英语听力精选进阶版 6204（在线收听）

Nice Legs 漂亮的腿

We all like to eat well, and sometimes it's worth spending that little bit extra in order to get the best food available, but how many of us would consider spending nearly ￡2,000 (22,000 yuan) for a pig's leg?

British gourmets with money to burn are licking their lips at the thought of a Spanish ham that has gone on sale this week at shop in London.

The 7kg leg of Iberico ham costs ￡1,800 (19,800 yuan) and even comes with its own DNA certificate to guarantee authenticity.

Cured ham has long been enjoyed as an expensive delicacy around the world but the hefty price tag attached to these hams sets them apart from other similar products.

The reason they are so costly is because they come from a group of only 50 black Iberian pigs personally selected and reared by a third-generation Iberian pig farmer and curer.

Each pig has been fed on a special diet of acorns and roots to give the ham its distinctive flavour, and given a pasture of ten hectares each to live in.

After, what is by pig standards, an idyllic life of roaming oak groves and feeding naturally, the pigs are slaughtered and the curing process begins.

To make jamon iberico, as it is called in Spanish, the hams are salted and left to dry for two weeks, then they are rinsed and dried for another four to six weeks.

The dry hams are then hung in a cool, dry place for between 12 and 36 months before being made available to the public.

These kinds of ham are served raw in very thin slices and usually eaten as an appetiser. According to the London store selling the world's most expensive ham, the taste more than justifies the price tag.

"Connoisseurs will appreciate the melt-in-the-mouth texture of this truly amazing Spanish ham," said a spokesman.

Glossary 词汇表

gourmets 美食家 

money to burn 超有钱的 

licking their lips 舔嘴巴 (嘴馋)，期待尝试 

Iberico 来自于一种黑毛猪 

DNA certificate DNA 测试证书 

guarantee authenticity 确保可信赖性 

cured (用腌,晒,熏等方法)保存(食品) 

hefty price tag 昂贵的标价 

reared 养殖 

third-generation 第三代 

acorns 橡子 

pasture 放牧场 

hectares 公顷 

idyllic life 田园生活 

roaming oak groves 在橡树丛中漫游 

slaughtered 被屠宰了 

rinsed 冲洗了 

raw 生的 

connoisseurs 鉴赏家，行家 

melt-in-the-mouth texture 入口即化的感觉