常春藤解析英語 92 Diamonds of the Kitchen 廚房的鉆石

Diamonds of the Kitchen 廚房的鉆石

by Jeremy Beacock

Truffles have been called the diamonds of the kitchen.

松露有『廚房的鉆石』之稱。

You may know the expensive chocolate truffle, a dessert in the shape of a small rough ball, but do you know the fungus that it takes its name from? This highly-prized ingredient used in European cooking is famous for its unique smell, which some people describe as similar to _(1)_ of goat's urine, and strong flavor. This might not sound appealing, but truffles can sell for _(2)_ NT$180,000 a kilogram.

Where do these extremely expensive fungi come from? Many kinds of truffle grow all over the world, North America and China _(3)_. However, the most famous truffles, black and white, have always grown in Italy, France, and Spain. There, truffle hunting is big business. Professional truffle hunters are careful to keep the _(4)_ of their favorite sites secret. They train pigs and dogs to find the buried truffles because both of these animals are very good at _(5)_ the fungus. The pigs' mouths have to be covered, though; _(6)_, the truffles would become extremely expensive pig food.

Black truffles look like small, rough potatoes. The real prize is the rarer white truffle. White truffles look like small white stones, but they can grow _(7)_ bigger than the black truffle. The biggest white truffle found recently, at around 1.5 kilograms, was sold for an astronomical sum of more than NT$900,000.

At these prices, truffles are one of the most expensive foods in the world. It's hard to explain their strange allure, but as a food writer once noted, they might be less esteemed if they were cheaper.

1. (A) which　　　(B) that　　　　　(C) those　　　　(D) what

2. (A) such as　　(B) far from　　　(C) up to　　　　(D) as far as

3. (A) included 　(B) including　　 (C) includes　　 (D) to include

4. (A) sceneries　(B) destinations　(C) landmarks　　(D) locations

5. (A) taking over(B) looking after (C) sniffing out (D) depending on

6. (A) whereas　　(B) consequently　(C) instead　　　(D) otherwise

7. (A) more　　　 (B) much　　　　　(C) great　　　　(D) many

原來如此

1. This highly-prized ingredient used in European cooking is famous for its unique smell, which some people describe as similar to that of goat's urine, and strong flavor.

理由:

a. 在英文中，前面出現(xiàn)的名詞若再次提到，為避免重復(fù)，可改用代名詞 that 或 those;若為單數(shù)名詞或不可數(shù)名詞，以代名詞 that 代替;若是復(fù)數(shù)名詞，則以 those 代替。

例: The number of girls in this class is greater than that of boys.

(這個班上女孩的人數(shù)比男孩多。)

例: There are many novels for sale—not only those by American authors.

(不僅美國作家寫的小說在打折，很多小說也都有折扣。)

b. 此處空格前的 smell(氣味)為單數(shù)名詞，可知應(yīng)以代名詞 that 替代，故 (B) 應(yīng)為正選。

2. This might not sound appealing, but truffles can sell for up to NT$180,000 a kilogram.

理由:

a. (A) such as...　　諸如……，像……之類

(B) far from...　　　離……很遠(yuǎn)(常與 away 并用)

例: I live far away from my school.

(我住的地方離學(xué)校挺遠(yuǎn)的。)

注意:

far from 可視為副詞，表『一點也不』，有下列用法：

be far from + N/adj.　　一點都不是……

= be not + N/adj. + at all

例: What he said is far from the truth.

(他說的那些話完全不是事實。)

(C) up to + 數(shù)字　　多達(dá)……(數(shù)字)

例: Polar bears can weigh up to 1,000 kilograms.

(北極熊可重達(dá) 1 千公斤。)

(D) as far as...　　(距離)和……一樣遠(yuǎn)

b. 空格后有數(shù)字 NT$180,000(18 萬臺幣)，可知應(yīng)選 (C) up to。

3. Many kinds of truffle grow all over the world, North America and China included.

理由:

a. 本空格測試以下固定用法：

include vt. 包括，包含

...included　　包括∕包含……

= including...

