英语美文背诵 啤酒（在线收听）

Fermented beverages made from various types of grain appeared independently in different locations all over the ancient world from Africa to China. The word beer itself comes from a Latin verb meaning "to drink", and the ancient Romans were certainly no strangers to the brew. However, because they considered it the drink of barbarians , the Romans generally preferred wine.

这些由多种谷类制成的发酵饮料，古时候从非洲到中国的世界各国都各自单独生产。啤酒这个词源自拉丁文动词，意为“饮用”。古罗马人对啤酒肯定不陌生，不过，由于他们认为啤酒是野蛮人的饮料，因此古罗马人普遍偏好葡萄酒。

In ancient times, people who made beer lacked the means to preserve and filter it properly, so the drink was cloudy and turned bad quickly. It was medieval European monks who introduced scientific brewing techniques in an effort to produce a nutritious beverage to supplement their meager diets.

古时的啤酒酿造者缺少良好的保存方法及过滤工具，所以啤酒混浊而且容易变质，正是中世纪欧洲的僧侣们引进科学的啤酒酿造技术，制造有营养的饮料， 从而补充了他们贫乏的饮食。

The monks were not restricted to only brewing the beer, and consumption of it within the monasteries reached astonishing levels. One report from Belgium said that monks were drinking as much as five liters a day. Monastery breweries in Europe also ran their own pubs and enjoyed a tax-free status that came to be resented by the growing merchant class.

僧侣们不只局限在酿造啤酒，而且还在修道院中大量饮用啤酒，消耗量实在惊人。一份来自比利时的报告指出，僧侣们每天喝五升多的啤酒。欧洲修道院的酿酒厂也经营自己的酒吧，并享有免税的优惠，此项优待引起正在兴起的商人阶级的不满。