美国“国饮”居然是中国茶？中美咖啡文化了解一下

旅游英语

英语/旅行/摄影/人物/故事

Drinking coffee is starting to become a bigtrendfor the young people of China. It is nota serious competitoragainst the national drink of the Chinese people - tea. It does reflect, however, the influence of Western business and life habits that are slowly changing the traditional face of China. Coffee has always been an important drink in the United States and elsewhere.

对于中国年轻人而言，喝咖啡正在成为一个潮流。咖啡并不是中国人的国饮—茶的强有力的竞争对手，然而，它确实反映了西方商业和生活习惯正在慢慢影响和改变中国的这种传统习惯。咖啡在美国和其他国家一直是最重要的饮品。

trend [trend] n. 趋向;趋势

e.g.

This is a growing trend.

这是日益显著的趋势。

a serious competitor 一个强有力的竞争对手

competitor是竞争者的意思，而serious在这里不是严肃的意思，而是指须重视的；不可轻视的意思，相当于important。

In the United States, for example, the national drink used to be tea especially Chinese tea. This changed during American War of Independence because of ashortageof tea caused by a loss in British trade. Since then, coffee has been the national drink and the symbol of the Western lifestyle. In coffee houses and cafes, business and personal relationship arestrengthened.

比如说，在美国，民族饮品曾经是茶，尤其是中国茶。这在美国独立战争期间有所改变，因为美英贸易的失利致使茶供应短缺。从那时起，咖啡就成了他们的民族饮品和西方生活方式的象征。在咖啡屋或咖啡馆里，商业关系和个人关系得以加强。

shortage [ˈʃɔ:tɪdʒ] n. 缺少;缺点; 缺少量

e.g.

They are suffering from shortage of food and supply.

他们深受食物和补给不足之苦。

strengthen [ˈstreŋθn] v. 加强，巩固

e.g.

Her position in the party has strengthened in recent weeks.

最近几个星期以来，她在党内的地位有所增强。

Famous writers and artists, such as Hemingway, conversed and gained inspiration at these places. Traditionally, the best coffee has come from the South American country of Columbia.Small farmers in the past made little money and large coffeechainssuch as Starbucks made the profit. These coffee chains are beginning to appear in China in increasing numbers.

著名的作家和艺术家，如海明威，在这些地方进行交谈并获得灵感。从传统意义上讲，最好的咖啡产自于哥伦比亚的南美乡村。过去，小的农场主赚不到什么钱，而星巴克这样的大型咖啡连锁店则利润丰厚。这些咖啡连锁店在中国的数量与日俱增。

chain [tʃeɪn] n. 链条; 连锁

这里指连锁店

a large supermarket chain

大型连锁超市

Drinking coffeeexcessivelyis, however, harmful for your health. It can lead to emotion changes. It may also change your sleeping habits, causing insomnia or lack of sleep. Yet at the same time, the caffeine in coffee keeps you alert and wakes you up. This is usually helpful. But try never to drink too much coffee as its effects can be as harmful as helpful.

然而，过多地饮用咖啡对人体健康是有害的。它会导致性情的变化，还有可能改变你的睡眠习惯，造成失眠或是睡眠不足。而与此同时，咖啡中的咖啡因会使你保持警醒，让你清醒。通常情况下这是有效的，但千万不要过多饮用咖啡，因为它的效用可能既有益又有害。

excessively [ɪk'sesɪvlɪ] adv. 过分地; 过度地

e.g.

Once people begin drinking excessively, the problem can perpetuate itself.

一旦开始过量饮酒，问题就永久存在了。