Visits and parties訪問(wèn)聚會(huì)

1．招待朋友 Entertaining Friends

Mr. Lee: I know you’ve had Chinese food before, but I had to look all over town to find an authentic Chinese restaurant. I’m hoping this experience will be new and different for you.
我知道你吃過(guò)中國(guó)菜，但我還是找遍全城，終于找到這家地道的中國(guó)餐館。我希望這次能給你新的體驗(yàn)。
Miss Lewis: It all looks delicious! I love the way they’ve stacked the dishes in the middle of the table. What’s the dish in the middle making all the noise?
看起來(lái)真可口! 我喜歡象這樣把菜肴擺在桌子中央。桌子中間發(fā)出聲響的是道什么菜？

Mr. Lee: That’s called tie ban niu rou. It’s basically strips of beef with onion, but it’s poured onto a heated iron dish, which acts as a grill. That’s why it’s sizzling; it’s literally cooking at the table.
是鐵板牛肉。用洋蔥和牛肉片做的，將洋蔥和牛肉絲倒在加熱的鐵盤(pán)上，相當(dāng)于烤爐，所以會(huì)發(fā)出咝咝聲。這實(shí)際上是在餐桌上把菜做出來(lái)的。
Mr. Jones: So I guess we can be sure it’s hot. What’s this dish here? Looks like a salad or something!
那樣可以保證菜是熱的。這道菜是什么？看起來(lái)像沙拉一類(lèi)的東西。

Mr. Lee: That’s cold dish. Believe it or not, we call it “Tiger Food.” It’s green pepper, cilantro, and cucumbers. I suppose we could consider that an appetizer.
那是道涼菜。信不信由你，我們把它稱(chēng)作“老虎菜”。由青椒，芫荽葉和黃瓜。我們把它當(dāng)作開(kāi)胃菜。
Miss Lewis: Is it hot?
它是熱的嗎？
Mr. Lee: Hot? It’s cold.
熱？它是涼的。
Miss Lewis: I meant spicy-hot.
我是說(shuō)辣。

Mr. Lee: It’s a little hot, but not too bad. For really hot, you should try the noodle dish in front of you. It’s called “Ants Climbing a Tree.”
有點(diǎn)辣，但不是很辣。說(shuō)到辣，你應(yīng)該嘗嘗你跟前的粉絲，這道菜叫“螞蟻上樹(shù)”。
Mr. Jones: What a funny name! I guess those little bits of pork are the ants. So what do Chinese people eat for dessert?
名字真有趣! 我猜這些小肉丁就是螞蟻。那么中國(guó)人的甜點(diǎn)是什么呢?

Mr. Lee: We don’t have dessert. We end our meal with some sort of staple food like rice or noodles. But I think if you are hungry for something sweet at the end of the meal, you can try some of these steamed buns. They’ve been fried just enough to be crispy and golden. You dip them into this sweetened condensed milk.
我們沒(méi)有甜點(diǎn)。我們?cè)谧詈蟪孕┲魇常�如米飯或面條。但如果你最后想吃些甜的食品，你可以嘗嘗這些饅頭。它們被炸得酥脆焦黃。你可以蘸上些煉乳。
Miss Lewis: This food is just great! I don’t know how you manage to maintain a healthy weight with all this good food!
這些菜真不錯(cuò)! 真想象不出有這么好的食物，你們是怎么控制體重的!

authentic Chinese restaurant 地道的中國(guó)餐館
strips of beef 牛肉片
grill 烤爐
sizzling 發(fā)出咝咝聲
cucumbers 黃瓜
appetizer 開(kāi)胃菜
spicy-hot 麻辣
dessert (飯后)甜點(diǎn)
staple food 主食
steamed bun饅頭
crispy and golden 酥脆焦黃
Dip蘸，浸