= inclusive of...

* including prep. 包括……，包含……

* inclusive a. 包括的，包含的

例: Our art collection includes two Monets and a Picasso.

(我們的藝術(shù)收藏品包括兩幅莫內(nèi)和一幅畢加索的畫作。)

例: All the men are going, Max included.

= All the men are going, including Max.

= All the men are going, inclusive of Max.

(所有的男士都要去，包括麥克斯在內(nèi)。)

b. 根據(jù)上述用法，由于空格位于句尾，可知應(yīng)選 (A)。

4. Professional truffle hunters are careful to keep the locations of their favorite sites secret.

理由:

a. (A) scenery n. 風(fēng)景(不可數(shù))

(B) destination n. 目的地，終點

(C) landmark n. 地標(biāo)

(D) location n. 位置

例: The choice of location is important to the success of a business.

(地點的選擇對于事業(yè)的成功非常重要。)

b. 根據(jù)語意，可知應(yīng)選 (D)，表專業(yè)的松露獵人小心翼翼地不讓別人知道自己最喜歡的采集『地點』。

5. They train pigs and dogs to find the buried truffles because both of these animals are very good at sniffing out the fungus.

理由:

a. (A) take over...　　接管……

例: The new manager is going to take over our section next week.

(新任經(jīng)理將于下星期接管我們的部門。)

(B) look after...　　照顧……

例: Gerald agreed to look after my dog while I was on vacation.

(杰洛答應(yīng)在我去渡假時照顧我的狗。)

(C) sniff out...　　嗅出藏有……的味道

例: All police dogs have been trained to sniff out drugs and explosives.

(所有警犭都已接受訓(xùn)練，能嗅出哪里有毒品或爆裂物。)

(D) depend on...　　依賴∕依靠……

例: I depend on my friends and family for emotional support.

(我依靠家人和朋友給我精神上的支持。)

b. 根據(jù)語意，可知應(yīng)選 (C)，表他們訓(xùn)練豬和狗來找出地底下的松露，因為這兩種動物都非常擅長『嗅出』這種蕈類的氣味。

6. The pigs' mouths have to be covered, though; otherwise, the truffles would become extremely expensive pig food.

理由:

a. (A) whereas conj. 反之，卻

例: Some people like the movie adaptation, whereas others don't.

(有些人喜歡改編的電影，而有些人則不喜歡。)

(B) consequently adv. 結(jié)果，因此

例: Kathy studied hard in high school. Consequently, she was able to attend the college of her choice.

(卡西在高中時很用功，因此她能進(jìn)入自己所選擇的大學(xué)就讀。)

(C) instead adv.(反)而，卻

例: I didn't go to the library. Instead, I stayed home and studied.

(我沒去圖書館而待在家里念書。)

(D) otherwise adv. 否則，要不然

例: We'd better leave now; otherwise, we'll be late.

(我們最好現(xiàn)在就出發(fā)，要不然會遲到。)

b. 空格前后分別有分號和逗點，其后則是完整句，可知應(yīng)填入副詞，而 (A) 選項是連接詞，之后應(yīng)有主詞及動詞，故不可選。根據(jù)語意，可知應(yīng)選 (D)，表得把豬的嘴巴套上嘴套，『否則』松露就會成為非常昂貴的小豬食物。

7. White truffles look like small white stones, but they can grow much bigger than the black truffle.

理由:

a. 本空格測試可用來修飾比較級形容詞或副詞的修飾語，共計有下列 6 個：

far, much, even, still, a lot, a great deal。

例: Kevin's idea is much better than mine.

(凱文的點子比我的好太多了。)

例: Jack is tall, but his son is even taller.

(杰克個子很高，但他兒子比他還高。)

b. 空格后有比較級形容詞 bigger(較大的)，得知空格應(yīng)選 (B) much。

精解字詞詞組

1. in the shape of...　　呈……的形狀

= in the form of...

