【趣谈英语】关于椒盐卷饼的传说-A Pretzel Is A Little Reward
英语课
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
legend: a story from long ago that may or may not be true
monk 1: a religious leader
concentrate: to focus on a task
bribe 2: to offer a reward in exchange for an action
leftover 3: not used or needed
tie the knot: to get married
A Pretzel Is A Little Reward 椒盐卷饼—小犒赏
The legend of the pretzel dates back to about 1,400 years ago. There was once an Italian monk who was frustrated 4 with his students. He wanted the children to memorize Bible verses and prayers, but they were having trouble concentrating. The monk decided 5 to bribe the young students with snacks. He used leftover bread dough 6 and twisted it into shapes that looked like arms crossed in prayer. The monk baked the snacks and gave them to his students if they worked hard. The snacks were called “pretiola”, meaning little reward in Latin. Other accounts suggest that the shape of the pretzel was meant to look like a knot. The English expression “to tie the knot” may be related to pretzels. The newlywed tradition of breaking a pretzel in half and eating it for good luck began in Switzerland in the 1600s.
1 monk
n.和尚，僧侣，修道士
- The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
- Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。
2 bribe
n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通
- He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
- He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。
3 leftover
n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的
- These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
- Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。
4 frustrated
adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧
- It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
- The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》