第23课

旁白 neutral

People become quite illogical when they try to decide what can be eaten and what cannot be eaten.

人们在决定什么能吃，什么不能吃的时候，会变得相当不合逻辑。

旁白 neutral

If you lived in the Mediterranean, for instance, you would consider octopus a great delicacy.

例如，如果你住在地中海地区，你会认为章鱼是人间美味。

旁白 neutral

You would not be able to understand why some people find it repulsive.

你会不理解为什么有些人觉得它令人厌恶。

旁白 neutral

On the other hand, your stomach would turn at the idea of frying potatoes in animal fat-the normally accepted practice in many northern countries.

另一方面，一想到用动物脂肪炸土豆——这在许多北方国家是普遍接受的做法——你就会反胃。

旁白 neutral

The sad truth is that most of us have been brought up to eat certain foods and we stick to them all our lives.

可悲的事实是，我们大多数人从小就被教导吃某些食物，并且我们一生都坚持这些食物。

旁白 neutral

No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail.

没有哪种生物比普通的园林蜗牛得到过更多的赞扬和辱骂。

旁白 neutral

Cooked in wine, snails are a great luxury in various parts of the world.

用酒烹制的蜗牛在世界各地都是一种高级奢侈品。

旁白 neutral

There are countless people who, ever since their early years, have learned to associate snails with food.

无数人从小就学会将蜗牛与食物联系在一起。

旁白 neutral

My friend, Robert, lives in a country where snails are despised.

我的朋友罗伯特住在一个厌恶蜗牛的国家。

旁白 neutral

As his flat is in a large town, he has no garden of his own.

因为他的公寓在一个大城镇里，他没有自己的花园。

旁白 neutral

For years he has been asking me to collect snails from my garden and take them to him.

多年来他一直让我从我的花园里收集蜗牛带给他。

旁白 neutral

The idea never appealed to me very much, but one day, after a heavy shower,

这个想法从来没有太吸引我，但有一天，在一场大雨之后，

旁白 neutral

I happened to be walking in my garden when I noticed a huge number of snails taking a stroll on some of my prize plants.

我碰巧在我的花园里散步，这时我注意到大量的蜗牛在我的几株珍贵植物上爬行。

旁白 neutral

Acting on a sudden impulse, I collected several dozen, put them in a paper bag, and took them to Robert.

我一时冲动，收集了几十只，把它们放进一个纸袋里，然后带给了罗伯特。

旁白 neutral

Robert was delighted to see me and equally pleased with my little gift.

罗伯特很高兴见到我，也同样喜欢我的小礼物。

旁白 neutral

I left the bag in the hall and Robert and I went into the living room where we talked for a couple of hours.

我把袋子留在门厅里，罗伯特和我走进客厅，我们在那里聊了几个小时。

旁白 neutral

I had forgotten all about the snails when Robert suddenly said that I must stay to dinner.

我已经完全忘记了蜗牛，这时罗伯特突然说我必须留下来吃晚饭。

旁白 neutral

Snails would, of course, be the main dish.

蜗牛当然是主菜。

旁白 neutral

I did not fancy the idea and I reluctantly followed Robert out of the room.

我不喜欢这个主意，我只好不情愿地跟着罗伯特离开了房间。

旁白 neutral

To our dismay,

令我们沮丧的是，

旁白 neutral

we saw that there were snails everywhere:

我们看到到处都是蜗牛：

旁白 neutral

they had escaped from the paper bag

它们已经从纸袋里跑了出来

旁白 neutral

and had taken complete possession of the hall! I have never be able to look at a snail since then.

并且完全占据了门厅！从那时起，我再也无法正眼看蜗牛了。