味道浓而苦，他们认为它是药。没有人想到去加糖。西班牙人把一些可可豆带回欧洲，并开了咖啡馆。有钱人喝可可并声称它有助消化。
19世纪一家英国巧克力厂的老板发现糖可以去除可可的苦味。可可立即成为了一种便宜、受欢迎的饮料。不久以后，一家工厂率先生产出了固体块状的甜味巧克力。后来，另一家工厂将牛奶和巧克力混合起来。人们更加喜欢牛奶巧克力的味道。 |