评论
打印
An American scientist has started a tempest in a teapot by offering Britain advice on its favorite drink: tea.
一位美国科学家就英国人最喜欢的饮料——茶——提出建议，这引发了“茶壶风暴”。
Tempest in a teapot is an expression to describe a strong, noisy, and angry reaction over something small or unimportant.
Tempest in a teapot是一个短语，用来描述因为一些小事或无关紧要的事情而产生强烈、吵闹和愤怒的反应。
Michelle Francl is a chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College, outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
米歇尔·弗兰克尔是宾夕法尼亚州费城郊外布林莫尔学院的一名化学教授。
She said tea drinkers should add a little salt to make a perfect cup of tea.
她说，喝茶的人应该加一点盐来泡一杯完美的茶。
That advice is included in her book Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea.
这一建议收录在她的书《浸泡：茶的化学》中。
The book was published Wednesday by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
这本书于周三由英国皇家化学学会出版。
Mixing tea with salt water has never gone well for British-American relations.
将茶和盐水混在一起对英美关系来说从来都不是件好事。
In 1773, American colonists in Boston, Massachusetts, were angry at Britain for adding more taxes to raise money.
1773年，马萨诸塞州波士顿的美国殖民者对英国为筹集资金而增加税收的行动感到愤怒。
So they dumped British tea into the sea.
所以他们把英国茶倒进了海里。
The event became known as the Boston Tea Party.
这就是著名的波士顿倾茶事件。
It led to the start of the American Revolution.
这导致了美国独立战争的开始。
Francl's suggestion caused outrage among tea lovers in Britain.
弗兰克尔的建议引发了英国茶爱好者的愤怒。
They see Americans as coffee drinkers who know nothing about tea.
他们认为美国人只喝咖啡，对茶一无所知。
And they think if Americans drink tea at all, they just heat water in a microwave.
他们认为，即使美国人喝茶，他们也只是在微波炉里烧水。
"Don't even say the word 'salt' to us..." said the etiquette guide Debrett's on the social media service X, formerly known as Twitter.
礼仪指南德倍礼在社交媒体平台X（前身为推特）上发文说：“不要对我们说‘盐’这个词……”。
Even the U.S. Embassy in London joined the tempest in a teapot.
就连美国驻伦敦大使馆也加入了这场“茶壶风暴”。
In a social media post, it promised "the good people of the U.K. [United Kingdom] that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain's national drink is not official United States policy."
在社交媒体上发的一篇帖子中，它向“善良的英国民众保证，在英国的国民饮料中添加盐这种不可思议的想法不是美国的官方政策。”
"Let us unite in our steeped solidarity and show the world that when it comes to tea, we stand as one," the embassy said in the post.
美国大使馆在帖子中说：“让我们团结一致，向世界表明，在茶叶问题上，我们立场一致。”
"The U.S. Embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way - by microwaving it," it added.
美国大使馆在帖子中还说：“美国大使馆将会继续以正确的方式泡茶——用微波炉加热”。
The embassy later said that the post was "a lighthearted play on our shared cultural connections" rather than an official press release.
美国大使馆后来表示，这篇帖子是“对我们共同的文化联系开的一次轻松玩笑”，而不是官方新闻稿。
Francl's book Steeped, however, is no joke.
然而，弗兰克尔的书《浸泡：茶的化学》可不是开玩笑的。
The advice, its publisher said, comes from three years of research and experimentation with more than 100 chemical compounds.
该书的出版商表示，这一建议来自三年来对100多种化合物的研究和实验。
The book, the publisher added, "puts the chemistry to use with advice on how to brew a better cup."
出版商还表示，这本书“将化学原理与如何冲泡一杯更好的茶的建议结合在一起。”
Francl said adding a small amount of salt — not enough to taste — makes tea seem less bitter.
弗兰克尔说，在茶中加入少量的盐（尝不出盐的咸味）可以使茶的味道变得不那么苦。
This is because "the sodium ions in salt block the bitter receptors in our mouths," she explained.
她解释说，这是因为“盐中的钠离子阻断了我们口腔中的苦味感受器”。
She also suggests making tea in a warmed pot, shaking the tea bag around, and serving tea in a short and wide cup to keep the heat.
她还建议在温暖的茶壶里泡茶，摇晃茶包，用短而宽的杯子盛茶，以保温。
And she says milk should be added to the cup after the tea and not before – another issue that often divides tea lovers.
她说，牛奶应该在放茶之后而不是之前加到杯子里，这是另一个经常让茶爱好者产生分歧的问题。
Francl has been surprised by the reaction to her book in Britain.
弗兰克尔对她的书在英国引起的反响感到惊讶。
"I kind of understood that there would hopefully be a lot of interest," she told The Associated Press.
她在接受美联社采访时说：“我有点理解，希望会有很多人对此感兴趣。”
"I didn't know we'd wade into a diplomatic conversation with the U.S. Embassy."
“我不知道我们会介入美国大使馆的外交对话。”
I'm Ashley Thompson.
阿什利·汤普森为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
