2-9 英国人的一日三餐

English Meals

The writer Somerset Maugham1 observed that one could eat very well in England, simply by having breakfast -- three times a day. Although the great English home cooked breakfast a feast of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled2 tomatoes, mushrooms, kidneys, kippers3,and so on -- has given way to a belief that instant coffee and cornflakes must be healthier, it is still available all day and night at motorway 2 service stations.

Roast beef, lamb or pork with vegetables and roast potatoes are still the nation’s favourite choice for “a proper meal.” Potatoes form an important constituent 3 of the main meal of the day. The average person gets through 100 kilos of them every year. Much of this is in the form of crispy snacks and, of course, chips with fish, burgers, and other fried foods or just on their own with salt and vinegar.

Most people wouldn’t consider a meal finished unless they had a pudding -- steamed jam roll, apple pie, treacle 44 pudding, strawberry tart 55. The unwary6 should take care with “Yorkshire” and “black” puddings. The first is eaten with roast beef, and the second a blood sausage.

In spite of their tastes becoming more sophisticated, the English still treasure the sandwich. They were once content with no more than a cheese and chutney7 filling, but these days the sandwich can contain anything from smoked salmon 6 and cream cheese to chicken.

As the interest in foreign food has grown, so have the choices. The supremacy 78 of French and Italian fare is now challenged by others -- Thai, Chinese, Mexican, Spanish, Russian, American. There are even restaurants specialising in English food. One highly successful example in London calls itself “School Dinners.” There tired and overwrought9 businessmen can enjoy such old fashioned fare as bread and butter pudding, all served by well-developed girls wearing school uniforms.

注释：

1.Somerset Maugham [5sQmEsit5mC:m] 萨默塞特·毛姆（1874～1965，英国小说家，因洞察而怀疑人类的善良和智力，作品基调愤世嫉俗，著有长篇小说《人间的枷锁》、《大吃大喝》等，其短篇小说尤脍炙人口）

2.grill 1 [^ril] vt. （在烤架等上面）烤炙

3.kipper [5kipE] n. 腌晒（或熏制）的鲱鱼

4.treacle [5tri:kl] n.〈英〉（尤指炼制蔗糖时产生的）糖浆；糖蜜

5.tart [tB:t] n.〈主英〉果馅饼

6.unwary [5Qn5wZEri] adj. 不谨慎的；粗心的；易上当的

7.chutney [5tFQtni] n. 印度酸辣酱（一种用水果、胡椒、糖、醋等制成的调味品）

8.supremacy [sju5premEsi] n. 霸权地位；最高地位；优势

9.overwrought [5EuvE5rC:t] adj. 过于劳累的；因过度兴奋而疲惫的

英国人的一日三餐

小说家萨默塞特·毛姆曾经说过，在英国，一天只要能像早餐这样吃三顿就可算吃得非常不错了。虽然英国有名的家制早餐——腊肉、鸡蛋、香肠、烤西红柿、蘑菇、腰子、腌鲱鱼等组成的一顿盛餐——已不复流行，现在人们相信速溶咖啡和玉米片更健康，但是，在高速公路上的服务站，这种早餐依然日夜供应。

　　在这个国家，“正餐”上的首选食物依然是烤牛肉、羊肉或猪肉加蔬菜和烤土豆。土豆是一日主餐的重要组成部分。每个英国人平均每年要吃掉100公斤土豆，其中大部分是用土豆做成的松脆小吃，当然，还有和鱼、汉堡包及其他油炸食物一起吃的炸薯条，或者光是炸薯条蘸上盐和醋。

　　大多数人只有在吃了甜点之后才会认为一顿饭是吃完了。甜点有蒸果酱卷、苹果派、糖浆布丁、草莓馅饼。要注意“约克夏”布丁与“黑”布丁的区别。吃前一种时配烤牛肉，后一种配血肠。

　　虽然英国人的口味变得更加考究了，但他们对三明治依然珍爱如初。过去的三明治，只要夹了一点奶酪和酸辣酱就令他们满意了。如今夹的东西可是从熏鲑鱼、奶油干酪到鸡肉，应有尽有。

　　随着人们对外来饮食兴趣的增加，饮食的种类也相应地增加了。法国和意大利饮食的霸权地位受到了泰国、中国、墨西哥、西班牙、俄罗斯和美国饮食的挑战。居然还有专做英国饮食的餐馆。在伦敦有一家就做得非常成功，自称为“校餐”。在那家餐馆，劳累过度的商人可以享受到像面包和奶油布丁之类的老式饮食，服务员全是发育良好的穿校服的女孩。