☊ 碧瓏司の→ßeℒongŚ

牛角麵包：傳奇的法式美味  🍞 🍞 🍞
Croissant
　　
❀ The croissant is a widely known and enjoyed kind of pastry made from leavened laminated dough and baked plain or with some sort of filling or topping, most commonly chocolate.
牛角麵包這種廣受歡迎的糕點是對擀成薄片的發酵麵團進行烘烤製成，或者是純麵團，或者配上餡料和裝飾配料，通常是巧克力。
　　
❀ The word itself is translated as “crescent” into English, which is the shape most typically associated with this flaky pastry, although it can be found in other forms as well.
There are countless stories and legends about where this pastry originated and how it was made. In 1683, Vienna (the capital of Austria) was under siege by over a hundred thousand Ottoman Turks. After several months of trying to starve the city into submission, the Turks attempted to tunnel underneath the walls of the city. Fortunately for the entire city, some bakers hard at work in the middle of the night heard the sounds of the Turks digging and alerted the city’s defenders. This advance warning gave the defenders enough time to do something about the tunnel before it was completed. Soon, King John III of Poland arrived at the head of an army that defeated the Turks and forced them to retreat.
croissant這個詞在英語中譯為“新月”，新月形是這種酥餅最普遍的形狀，不過也有做成其他形狀的牛角麵包。
關於這種麵包的起源和做法有數不清的故事和傳說。1683年，維也納（奧地利的首都）被一萬多名奧斯曼土耳其人圍困。他們先是截斷糧食來源，逼迫這座城市屈服，幾個月後，他們又嘗試從城牆下挖地道進行偷襲。幸運的是，一些在夜裡工作的麵包師聽到了地下的動靜，並通知了城市的守軍。這個情報讓守軍有足夠的時間在隧道完工前挫敗了敵人的陰謀。不久，波蘭的國王約翰三世帶領部隊趕到，擊敗了土耳其人，迫使他們撤退。
　　
❀ To celebrate the end of the siege and the part they had played in lifting it, several bakers in Vienna made a pastry in the shape of the crescents they had seen on the battle standards of the enemy. They called this new pastry the “Kipfel” which is the German word for “crescent” and continued baking if for many years to commemorate the Austrian victory over the Turks in 1683. It was not until 1770 that the pastry came to be known as the croissant.
為慶祝城市的解圍以及他們所起的作用，維也納的幾位麵包師製作了一種新月形糕點，這是他們在敵人軍旗上看到的圖案。他們將這種新糕點命名為“Kipfel”，這是“新月”德語的叫法，之後許多年，它一直被用來慶祝1683年奧地利對土耳其人的勝利。直到1770年，這種糕點才以牛角麵包的名字流傳開來。
　　
❀ In that year, Marie Antoinette, a 15-year-old Austrian Princess, married King Louis XVI of France. To honor their new queen, the bakers in Paris made some “kipfels” of their own. The only difference was that they called it by the French word for crescent, “croissant”. The pastry proved as popular in Paris as it had in Vienna and Parisian bakers have been making it ever since as have bakers around the world who learned it from the Parisians.
在那一年，15歲的奧地利帝國公主瑪麗•安托瓦內特嫁給了法國國王路易十六。為了向新王后致敬，巴黎的麵包師製作了他們自己的“新月形麵包”。唯一的區別是，他們用“新月”的法語來為之命名，那就是“croissant”。這種糕點在巴黎和在維也納一樣受到歡迎。從此，巴黎的麵包師就一直做這種糕點，而全世界的麵包師都是從巴黎學會了製作牛角麵包的方法。
　　
❀ The flavor of a croissant should be intensely buttery with a natural dairy sweetness. It should not taste like added sugar or be cloying. It should be well-seasoned, but not so salty that you can’t imagine eating it with jam or preserves. The ideal crust should be distinct from the softer interior. It should be extremely flaky and shatter when torn or bitten into. It should be extremely crisp, but not crunchy or tough. Each layer of flaky pastry should virtually melt on the tongue, but not feel greasy in your hands. It should be an even, golden brown color all around.
牛角麵包應該是奶油味濃郁，有一種天然乳製品的甜味。它吃起來不應該是感覺加了糖或者甜得膩人。它的味道應該均衡，但不會太鹹，無法配著果醬或者蜜餞來吃。理想的牛角麵包應該是外焦裡嫩。面包皮應該非常酥脆，但是不會嘎吱作響或太硬。麵包的每一層應該是入口即化，但是拿在手裡又不會覺得太油膩。麵包在整體上應呈現一種均勻的金褐色。
　　
❀ The interior should be feather-light with many layers. It should be tender and moist but not gummy or doughy. The layers of dough should show plenty of stretch and separate gently from each other when you pull at them with your fingers.
Today, the croissant is both a symbol of French culture and tradition.
麵包心應該很輕盈，有很多層。它應該很柔軟潮濕，不黏也不軟稠。麵包的各層應該有足夠的延展性，用手去拉時，能夠很容易分開。
如今，牛角麵包已經成了法國文化也是法國傳統的一種象徵。 
　　
【Vocabulary:】
leavened 發酵的
laminated 薄片的，層壓的
filling 餡料
topping 裝飾配料
flaky pastry 酥餅
siege 圍攻，圍困，圍城
advance 預先的，事先的
lift 撤銷，解除；結束，停止
buttery 塗有黃油的，有黃油性質的
cloying 倒胃口的，使人感到膩煩的
crunchy 嘎吱作響的
gummy 黏性的
doughy 又軟又稠的
文章來源： http://goo.gl/D6u0vW

