『新东方在线托福听力』为托福考生准备了ETS托福TPO/Official 18 Lec 3听力练习：Why does the professor mention the collapse of the Roman Empire?原文题目答案解析，TPO/Official 18 Lec 3听力原文范文音频翻译。

托福TPO/Official 18 Lec 3听力原文Why does the professor mention the collapse of the Roman Empire?-新东方托福官方网校手机版

旁白：请听一段欧洲历史的课程。

Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a European history class.

教授：同学们，要理解中世纪的社会发展历史，你们必须要理解香料的重要作用。

Professor: In order to really study the social history of the Middle Ages, you have to understand the role of spices.

现在，我这样说，听上去有些难懂，甚至诡异。

Now, this might sound a little suprising, even a little strange.

但是，你们现在觉得是小事情的东西，在过去可能是很重要的事情。

But what seem like little things now were back then actually rather big things.

那么，我们先来给香料下一个定义吧。

从技术上讲，香料是带有香味的植物的一部分，不是叶子。

Technically speaking, a spice is part of an aromatic plant that is not a leaf or herb.

香料可以由肉桂等植物的树干，姜等的根，四叶草等的花蕾制成。

Spices can come from tree bark like cinnamon, plant roots like ginger, flower buds like cloves.

并且在中世纪的时候，欧洲人已经知道许许多多种香料了，其中最重要的有胡椒、丁香、姜、肉桂、玉米和豆蔻。

And in the Middle Ages, Europeans were familiar with lots of different spices, the most important being pepper, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, maize and nutmeg.

这些香料几个世纪以来一直都驾驭着欧洲人的生活，他们是如何交易的，甚至他们如何使用想象力。

These spices literarily dominated the way Europeans lived for centuries, how they traded and even how they used their imaginations.

这样的话，我们不禁会问：为什么中世纪的人们如此沉迷于香料？

So why this medieval fascination with spices?

我们可以归因于三条主要原因。

We can boil it down to three general ideas briefly.

And third, mysterious origins and a kind of mythical status.

第三则是神秘的起源和神话中的地位，欧洲并不能生产香料，所以必须依靠进口。

Now for cost and rarity, spices aren't native to Europe and they had to be imported.

香料只能产于东印度一代，所以运输的费用是难以想象的天文数字。

Spices only grew in the East Indies and of course transportation costs were astronomical.

所以香料异常珍贵，甚至是从一开始的时候。

So spices were incredibly valuable even from the very beginning.

公元408年，占领了罗马的哥特将军索要赎金。

In 408 AD, the Gothic General who captured Rome demanded payment.

他想要5000磅黄金，外加其它的东西，但他同时想要3000磅胡椒。

He wanted 5000 pounds of gold among other things but he also wanted 3000 pounds of pepper.

这个例子可能很精确地告诉你胡椒的价值所在。

Maybe that would give you an idea of exactly where pepper stood at the time.

到中世纪，香料极其受到重视，异常昂贵，甚至被用到了外交场合，国家元首和使节把香料作为礼物赠与他人。

By the Middle Ages, spices were regarded as so important and expensive they were used in diplomacy, as gifts by heads of state and ambassadors.

和今天相比，中世纪时候人们的口味是比较平淡的。

The diet then was relatively bland, compared to today's.

经常享受肉食的贵族们总是希望有更多烹制肉食的方式，调料，味道，这就是香料发挥作用的地方了。

Especially the aristocracy who tended to eat a lot of meat, they were always looking for new ways to prepare it, new sources, new tastes and this is where spices came in.

在这里讲讲香料最吸引人的一个秘密似乎最为合适了。

Now, this is a good point to mention one of the biggest myths about spices.

一般都认为中世纪的欧洲人使用香料的目的，是要掩盖肉食变质的味道。

It's commonly said that medieval Europeans wanted spices to cover up the taste of spoiled meat.

首先，那些操心肉食会腐败变质的人，是负担不起香料的费用的。

Anyone who had to worry about spoiled meat couldn't afford spices in the first place.

如果你买得起香料，你就买得起鲜肉。

If you could afford spices, you could definitely afford fresh meat.

我们还能找到许多相关证据，表明中世纪时各种市场都雇佣了一种警察保证商贩不出售变质的肉，如果商贩因为出售烂肉被逮住了，他会面临罚款以及各种丧失颜面的惩罚。

We also have evidence that various medieval markets employed a kind of police to make sure that people did not sell spoiled food, and if you were caught doing it, you were subject to various fines, humiliating public punishments.

所以，事实上是这么回事：为了在冬季能吃上肉，人们会先把肉制品用盐腌制，而不是用香料。

So what actually was true was this: In order to have meat for the winter, people would preserve it in salt, not a spice.

