US beef making tentative return to North Asian Markets (1/2)

Despite consumer fears in north Asia about possible bovine spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly known as mad cow disease, American beef is returning to shops and restaurants in this region with ceremonial flourish.

Staff at Tokyo’s popular Yoshinoya restaurant chain welcome patrons back to sample dishes made with American beef. Some diners waited as long as 12 hours to make sure they would get a taste as supplies are limited for now.

U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer this month has been heavily promoting U.S. beef to help American exporters rebuild their nearly $1.5-billion annual business in Japan.

The ambassador, leaving another beef promotional lunch in downtown Tokyo Sunday, joked that his cholesterol count must have soared in recent days after eating American beef for nearly every meal. But he says what is important is Japan’s appetite for U.S. meat.

“The real issue here is whether the Japanese consumer will come back to American beef, and I think you’ve seen that they are gonna do that.”

生词

bovine  adj. 似牛的，迟钝的

spongiform  adj. 海绵状的

encephalopathy  n. 脑病

flourish  v. 繁荣，茂盛，活跃

patron  n. 老顾客

sample  v. to taste a small amount of food or drink to decide whether you like it

diner  n. 用餐者

promotional  adj. 推销的

cholesterol  n. 胆固醇

翻译

尽管北亚地区的顾客仍对可能存在的牛海绵状脑病或俗称作疯牛病的病症感到担心，美国牛肉还是重返了这个地区的商店及餐厅、正式的活跃起来。

在东京备受欢迎的吉野家餐厅连锁的员工们欢迎老顾客们回来试吃用美国牛肉烹制的菜肴。而由于这些菜肴现在还属于限量供应，一些顾客为了保证自己能够品尝到，竟等候了12小时之久。

这个月，美国大使Thomas Schieffer为帮助美国出口商重建他们在日本每年近15亿美元的生意，一直在极力推广美国牛肉。

周日，在即将离开东京市中心的另一个牛肉推广午餐会时，大使开玩笑说这些天他几乎每顿都在吃美国牛肉，胆固醇指数肯定窜升了。但他表示重要的是日本对美国牛肉的喜好。

“眼下真正的问题是日本顾客是否会重新选择美国牛肉，而我想你们已经看到了，他们正要那么做。”

posted on 2006-09-26 23:37 annika 阅读(494) 评论(0)  编辑  收藏 所属分类: 标准VOA 网摘收藏