VOA双语新闻 McDonald's, Starbucks

Beauty and the Beast; The Prince and the Pauper¹; city mouse meets country mouse: Three classic tales where opposites cross paths, learn from each other, and live happily ever after.

《美女与野兽》、《王子与贫民》和《城市老鼠和乡村老鼠》这三个童话故事中，不同背景的“人”相识相遇，取长补短，从此以后融洽地生活在一起。

Which is exactly what McDonald's and Starbucks would like to do.

这大概也是麦当劳和星巴克想要建立的融洽关系。

Omnipresent McDonald's, boasts 30,000 eat-fast and drive-through restaurants in 119 countries. And upscale Starbucks, the coffee-bar king, helped hook America on premium², sweet and frothy coffee creations.

麦当劳快餐店遍布全球，在119个国家设有三万个快餐店，人们甚至不用下车，开车到一个小窗口就可以买到你想要的美味快餐。迎合高消费阶层的星巴克咖啡店则是咖啡店之王，他们推出的高档咖啡饮品， 味道香甜可口，上面漂浮的白色泡沫令人赏心悦目，令消费者欲罢不能。

Mickey D's has kids' "happy meals" and plastic-covered tables and chairs. At Starbucks, caramel "frappicinos," rumpled³ copies of the New York Times, and overstuffed couches are the vogue⁴.

麦当劳以价廉物美的儿童餐、 简便的塑料桌椅为特色。 星巴克咖啡店的时尚饮料则是焦糖特调冷饮frappicino， 桌上还有几份顾客留下来的纽约时报，顾客可以坐在松软舒适的沙发上惬意地享受着悠闲的时光。

You get small, medium, and large Cokes at McDonald's. At Starbucks, if you don't use the proper words -- "tall," "grande," or "venti" -- to order your coffee, the baristas wrinkle their noses at you. You can even specify⁵ what they call "skinny," "dry" or "upside down" treatment of your steaming drinks.

在麦当劳，可口可乐分为小杯、中杯或大杯。而在星巴克咖啡店，要用tall表示一般尺寸大小的杯，中杯的称为grande 、最大尺寸的杯子称为venti。如果你用错了这些专有名词，就显得太土了，或许还会惹得巴台服务员冲你皱眉头。在星巴克，你可以告诉服务员你要点的饮料用skinny、dry或upside down，直译过来就是用“少”、“干粉”和“上下颠倒”的方式来调制出一杯热腾腾的饮料。

Two different worlds. But not if the companies get their way, especially at breakfast time.

听起来这是两个不同的世界。不过如果按照这两家公司的未来设想，尤其是在早餐时间，你将会看到一种完全不同的景像。

Along with muffins and scones⁶, many Starbucks now have drive-through windows and sell breakfast sandwiches, just like McDonald's. Starbucks' are snootier, of course, with spinach⁷ and eggs, herbed sausage and aged⁸ cheddar cheese.

除了松饼和烤饼，现在许多星巴克咖啡店都为开车的顾客设有快餐窗口， 象麦当劳一样，出售早餐三明治，只不过星巴克的三明治配料更丰富， 里面夹有菠菜和鸡蛋、香草香肠和特制乾酪。

McDonald's, meantime, is going "uptown" with its own, premium Arabica-bean coffees, high-class pastries⁹, and toasted Italian sandwiches. They're served in a wood-paneled corner of the store called the "McCafe."

而与此同时麦当劳却在往上层路线的方向发展，提供用特级阿拉伯咖啡豆自制的咖啡，精致的糕饼和意大利三明治。当劳专门在店里开辟出一个"McCafe"，出售这些高档食品。

So while McDonald's takes a bite out of Starbucks' clientele, Starbucks has begun to nibble¹⁰ in Mickey D's terrain¹¹. It's a new twist on the old story: burger mouse meets coffee mouse.

这样一来，虽然麦当劳拉走了星巴克咖啡的一些顾客，但是星巴克咖啡也开始侵入麦当劳的领地。故事的开始是汉堡鼠和咖啡鼠相遇进而相识，这个古老的童话故事出现了新的转折。
 
 

1 pauper   

n.贫民，被救济者，穷人

参考例句：

• You lived like a pauper when you had plenty of money.你有大把钱的时候，也活得像个乞丐。
• If you work conscientiously you'll only die a pauper.你按部就班地干，做到老也是穷死。

2 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

3 rumpled   

v.弄皱，使凌乱( rumple的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She rumpled his hair playfully. 她顽皮地弄乱他的头发。
• The bed was rumpled and strewn with phonograph records. 那张床上凌乱不堪，散放着一些唱片。 来自辞典例句

4 Vogue   

n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的

参考例句：

• Flowery carpets became the vogue.花卉地毯变成了时髦货。
• Short hair came back into vogue about ten years ago.大约十年前短发又开始流行起来了。

5 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

6 scones   

n.烤饼，烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• scones and jam with clotted cream 夹有凝脂奶油和果酱的烤饼
• She makes scones and cakes for the delectation of visitors. 她烘制了烤饼和蛋糕供客人享用。 来自辞典例句

7 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

8 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

9 pastries   

n.面粉制的糕点

参考例句：

• He gave a dry laugh, then sat down and started on the pastries. 杜新箨说着干笑一声，坐下去就吃点心。 来自子夜部分
• Mike: So many! I like Xijiang raisins, beef jerky, and local pastries. 麦克：太多了。我最喜欢吃新疆葡萄干、牛肉干和风味点心。

10 nibble   

n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵

参考例句：

• Inflation began to nibble away at their savings.通货膨胀开始蚕食他们的存款。
• The birds cling to the wall and nibble at the brickwork.鸟儿们紧贴在墙上，啄着砖缝。

11 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。