并且香料并不是什么好的防腐剂。

Spices actually aren't very effective as preservatives.

而且，整个冬天，人们都只能吃咸的腌肉，一段时间后，大家会对这种单调的口味感到厌倦。

And throughout winter, they would eat salted meat, but the taste of the stuff could grow really boring and depressing after a while.

所以，厨师就开始探索提升口味的新措施，所以他们就发现了香料，而香料神秘莫测的来源和地位正是来源于此。

So the cook started looking for new ways to improve the taste and spices were the answer, which brings us to mysterious origins and mythical status.

古罗马帝国的香料贸易非常兴盛，他们派遣船只来往于东西方，进行香料交易。

Now the ancient Romans had a thriving spice trade and they sent their ships to the east and back.

但到了5世纪，罗马帝国崩塌了，中世纪开始了，香料直接贸易终止了，所以人们对于香料的运输和来源的直接认识也就中断了。

But when Rome collapsed in the fifth century and the Middle Ages began, direct trade stopped, and so did that kind of hands-on knowledge of travel and geography.

之后，香料辗转几手，在生产商和顾客之间曲折多次才能完成交易。

Spices now came by way of the trade routes with lots of intermediaries between the producer and the consumer.

这样一来，香料看上去就很神秘莫测了。

So these spices took on an air of mystery.

香料来自遥远的他乡，它们身上带着异域的、未知的、野性的诱惑。

Their origins were shrouded in exotic travels. They had the allure of the unknown, of wild places.

于是乎，各种魔幻的、满是香料和食品的大陆的传说涌现出来。

Myths grew up of fantasy lands, magical faraway places made entirely of food and spices.

并且在这样一种局面下，香料之所以神奇，并不只是因为它的口味，在古代，关于香料的传说是丰富的。

And to that, spices themselves had always been considered special or magical not just for eating and this was already true in the ancient world where legends about spices were abundant.

它激发了中世纪人们的想象力。

Spices inspired the medieval imagination.

它们被用作药品来驱赶疾病，被加入香水和熏香中。

They were used as medicines to ward off diseases, and mixed into perfumes, incence.

几千年来，它们一直被用在宗教祭祀中。

They were used in religious rituals for thousands of years.

它们不仅展现了它们自己的价值，更激发了中世纪的幻想，激发了15和16世纪人们探索域外的力量。

They took on a life of their own and they inspired the medieval imagination, spurred on the age of discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries.

其实，诸如哥伦布、达•伽马、麦哲伦这样的著名探险家驱船离开欧洲，不是想要探索新世界，而是想要寻找香料。

When famous explorers like Columbus and da Gama and Magellan left Europe in their ships, they weren't looking for a new world; they were looking for spices.

这些旅程对于我们人类历史的重要性我们自然是耳熟能详的。

And we know what important historical repercussions some of those voyages had.

Based on the lecture, indicate whether each of the following is true about spices in medieval Europe.

What two factors explain why medieval Europeans did not use spices to cover the taste of spoiled meat?

Why does the professor mention the collapse of the Roman Empire?

What does the professor say about European explorers during the age of discovery?

