中国日报双语新闻
为您的英语保鲜
You’ve got to hand it to the Chinese. Chopsticks, a clever tool indeed, provide a convenient way to eat an amazing range of foods, extending way beyond Asian cuisine.
这一点你得承认中国人民的创造力，他们发明了“筷子”，这个非常实用的工具可以夹住各种各样的食物，而且绝不仅仅只局限于亚洲美食。
have to hand it to：必须承认（某人做的某件事值得表彰）
I’ve handled them deftly for decades. While it used to amuse me, it mildly annoys me now that Chinese react with such fuss and astonishment to see a foreigner handle them — as if someone from a country that put a man on the moon would somehow be incapable of maneuvering two simple sticks in tandem.
我从可以熟练使用筷子到现在已经几十年了。每次中国人看到我一个外国人用筷子吃饭，总是大惊小怪的，我以前还觉得好笑，现在却有点恼火。好像在他们看来，美国人有能力完成登月，却用不好两根简单的筷子。
fuss：小题大做；大惊小怪
in tandem：协力地
My first exposure to chopsticks came way back in the 1960s via the elementary piano tune known as Chopsticks, which prompted my inquiry as to what the word meant. Not long afterward, my parents introduced me to Chinese food at King Fong Cafe in Omaha, Nebraska, which, I only learned recently, was among the landmarks of the heartland city’s once-thriving Chinatown in the early 1900s. (The restaurant’s owner personally brought the teak furniture and other decor by boat from what is today’s Guangdong province.)
我第一次听说“筷子”，是上世纪60年代，我听到了一首初级钢琴曲《 Chopsticks》，这让我想去查明这个单词的具体含义。不久之后，我父母带我到内布拉斯加州奥马哈市的King Fong Cafe吃了一顿中餐。我最近才知道，在20世纪初，这座中心城市曾有着非常繁荣的唐人街，而这家餐厅在当时是这条唐人街的地标之一。（这家餐厅的柚木家具和其他装饰小物都是从广东省通过海运到达美国。)
As you can see, China’s influence stretched far and wide long before opening-up in the late 1970s or today’s Belt and Road Initiative. So the notion that most foreigners cannot use chopsticks is, simply put, fiddlesticks. (And, to be honest, I have never once in my long life seen a Westerner marvel that a Chinese person can wield a spoon and fork properly.)
正如你所了解到的一样，中国对世界的影响力源远流长，早于20世纪70年代末的改革开放政策或者现在的“一带一路”倡议之前就已经开始了。所以，“外国人不会用筷子”的这个说法就是胡扯。（而且，说实话，我还没有见过哪个西方人对中国人会正确使用刀叉用餐而感到非常惊讶的。）
fiddlesticks：胡说
In fact, you might say I have undergone special kuaizi training (improving dexterity, for example, by constantly picking up peanut kernels when I lived with my Chinese tai chi master) and experimentation (exploring the use of chopsticks to snap up popcorn and donuts; I’m working on ice cream).
事实上，或许你可以说，我在学会用筷子之前，一定经过一些特殊的训练。比如，当我和中国的太极拳师傅练习的时候，需要时不时地用筷子夹起花生仁，以此来提高使用筷子的灵活性；我还尝试过用筷子去夹爆米花和甜甜圈，最近的实验对象换成了冰淇淋。
But there’s one Western food for which chopsticks are truly a godsend: salads. After moving to China in 2014, I bought a salad at a convenience store, and the clerk handed me kuaizi. I balked at first, but then thought, “What the heck” and gave it a whirl.
但是对于西方的一种食物——沙拉，筷子简直就是为它而生的。2014年，我来到中国生活，有一天我在一家便利店买了份沙拉，店里的服务员给了我一双筷子。起初我还有点犹豫，但后来转念一想“管他呢！”，不如就用筷子试试吧。
Amazingly useful! I could pick and choose each morsel much more carefully, without having to fumble about trying to spear the crispy lettuce or cherry tomato and then maneuver it mouthward.
等我尝试了以后，惊讶地发现，筷子真的太好用啦！因为我可以更仔细地挑选每一口食物，不用费力地去戳酥脆的生菜或者是小西红柿。
Another clear advantage of these simplest of implements is that they regulate the pace and volume of eating. It’s much harder to “pig out” by shoveling food with chopsticks than with a fork and spoon.
此外，使用筷子就餐还有另外一个明显的优点，那就是筷子可以帮助控制人进食的速度和分量。毕竟，筷子不像叉子和勺子那样，可以大口大口喂很多的食物。
pig out：狼吞虎咽
However, in the spirit of globalization, let’s not overlook the finer points of knife and fork, for example when eating steak or, much more likely, pizza. (Most Westerners, by the way, eat the latter using an even simpler tool — their fingers — and definitely without ketchup.)
不过，本着全球化的精神，我们也不能忽视刀和叉的好处。比如，在吃牛排或者披萨的时候，刀叉就有用武之地了。（顺便说一下，大多数西方人在吃披萨的时候是直接用手拿，而且不蘸番茄酱。）
The trick to tackling a steak or pizza using knife and fork is to do something counterintuitive: Switch hands. If you’re a “rightie”, hold the fork in the left hand to spear and anchor the steak or pizza slice, which allows you to use your right hand to more skillfully and powerfully cut with the knife.
用刀叉切牛排和披萨的时候，这个过程其实是与人的肢体直觉反应相反的，因为需要换手操作。比如，如果你习惯性使用右手进行各种日常活动，在吃牛排和披萨的时候，就需要用右手拿刀切牛排，因为右手更有力量也更熟练，而用左手握叉子来固定牛排和披萨。
In fact, a handy thing about the fork is that everyone is basically ambidextrous when using one. I venture to say that, for Chinese and foreigners alike, switching hands while using chopsticks is not so readily done with aplomb.
事实上，叉子比较方便的一点是，每个人都可以左右手灵活地使用它。我冒昧说一句，不管是中国人还是外国人，换只手拿筷子都并非易事。
ambidextrous [,æmbɪ'dekstrəs]：双手灵巧的
译者：余桐欣
About the author & broadcaster
James Healy is from the United States and has been a copy editor at China Daily since 2014. He is an advanced student of Chen style tai chi and enjoys Chinese culture, food and carvings.