英国野战军的新食品-英语点津

They wouldn't be out of place in a gourmet restaurant, but strawberry porridge and muesli will now be enjoyed by British troops on the front line.草莓麦片粥和麦片干果什锦本是标准的餐馆菜肴，而如今英国野战军也能享用到它们。

Gone are biscuit brown and bully beef and in their place are Oreo cookies, Thai green curry and salmon pasta meals designed to provide troops with the minimum 4,000 calories a day they need.过去的压缩饼干和牛肉罐头变成了现在的奥利奥夹心饼干，泰国咖喱饭和鲑鱼意大利面片。这些食品可以为士兵提供一天所需的最少4000大卡的热量。

The new 24-hour multi-climate ration packs, unveiled today, have been created to withstand extreme temperatures and provide variety of meals to suit all tastes.今天揭开了神秘面纱的这种新式24小时全天候野战食品袋可以经受住极端温度，且可以满足需求的多样性和口味的多样化。

The Ministry of Defence launched the 20 new menus along with 18 halal, vegetarian and Sikh and Hindu variations.国防部公布了20种新食谱，包括18种清真、素食以及锡克族和印度食品。

The new packs were sent to Afghanistan last week to be tried out by personnel in all armed forces across the next three months.新的食品袋已于上周送到阿富汗前线，那里的武装士兵将试吃3个月。

The overhaul of the old packs, which had just 25 different menus, began 18 months ago after soldiers complained there was not enough variation to encourage them to eat.旧食品包含有25种食谱，在使用了18个月后，士兵们抱怨种类太少，勾不起他们的食欲。

Lieutenant Commander Neil Horwood, project manager of operation ration packs, said the new menus have been drawn up by soldiers who have recently returned from operations in Afghanistan.负责野战食品供应的尼尔•霍尔伍德中校表示，新的食谱是由刚刚从阿富汗前线回来的士兵们自己起草的。

"The problem with the old packs was duplication, which meant that if you were eating the same thing for four months, 80 per cent of the ration packs were the same--no one wants to eat baked beans for breakfast every day for four months," he said. 霍尔伍德说：“老的野战食品袋最大的问题是单调重复。如果你吃上四个月的野战食品，食品袋里80%的东西都是一样的。没有人愿意每天早上都吃罐头煮黄豆，而且一连吃上四个月。”

"In an environment that will naturally suppress your appetite, we need to tempt troops to eat more."“恶劣的环境肯定会抑制人的食欲，所以我们需要想办法让士兵们多吃东西。”

Each ration pack has an 18-month shelf life and includes a mixture of dry foods and boil-in-the-bag pouches, as well as sachets of seasoning and tiny bottles of Tabasco sauce.新的食品袋可以保质18个月，内有干食品和袋装加热食品，还有小包装调料和小瓶极辣的辣椒酱。

The new ration packs are easy and light to carry, you can fold them over even when they are full and fit them into your pocket.新的食品袋重量轻、携带方便，即便满袋的食品也可以轻松折叠放入兜里。

"The feedback so far from troops has been positive but I think the real test will be in three months' time when they have had a chance to really try them out," Lt Cdr Horwood said.霍尔伍德中校说：“目前士兵对于新食品反响不错，但我认为三个月的试吃才能检验出它们是不是真的让士兵满意。”

（英语点津Jennifer编辑）