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MP3音檔 (按右鍵可下載聽)：
http://online1.tingclass.net/voaspe/…/20160402sa_science.mp3

🎁 

🎁 中英文稿：
“Both of us were in the lab when we just saw a spider, and I'm really afraid of them. So I started to scream for her to come and pick it up because she's not afraid of them.”
“我看到蜘蛛時，那時我們兩都在實驗室，我真的非常害怕蜘蛛。所以我就開始大聲尖叫讓她來幫我把蜘蛛弄走，因為她不害怕蜘蛛。”
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev psychologist Tali Leibovich, talking about herself and a colleague.
班古里昂大學的內蓋夫心理學家Tali Leibovich，談論了自己和同事的經歷。
“And she said, 'but it's small, how come you're afraid of it?' And I said, 'no it's huge!' And she said 'it's small'; I said 'it's huge.' We started arguing, and this is why we started this study. To see who is right."
“我的同事說，蜘蛛就那麼小，你怎麼會害怕它呢?”我說，不，它那麼大。她說蜘蛛很小的，但我則說，蜘蛛很大。我們開始爭論起來。為了證明誰的觀點是對的，我進行了這項研究。
Leibovich does not ordinarily study spiders. But this spider encounter made her curious about how the human brain understands magnitude—what are the factors that influence our estimation of how big or small something is? And does fear play a role?
Leibovich並沒有研究蜘蛛。但是這次偶遇蜘蛛的經歷讓她開始好奇人類的大腦如何理解大小——究竟是哪些因素在影響我們評判事物大小的標準的呢?恐懼是否也起作用呢?
So she and colleagues did an experiment in which participants had to say how big a spider in a photo was on a scale from housefly to goat. And the subjects who were afraid of spiders consistently rated the arachnids as larger than did the non-phobic participants.
所以她和同事做了一個實驗。實驗中，參與者必須說出照片的中蜘蛛與家蠅以及山羊相比的大小。與不害怕蜘蛛的參與者相比，害怕的實驗物件總認為蜘蛛較大。

