【英语多益通】11/25国际无肉日！未来肉英文怎么说？
文／Buffy Kao
11月25日是世界素食日，又称国际无肉日，鼓励大家响应无肉饮食。不少食品工厂也嗅到素食商机，研发推出台湾称为「植物肉」、「未来肉」的肉类替代品，成为素食人士的一大福音。
不同于台湾大多使用黄豆提油脱脂后的豆粕、大豆油制作素肉，国外食品工厂会采用小麦、豌豆、椰子油、芥花油做原料，产生不同于台湾素肉的口感。就在植物肉将成为趋势的现在，我们先来看看国外的报导，顺便学习多益常见的英文单字吧！
1. The plant-based meat substitute maker has sold 13 million burgers since its 2016 debut and just last week admitted it is having trouble meeting demand after multiple Whole Foods stores ran out. （这个以植物为主的肉类替代品制造商，自从2016年初登场以来，已经卖出高达一千三百万美元价值的商品，上周制造商也承认目前在多间全食超市的库存卖完后，他们将面临产量供不应求。）
● substitute (n.) (v.) 替代品、替代
We will substitute the plan with a new one to make sure it will proceed successfully. （我们会采用一个新计划来替代这个旧计划，以确保它会顺利进行。）
在例句里采用名词用法，这边注意使用with介系词表达「用……替代」的用法。meat substitute就是肉类替代品，类似的用法有substitute teacher，指的是代课老师。
● Have trouble meeting demand 达标有困难
这个说法要拆成两个部分来看。第一个要看片语have trouble，意指「做……有困难」，注意后面一定要接动名词V-ing，其他替代说法还有have difficulty/a problem/a difficult time等，大家可以替代使用增加单字量，但是使用方法都一样，必须要接动名词。
第二部分是meet demand。meet在英文里有「遇见、见面」的意思，但是在这里则表示「达到」。在此meet的字义无法用原本的定义来看，否则就会发现拆开单字来看都懂，合起来阅读句子却不懂。这是许多台湾学习者的弱点，也是考多益需要加强的语文力。因此推荐各位在学习新单字时，要采用语句方式学习、多累积惯用语的学习法，而非单独学习单字。
另外demand是要求的意思，在此表示达到要求。由于无法达到要求，因此「have trouble meeting demand」可翻作「供不应求」。2. Several cultural trends led to Beyond Meat’s success, but so has its commitment to tweaking its collection of ready-to-cook products. （许多的文化趋势促使未来肉的成功，但是这些趋势也致力于调整其提供肉类半成品的商品清单。）
● commitment (n.) 致力于……、承诺
commitment来自动词commit的名词变化，不管是动词或名词，介系词都是加上to，如同文章所写。大部分的学生可能对于动词片语commit suicide不陌生，但重点是commit本身代表「从事……」，suicide就是杀自己，「sui-」代表「self（自己）」，「-cide」有「kill（杀害）」的意思，因此犯下杀自己的行为，就是自杀。
另外常见的惯用语有commit a crime，「犯下……罪行」，以及上文中所使用的说法，如：
Men have difficulty committing to a relationship.（男人难以在一段感情中下承诺。）
● tweak (v.) 修整、调整
tweak原本是指扭、拧这个动作，但是在这里则有调整、修整的意思。这边因为前面出现了介系词to，因此后方动词必须更改为动名词V-ing。
【多益模拟试题】
Seldom before has the international banking system undergone the scrutiny to which it is subject at the moment, but the examination now underway is of pivotal importance if there is to be a light at the end of the tunnel and if the banking system is to maintain its integrity. The events of the past two years have so profoundly shifted our perspective of how the global banking system should function, that change is inevitable. Most market analysts now conform to the view that the financial crisis that led to the global recession can be blamed on the imprudent investment policies pursued by the major international banking institutions over the past decade.
We have learned a very hard lesson which shows us that globalization has many pitfalls, perhaps the greatest of which is the cascade effect that recently saw one global bank after another go into financial freefall. We now know that the kamikaze investment policies of a few unscrupulous bank executives can have a knock-on effect throughout the entire global financial system. Junk bonds can be packaged with less risky investments, but if the bottom falls out, then the pyramid collapses and the monetary system is brought to its knees. Banks are so interdependent nowadays, that prudence and transparency have never been more important.
No one is suggesting we revert to the old ways, adopt a protectionist philosophy and close our borders to trade, but it is clear that the banking system needs to be overhauled. Investment bankers are rewarded huge bonuses based on the frequency with which and the volumes in which they trade rather than on the quality of the transactions they make. This simply encourages irresponsible behavior on stock exchange floors across the world. Traders are prepared to risk all in search of lucrative performance bonuses, overlooking the fact that they are not just playing a game of numbers but rather gambling people's livelihoods and savings.
To ensure that this sorry state of affairs we now find ourselves in is never repeated, the bonus system must be changed. Bankers should be given fixed salaries and only modest bonuses based on their year-to-year performance. Only when their investments have consistently shown good returns - say over a five-year period - should they be given large bonuses. This would discourage investors from gambling recklessly for short-term gain, and create a more stable financial environment.
1. What, in paragraph 1, does the writer say caused the current financial crisis?(A) The reckless investment policies of big banks.(B) The prudent investment decisions made by market analysts.(C) The difficult recessionary period of the last two years.(D) Recruitment policies of banking executives.
2. According to paragraph 2, what is probably the biggest disadvantage of globalization?(A) The poor decisions of a few banks can affect financial institutions globally.(B) The pyramid system is too stable.(C) Prudence and transparency are not very important.(D) Not a single economy in the world can escape the recession.
解析：
1. 正解为(A)。题目问「根据第一段的线索，是什么造成了目前的金融危机？」第一段最后一句所说「Most market analysts now conform to the view that the financial crisis that led to the global recession can be blamed on the imprudent investment policies pursued by the major international banking institutions over the past decade.（大多数市场分析家一致指出，这场引起全球衰退的金融危机可归咎于主要国际银行机构，在过去十年追求的轻率投资政策。）」因此可以判断答案是(A)。
本题考的是imprudent的同义词reckless的用法，字首「im-」和字尾「-less」都表示否定，prudent有谨慎的意思，加上字首「im-」就变成轻率的；而big是major的同义词。因此，答案很明确是(A)。
2. 正解为(A)。题目问「根据第二段所述，什么是全球化最大的缺点？」这段的第二句提到「We now know that the kamikaze investment policies of a few unscrupulous bank executives can have a knock-on effect throughout the entire global financial system.（我们现在知道，几间不择手段的银行主管神风自杀式的投资政策，可能造成贯穿整体全球金融系统的连锁效应。）」这边就算不知道kamikaze（自杀式攻击），但是unscrupulous也给了读者一些讯息。unscrupulous意思是肆无忌惮的，用字首「un-」表达否定的意思，scrupulous指的是细心谨慎的，跟poor可说是同义词的表达。另外knock-on effect（连锁效应）则呼应了动词affect，因此答案应选(A)。