怪异餐具流行英国

 　　Believe it or not, there was a time when restaurants served food on plates. Not a wooden board or a slate¹, but on a simple piece of crockery.

　　不论你相信与否，世界曾经有过碟子做餐具的时代，而不是木板、石板或简陋的陶器。

　　The plate was usually white and round, and had the advantage of keeping food in one place while making it look nice.

　　碟子通常都是白色圆形，可以将食物固定在一个地方而且看起来很美观。

　　Nowadays, anyone hoping for a relaxing meal out will be expected to wrestle² their steak off a breadboard, fish their chips out of a bucket and their rotisserie chicken off a brick.

　　现如今，渴望外出好好放松吃顿饭的人们很可能遭遇电线板上的牛排，木桶端来的鱼和薯条以及板砖送来的烤鸡。

　　Across the country, gastropubs and restaurants — desperate to be on-trend — are serving their food in flower pots, dog bowls, roof tiles, high heeled shoes...What on earth is going on? And please can we make it stop?

　　在英国各地，很多新式餐吧和餐厅都在赶时髦，使用花盆、狗食碗、屋顶瓦片甚至高跟鞋等物品盛放食物。这是怎么了，请停下来好吗？

　　怪异餐具流行英国

　　If the trend for wacky tableware continues, the dinner plate will become a relic³. It will join the soup tureen and cow creamer in the great crockery graveyard⁴ on top of the kitchen cupboard.

　　如果这种怪异上餐方式趋势继续下去，餐盘将成为历史。它将加入带盖汤碗和奶壶的队伍，被置于橱柜上面的陶器大坟墓，不会再被使用。

　　Thankfully, a backlash against this ludicrous craze is underway.

　　值得庆幸的是，对这种荒唐的狂热的抵制正在进行中。

　　An enterprising chap called Ross McGinnes has founded a campaign group on Twitter called We Want Plates, sparking an internet sensation.

　　一个名叫罗斯麦金尼斯的有魄力的小伙在微博上发起了一个叫做“我们要用盘子”的活动，在网上引起强烈共鸣。

　　He has been inundated⁵ with pictures from disgruntled diners of their bizarre experiences. 他收到数不胜数的离奇上餐图片，都是由不满这种荒唐上餐方式的食客们上传的。

　　At one restaurant on the Isle⁶ of Man, the breakfast fry-up is served on a shovel⁷. Elsewhere, bread is being served not in a basket, but in a flat cap.

　　马恩岛上的一家餐厅用铲子送早餐。在其他地方，面包不是放在篮子里，而是放在帽子里。

　　Cocktails⁸ are no longer poured into elegant, thin stem glasses or crystal tumblers. No, all drinks must be served in jam jars, retro milk bottles, fish bowls, toy treasure chests and even ski boots.

　　鸡尾酒不再注入优雅且薄的高脚玻璃杯或水晶酒杯，没有这样，所有的饮料都倒入了果酱瓶，复古牛奶瓶，鱼缸，玩具宝箱甚至滑雪靴中。

1 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

2 wrestle   

vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付

参考例句：

• He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
• We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。

3 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

4 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

5 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 isle   

n.小岛，岛

参考例句：

• He is from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea.他来自爱尔兰海的马恩岛。
• The boat left for the paradise isle of Bali.小船驶向天堂一般的巴厘岛。

7 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。

8 cocktails   

n.鸡尾酒( cocktail的名词复数 )；餐前开胃菜；混合物

参考例句：

• Come about 4 o'clock. We'll have cocktails and grill steaks. 请四点钟左右来，我们喝鸡尾酒，吃烤牛排。 来自辞典例句
• Cocktails were a nasty American habit. 喝鸡尾酒是讨厌的美国习惯。 来自辞典例句