英语口语畅谈世界文化之古巴23:Havana Cigars 哈瓦那雪茄

英语口语畅谈世界文化

之古巴 23 Havana Cigars 哈瓦那雪茄

M: Man    W: Woman
M：男人    W：女人

W: Hey, Tom. You're a smoker, do you know anything about cigars?
W:你好，汤姆。你喜欢吸烟，那你对雪茄了解多少？

M: Well, I do enjoy a nice Havana cigar on special occasions
M:嗯，在某些特殊场合我确实抽过不错的哈瓦那雪茄。

W : I need some info about cigars, particularly Havana's.
W:我想了解雪茄烟的一些知识，尤其是哈瓦那雪茄。

M: Did you know Cuba has a special climate? It's perfect for growing tobacco of very high quality.
M:你知道古巴的气候很特别吗？这种气候非常适合种植高品质的烟草。

W: Apart from these special climatic features, the chemical composition and agricultural properties of the soil in Cuba's tobacco-growing areas couldn't be bettered.
W:除了这些特殊的气候特征外，古巴烟草种檀区土壤的化学特性对于种植烟草来说是再合适不过了。

M: Also, the experience and care that Cuba's tobacco workers put into each of the many steps of cigar marking．
M:而且，烟草生产的每个环节都离不开占巴烟草工人的种植经验和细心照料。

W: The human factor is very important, not just the soil and climate
W:不只是土壤和气候，人为因素的确也很重要。

M: Yes. for example, they hand pick the leaves between 45 and 80 days after planting and then sort them into different grades. This is done delicately and must be done by someone who is highly skilled.
M:是的，例如，工人要在烟草种植后的45到80天之间手工采摘叶子，然后分成不同等级。这个工作要做得非常细致，一定要由技术高超的人来完成。

W: I read that the vast majority of the workers in the sorting house arc women. It must be true because I think women can do this job much better than men.  We are better at doing delicately.
W:我知道在分类车间的工人大多数是女性。肯定是这样安排，因为我认为女性做这项工作要比男人做得好。我们比较擅长做细活。

M: Ha-ha! That's true. Anyway, in the factory they sprinkle the leaves that will be used as wrappers with water, to reduce their fragility.
M:哈哈！你说得对。不管怎样，在工厂她们负责向卷雪茄的烟叶上洒水，以减少脆裂。

W: There are many different kinds of leaves used as wrappers, though. I think it's between 18 and 20 different types.
M:不过，可以卷雪茄的烟叶种类很多。我想有18到20种吧。

M: But the most demanding job is that of the cigar maker.  He places half a leaf of binder on his table, then picks up an assortment of different kinds of leaves and shape, them into a bundle. To cover the cigar, he smoothes the wrapper, trims the edges with his knife and wraps it around the bundle.
M:但是难度最大的是雪茄烟制作者的工作。他先把半张卷叶摊在桌面上，然后放上几种精选出来的烟叶，卷成整支。为了能包住雪茄，他要把包装叶弄平，用刀子把边缘修剪整齐，最后把烟卷包好。

W: Then I suppose they trim them and store them somewhere. The quality control your takes samples of each cigar maker's work, to check the cigars' size, shape, appearance, texture and thickness.
W:那我猜他们应该在其他别的地方修剪和储存雪茄。质量检查小组负责抽取每个雪茄制作者的样品，检查烟的大小、形状、外观、质地和烟草密度。

M: Once their shape and size have been checked and approved, the Havana's are gently tied with a ribbon in groups of 50. They are very strict, every cigar must be perfect.
M: 一旦雪茄的外形和大小被检查通过的话，哈瓦那雪茄烟就按每50根一组，用一根丝带轻轻地捆好。质量检查非常严格，每根雪茄一定都要完好无损。

W: So, the whole process is done by hand. That is probably why Havana's are so expensive.
W:那么说，整个过程都是手工完成昀。这也许是哈瓦那雪茄为什么那么贵的原因。

【单词词组讲解】
couldn't be bettered再好不过的
sorting house分类车间
hand pick人工采摘
shape定形

【背景介绍】
最简单的说法----来自古巴哈瓦那的雪茄，而好的哈瓦那雪茄则如同诗境般地引人入胜。哈瓦那雪茄是融合阳光，土壤，及超过五世纪卷烟艺术而成，是无与伦比的产物。它伴随者古巴烟农经年累月的辛勤呵护成长，在复杂而多次的手工艺术下逐步成型。每位古巴烟农必须在烟叶成长及收割的过程中，照顾每一片烟叶达105次以上，而每位烟农所负责的烟叶竟有50万片之多。