Wed, Dec 05, 2007 page15

• Sacred Aztec drink losing out to beer in Mexico 墨西哥普爾奇酒風光不再

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  It was a sacred liquid to the Aztecs and consumed for centuries in Mexico, but the traditional pulque drink seems to be fading in popularity.

  Produced from the sap of the maguey plant, pulque advocates say the drink has medicinal qualities. But they worry that beer and other beverages are pushing it aside.

  Beer drinkers can find pulque's taste off-putting and no advertising campaign has been undertaken to promote the drink, said Epifanio Leyva, who runs La Botija, a pulque bar in the Mexican capital.

  

  Miguel Olivares drinks pulque at a bar in Mexico City, Oct. 17, 2007. 十月十七日，米蓋爾•奧立法斯在墨西哥市一家酒吧暢飲普爾奇酒。照片：法新社 WARNING: Excessive consumption of alcohol can damage your health 飲酒過量有害健康

  PHOTO: AFP

  "For 15 years the consumption of pulque has fallen, due to a lack of advertising by the big bars," Leyva said.

  The milky beverage, with a low alcohol content, is served neat or with a taste of honey or fruit. At Leyva's bar, a glass of pulque goes for 10 pesos (less than NT$30) and is served with maize tortillas with a spicy salsa.

  "You can drink one or two, eat three or four tortillas and you have a meal. Pulque is very nourishing," said Pablo Flores, a stout man with a passion for pulque.

  "It gives strength to women after childbirth, helps produce milk in breastfeeding mothers and makes them want to have more children," said a smiling Flores, a regular at La Botija.

  Ana Pablo, who works as a dishwasher at a restaurant, said her brother was advised to take pulque for his diabetes.

  To the relief of La Botija's owner, much of his bar's clientele is young.

  "At first, I didn't like the texture," said 21-year-old Saria Fuentes, "then I got used to the taste and now, I love it. And it doesn't give you a hangover. What more can you ask for?"(AFP)

  爾奇酒對阿茲特克人來說是一種神聖的飲料，風靡墨西哥數世紀之久，但是這種傳統飲料似乎正逐漸淡出大眾生活。

  這種飲料是用植物龍舌蘭的汁液製成的，普爾奇酒的擁護者說這種飲料具有療效，但他們擔心這種飲料的地位正漸漸被啤酒和其他飲料取代。

  愛喝啤酒的人不喜歡普爾奇酒的口味，也沒有人願意幫該飲料打廣告宣傳，在墨西哥首都墨西哥市經營La Botija 普爾奇酒吧的艾琵法紐．萊發說。

  「普爾奇酒這十五年來的銷售量每況愈下，這都是因為大酒吧不願意促銷這種飲料的關係，」萊發說。

  這種乳白色的飲料酒精含量不高，不摻水喝或加蜂蜜或水果口味都可以。在萊發的酒吧，一杯普爾奇龍舌蘭只要十披索（低於新台幣三十元），還附贈一份烤玉米薄餅配莎莎辣醬。

  「你可以喝個一兩杯，再吃三四片玉米薄餅，這樣就是一餐了，普爾奇酒的營養價值非常高，」身材矮胖、愛好普爾奇酒的波布羅．弗羅斯說。

  「這種飲料可以為產後婦女補充精力，並讓餵母乳的母親分泌更多乳汁，讓她們想要多生幾個，」La Botija的常客弗羅斯笑說。

  在餐廳當洗碗工的安娜:帕波洛表示，就有人建議她患有糖尿病的弟弟飲用普爾奇酒。

  讓La Botija酒吧老闆感到欣慰的是，來這家酒吧的顧客都很年輕。

  「一開始，我並不喜歡這種飲料，」二十一歲的莎里亞．芙安茲說：「喝習慣後，現在我已經愛上它了。最棒的是，這種飲料不會讓你宿醉。」（法新社�翻譯：袁星塵）

  For your information

  TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字

  1. advocate n. 擁護者 (yong3 hu4 zhe3) 例: Pam is an advocate of higher school budgets. (潘姆是鼓吹高等學校預算編列的擁護者。) 2. diabetes n. 糖尿病 (tang2 niao4 bing4) 例: Fatty foods have led to an increase in the number of people with diabetes. (高脂肪食物增加了人們糖尿病的罹患率。) 3. clientele n. 顧客 (gu4 ke4) 例: What kind of clientele frequent this bar? (這間酒吧的常客都是哪類型的？) 4. hangover n. 宿醉 (su4 zui4) 例: Steve woke up with a wicked hangover last Sunday. (史帝夫上週日帶著嚴重宿醉醒來。)

  For your information

  SAY WHAT? 說說看

  serve neat 不摻水的 Liquor that is served neat is served without anything else, including water or ice. Whiskey is a beverage that is often served neat; some whiskey drinkers claim it's the only way to properly enjoy the beverage. On the other hand, some whiskey drinkers like to add water or ice because they claim more flavors are then released. When ordering whiskey or other beverages, people often say they want the drink on the rocks. That means that they want ice with their drink. For example, "A whiskey sour please, on the rocks." 「served neat」的酒類是不加任何東西的，包括水或冰塊。像威士忌就通常不加任何東西；有些人認為威士忌就是應該喝純的才對。相反地，有些人喝威士忌喜歡摻水或加冰塊，他們說那樣威士忌更豐富的口感才會被引出來。 在點威士忌或其他飲料時，常聽人說飲料要「on the rocks」，那就表示飲料要加冰塊的意思，例如： 「請給我一杯威士忌酸酒，加冰塊」。

  For your information

  OUT LOUD 對話練習

  Kate: Oh, my head is killing me. Mark: What's wrong? Are you sick? Kate: No, I just had a lot of red wine last night and didn't drink enough water when I woke up. Mark: That'll do it. Are you still going to the party tonight? Kate: Sorry, but I've been laid low by this headache. You go alone. 凱特：噢，我頭痛得要命。 馬克：怎麼啦？你生病了嗎？ 凱特：不是啦，我只是昨晚喝太多紅酒，今天起床時又沒有喝大量的水。 馬克：怪不得，那你今晚還能去派對嗎？ 凱特：抱歉，但頭痛實在是讓我很不舒服，你自己去吧。 lay someone low　某人病倒了 An illness that lays someone low causes that person to be unable to do what he or she would usually do. It's usually used in the passive tense. For example, "Pete was laid low by the mumps last week." 因為身體不適而使某人「lay low」表示這個人無法維持他或她的日常作息，這個片語通常用作被動式，例如：「彼特上星期得腮腺炎病倒了」。
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