Emma and her classmates Haruko, Asahi, and Chindu go to a ramen bar for dinner. Haruko and Asahi are from Tokyo, Japan. Chindu is from New Delhi, India.
(At a ramen bar)
Haruko & Asahi: (Slurping ramen noodles.)
Chindu: Why are you two making such loud noises?
Emma: Don't you know about that? It's quite common in Japan.
Haruko: Yeah, it's part of our culture. When we eat ramen, we always make this big slurping sound to show our appreciation to the person who made the food. The louder, the better.
Asahi: And, when you slurp, you can enjoy the smell of the noodles at the same time, which makes them taste even better.
Emma: I heard that Indian people traditionally eat with their right hand and don't use tableware. Is that right?
Chindu: Yeah. It's because we like to make a bond with the food before taking a bite. By the way, don't people consider it impolite to make loud noises?
Asahi: Not if you're eating noodles.
Haruko: And if you're having a small bowl of soup, you can eat it without using a spoon.
Chindu: Sounds interesting. Next time I eat ramen, I will make sure I show my appreciation.
艾瑪和她的同學春子、朝日和青督一起到拉麵店吃晚餐。春子與朝日來自日本東京。青督來自印度新德里。
(在拉麵店)
春子與朝日:(大聲吃著拉麵。)
青督:你們兩個為什麼發出這麼大的聲音?
艾瑪:你不知道嗎?這在日本是很常見的。
春子:沒錯,那是我們文化的一部分。當我們在吃拉麵的時候,總是會發出很大的唏哩呼嚕聲來對烹飪食物的人表示讚賞。越大聲,越好。
朝日:而且啊,當你呼嚕地吃,可以同時享受到麵條的香味,味道會更好。
艾瑪:我聽說印度人傳統的吃飯方式是用右手而不用餐具。沒錯吧?
青督:沒錯。那是因為我們喜歡在吃之前,先跟食物來個親密接觸。對了,難道大家不認為吃飯的時候發出聲音是不禮貌的嗎?
朝日:如果你是在吃麵的話就不會喔。
春子:還有如果你是用小的碗喝湯的話,可以不用湯匙,直接喝。
青督:聽起來好有趣喔。下次我吃拉麵的時候,我一定會展現出我的讚賞之意。
- ramen [rɑːmən] n.
拉麵 - slurp [slɝp] v.
發出聲音地喝東西 - common [ˋkɑmən] adj.
常見的 - appreciation [ə͵priʃɪˋeʃən] n.
欣賞;感謝 - tableware [ˋteb!͵wɛr] n.
餐具 - bond [bɑnd] n.
聯結,聯繫 - impolite [͵ɪmpəˋlaɪt] adj.
不禮貌的 - The louder, the better.
越大聲,越棒。 - by the way
順便問一下,對了(轉折語氣用法) - Sounds interesting.
聽起來好有趣喔。