美國“國飲”居然是中國茶？中美咖啡文化了解一下

旅遊英語

英語/旅行/攝影/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.

對於中國年輕人而言，喝咖啡正在成爲一個潮流。咖啡並不是中國人的國飲—茶的強有力的競爭對手，然而，它確實反映了西方商業和生活習慣正在慢慢影響和改變中國的這種傳統習慣。咖啡在美國和其他國家一直是最重要的飲品。

trend [trend] n. 趨向;趨勢

e.g.

This is a growing trend.

這是日益顯著的趨勢。

a serious competitor 一個強有力的競爭對手

competitor是競爭者的意思，而serious在這裏不是嚴肅的意思，而是指須重視的；不可輕視的意思，相當於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.

比如說，在美國，民族飲品曾經是茶，尤其是中國茶。這在美國獨立戰爭期間有所改變，因爲美英貿易的失利致使茶供應短缺。從那時起，咖啡就成了他們的民族飲品和西方生活方式的象徵。在咖啡屋或咖啡館裏，商業關係和個人關係得以加強。

shortage [ˈʃɔ:tɪdʒ] n. 缺少;缺點; 缺少量

e.g.

They are suffering from shortage of food and supply.

他們深受食物和補給不足之苦。

strengthen [ˈstreŋθn] v. 加強，鞏固

e.g.

Her position in the party has strengthened in recent weeks.

最近幾個星期以來，她在黨內的地位有所增強。

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.

著名的作家和藝術家，如海明威，在這些地方進行交談並獲得靈感。從傳統意義上講，最好的咖啡產自於哥倫比亞的南美鄉村。過去，小的農場主賺不到什麼錢，而星巴克這樣的大型咖啡連鎖店則利潤豐厚。這些咖啡連鎖店在中國的數量與日俱增。

chain [tʃeɪn] n. 鏈條; 連鎖

這裏指連鎖店

a large supermarket chain

大型連鎖超市

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，過多地飲用咖啡對人體健康是有害的。它會導致性情的變化，還有可能改變你的睡眠習慣，造成失眠或是睡眠不足。而與此同時，咖啡中的咖啡因會使你保持警醒，讓你清醒。通常情況下這是有效的，但千萬不要過多飲用咖啡，因爲它的效用可能既有益又有害。

excessively [ɪk'sesɪvlɪ] adv. 過分地; 過度地

e.g.

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

一旦開始過量飲酒，問題就永久存在了。