英语下午茶

英语下午茶 Today people in the UK eat a more varied diet than ever before. As well as the regional diets of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland the many immigrant communities have introduced their cuisines to the previously unadventurous Britons: Chinese, Greek, Indian, Italian, Thai, American fast foods such as pizza, hamburgers and fried chicken have to some extent displaced the traditional fast food of fish and chips. 今天，英国人的饮食比以往更加多样化。除了英国地方性饮食习惯诸如英格兰， 苏格兰，威尔士和北爱尔兰，许多移民社区也将他们的饮食带到了英国:中国， 希腊，印度，意大利，泰国，美国快餐食品，如比萨饼，汉堡包和炸鸡已在一定 程度上取代传统的快餐店的炸鱼和薯条。 Because of the climate and the Germanic origins of many of its early people, the UK has been a traditionally beer drinking rather than a wine drinking country. Nevertheless, in recent years, vineyards in the south of England have proved successful. In the west of England the traditional drink is cider , rather than beer. Over Britain as a whole, however, the traditional drink is tea 由于气候和日耳曼起源，英国人在传统上一直是喝啤酒，而不是葡萄酒的饮用国。 然而，近年来，葡萄园在英格兰南部的栽培已证明是成功的。英格兰西部的传统 饮料是苹果酒，而不是啤酒。然而从总体而言，英国的传统饮品却是茶。 英国在维多利亚女皇时代(公元1837,1901)是大英帝国最强盛的时代，文化 艺术蓬勃发展;人们醉心于追求艺术文化的内涵及精致生活品味。 维多莉亚下午茶是一门综合的艺术,简朴却不寒酸,华丽却不庸俗 著名作家Henry James曾经说过:“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” You might be surprised to learn that British people love tea. In fact, afternoon tea is more than just a drink – sometimes it's a complete meal. 英国人喜爱喝茶，对于这点你或许会感到些许惊讶。事实上，下午茶对于英国人 来说，远远不止是一种饮品，有时候那便是一顿完整的餐饭。 The custom of taking afternoon tea is believed to have been first introduced in England in 1840 by Anna, the Seventh Duchess of Bedford. At that time lunch was taken early and dinner was not served in the evening until about 9 pm. The Duchess apparently became hungry in the afternoon and asked for some tea, bread and butter and cake to be brought to her room. This soon became a habit and the Duchess started to invite friends round to join her. 一般认为，英国下午茶的传统是维多利亚女王时代1840年期间由贝德芙公爵夫 人安娜女士所开创的。那时候，午餐开始得很早，而通常直到晚上9点人们才开 始吃晚餐。公爵夫人每到下午便感到百无聊赖甚至饥肠辘辘，便让女仆准备一些 差点，面包，黄油以及蛋糕送往她的房间。很快，喝下午茶便流行起来。公爵夫 人也开始邀请她的朋友共饮下午茶。 Very quickly it became fashionable to take tea in the middle of the afternoon and the occasion became more and more elaborate with the use of elegant tea ware , lace and embroidered table linen , bone china tea services, cake stands, tea canisters and blending bowls. During the 1880's upper-class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between four and five o'clock. 很快，在午后时光，喝下午茶便蔚然成风。随后，下午茶变得更为精致。典雅的 茶壶，蕾丝或绣花桌布，骨瓷杯，饼架，茶罐均为下午茶增添了一份高雅。19 世纪80年代，每到下午4点或5点，贵族妇女便会穿上长袍，戴上手套以及帽 子，前往休息室喝下午茶。 Traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of dainty sandwiches (including of course thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches), scones served with clotted cream and preserves. Cakes and pastries are also served. 传统的下午茶提供可口的三明治(当然也包括薄薄的黄瓜三明治)，由奶油和果 酱涂抹的烤饼。蛋糕和面粉糕饼也在下午茶上供应。 Nowadays however, in the average suburban home, afternoon tea is likely to be just a biscuit or small cake and a mug of tea, usually produced using a teabag. Sacrilege! 然而在如今，在大多数郊区居民的家中，下午茶更趋向于是简简单单的一块饼干， 一小块蛋糕，以及一大杯由茶包冲泡的茶。真是可惜 一些名人对下午茶的看法: "If you are cold, tea will warm you, If you are too heated, it will cool you, If you are depressed, it will cheer you, If you are exhausted, it will calm you." ——by William Gladstone (liberal British statesman who served as prime minister four times (1809-1898)) "Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea." ——by Henry Fielding