🌀  “800磅大猩猩”何意？ 🌀 🌀
　　
♞ 1. 800-pound gorilla 因強大而無需顧忌的人或物
這個習語來自一條謎語。問：一隻800磅（約726斤）的大猩猩可以睡在哪兒？答：想睡哪兒就睡哪兒。由此可以看得出來，這句俚語常用來形容某人或某組織十分強大，行事無需顧忌。
例句：
In the software industry, Microsoft would be considered the 800-pound gorilla.
微軟就是軟體界的“800磅大猩猩”——可以為所欲為。
　　
♞ 2. goose bumps (由於寒冷、害怕或激動而起的)雞皮疙瘩
每當我們覺得身上發冷或者發麻的時候，皮膚上就會起一層雞皮疙瘩。英語裡雞皮疙瘩叫：goose bumps。Goose就是鵝，bumps就是疙瘩。至於為什麼中文說雞皮疙瘩，而外國人卻說鵝皮疙瘩就不得而知了。
例句： 
Every time I see a snake, even in a zoo, I get goose bumps all over.
每當看到蛇，我全身就會起雞皮疙瘩，哪怕是在動物園裡看到蛇也是如此。
值得注意的是，當某些事物使我們突然感到熱情洋溢，或產生敬仰心情的時候，也可以用goose bumps來形容。
Just seeing her picture in a magazine gives me goose bumps - she's such a beautiful woman.
即便在雜誌裡看到她的照片都會讓我起雞皮疙瘩——她真是太漂亮了。
　　
♞ 3. sitting duck 活靶子；易受攻擊的對象
Duck就是鴨子。我們不容易打到一隻正在飛的鴨子，不過一隻浮在水面上的鴨子卻是一個很容易擊中的目標。Sitting duck從字面上解釋就是：一隻坐著的鴨子，引申為“易被擊中的目標；易受攻擊的對象”。
例句： 
With their bullets all gone, the soldiers were sitting ducks for the enemy. 
子彈全打光了，戰士們成了敵人的活靶子。
　　
♞ 4. like a duck to water 如魚得水
做什麼事情像鴨子下水游泳一樣，馬上就適應了。注意，不能把“如魚得水”直接說成 “like a fish in water”。英語裡沒有這個表達，只能用“like a duck to water”。
例句：
She's a natural at tennis and learnt very quickly, like a duck to water.
她有打網球的天賦，學得很快，就像鴨子天生會游泳一樣。
　　
♞ 5. chicken feed 微不足道的一點錢
雞是一種很小的家禽，它的胃當然也很小，吃不了太多東西。Feed在這兒的意思就是喂雞的飼料。Chicken feed作為俗語，它的意思就是：很小數量的錢，少得像餵雞的飼料一樣。
例句： 
I turned down the job at the hamburger restaurant. They only pay chicken feed - not even enough money to pay my rent.
我沒有接受那個漢堡包店的工作。他們付的工資實在太少，還不夠我付房租呢。
　　
♞ 6. turkey farm “廢物農場”，吃閒飯的機構、部門
Turkey是火雞，farm就是農場。但是，turkey farm合在一起作為俗語卻和農場毫無關係。在每個政府機構或者私營公司裡總會有一些工作能力低或者是不願勤懇工作的人；但由於種種原因，領導又沒有辦法解雇這些人。為了使工作不受影響，這些機構的領導往往把這些人調到某一個部門，就像打入冷宮一樣。實際上也就是把他們養在那裡，而這種地方就叫turkey farm。
例句： 
The man is so incompetent we'd like to fire him. But he has good political connections so we sent him to our turkey farm out in Denver where he can't cause much damage.
那個人實在無能，我們很想解雇他。但他和一些政界人物關係很好，所以我們就把他送到丹佛那個機構裡去，那樣他就不能再起多大破壞作用了。
　　
♞ 7. when pigs fly 無稽之談
如果哪一天豬都能飛起來，那可真是怪了，所以這句話就用來表示某事根本不可能，純屬無稽之談。
例句：
He'll win a match when pigs fly. 
他要是能贏得比賽就怪了。
　　
♞ 8. serve as a guinea pig 充當試驗品
豚鼠guinea pig常常被用來做實驗，英文中如果說某個人做了guinea pig，也就是說他成了實驗物件。
例句：
Students in fifty schools are to act as guinea pigs for these new teaching methods. 
五十所學校試用了這些新式的教學方法。
　　
♞ 9. cast pearls before swine 對牛彈琴
把珍珠放在豬的面前，豬並不會知道珍珠的珍貴。這個習語有點像中文裡的“對牛彈琴”，表示浪費感情。
例句：
To sing for them is to cast pearls before swine. 
別給他們唱歌，簡直是對牛彈琴。
　　
♞ 10. white elephant 累贅、大而無用的東西
該用法源自一個故事，據說暹羅（即現在的泰國）的國王，習慣將白象作為禮物贈送給那些不受人歡迎的侍臣，以通過昂貴的飼養成本，使接受者破產。
例句：
When he planned to sell his house, his expensive furniture became white elephants.
他想要賣房的時候，那些昂貴的傢俱竟成了累贅。
文章來源： http://goo.gl/t2qUN8

