吃中餐用筷子还是叉子？美国人不用纠结啦！

 　　用不好筷子是不少美国人享用中餐的一块心病，但现在他们好像找到了能挽救自己尴尬的“神器”。

　　Remember the sporks of your childhood cafeteria days? The spoon-fork combo utensil¹ was just spoon-like enough to make spear your food way too hard, and just fork-like enough to give you a nice stab in the tongue.

　　还记得童年时期小餐厅里的叉勺吗？这种把勺子和叉子结合在一起的餐具状似勺子切不开坚硬的食物，状似叉子又恰好会戳到你的舌头。

　　Well folks, there’s a new sheriff in town, and its name is “chork.” This Frankenstein’s monster of hybrid² cutlery features a fork on one end and chopsticks on the other. It’s a perfect solution for the many Americans who start their meal with chopsticks, get frustrated³ halfway⁴ through, and ditch them for a fork.

　　大家注意了，现在又来了一位“新主”，它就是“筷叉”。这种怪异的混合餐具的一头是叉子、一头是筷子。对许多美国人来说，这是他们学习用筷子用餐的完美方式，他们都曾半途而废，继续求救“叉子”。

　　The chork is a three-way utensil. It can be used as a fork, a training pair of chopsticks, or, when broken in two, utilized⁵ as normal chopsticks. Chorks have been around for quite a while, but are enjoying some fresh attention after news broke this week that Panda Express may soon offer chorks in their restaurants.

　　“筷叉”是可三用的餐具。它可以作为叉子、练习筷使用，若将它拆开，则可作为普通筷子使用。“筷叉”出现已有段时间了，只是本周熊猫快餐宣布未来将在餐厅提供，又引起了人们对它的关注。

　　Panda Express called chorks “the perfect mashup of American and Chinese cultures ― just like Panda Express.” The restaurant group alluded⁶ to the possibility that chorks may be offered in stores in the future.

　　熊猫快餐将“筷叉”称为“中美文化的完美结合——就像熊猫快餐公司本身一样。”熊猫快餐也提到未来商店将可能出售“筷叉”。

　　There’s no word yet on when these bad boys might be available at a Panda Express near you. But if you feel the need for more chorks in your life, you can buy your ownset for $9.99. Not looking like a fool with your amateur chopstick skills? Priceless.

　　“筷叉”何时会出现在你家附近的熊猫快餐餐厅现在还尚未有定论。但是如果你觉得自己的生活需要“筷叉”的话，你可以自己花9.99美元买一套。这样你就再也不会因为不娴熟地使用筷子而看起来像个傻瓜了。这可是无价的。

1 utensil   

n.器皿，用具

参考例句：

• The best carving utensil is a long, sharp, flexible knife.最好的雕刻工具是锋利而柔韧的长刻刀。
• Wok is a very common cooking utensil in every Chinese family.炒菜锅是每个中国人家庭里很常用的厨房食用具。

2 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

3 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

5 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。