The first use of forks
"Fingers were made before forks." When a person give up good manners, put aside knife and fork, and dives into his food, someone is likely to repeat that saying.
The fork was an ancient agricultural tool, but for centuries no one thought of eating with it. Not until the eleventh century, when a young lady from Constantinople brought her fork to Italy, did the custom reach Europe.
By the fifteenth century, the use of the fork was widespread in Italy. The English explanation was that Italians didn't like eating food touched with fingers, "seeing all men's fingers are not alike clean" , English travelers kept their friends in stitches while describing this ridiculous Italian custom.
Anyone who used a fork to eat with was laughed at in England for the next hundred years. Men who used forks were thought to be sissies and women who used them were called show-offs and overnice. Not until the late 1600's did using a fork become a common custom.
Forks n. 叉;前叉(fork的复数)v. 叉起;成叉状(fork的三单形式)
manners ['mænəz] n. 礼貌(manner的复数形式)
aside [ə'said]
HYPERLINK "app:addword:aside"
HYPERLINK "http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" prep.在…旁边 n.旁白;私语,悄悄话;离
的话 adv.离开,撇开;在旁边
dive into v. 投入;把手伸入;钻研
repeat [ri'pi:t] vi. 重做;重复发生 vt. 重复;复制;背诵 n. 重复;副本
ancient ['einʃənt] adj. 古代的;古老的,过时的;年老的 n. 古代人;老人
agricultural [,æɡri'kʌltʃərəl] adj. 农业的;农艺的
Centuries n. 诸世纪,世纪(century复数形式)
thought of 想出
Constantinople [,kɔnstænti'nəupl] n. 君士坦丁堡(土耳其港市,现称Istanbul)
custom ['kʌstəm] n. 习惯;风俗;海关 adj. 定制的,定做的
widespread ['waid'spred] adj. 普遍的,广泛的;分布广的
explanation [,eksplə'neiʃən] n. 说明,解释;辩解
touched [tʌtʃt] v. 触摸(touch的过去式和过去分词) adj. 受感动的;精神失常的
alike [ə'laik] adv. 以同样的方式;类似于 adj. 相似的;相同的
in stitches 忍不住大笑,忍俊不禁
Describing v. 描述;
示(describe的ing形式) adj. 描述的
ridiculous [ri'dikjuləs] adj. 可笑的;荒谬的
think to [英国方言]认为:网络释义think to:对
sissy ['sisi] n.胆小鬼;胆小无用的男子;女人气的男人 adj.女人气的,娘娘腔的;柔弱的
show-off ['ʃəuɔf, -ɔ:f] n.爱炫耀的人;爱卖弄的人 网络释义show-off:名词 | 自大的人
overnice ['əuvə'nais] adj. 过分讲究的人;过于吹毛求疵的人;过份洁癖的人
第一次使用叉子
“前叉的手指。”当一个人放弃讲文明礼貌,放下刀子和叉子和潜进他的食物,有人可能会重复那种说法。
叉子是一个古代的农业工具,但几个世纪以来,没有一个人想到吃。直到公元十一世纪,当一位年轻的女士从君士坦丁堡领她叉到意大利,并习惯进入欧洲赛场。
在十五世纪,用叉子在意大利的范围。英文的解释是,意大利人不喜欢吃点缀着手指,“看到所有的人的手指是不一样干净”,英国游客保持他们的朋友在描述这个荒谬针意大利的习俗。
谁用叉子吃与被嘲笑在英格兰接下来的年。那些曾经叉子被认为是没用的东西和女人用它们被称为show-offs和overnice。直到1600年代后期并使用叉子成为一种普遍的习惯。