例:Their wedding cake was in the shape of a gigantic heart.

(他們的結(jié)婚蛋糕是一個巨大心形的樣子。)

2. describe A as B　　將 A 描述∕形容為 B

= depict A as B

例: The writer depicts the city as a cold, cruel place in her new novel.

(在她的新小說中，該作家將這座城市描繪成一個冷漠、殘酷的世界。)

3. appealing a. 吸引人的(= attractive)

例: Diamonds in the shape of a heart are very appealing to some women.

(心形的鉆石對某些女人來說非常有吸引力。)

4. keep...secret(secret 為形容詞)

= keep...a secret(secret 為名詞)　　將……守密，保守……的秘密

例: The special agent tried to keep his real name a secret.

(那名特務(wù)設(shè)法隱瞞自己的真實姓名。)

5. be good at...　　擅長∕精通……

be poor at...　　不善于……

例: Becky is good at debating. In fact, she has been to the state tournament twice.

(貝齊擅長辯論。事實上，她已參加過兩次州際比賽。)

6. astronomical a.(數(shù)量、數(shù)字)極巨大的;天文學(xué)的

例: The cost of the space program is astronomical. I think it is a waste of money.

(這項太空計劃的花費是天文數(shù)字，我認(rèn)為是浪費金錢。)

7. esteemed a. 受人尊敬的

esteem vt. & n. 尊重

hold sb in high esteem　　非常尊敬某人

= hold sb in high respect

例: Everyone holds Mary in high esteem because of her extensive knowledge of history.

(瑪麗廣泛的歷史知識讓每個人都很尊敬她。)

單字小鋪

1. truffle n. 松露

2. dessert n.(餐后)甜點

3. rough a. 粗糙的

4. fungus n. 菌類;蕈(單數(shù)形)

fungi n. 菌類;蕈(復(fù)數(shù)形)

5. highly-prized a. 價格昂貴的

6. urine n. 尿

7. flavor n. 味道

8. professional a. 專業(yè)的

amateur a. 業(yè)余的

9. allure n. 魅力

中文翻譯&標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案

你可能知道一種名叫松露巧克力的昂貴甜點，它的形狀看起來像一顆外表粗糙的小球，但你了解名為松露的這種蕈類嗎?這種用在歐式料理中的松露價格非常昂貴，以其特殊的氣味和濃烈的味道而聞名，有些人形容它的味道聞起來很像山羊的尿。這聽起來或許很不討喜，但 1 公斤的松露市價卻可高達(dá)18 萬臺幣。

這些要價極其昂貴的蕈類打哪來的?世界各地，包括北非和中國，都看得到許多品種的松露。但是最有名的黑松露與白松露只生長在意大利、法國和西班牙。在這些地方，采集松露可是一門大生意。專業(yè)的松露獵人小心翼翼地不讓別人知道自己最喜歡的采集地點。他們訓(xùn)練豬和狗來找出地底下的松露，因為這兩種動物都非常擅長嗅出這種蕈類的氣味。但是得把豬的嘴巴套上嘴套，否則松露就會成為非常昂貴的小豬食物。

黑松露看起來像顆外表粗糙的小馬鈴薯。但最珍貴的要屬白松露了，它看起來像一顆白色的小石頭，但是可以長得比黑松露更大。最近挖到一顆史上最大的白松露將近 1 公斤半，所賣出的價格超過 90 萬臺幣，簡直是天價。

松露高貴的身價使其躋身世上最昂貴的食物之一。它所散發(fā)的奇妙魅力難以解釋，就如一位美食作家曾說道，如果松露的價格更平易近人的話，其魅力也會隨之褪色。

標(biāo)準(zhǔn)答案: 1. (B) 2. (C) 3. (A) 4. (D)　5. (C) 6. (D) 7. (B)