Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

你好。歡迎收聽來自 BBC 英語教學的「6 分鐘學英語」節目

I'm Rob.

我是羅伯

And I'm Sam, and I'm having a boiled egg for lunch today.

我是珊姆，我今天的午餐是一顆水煮蛋

I'll just sprinkle some salt on top - there!

我就撒點鹽在上面吧？

Oh, you've spilled some salt on the floor, Sam!

噢，你把一些鹽灑到地上了，珊姆！

Quick, throw some over your left shoulder.

快點，把一點鹽巴越過你的左肩膀丟到你的身後。

Throw salt over my shoulder?!

把鹽巴丟過我的肩膀？！

What are you talking about, Rob?

你在胡言亂語些什麼啊，羅伯？

It's bad luck to spill salt!

把鹽打翻很不吉利！

Oh dear! It looks like Rob believes in superstitions - old beliefs which are based on magic and mystery rather than science.

哦，天哪！看來羅伯相信迷信：也就是根據魔法和神祕學而非科學的古舊信仰

Many superstitions are connected to food, as we'll discover in this programme.

許多的迷信與食物有關，而我們將在本節目中探索這些迷信

Right - like throwing salt over your shoulder to stop bad luck.

沒錯，像是把鹽丟過你的肩膀來阻止壞運氣

Oh come on, Rob!

噢別鬧了，羅伯！

You don't really believe that, do you?

你不會真的相信那套吧？

Well, lots of people do believe food superstitions, including otherwise rational, scientific people.

這個嘛，很多人都會相信跟食物有關的迷信，其中不乏平常理性、信奉科學的人

For example, have you ever blown out the candles on a birthday cake and made a wish?

比方說，你有沒有過吹熄過生日蛋糕上的蠟燭並許下願望？

Or thrown rice over the bride and groom at a wedding?

或者在婚禮上把白米扔到新娘和新郎身上？

Yes to both of those.

兩個我都做過

Maybe I'm more superstitious than I thought!

或許我比自己想像得還更加迷信！

Well, before we find out, it's time for a quiz question about another famous food festival - Halloween.

這個嘛，在我們找出是否如此之前，先來個小測驗測試你對另一個與食物有關的節日：萬聖節的知識吧

That's when people carve scary faces into pumpkins to frighten away evil spirits.

就是那個人們會在南瓜上雕刻出可怕面容來嚇跑惡靈的節日對吧

Yes. Right. The tradition of carving pumpkins, or Jack o'Lanterns as they're called in the United States, started out as a Celtic festival in Ireland - but it was the Americans who started using pumpkins.

沒錯。雕刻南瓜的傳統，或是在美國也被稱為「傑克燈籠」，源自於愛爾蘭的一個凱爾特節慶，但開始使用南瓜作為材料的其實是美國人

So what vegetable did the Irish originally use to scare away ghosts?

那愛爾蘭人原本是用什麼蔬菜作為材料來嚇跑鬼魂呢？

Was it: a) turnips?, b) potatoes?, or c) squash?

是 a) 蕪菁，b) 馬鈴薯，還是 c) 櫛瓜？

I'll say b) potatoes.

我猜是 b) 馬鈴薯

OK, Sam, we'll find out the right answer later on.

好的珊姆，我們會在之後公布正確答案。

What's for sure is that cultures from around the world have been connecting food and magic for thousands of years, and over time it's created some strange beliefs.

我們可以肯定的是，全世界各地的文化在數千年來都有將食物與魔法連結的狀況，並隨著時間發展創造出了奇怪的迷信

Here's food historian Tasha Marks describing one unusual superstition to BBC World Service programme, The Food Chain:

食品歷史學家塔莎·馬克斯在接受 BBC 國際頻道節目「食物鏈」時曾如此描述一個不尋常的迷信：

When you have superstitions and they sort of mix with science and health and medicine.

迷信會在某種程度上會混和科學、醫學與藥學

And one of the examples of that would be something like garlic.

其中一個例子便是大蒜

Which we all know garlic wards off vampires but it's also been thought to ward off the 'evil eye', and if you come across the term, the 'evil eye', it's a sort of blanket term that sort of applies to any bad luck.

我們都知道大蒜能驅趕吸血鬼，但人們也認為大蒜能驅趕「邪惡之眼」，而「邪惡之眼」這個詞其實就是對任何厄運的一種包裹詞

Tasha says that garlic is believed to ward off vampires, meaning to repel or stop someone from harming you.

塔莎說大蒜被認為可以驅趕吸血鬼，意思是能擊退或阻止某人來傷害你

According to this superstition, garlic also keeps away the evil eye - bad luck or magical spells with the power to cause bad things to happen.

據此迷信，大蒜也使能使人遠離「邪惡之眼」，也就是避免厄運或會造成壞事發生的魔法咒語發生

Tasha describes the 'evil eye' as a blanket term for any bad luck.

塔莎表示「邪惡之眼」是對任何厄運的包裹詞

Just as a real blanket covers the different parts of your body, a blanket term is a phrase that's used to describe many examples of related things.

就像一條真正的毯子包裹住你身體各個不同部位一樣，包裹詞是一種能用來描述許多相關例子的片語

But food superstitions aren't only about bad luck - they also give our lives meaning.

