VOA标准英语2015--纽约餐馆周--美食经济繁荣

NYC's Restaurant Week: An Economic Boom in Fine Dining 纽约餐馆周--美食经济繁荣

NEW YORK—

Many of New York’s fine-dining establishments take part in what is known as Restaurant Week, an event held since 1992 that offers locals and tourists the opportunity to enjoy a more affordable¹ three-course culinary experience.

For a fixed² lunch price of $25, or $38 for dinner, there are 340 restaurants and 28 diverse cuisines³ to choose from through March 6.  Any other day of the year, such meals could cost 25 percent to 50 percent more.

One of the pioneers of this initiative is Tracy Nieporent, restaurant committee chairman for NYC & Company. He said participating restaurants make a smaller profit per meal, but benefit from an increase in overall business.

“It’s really an honor to get in, and people want to be in," he said. "We have to kind of hold restaurants off.  So it’s obviously economically beneficial to the restaurants who participate.”

For the wait staff, Restaurant Week means extra work.  But typically, that translates to higher wages.

“The tips get a little higher, a little higher," said Jose Miguel Cruz, a waiter at Tribeca Grill⁴. "I would say they increase more than 20 percent.”

Cruz, who has served at Tribeca Grill for 25 years, said the effort pays off in other ways, too.

“People enjoy it," he said. "It also opens — either winter or summertime — another chance to bring more customers. They’re happy, we’re happy.”

Affordability⁵ and convenience matter in New York, where the cost of living is high.

Restaurant Week "is great because you can try everything you can," said New York resident Mario Milana. "You have good menus, and usually a wine selection that goes well together."

Another New Yorker, Kim Bible, said the dining event provides "more of an incentive⁶ to go to restaurants when you usually wouldn't go out, because it’s such a bit of a hassle sometimes.”

New York’s Restaurant Week model has since been replicated⁷ in other cities across the nation. Nieporent said it works so well because it provides real value.

“It’s not just the cynical⁸ ploy⁹ to try to get people in the door," he said. "It’s really our life’s work, and it’s our way to show hospitality. It’s our way to put our best foot forward."

The goal, Nieporent said, is to get people excited about dining.

1 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 cuisines   

n.烹饪( cuisine的名词复数 )；菜肴；（通常指昂贵的饭店中的）饭菜；烹饪艺术

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the different features of these cuisines? 能不能告诉我这些不同的烹调流派各自有哪些特点？ 来自地道口语脱口SHOW 高中超越版
• Ice sculptures are used as decorations in some cuisines, especially in Asia. 冰雕在某些菜肴中被当作装饰品，尤其在亚洲。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

6 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

7 replicated   

复制( replicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 重复； 再造； 再生

参考例句：

• Later outplant the seedlings in a replicated permanent test plantation. 以后苗木出圃栽植成重复的永久性试验林。
• The phage has replicated and the donor cells have lysed. 噬菌体已复制和给体细胞已发生裂解。

8 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

9 ploy   

n.花招，手段

参考例句：

• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。
• Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder,not a cynical marketing ploy.圣诞节应该是兴奋和美妙的时刻，而不该是一种肆无忌惮的营销策略。