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十種令其他國家居民抓狂的行為  💢 💢 💢
　　
☒ 1. Filling Your Own Glass 只倒滿自己的杯子
When drinking alcohol with Japanese friends, it's considered rude if you are only filling your own glass. In Japan, it is proper etiquette to refill everyone else's glasses and not your own. If you fill someone else's glass, they'll return the favor and fill yours too.
和日本朋友一起喝酒時，你若只盛滿自己的酒杯，是會被認作無禮的。在日本，給所有的其他人(不包括自己)添滿酒杯才合乎禮節。當你為他人滿上酒杯時，他們會返還這種禮節，也給你滿上。☚
　　
☒ 2. Taking the Back Seat 坐在後排
If you're catching a cab solo in Australia or New Zealand, remember to always take the front seat. Sitting in the back will make the cab driver think that you're a stuck up passenger.
在澳大利亞或是紐西蘭，如果你是獨自一人坐計程車，記著要坐在前排。對於計程車司機而言，坐後排的乘客自命不凡。☚
　　
☒ 3. Doing the Thumbs Up! 豎大拇指!
Doing the thumbs up is a positive gesture which means OK to most of us. But in other countries like Australia, Greece or the Middle East, it means “Up yours!” So better keep your thumbs to yourself.
對絕大多數人而言，豎大拇指表示“沒問題”，是個意義積極的手勢。然而在其他一些國家，像是澳大利亞、希臘或中東各國，豎大拇指意味著“去你的!”所以最好管好自己的手勢。☚
　　
☒ 4. Eating With Your Left Hand 用左手吃東西
If you're in the Middle East, India, or Africa, be careful not to use your left hand when eating and passing food – only use the right. The left hand is known to be unclean and used for matters done in the bathroom, so eating with it will probably give you unwanted stares from the locals who've already lost their appetites.
你要是在中東地區、印度或是非洲，小心別用左手吃東西或傳遞食物，一定要只用右手。對他們而言，如廁時用到的左手不乾淨，所以當看到你用左手吃東西時，失去食欲的當地人很可能會瞪著你，這也是你不想看到的場景。☚
　　
☒ 5. Say America! 回答說“America”!
If you're an American and you're in South America, remember to answer USA or United States when someone asks you “Where are you from?”. Saying “America” makes it look like you're only referring to the USA as the only America when there's also South America. Clear?
如果你是生活在南美洲的美國人，當別人問你“你來自哪?”時，記著回答“USA”或“United States”。你如果回答“America”，這會看起來像，明明還有南美洲，你卻只把美國人稱作美洲人。清楚了嗎?☚
　　
☒ 6. Send Even Numbers 送的東西是偶數個。
If you want to send flowers to a friend in Ukraine as a romantic or friendly gift, make sure you give an odd number of flowers. Sending an even number of flowers is only meant for funerals.
如果你想給一位烏克蘭的朋友送花以示愛意或友善，確保你送的花是奇數朵。送偶數朵鮮花只有一個含義——送喪。☚
　　
☒ 7. Showing the Peace Sign 做V字形和平手勢
If you're in the United Kingdom or Ireland and you want to indicate you want two pieces/orders/etc. of something, make sure that your palm is facing outwards when you do the V-sign. If you do the opposite way and face your palm towards you, then you're asking for trouble because that simply means “F*** off!”
在英國或愛爾蘭共和國，如果你要表達，某樣東西你想要兩片或兩份，確保在做V字手勢時手掌心朝外。如果剛好相反，你的手掌心朝向自己，那麼你是在給自己招惹麻煩，因為那個手勢表示“滾遠點!”。☚
　　
☒ 8. Showing Your Soles 給別人看你腳底板
In India, the Middle East, and other parts of Asia, displaying the soles of your feet can be considered as an insult for the locals, who see it, because the feet, especially the soles, are often perceived as unclean. So don't show those soles and remember to remove your shoes before entering someone else's house.
在印度、中東地區或是亞洲其他地區，給他人看你的腳底板在當地人看來是對他們的一種侮辱。因為腳丫，尤其是腳底板總被認為是不乾淨的。因此不要讓人家看到你的腳底板，還要記住在進到他人家裡之前脫鞋。☚
　　
☒ 9. Sticking Chopsticks in a Bowl of Rice 把筷子插到一碗米飯上
In East Asia, sticking your chopsticks vertically in a bowl of rice is considered taboo and bad luck because this is a sign of death. This is only done during funerals.
在東亞地區，將筷子豎直插到一碗米飯上是一種禁忌的行為，被認為會帶來厄運，因為它標誌著死亡。人們也只有在葬禮中才會這麼做。☚
　　
☒ 10. Giving Tips 給小費
You might get used to paying tips when you're from/in the United States but in other countries it's not expected and sometimes may be perceived as an insult, like in Japan and Korea.
你要是來自美國，可能習慣了給小費。不過在其他國家，像是日本或韓國，小費是不必要給的，有時候還可能會被看做是一種侮辱他人的行為。☚
文章來源： http://goo.gl/gKvTTc