但食物迷信信並不總是與厄運有關－它們也能為生命帶來意義

Jonty Rajagopalan owns a tourist agency in Hyderabad, India, where she introduces visitors to some of the city's food traditions.

Jonty Rajagopalan 在印度的海德拉巴經營著一家旅行社，並在其中為遊客介紹在一些這個城市的飲食傳統

Here she is talking with BBC World Service's, The Food Chain, about a tradition connected with the Hindu New Year.

她正接受 BBC 國際頻道節目「食物鏈」採訪時，提到了一個與印度教新年相關的傳統習俗

Can you spot the different tastes she mentions?

你能發現她提到了多少種不同的味道嗎？

Some of the traditions give you a little bit of a lesson, like on every new year, and not the 1st January, not the Gregorian calendar New Year, but the Hindu calendar New Year, we would always be given - it's a kind of a chutney which is made of all the five tastes.

有些傳統習俗蘊藏著一些教訓，像是在每個新年初元旦時，不是西曆的新年而是印度教的新年，我們總會拿到一些內含所有五種味道的甜酸醬

So you have sour, you have sweet, you have something bitter in it and your mum would always give it to you saying that this is what the rest of the year is going to be.

有酸味、有甜味，有一點點的苦味，而母親總會在把甜酸醬拿給你時，告訴你這就是接下來一整年的滋味

You'll have happiness, you'll have challenges, you'll have a little sadness, you'll have bitterness in your life, which I think is a very nice tradition.

你會經歷幸福的事，會遇到一些挑戰，會感受到一點點悲傷，會品嘗到人生的苦澀，而我覺得這是非常棒的一個傳統習俗

It prepares you for everything in life.

它讓你為面對人生中的一切時作好準備

At Hindu New Year, mothers give their children a special chutney - a mixture of fruit, spices, sugar and vinegar.

在印度教新年時，母親會給孩子一種特別的甜酸醬，由水果、香料、糖與醋製成

Did you spot the chutney's flavours, Sam?

你有查覺到甜酸醬的味道是怎麼樣的嗎，珊姆？

There was sour, sweet and bitter.

有酸味、甜味和苦味

Mothers tell their children that the coming year, like the chutney, will have its own flavours, both good and bad.

母親告訴兒女們接下來一整年就像甜酸醬一樣會有著自己的風味，不論是壞是好

That's why Jonty says that traditions can teach you a lesson.

這就是為什麼 Jonty 說，傳統可以給你一個教訓

They show you what you should or shouldn't do in the future, as a result of experience.

它們會告訴你在未來能該作與不該做的事情，而這都是經驗所累積的結果

What a lovely way to end our look at food superstitions!

真是結束我們探討食物迷信環節的溫馨方式！

Yes, maybe we should make chutney at Halloween, instead of carving pumpkins, or whatever vegetable the Irish originally used.

沒錯，或許我們在萬聖節時應該要作甜酸醬，而不是在南瓜或是愛爾蘭人本來會用的蔬菜上雕刻

Ah, yes - in my quiz question I asked you what vegetable was originally used instead of pumpkins to scare away ghosts.

啊，對了，我剛才在小測驗中問過你，在被南瓜替代之前，原本被用來雕刻以嚇跑鬼魂的蔬菜是什麼

I guessed it was b) potatoes.

然後我猜是 b) 馬鈴薯

Which was... the wrong answer!

你的答案是... 錯的！

In fact, turnips were originally used, so maybe Irish ghosts are smaller than American ones!

實際上，蕪菁才是原本的材料，所以或許愛爾蘭的鬼魂比美國的鬼魂還要更小隻一點！

OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned about superstitions - old beliefs which are connected with magic.

好的，讓我們回顧一下今天學到有關迷信的詞彙，而迷信也就是與魔法相關的古老信仰

Garlic is supposed to ward off, or keep away dangers like the evil eye - bad luck or harmful magic.

大蒜被認為能驅散或趕走像是邪惡之眼的危險，而邪惡之眼指的是厄運或有害的魔術

The evil eye is an example of a blanket term - a phrase used to describe many examples of related things.

「惡魔之眼」是包裹詞的一種，而包裹詞指的是一種能用來描述許多相關例子的片語

One Indian superstition involves chutney - a food mixing many flavours.

一個印度的迷信與甜酸醬有關，而甜酸醬是一種混合了許多風味的食物

These traditions can teach you a lesson - show you how to act in the future based on your past experience.

這些傳統可以給你一個教訓，根據你的過去經驗來告訴你在未來如何行動

Right. Well, that's all for this programme.

沒錯。好的，本節目就在這邊告一段落

Good luck with your language learning!

祝福各位語言學習順利！

And if you've enjoyed this topical discussion and want to learn how to use the vocabulary found in headlines, why not try out our News Review podcast?

如果你喜歡這個專題討論，並想要學習更多在新聞頭條中會看到的詞彙，何不收聽看看我們的新聞回顧 Podcast 節目呢？

Bye for now!

暫時再見囉！

Bye bye!

再見！

6 Minute English, from the BBC.

來自 BBC 的「6 分鐘學英語」