雖然是『熱狗大使』我是把這篇放在文化筆記中。
這是一篇有趣的文化觀察，熱狗竟有如此顯赫的履歷與重要的任務。這篇報導除了讓我了解熱狗所肩負的外交使命之外，對格列佛的小人國遊記也有新的體認，原來它不是無聊的童話，而是寓義深遠的寓言故事呢！
另一個微妙之處是 "Swift" 這個姓，先是提到喬納森·斯威夫特 (Jonathan Swift) 的作品，然後是英國國王喬治六世吃的熱狗品牌 Swift, 而寫伊莉莎白女王吃熱狗這件軼事的作家是 Will Swift。 我想這也是作者的巧思。
This Land
Ambassador Hot Dog
By DAN BARRY
Published: June 6, 2009
In the Swiftian world of international relations, every detail, every gesture, is fraught with meaning. One diplomat interprets the innocent sneeze of another diplomat as an insult to his mother, and off they go into Lilliputian-Blefuscudian brinksmanship.
Swiftian adj 1. of or relating to Jonathan Swift
2. like Swift's writings in tone or outlook;
often, specif., sardonic, caustic, pessimistic, etc.
Lilliputians and Blefuscudians - Two races of miniature people whom Gulliver meets on his first voyage. Lilliputians and Blefuscudians are prone to conspiracies and jealousies, and while they treat Gulliver well enough materially, they are quick to take advantage of him in political intrigues of various sorts. The two races have been in a longstanding war with each over the interpretation of a reference in their common holy scripture to the proper way to eat eggs. Gulliver helps the Lilliputians defeat the Blefuscudian navy, but he eventually leaves Lilliput and receives a warm welcome in the court of Blefuscu, by which Swift satirizes the arbitrariness of international relations.
brinksmanship n.(=brinkmanship)The practice, especially in international politics, of seekingadvantage by creating the impression that one is willing and able topush a highly dangerous situation to the limit rather than concede.
Thankfully, the United States has developed over the years a disarming way to put its foreign guests at ease. It is to offer that most unassuming of American food items, one long associated with baseball, barbecues and occasional gastrointestinal distress. Yes: the hot dog.
gastrointestinal adj. [解] 胃腸的
In the formal language of diplomacy, perhaps, the presentation of a hot dog may say: “On behalf of the United States of America, may we offer you this tubular delight of meat, meat byproducts, curing agents and spices?” But what it really says is: “How ya doin’? Wanna beer?”
Such is the democratic charm of the hot dog.
Last week, the State Department informed its embassies and consulates that they could now invite officials from Iran to their Fourth of July receptions, all in keeping with the Obama administration’s policy of openness to communication. Iranian diplomats have been off the invite list ever since a certain faux pas, the 1979 seizure by protesters of the American Embassy in Tehran.
But now, finally, representatives of the Iranian government are welcome to annual Independence Day parties, which, as The Times’s Mark Landler reported, usually include “hot dogs, red-white-and-blue bunting and some perfunctory remarks about the founding fathers.”
bunting n. (薄)旗布;(節日裝飾用的)彩帶,彩旗;(泛指)旗子
perfunctory adj. 1. 敷衍塞責的,馬馬虎虎的,隨隨便便的,得過且過的 2. 不關心的,冷淡的
There is no record of the founding fathers ever eating hot dogs, no trace, for example, of mustard on the Declaration of Independence. But the hot dog has played a role in American foreign relations since at least June 1939, when the king and queen of England attended a picnic at President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s estate in Hyde Park, N.Y., while soliciting American support for England in the war about to consume Europe.
The next day, a front-page headline in The New York Times shared the news:
KING TRIES HOT DOG
AND ASKS FOR MORE
And He Drinks Beer With Them
Bob Clark, the head archivist at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, in Hyde Park, agreed on Friday to dig deeper into this seminal event. “Anything we can do to further the diplomacy of the United States,” he said.
He called back to report that: a sample tray of hot dogs was served on a silver tray; the royal guests nevertheless joined everyone else in eating off paper plates; King George VI ate two hot dogs (“with gusto,” the historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. later said); and the brand of hot dog was Swift.
1956 Swift Hot Dog Franks original vintage advertisement.
A more delicate diplomatic matter concerned Queen Elizabeth. According to “The Roosevelts and the Royals,” a 2004 book by Will Swift, the queen turned to President Roosevelt and asked: “How do you eat it?”
He is said to have answered: “Very simple. Push it into your mouth and keep pushing it until it is all gone.”
But the Queen of England could not conjure her inner Ebbets Field bleacher bum. She is said to have used a knife and fork.
conjure vt.1. 念咒召喚(魔鬼),召喚(神靈);使用魔法[魔術]變出 2. 祈求,懇求,懇請
bleacher n. 2.[美](運動場的)露天看台[露天座位](上的觀眾)
Twenty years later, in 1959, a hot dog again figured in American foreign relations when Nikita Khrushchev, the unpredictable leader of the Soviet Union, toured the United States. At one point he stopped at a packing plant in Des Moines, where he ate his first hot dog — although at least one account says his first bite had to wait until security agents waved a Geiger counter over the dog. A mere cold war formality.
Geiger-Müller counter： A detector of ionizing radiation. When a fast-moving charged particle traverses a Geiger-Müller counter, an electrical impulse is produced. These impulses can readily be counted by electronic circuits. Geiger-Müller (GM) counters, usually referred to simply as Geiger counters, are widely used to indicate the presence and intensity of nuclear radiations.
The hot dog, it seems, figures in American diplomacy only when absolutely needed. In 1999, for example, President Bill Clinton gathered at a table with Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel and the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat to eat hot dogs. Kosher, of course.
Now it is needed again — on Independence Day, to help the Obama administration with the delicate matter of Iran. And if things do not go as well as planned, the administration might consider contacting the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, a project of the American Meat Institute and conveniently located in Washington.
Its officials can suggest recipes beyond the traditional dog in a bun. Perhaps the crisis at hand might call for “grilled hot dog and fruit kabobs,” or maybe something more traditional, like “franks and beans.”
bun n. (加入香料或葡萄乾的)小圓麵包,小圓糕點
kabob n. [烹] 烤肉串原料為醃泡過的小肉片和蔬菜
The council also has a cheeky list of etiquette tips that could come in handy for foreign heads of state. Among them: use paper napkins, not cloth napkins, when wiping one’s mouth while eating a hot dog; take no more than five bites in consuming a hot dog; and never, ever, use utensils to eat a hot dog on a bun.
cheeky adj. [口] 厚臉皮的,放肆的,無恥的
One more thing, Your Majesty. Wanna beer?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/07/weekinreview/07barry.html?ref=us
The story is taken from the website of The New York Times. The copyright of this story belongs to its original owners. The author of this story and The New York Times are not involved with, nor endorse the production of this blog.
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