Live互動英語[有聲版]：【生活、實用】讓你輕鬆開口說英語 2023年09月號第269期 (電子雜誌)

From “Poison” to Pizza Sauce—The Strange History of Tomato
從「毒藥」到披薩醬汁——番茄的奇異史

Tomatoes—where would we be without them? They improve salads, deepen the flavor of sauces, and even make a healthy snack. Indeed, just thinking of a ripe, red tomato is enough to make many people’s mouths water! However, tomatoes weren’t always as well loved as they are today.
Tomatoes are native to South America, and they were being grown for food as far back as 500 BC. After the Spanish took over much of South America in the sixteenth century, tomatoes began being shipped to Europe, but Europeans didn’t start eating them until much later. For many years, Europeans rejected tomatoes as food and only grew them for decoration. But why?
One reason was that people thought tomatoes caused the deaths of several European aristocrats. At the time, rich people used metal plates, and these plates typically contained lead. The acid in the tomatoes drew the lead out of the plates and into the food. Therefore, those who ate from the plates often died of lead poisoning. People mistakenly blamed the tomatoes, not the plates, for the deaths.
番茄——沒有它們我們會怎樣呢？它們能改善沙拉的口感、增添醬料的風味，甚至可以成為健康的點心。的確，光是想到一個成熟的紅番茄，就足以讓很多人垂涎欲滴！然而，番茄並不是一直像今天這樣受到喜愛。
番茄原產於南美洲，早在西元前五百年就已經被種植為食物。十六世紀西班牙人占領南美洲大部分地區後，番茄開始被運往歐洲，但歐洲人直到很久以後才開始食用它們。有許多年，歐洲人拒絕將番茄作為食物，種植番茄只是為了裝飾。但為什麼呢？
一個原因是人們認為番茄導致了幾位歐洲貴族的死亡。當時，富人使用金屬盤子，而這些盤子通常含有鉛。番茄中的酸會讓鉛從盤子中溶出並滲入食物中。因此，使用這些盤子進食的人常死於鉛中毒。人們錯誤地將死亡歸咎於番茄，而不是盤子。


By the late 1800s, more people were eating tomatoes, and soon tomatoes became an important element in the national dishes of many countries around the world. Today, tomatoes are one of the most widely eaten fruits, and there are over 10,000 varieties available in all kinds of sizes and colors.
And yes, the word fruits in the previous sentence is not a mistake! Tomatoes are technically a fruit, although they are officially classified as a vegetable in the United States. In the 1800s, imported vegetables were taxable, while imported fruits were not. In a cunning move, the US government ruled that tomatoes should be considered a vegetable because of how they were used in cooking. This decision helped the government earn lots of tax money. 
Though there is some debate over how they’re classified, most will agree that tomatoes make a truly delicious addition to many meals. At the very least, we can all agree that they won’t kill you—unless you’re eating them from a lead plate, of course!
到了十九世紀末，越來越多人吃番茄，很快番茄就成為世界各地許多國家國民菜餚中的重要元素。今天，番茄是最廣為被食用的水果之一，有超過一萬種各式各樣大小和顏色的品種。
是的，上一句中「水果」這個詞沒有寫錯！番茄嚴格來說是一種水果，雖然它們在美國被官方歸類為蔬菜。在十九世紀，進口蔬菜需要納稅，而進口水果則不需要。美國政府採取了一個狡猾的舉動，裁定番茄因其在烹飪中的使用方式而應被視為是一種蔬菜。此一決定幫助政府賺取了大量的稅收。
儘管對它們的分類方式仍存在一些爭論，但大多數人都會同意，番茄為許多餐點增添了真正的美味。至少，我們都會同意它們不會害死你——當然，除非你是用鉛盤盛裝它們來食用！

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