VOA慢速英语2018--巧克力的故事

Chocolate's Story Older Than Once Thought

Humans may have been enjoying cacao, the substance used to make chocolate, for much longer than experts had thought.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Canada have found that humans grew cacao trees and consumed¹ cacao starting around 5,300 years ago.

They published their findings² in the journal³ Nature Ecology & Evolution in late October.

The researchers found evidence of cacao’s use at an ancient village in the highlands of southeastern Ecuador. They examined the remains⁴ of very old objects at the Santa Ana-La Florida archeological site. The village was part of the Mayo-Chinchipe culture of the Andes.

Time has had little effect on the village and ceremonial center. The researchers were able to find a lot of evidence of the use of cacao.

Scientists had already mostly agreed that cacao was first domesticated⁵ in South America instead of Central America, as they once believed. But the new discovery shows cacao was domesticated about 1,500 years earlier than was known before.

The scientists found evidence of cacao being used at the site from 5,300 to 2,100 years ago.

Cameron McNeil is a professor at Lehman College in New York. She is editor of the book “Chocolate in Mesoamerica.” She told the Associated Press that Santa Ana-La Florida is “the earliest site now with domesticated cacao.” McNeil was not involved in the new research.

The University of British Columbia researchers found extremely small pieces from the cacao tree in the remains of containers and other objects, as well as genetic⁶ material from the tree. They also identified a substance found in the cacao tree but not in its wild relatives. This suggests that humans grew the tree for food purposes.

A tropical⁷ tree known as Theobroma cacao produces large, round pods that contain the bean-like cacao seeds. A soft, light-colored substance covers each seed. Today, the seeds are cooked and turned into many chocolate products.

But thousands of years ago, cacao was used to make drinks.

Michael Blake is a professor of archaeology⁸ at the University of British Columbia who helped lead the study. He said that the objects on which cacao was found suggest a lot about how people used the substance at the time.

“They clearly drank it,” Blake told the Reuters news service.

There is no established history of indigenous⁹ populations in South or Central America using cacao to make chocolate the way people do now, the researchers reported. Indigenous populations in the upper Amazon area today still use cacao to make special drinks, they added.

Archeological evidence suggests cacao domestication¹⁰ moved into Central America and Mexico about 4,000 years ago. It is not clear how cacao’s use spread between South and Central America.

But by the time Spanish explorers arrived in Central America in the late 1400s, people were using it to make hot and cold chocolate drinks with spices.

By the 1580s, Spain began importing cacao and spreading it to other European countries. By the 1800s, technology developed in the Netherlands made it possible to turn cacao into a solid chocolate product.

Michael Laiskonis teaches chocolate-making classes at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. He said he has observed a growing interest in natural cacao tastes. He said he introduces his students to the history of chocolate. He tells his students, for example, about a recipe from the 1600s that mixed Mayan and Aztec versions¹¹ of cacao drinks with European influences.

Laiskonis said chocolate is “something that’s always been transforming.”

I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

consume(d) – v. to eat or drink something

journal- – n. a magazine that reports on things of special interest to a particular group of people

archeological – adj. related¹² to the science that deals with past human life and activities by studying the bones and tools of ancient people

domesticate(d) – v. to grow a plant for human use

tropical – adj. of, relating to, occurring in, or used in the area between either one of the two imaginary¹³ lines that circle the Earth to the north and south of the equator¹⁴

pod(s) – n. a long, thin part of some plants that has seeds inside

indigenous – adj. produced, living, or existing naturally in a particular region¹⁵ or environment

spice(s) – n. a substance, such as pepper or nutmeg, that is used in cooking to add flavor¹⁶ to food and that comes from a dried plant and is usually a powder or seed

introduce(s) – v. to cause someone to learn about or try something for the first time

recipe – n. a set of instructions for making food

transform(ing) – v. to change something completely and usually in a good way

1 consumed   

v.消耗( consume的过去式和过去分词 )；烧毁；大吃；使充满（强烈的感情）

参考例句：

• Arguing about details consumed many hours of the committee's valuable time. 争论细节问题耗费了委员会数小时宝贵的时间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fire had consumed half the forest away before it was stopped. 大火在熄灭之前毁掉了树林的一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

3 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 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》

6 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

7 tropical   

adj.热带的，热带的，炎热的

参考例句：

• You must grow these tropical flowers in a glasshouse.你必须把这些热带花卉种在温室里。
• This disease is widespread in tropical areas.这种疾病在热带地区蔓延很广。

8 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

9 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。

10 domestication   

n.驯养，驯化

参考例句：

• The first was the domestication of animals. 第一个阶段是驯养动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• In northwestern China, there is no evidence for endemic domestication of any animals. 在中国西北，没有任何当地动物驯化的迹象。 来自辞典例句

11 versions   

n.译本( version的名词复数 )；版本；（个人对事件的）描述；（原物的）变体

参考例句：

• There are two versions of the game, a long one and a short one. 这游戏有两个版本，一长一短。
• When both versions of the story were collated,major discrepancies were found. 在将这个故事的两个版本对照后，找出了主要的不符之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

13 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。

14 equator   

n.赤道，（平分球形物体的面的）圆

参考例句：

• Singapore is near the equator.新加坡位于赤道附近。
• The United States is north of the equator.美国位于赤道以北。

15 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

16 flavor   

n.味，滋味，味道；风味；vt.调味，加味于

参考例句：

• I like the flavor of chocolate.我喜欢巧克力的味道。
• Each flavor was totally unique.每一种味道都是独一无二的。