纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 009玛雅玉米神像（4）

The answer lies not in maize¹'s divine connections, but in the environment that Central America offered.

答案却不是因为玉米本身有何神圣性，而是由中美洲自身的环境所决定的。

In this part of the world at this time around nine thousand years ago, other food resources were very thin on the ground.

九千年以前，在地球的这部分地区，其他食物来源相当之贫乏。也没有容易驯化的动物。

There were no easily domesticated² animals-as you would find pigs, sheep or cattle elsewhere-and the staples³ were a trinity of plants that were slowly cultivated and tamed:

你在其他地区可以找到的猪、羊、牛之类的，这里都没有。当时这里人类的主食主要有三种：瓜类、豆类及玉米。

squashes, beans and maize. But beans and squashes don't become gods-why does maize?

那为什么豆类与瓜类都成不了神，唯独玉米可以呢？

Well, the plant from which maize derives⁴, the teosinte, is wonderfully adaptable⁵.

其实那种玉米进化而来的植物大刍草具有很奇妙的适应性。

It's able to grow in both the lush wet lowlands and the dry mountainous regions, which means that farmers can plant crops in any of their seasonal⁶ dwellings⁷.

它既能够轻轻松松生长在郁郁葱葱的低海拔湿地，也能毫不费力地适应干旱少雨的山区，这样农民就可以在任何季节任何地点种植这种植物。

On top of that, constant harvesting of the grain encourages the plants to grow larger and more abundantly, so maize quickly became plentiful⁸.

最重要的是，这种植物越是频繁收割，或是可以结出更丰硕更充足的果实。

farmers got a healthy return for investing their labour. But crucially, maize is a rich carbohydrate⁹ that gives you a rapid energy hit.

因此玉米迅速成为广受欢迎的农作物，家书辛苦付出的汗水总能有丰富的回报。另外关键一点是，玉米是一种营养丰富的碳水化合物，能够迅速地补充人体的能量损失。

But it is, let's face it, pretty stodgy¹⁰, and so from very early on, farmers also cultivated an ingenious-and tasty-accompaniment;

当然，我们现实点来说吧，玉米吃起来味道真不咋的。很早很早以前，农民就巧妙地培育出了一种美味的调味品—土著辣椒。

the indigenous¹¹ chilli. It has virtually no nutritional¹² value but,

这种辣椒本身没任何营养价值，但它恰恰能给食之无味的玉米变得好吃起来。

as we all know, it's uniquely able to liven up dull carbohydrates-and it shows that we've been foodies for as long as we've been farmers.

这表明，自从我们人类学会了农耕，我们就学会当美食家了。

By AD 1000, maize had spread north and south, virtually through the whole length of the Americas;

大概公元前1000左右，玉米已经由南到北，几乎遍布了整个美洲大陆了。

which is perhaps surprising-because, in its earliest form, not only did maize have little taste, it was practically inedible¹³.

这可能会让令人惊奇，因为其实最早期的玉米品种，不单单食之无味，而且根本就几乎不能食用的。

It couldn't just be boiled and eaten straight away as it is today. Nine thousand years ago, the maize cob was very hard, and eating it raw would have made you very ill.

不像今天的玉米，可以直接煮来吃。九千年前，玉米芯是很硬很硬的，啃不下嘴；生吃的话你又会病得很惨。

It needed to be cooked in a mixture of water and white lime.

它必须在水与白石灰中煮熟。用这沸腾的石灰水来处理早期玉米芯绝对是必不可少的过程。

This elaborate process of boiling the raw kernel¹⁴ in lime and water was essential.

没这样做，玉米中最关键的两种营养成份氨基酸和维生素B基本就释放不了。

Without it, the two key nutrients¹⁵ in the vegetable-the amino acids and vitamin B-would not be released.

接着，它还要被研磨成糊状，

After all that, it had to be ground into a paste and then made into an unleavened dough¹⁶. The god of maize expected his disciples¹⁷ to work hard for their supper.

然后再做成一种不发酵的面团。

Even today, maize still dominates much of Mexican cuisine¹⁸, and it still carries a surprisingly powerful religious and metaphorical¹⁹ charge,

直到今天，玉米仍然在墨西哥菜系中占有主导地们，而且它本身仍然具备有一种令人惊叹的强大宗教与象征性的蕴意。

as restaurateur Santiago Calva knows only too well:

开餐厅的圣地亚哥卡尔瓦再清楚不过了：

The continuous spin-offs of maize into daily life is vast and complex.

不断由玉米衍生而来的事物，轻松随意地渗透进人们的日常生活，影响即普遍又复杂。

At some stage there will always be maize around, and it jumps any class barrier or identity.

在某些阶段，我们生活周遭永远都有玉米的存在，超过了任何障碍与身份识别。

Everybody eats it and drinks it, from the richest to the poorest, from the most indigenous to the least indigenous,

从首富到最穷的，从最土著的到最不像土著的，大家吃玉米、喝玉米汁。

and that's one thing that unites more than anything else.

玉米是一种比任何事物都要强有力的共同纽带。

1 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

2 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

4 derives   

v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• English derives in the main from the common Germanic stock. 英语主要源于日耳曼语系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derives his income from freelance work. 他以自由职业获取收入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 adaptable   

adj.能适应的，适应性强的，可改编的

参考例句：

• He is an adaptable man and will soon learn the new work.他是个适应性很强的人，很快就将学会这种工作。
• The soil is adaptable to the growth of peanuts.这土壤适宜于花生的生长。

6 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

7 dwellings   

n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
• The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

9 carbohydrate   

n.碳水化合物；糖类；(plural)淀粉质或糖类

参考例句：

• You should not have too much carbohydrate in your diet.你日常饮食中不该有过多碳水化合物。
• Cashew nuts are rich in carbohydrate.腰果含丰富碳水化合物。

10 stodgy   

adj.易饱的；笨重的；滞涩的；古板的

参考例句：

• It wasn't easy to lose puppy fat when Mum fed her on stodgy home cooking.母亲给她吃易饱的家常菜，她想减掉婴儿肥可是很难。
• The gateman was a stodgy fellow of 60.看门人是个六十岁的矮胖子。

11 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

12 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

13 inedible   

adj.不能吃的，不宜食用的

参考例句：

• The food was totally inedible.食物完全无法下咽。
• These chemicals make the fruit inedible.这些化学品使这种水果不宜食用。

14 kernel   

n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心

参考例句：

• The kernel of his problem is lack of money.他的问题的核心是缺钱。
• The nutshell includes the kernel.果壳裹住果仁。

15 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。

17 disciples   

n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一

参考例句：

• Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. 犹大是耶稣十二门徒之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "The names of the first two disciples were --" “最初的两个门徒的名字是——” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

18 cuisine   

n.烹调，烹饪法

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• This restaurant is renowned for its cuisine.这家餐馆以其精美的饭菜而闻名。

19 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。