胡敏讀故事記托福詞匯056：法式甜食 A French Dessert
Preparing French cuisine is very difficult, even for a master of culinary arts.
即使對于一個烹調(diào)藝術(shù)大師來說，準備一桌法式菜肴也是很難的。
First, good ingredients are essential. It starts with correctly cultivating the land. Proper cultivation and care will culminate in the best crops and therefore the finest ingredients.
首先，講究的配料是至關(guān)重要的。它產(chǎn)自于科學(xué)耕種的土地。精心的耕種和培育會最終收獲優(yōu)良的莊家，因此得到最上乘的配料。
Second, special preparation methods must be used. For good bread pudding, you must remove the crust and carefully crumble the bread. Add sixteen cubes of sugar and wait until the sauce crystallizes. After crystallization, the sauce should have a crystalline appearance. Crush the crystals into small pieces. Pour the ingredients into a twenty-five cubic inch pan. Crumple a sheet of cooking paper, flatten it, and then place it over the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. The result will be the culmination of effort and skill.
其二，必須采用專門的制作工藝。比如要做美味的面包布丁。必須先去掉面包的硬外殼，再仔細地把它弄碎。在調(diào)味汁中加進16個方塊糖，等到調(diào)味汁成結(jié)晶狀。結(jié)晶后，調(diào)味汁的表面應(yīng)成透明狀。把透明狀的東西碎成小塊。再把這些配料倒進一個25立方英寸的平底鍋中。揉皺一頁烹調(diào)用紙，再拉平它，然后放在鍋上。在350°溫度下烘烤30分鐘。這樣做出的面包布丁將是你努力與技巧的頂級體現(xiàn)。
Finally, presentation is extremely important. It is part of our culture to make every dish appear to be special. You must not miss your cue to announce the arrival of the dish. You would not want to be culpable for ruining the moment.
最后，上菜也是極為重要的。讓每一道菜看上去別具一格也是我們飲食文化的一部分。上菜時不可以忘記提示客人菜來了。你大概不愿意因破壞了宴會氣氛而遭指責(zé)吧。
Our restaurant is pretty popular. We have a cult following. Last night, a man struggled to get here on a cumbersome pair of crutches just to eat our dessert. A food critic once wrote, “It would be an act of cruelty to deny yourself the pleasure of their bread pudding.”
我們的飯店很受歡迎。我們擁有一群信徒般的顧客。昨天晚上，一個男人拄著笨重的雙拐艱難的來到我們飯店，就為吃一頓這里的甜食。一位食品評論家曾經(jīng)這樣寫道：“剝奪自己品嘗他們面包丁的樂趣可謂是殘酷的行為。”
Inside our restaurant, you’ll find paintings that are good examples of cubism. On the outside of our door is our cryptic message. “Enter at our own risk, you might never leave.”
飯店內(nèi)，你會欣賞到立體主義畫派的優(yōu)秀作品。門外邊你會見到我們含義深遠的廣告詞——只要冒險進來，你可能永不想離開。
Words:
cruelty n. 殘忍，殘酷
crumble vi. 粉碎，崩潰
crumple vt. 壓皺;扭彎
crush vt. 壓垮;粉碎;(使)變形
crust n. 硬外殼，地殼
crutch n. (跛子用的)拐杖，支撐
cryptic adj. 秘密的，神秘的;有隱意的;含義模糊的;意義深遠的
crystal n. 水晶，晶體;adj. 清澈的，結(jié)晶狀的
crystalline adj. 水晶的，透明的
crystallize v. 明確;形成結(jié)晶體，使結(jié)晶
crystallization n. 結(jié)晶化
cube n. 立方體，立方;立方形物
cubic adj. 立方體的
cubism n. 立體主義
culinary n, 烹飪法，烹飪;菜肴，飯菜
cue n. 提示，暗示
culinary adj. 廚房的，烹調(diào)的
culminate v. 使達到高潮，達到極點;告終(in)
culmination n. 頂點
culpable adj. 有罪的，該受譴責(zé)的
cult n. 禮拜，祭祀，一群信徒
cultivate vt. 耕種，培養(yǎng)
cultivation n. 耕種;培養(yǎng)
culture vt. 培養(yǎng)(微生物細胞組織等);n.文化，文明
cumbersome adj. 笨重的，難處理的
