实战口语情景对话 第1371期:Expiration Dates 到期日期(1)

Todd: Rachel, I thought we would talk a little bit about items and their shelf life, like how long will you keep something? For example, like a book or clothing, because yesterday I was talking to my students and they were surprised when I admitted that the shirt I was wearing, I had had for over 10 years. Now, they're young and they can't imagine that.
托德：蕾切尔，我想来谈谈物品及其保存期，比如你会保存某样东西多久？举例来说，比如书或衣服的保存期是多久？昨天我和学生们聊天，他们对我身上这件T恤已经穿了10多年这件事感到震惊。他们现在很年轻，他们无法想象这种情况。

Rachel: No, that might be a function of being young.
蕾切尔：那可能就是年轻的一种体现。

Todd: Right, exactly.
托德：对，没错。

Rachel: Because their clothes of 10 years ago are obviously too small.
蕾切尔：显然，他们10年前的衣服太小了，已经没法穿了。

Todd: Yeah.
托德：对。

Rachel: It depends on the clothes.
蕾切尔：这取决于衣服。

Todd: Do you like to keep your clothes a long time?
托德：你会保留衣服很长时间吗？

Rachel: If I really like them, I might.
蕾切尔：如果我非常喜欢那些衣服的话，我可能会。

Todd: Yeah. How often do you toss out your clothes?
托德：好。你通常多久清理一次衣服？

Rachel: I toss out clothes once or twice a year. I'll go through my wardrobe and throw out things that are too small or have started to look shabby. But there are other things that I just keep year after year after year, probably things people don't see as often like pajamas might last a little longer.
蕾切尔：我一般一年清理一到两次衣服。我会检查我的衣柜，然后把太小或看上去有些破旧的衣服扔掉。不过我也有会保留很多年的衣服，那就是睡衣，其他人可能认为这类衣服通常不会穿太长时间。

Todd: Yeah.
托德：对。

Rachel: Some people advise that if you haven't worn something for six months, you should throw it out, but that seems to me to be not logical, given that there are four seasons and they last a year. If you haven't worn something for a year, maybe you should consider throwing it out. But yeah, definitely, at the start of the season, not in the opposite season. You have to think about the weather.
蕾切尔：有人建议说，如果有的衣服半年还没有穿坏，那就应该扔了，但是对我来说这种说法不符合逻辑，因为一年有四个季节，所以衣服可以穿一年。如果有衣服一年还没有穿坏，那应该考虑扔掉了。当然，要在一个季节开始时扔掉那些衣服，而不是在相反的季节。要考虑到天气因素。

Todd: Yeah. What about food? We live in Japan. We're both teachers in Japan. One thing I often wonder about is the sashimi and the sushi, the raw fish. How long can you keep it before you eat it? They say you're supposed to have it that night, but I sometimes eat it the next morning or even for lunch.
托德：好。那食物呢？我们现在生活在日本。我们两个人都在日本当老师。我经常在想的是生鱼片和寿司。这些食物在吃之前你能保存多久？他们说应该在当天晚上吃掉，可是我有时会在第二天早上甚至是中午才吃。

Rachel: With fish, as well as other meats, I think it's very easy to tell, because you can tell by the smell whether something's good or not. I actually think that rice is more dangerous.
蕾切尔：我认为鱼类和其他肉类很好判断新鲜度，因为可以从味道辨别食物是否新鲜。实际上我认为米饭很危险。

Todd: Oh really?
托德：哦，真的吗？

Rachel: Yeah, because it will grow bacteria. Because it's been warm, it will grow bacteria easily at room temperature. The rice is the part you need to be careful about.
蕾切尔：对，因为米饭会滋生细菌。因为天气很暖和，所以米饭很容易在室温下滋生细菌。米饭是需要留意的部分。

Todd: Oh. Well what about other foods? Like are you somebody who's really strict about the expiration date?
托德：哦。那其他食物呢？你是那种会严格遵守过期日期的人吗？

Rachel: I'm not. I think the expiration date on most products errs on the side of safety. And another thing is people confuse the best by date with the expiring date.
蕾切尔：不是。我认为大多数产品上的过期日期在安全方面过于保守了。另外，人们会混淆最佳食用日期和到期日期。

Todd: Right.托德：对。Rachel: The best by date is just about freshness, flavor. For example with spices ...
蕾切尔：最佳食用日期指的是食品的新鲜度和味道。比如调料……

Todd: And that's the date they put on the package in the store.
托德：这是商店里包装袋上标注的日期。

Rachel: That's often the date that people go by.
蕾切尔：人们通常会参照这个日期。

Todd: Sell by, yeah.
托德：对，保质期。

Rachel: Yeah, sell by and best by. For example spices might have a best by date. After that, they might plump a little, they might lose a little flavor, but they're not dangerous.
蕾切尔：嗯，保质期和最佳食用日期。比如，调料可能会标明最佳食用日期。后面可能还会标注：它们可能会损失一点儿味道，但不构成危险。

Todd: You can still eat it.
托德：仍然可以食用。

Rachel: You can still use them, yeah.
蕾切尔：对，还可以食用。