One was cost and rarity. Uh two was exotic taste and fragrance. And third, mysterious origins and kinds of mythical status. Now for cost and rarity, spices aren’t native to Europe and they had to be imported. Spices only grew in the East Indies and of course transportation costs were incredibly valuable even from the very beginning. Here is an example. In 408 AD, the Gothic General who captured Rome demanded payment. He wanted 5000 pounds of gold among other things but he also wanted 3000 pounds of pepper. Maybe that would give you an idea of exactly where pepper stood at the time. By the Middle Ages, spices were regarded as so important and expensive they were used in diplomacy, as gifts by heads of state and ambassadors. 
Now for the taste. The diet then was relatively bland, compared to today’s. There wasn’t much variety. Especially the aristocracy who tended to eat a lot of meat, they were always looking for new ways to prepare it, new sources, new tastes and this is where spices came in. Now, this is a good point to mention one of the biggest myths about spices. It’s commonly said that medieval Europeans wanted spices to cover up the taste of spoiled meat. But this isn’t really true. 
Anyone who had to worry about spoiled meat couldn’t afford spices in the first place. If you could afford spices, you could definitely afford fresh meat. We also have evidence that various medieval markets employed a kind of police to make sure that people did not sell spoiled food, and if you were caught doing it, you were subject to various fines, humiliating public punishments. So what actually was true was this: In order to have meat for the winter, people would preserve it in salt, not a spice. Spices actually aren’t very effective as preservatives. And throughout winter, they would eat salted meat, but the taste of the stuff could grow really boring and depressing after a while. So the cook started looking for new ways to improve the taste and spices were the answer, which brings us to mysterious origins and mythical status. 
Now the ancient Romans had a thriving spice trade and they sent their ships to the east and back. But when Rome collapsed in the fifth century and the Middle Ages began, direct trade stopped, and so did that kind of hands-on knowledge of travel and geography. Spices now came by way of the trade routes with lots of intermediaries between the producer and the consumer. So these spices took on an air of mystery. Their origins were shrouded in exotic travels. They had the allure of the unknown, of wild places. Myths grew up of fantasy lands, magical faraway places made entirely of food and spices. And to that, spices themselves had always been considered special or magical not just for eating and this was already true in the ancient world where legends about spices were abundant. 
Spices inspired the medieval imagination. They were used as medicines to ward off diseases, and mixed into perfumes, incent. They were used in religious rituals for thousands of years. They took on a life of their own and they inspired the medieval imagination, spurred on the age of discovery in the 145th and 16th centuries. When famous explorers like Columbus and da Gama and Magellan left Europe in their ships, they weren’t looking for a new world; they were looking for spices. And we know what important historical repercussions some of those voyages had. 
In order to really study the social history of the Middle Ages, you have to understand the role of spices. Now, this might sound a little spurring, even a little strange. But what seem like little things now were back then actually rather big things. So first let’s define what a spice is. Technically speaking, a spice is part of an aromatic plant that is not a leaf or herb. Spices can come from tree bark like cinnamon, plant roots like ginger, flower buds like cloves. And in the Middle Ages, Europeans were familiar with lots of different spices, most important being pepper, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, maize and nutmeg. These spices literarily dominated the way Europeans lived for centuries, how they traded and even how they used their imaginations. 
So why this medieval fascination with spices? We can boil it down to the general ideas briefly. 
Now for the taste. The diet then was relatively bland, compared to today’s. There wasn’t much variety. Especially the aristocracy who tended to eat a lot of meat, they were always looking for new ways to prepare it, new sources, new tastes and this is where spices came in. Now, this is a good point to mention one of the biggest myths about spices. It’s commonly said that medieval Europeans wanted spices to cover up the taste of spoiled meat. But this isn’t really true. 
Anyone who had to worry about spoiled meat couldn’t afford spices in the first place. If you could afford spices, you could definitely afford fresh meat. We also have evidence that various medieval markets employed a kind of police to make sure that people did not sell spoiled food, and if you were caught doing it, you were subject to various fines, humiliating public punishments. So what actually was true was this: In order to have meat for the winter, people would preserve it in salt, not a spice. Spices actually aren’t very effective as preservatives. And throughout winter, they would eat salted meat, but the taste of the stuff could grow really boring and depressing after a while. So the cook started looking for new ways to improve the taste and spices were the answer, which brings us to mysterious origins and mythical status. 
Now the ancient Romans had a thriving spice trade and they sent their ships to the east and back. But when Rome collapsed in the fifth century and the Middle Ages began, direct trade stopped, and so did that kind of hands-on knowledge of travel and geography. Spices now came by way of the trade routes with lots of intermediaries between the producer and the consumer. So these spices took on an air of mystery. Their origins were shrouded in exotic travels. They had the allure of the unknown, of wild places. Myths grew up of fantasy lands, magical faraway places made entirely of food and spices. Add to that, spices themselves had always been considered special or magical not just for eating and this was already true in the ancient world where legends about spices were abundant. 
Now the ancient Romans had a thriving spice trade and they sent their ships to the east and back. But when Rome collapsed in the fifth century and the Middle Ages began, direct trade stopped, and so did that kind of hands-on knowledge of travel and geography. Spices now came by way of the trade routes with lots of intermediaries between the producer and the consumer. So these spices took on an air of mystery. Their origins were shrouded in exotic travels. They had the allure of the unknown, of wild places. Myths grew up of fantasy lands, magical faraway places made entirely of food and spices. And to that, spices themselves had always been considered special or magical not just for eating and this was already true in the ancient world where legends about spices were abundant. Spices inspired the medieval imagination. They were used as medicines to ward off diseases, and mixed into perfumes, incent. They were used in religious rituals for thousands of years. They took on a life of their own and they inspired the medieval imagination, spurred on the age of discovery in the 145th and 16th centuries. When famous explorers like Columbus and da Gama and Magellan left Europe in their ships, they weren’t looking for a new world; they were looking for spices. And we know what important historical repercussions some of those voyages had. 
Here is an example. In 408 AD, the Gothic General who captured Rome demanded payment. He wanted 5000 pounds of gold among other things but he also wanted 3000 pounds of pepper. Maybe that would give you an idea of exactly where pepper stood at the time. By the Middle Ages, spices were regarded as so important and expensive they were used in diplomacy, as gifts by heads of state and ambassadors.