你最喜欢的零食是什么？

想提升你的英语会话能力吗？我们为此准备了一档播客。《学习英语对话》是我们呈现地道英语的天地。每周学习一个我们日常使用的新短语或习语。全年还有特别制作的纪录片，助你提升英语口语。

Want to improve your English conversation skills? We have a podcast for that. Learning English Conversations is our home for authentic English. Every week, learn a new phrase or idiom with the English we speak. And across the year, listen to our special documentaries designed to improve your spoken English.

在播客应用中搜索《学习英语对话》或访问bbclearningenglish.com。这里是《六分钟英语》。

Search for Learning English Conversations in your podcast app or visit bbclearningenglish.com. Six Minute English.

来自bbclearningenglish.com。

From bbclearningenglish.com.

大家好。这里是BBC学习英语频道的《六分钟英语》。我是尼尔。

Hello. This is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

我是贝丝。似乎全球人民都痴迷零食。从经典爆米花薯片到巧克力三明治等新创意，零食产业规模惊人，全球年消费额预计达1.5万亿美元。

And I'm Beth. It seems people around the world are in love with snacks. From old favourites like popcorn and crisps, to new inventions like the chocolate sandwich, snacks are big business, with an estimated $1,500,000,000,000 a year spent globally on snacking.

让我们听听英国饮食历史学家安妮·格雷和阿根廷厨师芭芭拉·奥亚瓦里在BBC全球服务节目《食物链》中分享他们的餐间小食偏好。

Let's listen as British food historian, Annie Gray, and Argentinian chef, Barbara Oyavari, tell BBC World Service programme, The Food Chain, what they like to snack on between meals.

我喜欢咸花生和香蕉，其实搭配着吃最妙，特别解馋。我最爱的小吃叫奇帕饼，是用木薯粉、奶酪、黄油、牛奶和盐烤制的小圆面包。

I like salted peanuts and I love a banana. Preferably together actually, I find that they hit the spot. My favourite snack is called chipa. It's a small round bun made with cassava, cheese, butter, milk, and salt.

芭芭拉最爱的零食是名为奇帕的奶酪面包。而安妮则钟爱花生配香蕉的组合——这个习语意为'正合心意'。尼尔，你最爱什么零食？

Barbara's favorite snack is a cheese bread called cipa. While for Annie, it's the combination of peanuts and banana that hits the spot. An idiom meaning that it's exactly what you want. Neil, what's your favourite snack?

虽然想说些健康的，但说实话...我超爱薯片。

Well, I want to say something healthy, but actually, you know, I really love a bag of crisps.

我也是！薯片确实美味。无论你喜欢什么零嘴，本期节目我们将探寻人类痴迷零食的根源。照例还会学习实用新词汇。

Me too. Yeah. Crisps are good. Well, whatever you like to nibble on, in this episode, we'll find out why we are so in love with snack food. As usual, we'll learn some useful new words and phrases.

记住，你可以在我们的网站bbclearningenglish.com上找到所有词汇和一个小测验。

And remember, you'll find all the vocabulary and a quiz on our website bbclearningenglish.com.

好的，但首先我有个问题要问你，Beth。根据YouGov最近的一项调查，以下哪种零食在英国人中最受欢迎？是a)薯片 b)糖果和巧克力 还是 c)咸味零食和饼干？

Okay, but first I have a question for you Beth. According to a recent YouGov survey, which of the following snacks is most popular amongst Brits? Is it a) crisps b) confectionery and chocolate or c) savoury snacks and biscuits?

嗯，我们刚才都说了薯片，所以我猜是薯片。

Well, we both just said crisps, so I'm going to say crisps.

稍后我们会在节目中揭晓答案。对零食有专业兴趣的是Snack International的总裁Christine Cochrane，这是该行业的贸易协会。在这里，Christine与BBC World Service节目《食物链》分享了她对我们为何喜爱零食的看法。

Well, we'll find out the answer later in the programme. Someone with a professional interest in snacking is Christine Cochrane, President of Snack International, the trade association for the industry. Here, Christine shares her ideas about why we love to snack with BBC World Service programme, The Food Chain.

零食是一种负担得起的奢侈品。所以如果你今天过得不顺或者手头紧，这是你可以依赖的东西。我认为这就是它如此受欢迎的原因。消费者，尤其是美国的消费者，正在寻找更小、更方便的份量。他们并不总是能够坐下来一天吃三顿饭。

A snack is an affordable luxury. So if you've had a bad day or money is tight, this is something that you can turn to. And I think that is why you see it as so popular. Consumers, especially in The United States, are looking for smaller, more convenient portions. They're not always going to be able to sit down and have three meals a day.

对吧？所以他们边走边吃。另一个你看到的是对特定功能性成分的渴望。对吧？比如头脑清晰、肠道健康、肌肉发育这类东西。

Right? So they're eating on the go. And the other thing that you see is this desire for very specific functional ingredients. Right? So mental clarity, gut health, muscle development, these sorts of things.