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MP3音檔 (按右鍵可下載聽)：
http://online1.tingclass.net/voa…/2016/20160124sa_health.mp3

🎁  

🎁 中英文稿：
Otzi—or as he's also known, the Iceman—was discovered frozen in the Alps in 1991 by two German tourists. The 5,300-year-old body has been analyzed in various ways and been the subject of numerous scientific publications. And now it's been looked at again. Because scientists realized that the contents of the Iceman's stomach were still intact. Which gave them the chance to look for evidence of the common stomach bacteria Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori. What they found tells us more about Otzi—and more about how Otzi's ancestors came to Europe. The study is in the journal Science.
奧茨——也被稱為冰人，是1991年，由兩名德國遊客在阿爾卑斯上發現。這具約有5300年曆史的屍體已經由多種方法分析研究，並成為眾多科學出版物的出版對象。現在它又引起了人們的關注。因為科學家發現奧茨的胃部仍完好無損。這就給予了科學家尋找研究常見的幽門螺旋桿菌的機會。科學家的發現向我們揭示了更多關於奧茨的資訊——以及更多關於奧茨的祖先是如何來到歐洲的。該研究結果發表在《科學》雜誌上。
The researchers were able to extract genes from H. pylori in the stomach to produce the oldest known genome sequence of a pathogen. The Iceman seems to have been infected with a virulent strain. So in his last days on Earth, Otzi probably had one bad bellyache.
研究人員能從幽門螺旋桿菌中提取基因用以產生最古老的病原體基因序列，似乎冰人感染了一種致命的菌株。所以，在奧茨在世的最後一天，可能腹痛導致他斃命。
“The strain had already reacted with the Iceman's immune system. This we could show. So we showed the presence of marker proteins which we see today in patients infected with Helicobacter.” The University of Vienna's Frank Maixner.
這種毒株可能已經與冰人的免疫系統反應。我們可以證明此點。所以我們發現，感染了幽門螺旋桿菌的病人其有標誌性蛋白質存在。來自維也納大學的弗蘭克•麥克斯說到。
It's estimated that more than half the world's human population harbors various strains of the ulcer-causing bacteria. And different strains are associated with different places on the globe.
據估計，世界上有一半以上的人口患有由細菌引發的腹痛，但是地球上不同地方腹痛不同。
“We use then Helicobacter as a surrogate for what humans were doing at various stages of our prehistory.” Yoshan Moodley from South Africa's University of Venda.

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👯 中英文稿：
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English, I’m Jennifer and with me today is Rob.
歡迎收聽BBC六分鐘英語欄目，我是珍妮佛，今天來到節目的還有羅伯。
Hello Jennifer!
珍妮佛你好！
Now Rob, you’re a man of taste – what would you usually wear to the office? Well I think it’s important to look smart, but in my job I can be casual, so perhaps a nice shirt and some jeans or casual trousers? Very nice, and what about the women, what do they wear?
羅伯特，你是一個有品位的人——你通常在辦公室怎樣著裝？我認為看起來精神很重要，但是在我的工作中我可以隨意一些，也許一個漂亮的襯衫配上牛仔褲或休閒褲？非常好，那女士穿什麼比較好呢？
Well, there’s quite a range at work – some ladies are quite smartly dressed and might wear a dress or a skirt and blouse, but others are more casual. Of course, they ALL look lovely – including yourself.
在工作時可以有多種選擇——一些穿著得體的女士可能會穿連衣裙或裙子和襯衫，其他人可能穿的更休閒些。當然，看起來都很漂亮——包括你自己。
Hmm, I’m not sure how sincere you are about that, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. We’re talking about the importance of dress codes on 6 Minute English today, but before we get to our story, I’ve got a question for you and it’s all about fashion, something I’m sure you know lots about. Are you ready for the all-important question, Rob?