Internet-eating craze takes over

精彩導讀

在網絡流行的時代，有人利用網絡直播自己吃飯的實況。網絡直播吃飯也變得瘋狂、變得非常流行，這是為什么呢？

Eating is best when it's a social occasion.Think ofthe meal a family enjoys in the evening when everyone's together after work or school，or the big get-togethers over food at the Spring Festival.But now， in the age of the Internet and social media，anyone with an Internet connection can enjoy a social eating event.

Mukbang—aKoreanphrasemeaning “eating broadcast”—is an unusual food craze that's sweeping the country.This is a meal where only one person gets to eat，while viewers watch hosts devouring（狼吞虎咽）large quantities of food.They leave comments on the dishes the host is preparing，and the host responds to them live.

So why have peopletaken tothis unusual new food trend?Jeff Yang，an Asian-American cultural critic， thought that it's down to “the loneliness of unmarried or uncoupled Koreans”.He believed that eatingon your owncan be hard in a country like Korea，where social eating is such a long tradition.However，mukbang gives people the feeling that they are part of something larger，it seems.

Millions of peoplehave trouble withfood.Either they eat too much of it，or too little.Some said that the popularity of mukbang helps people with these disorders.Those who always eat too much andput on weightcan watch mukbang streams to satisfy their appetite.And those who don't eat enough can build their appetite by watching delicious food being eaten.

Even though mukbang is a Korean phenomenon，it's also prevailed （流行）in the US.But unlike Koreans who sit down to enjoy noodles and kimchi（泡菜 ）， Americans enjoy their own native dishes.This means that viewers of US mukbang streamers will see locals stuffing themselves with hamburgers，fries and ice cream.

閱讀掃障

Ⅰ.詞塊積累

1.think of想；考慮

2.respond to 對……回復；響應……

3.take to 喜歡；喜愛

4.on one's own獨自

5.have trouble with 在……有麻煩/困難

6.put on weight增加體重

Ⅱ.難句分析

This is a meal where only one person gets to eat，whileviewerswatch hostsdevouringlarge quantities of food.這頓飯中只有一個人在吃，而觀眾看到的是主持人狼吞虎咽下大量食物的情景。

句中where引導的是一個定語從句，先行詞為表示抽象化、模糊化的地點名詞meal，類似的名詞還有scene，situation，job，及work等。 while意為“然而”，在句中表示轉折。

譯文助讀

在社交場合吃飯是最好的。想想一家人晚上在下班或放學后聚在一起，或者在春節等大型聚會上享受的晚餐，但現在，在互聯網和社交媒體時代，任何與互聯網有聯系的人都可以享受社交飲食活動。

Mukbang——一個意為 “飲食直播”的韓國短語——是一種異乎尋常的食品熱，正在席卷韓國。這頓飯中只有一個人在吃，而觀眾看到的是主播狼吞虎咽下大量食物的情景，他們會在主播正在準備的菜肴上留下評論，主播會現場對他們做出回應。

那么，為什么人們會喜歡這種不尋常的新食品趨勢呢？亞裔美國文化評論家（Jeff Yang）認為，這歸因于“未婚或離群索居的韓國人的孤獨”。他認為，在韓國這樣的國家，獨自吃飯是很難的，因為在韓國，社交飲食是一種悠久的傳統。然而，Mukbang似乎讓人們覺得自己是更大的東西的一部分。

數以百萬計的人在控制飲食量方面有困難。他們要么吃得太多，要么吃得太少。有些人說，飲食直播的流行有助于解決飲食紊亂的問題。那些經常吃得太多、體重增加的人，可以觀看Mukbang來滿足他們的食欲。而那些吃得不夠的人可以通過觀看美味的食物來增強食欲。

盡管飲食直播是韓國的一種現象，但它在美國也很流行。但與坐下來吃面條和泡菜的韓國人不同，美國人喜歡吃自己的本土菜肴，這意味著，觀看美國Mukbang的觀眾會看到當地人在吃漢堡包、薯條和冰激凌。