再次强调，它们被很好地包装成零食大小。零食常被视为一种小奢侈。但要成功，零食还必须是负担得起的，这个形容词意味着不贵。

Again, they're nicely packaged in snack sizes. Snacks are often seen as a little luxury. But to be successful, a snack must also be affordable an adjective meaning not expensive.

零食，对大多数人来说足够便宜，即使手头紧也能卖出去。这个短语用来描述钱刚好够维持生活的状况。

Snacks, which are cheap enough for most people to buy, will sell even if money is tight A phrase used to describe a situation where there's only just enough money to live on.

多亏了零食。如今，坐下来吃一顿正餐的人越来越少。相反，他们边走边吃。如果你边走边做某事，意味着你在忙碌的旅行或移动中做这件事，而不是在家里。

Thanks to snacks. Today, fewer people sit down to eat a proper meal. Instead, they eat on the go. If you do something on the go, you do it while you're busy travelling or moving around rather than at home.

许多现代零食瞄准了特定功能。例如，能量饮料可能声称能改善你的肠道健康或头脑清晰。这个术语描述的是一种专注且投入的心理状态，不是迟钝或迷糊的。

Many modern snacks target a specific function. For example, an energy drink might claim to improve your gut health or your mental clarity. A term describing a state of mind which is focused and engaged, not dull or foggy.

但并非所有人都青睐现代包装零食，比如充斥商店的薯片和巧克力棒。来自阿根廷的芭芭拉·奥亚瓦里现居美国佛罗里达州。在此，她向BBC国际频道《食物链》栏目讲述如何引导九岁儿子选择更天然的零食。

But not everyone is a fan of modern packaged snacks, such as the bag of crisps and chocolate bars which fill our shops. Originally from Argentina, Barbara Oyavari now lives in Florida, USA. Here, Barbara tells BBC World Services the food chain how she encourages her nine year old son to choose more natural snacks.

我个人偏爱烹饪和食用更天然简单的零食。但当然，我无法逆势而行。如果我九岁的孩子想吃那种含切达干酪的烘焙小零食——讽刺的是，这种裹着奶酪的烘焙食品恰恰是我喜欢的类型——只不过是现代改良版罢了。

Personally, I enjoy cooking and eating more natural, simpler snacks. But of course, I can't swim against the current. If my nine year old wants to eat the little baked snacks that have cheddar, Ironically, it is something baked with cheese in it, which is similar to what I enjoy. It's just the modern twist to it.

芭芭拉希望儿子食用健康的家常食物，尽管他更钟情现代包装零食。她抱怨自己无法'逆流而上'。这个习语意指特立独行，通常因不介意与众不同而采取相异行动。

Barbara wants her son to eat healthy homemade food, although he prefers modern packaged snacks. Barbara complains she can't swim against the current. The idiom swim against the current means to act differently from other people, often because you do not mind being different.

尼尔，这些零食话题让我饥肠辘辘了。现在是不是该揭晓你问题的答案了？

Well, Neil, all these snacks have made me hungry. Now, isn't it time to reveal the answer to your question?

正是。我早前提问：根据YouGov最新调查，下列哪种零食最受英国人喜爱？薯片、糖果巧克力，还是咸味零食与饼干？答案是选项B——糖果巧克力，该调查显示45%的英国人每周都会享用这类零食。

Yes, it is. I asked according to a recent YouGov survey, which of the following snacks is the most popular amongst Brits? Crisps, confectionery and chocolate or savoury snacks and biscuits? And the answer was b. Confectionery and chocolate which forty five percent of Britons indulge in weekly according to that survey.

现在我们来回顾所学词汇，首先是'hits the spot'这个短语，形容某物完全符合你的需求。

Okay, let's recap the vocabulary we've learnt starting with the phrase 'hits the spot' which describes something which is exactly what you want or need.

若某物'affordable'，意指其价格亲民，大多数人都有能力购买。

If something is affordable, it's cheap enough that most people have enough money to buy it.

'money is tight'这个短语表示手头拮据，仅能维持基本生计。

The phrase 'money is tight' means you only have just enough money to live.

习语'on the go'指在奔波忙碌中处理事务的状态。

The idiom on the go means doing things while you're busy travelling or moving around.

'mental clarity'是指思维高度集中活跃，而非迟钝混沌的精神状态。

Mental clarity is a state in which your mind is fully focused and active, not dull or foggy.

最后，那些逆流而上或逆潮而行的人，他们的言行往往与大多数人不同。再次提醒，我们的六分钟时间到了，但何不前往我们的网站bbclearningenglish.com，尝试完成本集的测验和工作表呢？下次再见。

And finally, people who swim against the current or the tide do or say things differently from most other people. Once again, our six minutes are up, but why not head over to our website bbclearningenglish.com to try the quiz and worksheets for this episode. See you again soon.

再见。六分钟英语。

Goodbye. Six Minute English.

来自bbclearningenglish.com。

From bbclearningenglish.com.