巧克力薯条?

AS IT IS 2016-03-08 Chocolate-Covered French Fries Anyone? 巧克力薯条?

Fast-food chain McDonald’s is adding french fries drizzled² with chocolate sauce to its menu in Japan.

The new item is called McChoco Potato. The fast-food appetizer³ consists of McDonald’s famous fries drizzled with brown and white chocolate syrup⁴.

A portion of the potatoes and chocolate cost 330 yen⁵, which is around $3.

The chocolate fries are McDonald's Japan’s attempt to reverse poor sales. According to the Japan Times, McDonald's Japan reported an annual loss of over 34 billion yen, or nearly $300 million, last year.

“Undoubtedly, 2015 was the most challenging year we have faced in our 45-year history,” said McDonald's Japan president Sarah Casanova.

U.S.-based McDonald’s opened its first restaurant in Tokyo in 1971.

In the past few years, McDonald’s Japan closed hundreds of the restaurants known for its golden arches.

Because of the McChoco Potato, customer sales increased in January for the first time in a number of years.

“The chocolate fries have been extremely popular with customers, and actually not just customers in Japan,” said Casanova.

The chocolate-covered french fries debuted⁶ January 26. They are available at Japan’s McDonald's for a limited time.

Words in This Story

drizzle¹ – v. to pour a small amount of liquid onto or over something

menu – n. a list of the foods that may be ordered at a restaurant

appetizer – n. a small dish of food served before the main part of a meal

syrup – n. a sweet, thick liquid made of sugar and water with flavoring added to it

yen – n. the basic unit of money of Japan

debuted – v. to appear in public for the first time

1 drizzle   

v.下毛毛雨；n.毛毛雨，蒙蒙细雨

参考例句：

• The shower tailed off into a drizzle.阵雨越来越小，最后变成了毛毛雨。
• Yesterday the radio forecast drizzle,and today it is indeed raining.昨天预报有小雨，今天果然下起来了。

2 drizzled   

下蒙蒙细雨，下毛毛雨( drizzle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The dew on the branches drizzled our hair and shoulders. 枝头上的露珠润湿了我们的头发和双肩。
• It drizzled throughout the night. 毛毛雨下了一夜。

3 appetizer   

n.小吃，开胃品

参考例句：

• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetizer.我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。
• I would like a cucumber salad for an appetizer.我要一份黄瓜沙拉作开胃菜。

4 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

5 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

6 debuted   

初次表演，初次登台（debut的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• In late 2003 a full-size SUV, the Pathfinder Armada, debuted. 2003年末，全尺寸SUV的探路者无敌舰队，推出。
• The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. 专辑一亮相就荣登排行榜第二名，很快就取得了白金销量。