英语专业晨读美文-文化篇 3 The Tao of Coffee

[00:01.06]The Tao of Coffee
[00:05.00]What exactly do you do when you make a cup of coffee?
[00:10.25]● Take one cup
[00:12.22]● Put in a spoonful of dark, bitter powder
[00:16.16]● Add a spoonful of sweetness
[00:18.89]● Pour in hot, clear liquid
[00:22.17]● Add whiteness
[00:24.03]Alone, each item has a complete flavor of its own.
[00:28.18]The only item that cannot be consumed alone is the bitterness, the coffee powder.
[00:34.09]Why is this so significant?
[00:37.15]Because a cup of coffee represents life, it represents you.
[00:42.08]You are both the vessel¹ and the contents.
[00:46.23] You are the one who chooses bitterness, sweetness, life, spirituality.
[00:51.81] Spirituality and faith are like the milk in coffee;
[00:56.62] without it the coffee is too bitter and sharp, with no depth to its flavor.
[01:02.09]Imagine the cup:
[01:03.51] when you add the bitterness (coffee) and the "waters of life",
[01:07.67]you have a sharp, bitter drink, with no sweetness, no depth.
[01:12.15]It is shallow, it is incomplete, it is missing many factors.
[01:16.85] For some people this may be what they choose,
[01:20.14]this may be the life they settle for.
[01:22.54]You add a spoonful of sugar.
[01:24.62]With the addition of that sweetness the bitterness is gone!
[01:28.12] But the depth is still missing. It is still a shallow drink.
[01:32.53]Again, some people may settle for this.
[01:35.59]You add the whiteness—spirituality, belief in yourself,
[01:40.62]or belief in something greater than yourself to the drink.
[01:44.34]The drink lightens in both color and flavor.
[01:47.62]It is rich and deep. It is complete.
[01:50.90]The only remaining ingredient that could lift this drink to a new height,
[01:55.93] that could transform the drink into something more magnificent,
[01:59.32]is a more powerful whiteness,
[02:01.62]a more intense and undoubted spirituality and faith,
[02:05.45] a greater passion for life itself,
[02:07.42]a commitment to your own dreams and goals: whipped cream!
[02:12.67]The cup of coffee is perfect without the whipped cream,
[02:16.28] it can stand alone against the world, and know its glory.
[02:19.78]But, a coffee with whipped cream is even more magnificent.
[02:24.49]Once you have known coffee with whipped cream,
[02:27.33]you will not desire anything less.
[02:30.06]You will look upon a whipped creamless coffee and see it as lesser²—satisfying,
[02:35.31]but lesser. The ingredients in your coffee are of your choosing,
[02:39.90] just as the ingredients in your life are of your choosing.
[02:43.19]You choose the amount of coffee powder that you add to the vessel,
[02:46.79]just as you choose the amount of bitterness you add,
[02:49.97] or create in your life.
[02:51.93] You choose the amount of sweetness you add to the vessel,
[02:55.00] just as you choose the amount of sweetness, joy, laughter, love and happiness
[03:00.90] that you bring into, or create in your life.
[03:04.73] You choose the heat and amount of water,
[03:07.68]just as you choose the quality of energy you bring into your life
[03:11.62]through diet, attitude, and addiction³.
[03:14.46]You choose the amount of milk you add to your coffee,
[03:17.31] just as you choose the amount of faith, spiritual understanding and truth
[03:22.45]that you bring or invite into your life.
[03:25.40] You choose, or do not choose, the whipped cream, just as you choose to believe,
[03:31.64]or not to believe, in a Divine energy or in your own passions, dreams and goals.
[03:39.40]You do not need to put that bitter coffee powder into your drink,
[03:43.23]but you do so because you find the drink more interesting.
[03:47.06]You relish⁴ the aroma⁵, the flavor, the depth,
[03:50.56] the intensity⁶ of the experience—both of the coffee, and of your life.

 

1 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

2 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

3 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

4 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

5 aroma   

n.香气，芬芳，芳香

参考例句：

• The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
• The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。

6 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。