【英语多益通】美猪将进口,瘦肉精「残留」的英文是?

▲ 国民党曾在前行政院长林全首次施政总质询时,抗议美猪进口(图/ETtoday资料照)

文/李海硕

最近最大的新闻之一,莫过于美牛美猪将要开放进口的议题了。许多网友除了表示非台猪不吃之外,也有网友表示美牛其实已经陪伴在我们的身边许久了。若您想与外国友人讨论这个话题,有哪些需要知道的关键多益英语词汇呢?我们一起来看看。

一、怎么说肉

猪与牛的英文大家一定都会,但是肉品肉类中许多都有自己完全不同的说法。

● 牛:(生物称呼)cattle/(肉类)beef● 猪:pig/pork● 羊:lamb/mutton● 鹿:deer/venison● 其他特化肉品:小牛肉/veal、羔羊肉/lamb、春鸡/spring chicken、乳猪/suckling pig

Local pig farmers are gathering to protest the upcoming eased pork import rules.(本地的猪农聚集抗议即将放宽的猪肉进口规范。)

二、怎么说放宽规范

禁令在英文中的说法是ban,而解除禁令的动词很特别,是用「提起来」的lift the ban。

The government is going to lift the ban on reselling masks on August 29th.(政府将于八月二十九日解除贩售口罩的禁令。)

限制除了ban之外,也有restriction的说法,搭配动词亦可使用lift。ban是直接禁止某个事物,restrict则有「限定于某个范围」的意思

Travel restriction has not been lifted in many countries due to CO-VID19.(由于新冠疫情,许多国家尚未解除旅游限制。)

本次主要的改变为30个月以上的牛只也可以进口,含瘦肉精的猪肉亦可进口,如下所示。

U.S. beef from cattle older than 30 months and pork containing Ractopamine are going to be imported soon. (30个月以上牛只而来的美国牛肉、与含有瘦肉精的猪肉很快将会进口。)

三、进口的风险是什么?

美牛的风险之一是狂牛病毒,亦即牛海棉脑病(bovine spongiform encephalopathy,简写为BSE)。其中bovine为牛的学术名词、sponge是海棉、form是形状、encephalo是脑、pathy是疾病。美猪主要的争议则为瘦肉精Ractopamine。

针对美猪需要做的瘦肉精残留程度检测,说法为Ractopamine residue。residue即为残留物之意,通常与农药杀虫剂连用。

The FDA report has shown that the pesticide residue levels are below allowed limits.(食药署的报告显示,杀虫剂的残留等级低于允许上限。)

四、怎么忽然要开放了

根据政府公告的资料,是因为国际法规改变了。这边的国际法规不能说成International Law,而需要以Codex(法典)来表达。这本法典是由FAO(Food and Agriculture Organization,联合国粮食及农业组织)与WHO(World Health Organization,世界卫生组织)共同制订,本法典的名称为Codex Alimentarius,即为拉丁文中的Book of Food。

根据政府所公告的资料,此刻需要开放的原因还有,考虑国家利益(national interest)与策略发展(strategic development)。

The newly employed marketing strategies have raked in huge profit for the company. (新运用行销策略为公司拉进了大把利益。)

五、表达您自己的立场

讨论热门时事,都会有不同的意见和看法呢?以下介绍可以运用的词句,让您表达自己的立场。

若政策立场因时空而改变改变,最好而又简单的表达方式就是「(A lot of/Lots of) Things have changed.」当事情都改变了,意思就是「状况已经不同」了。这个用法很常见也有名,也是诺贝尔文学奖得主Bob Dylan一首歌曲歌名

Things have changed. Grammatical errors are often allowed in lyrics nowadays for better rhyming. (景物已非。现今歌词中常为了更好的押韵而允许文法错误。)

若这个简单的用法无法满足您,那可以用较为高阶的context。这个字来自于con-(一起)与-text(文字),放在一起的文字就是前后文的意思。而若使用contextual/background information就是表示其他应该了解的前后文/背景资讯

Don’t take things out of context! (万勿断章取义!)字面上的意思是别从前后文中单独取出,当然就是断章取义了。

You need to take the contextual/background information into consideration.(您需要把背景资讯一并列入考量。)

若您认为政府是换了位置就换了脑袋,也有以下的说法。

It’s time for them to eat their own words. (该是他们撤回前言的时候了。)

Eat one’s word非常容易被误会成「食言、不守信」,但其主要意思是「承认之前所说的话是错误的/撤回前言」。

The table has turned!(风水轮流转!)

The table has turned.在这边的意思可不是真的跑去转桌子,而是「状况跟之前不一样了」,之前说话大声的人现在可没办法大声了。跟「Things have changed」比起来,这句话强调的不只是情况转变,更有原本占优势者已经失势之意。也因为这样,这句话常常以感叹句的方式存在,「How the tables have turned!」或是「How the turntables!」的意思都相同。

【多益模拟试题

According to the newly revised regulations, U.S. beef from cattle more than 30 months and pork containing ractopamine will soon be imported into Taiwan.Local pig farmers are gathering to protest the upcoming eased pork import rules. Consumers, however, have shown very different perspectives. Some argue that American beef has been here since 2006. Others believe that there should be no worries for Taiwanese pork as it simply tastes better. The government believed this action is for the best of the national interest and future strategic developments. Opposers have located Internet posts from years ago to suggest that it might be a good time for the ruling party to eat its words.

1. According to the article, which is true? (A) Consumers in Taiwan are all very happy about the lifting of the ban(B) Some consumers really like Taiwanese pork(C) Local pig farmers are happy about the upcoming changes. (D) 2020 will be the first year for the U.S. beef to be imported into Taiwan

2. What can we infer from the passage? (A) We will not have U.S. beef from cattle under 30 months starting from now(B) There will be no U.S. pork starting from now. (C) Ractopamine is a common food seasoning(D) The ruling party might have taken a different stance in the past.

解析

1. 正解为(B)。(A)、(C)为错误,因为第二段开头便表示有猪农将进行抗议。(D)为错误,因为文章内已经表示2006年起便有牛肉进口。(B)的答案可由第二段中「许多人认为台湾猪肉就是较好」得知。

2. 正解为(D)。(A)错误,开始开放30个月以上并不表示30个月以下限制不开放。(B)错误,猪肉为开放而非禁绝。(C)错误,因为food seasoning为食物调味品,由第一段中便知道不会是常见的调味品。(D)可由最够一段的eat its own words得知。

延伸阅读》农历七月来学东西方taboos英文!风俗习惯你该用「?」