There are few things people agree on in linguistically divided Belgium, but an effort to get Belgian potato fries recognized as global cultural heritage and put it on a par with Peking opera and the Argentinian tango may get unequivocal support.

在比利時，不同語言區(qū)的人幾乎沒在同一件事上達(dá)成過共識，但在為比利時炸薯條申請世界文化遺產(chǎn)這件事上，大家卻表現(xiàn)出驚人的一致。若通過世界文化遺產(chǎn)申請，未來比利時薯條將與中國京劇、阿根廷探戈等藝術(shù)齊名。

Belgian fries are traditionally sold, in a paper cone, in a "fritkot", generally a shack or trailer. There are some 5,000 of these in Belgium, making them 10 times more common, per capita, than McDonald's restaurants in the United States.

比利時炸薯條一般在街頭小店或手推車上售賣，通常裝在一個圓錐形的紙袋里。在比利時的大街小巷總共有五千余家炸薯條店面，換算起來人均數(shù)是美國麥當(dāng)勞10倍多。

To become recognized by the United Nations' cultural arm UNESCO, they need to be endorsed by a minister of culture, and Belgium has three of them.

比利時炸薯條要得到聯(lián)合國教科文組織的認(rèn)可，需要首先得到比利時文化部長的支持，而比利時有三個文化部長。

The government of the Dutch speaking region of Flanders recognized Belgian fries as an integral part of national culture this year, and the French- and German-speaking communities are expected to debate the issue next year.

佛蘭德斯荷語區(qū)政府已于今年承認(rèn)炸薯條為比國文化不可或缺的一部分。預(yù)計法語區(qū)與德語區(qū)將在明年就此事展開討論。

UNAFRI, the national association of fritkot owners, which started the drive, says the unpolished establishments are uniquely Belgian, combining the country's embrace of chaos with a dislike of corporate uniformity.

據(jù)悉，此項倡議由比利時油炸食品業(yè)者聯(lián)盟(UNAFRI)發(fā)起。他們認(rèn)為這種“粗放型”的炸薯條是比利時人獨特的象征，是該國包容散漫、擯棄集團(tuán)化統(tǒng)一操作理念結(jié)合的產(chǎn)物。

"A cone of potato chips is Belgiumin miniature. What's astounding is that this way of thinking is the same, notwithstanding the different communities and regions," said spokesman Bernard Lefevre.

該聯(lián)盟的發(fā)言人伯納德·勒菲佛(Bernard Lefevre)說道：一小份薯條是比利時的縮影。我所驚訝的是三個地區(qū)的公眾能在申遺這個問題上達(dá)成一致，而不是各自發(fā)聲?！?/p>

Many tourists join the locals in the long queues at popular Brussels fritkots such as Frit Flagey and Maison Antoine.

紛至沓來的游客也不免前往布魯塞爾的薯條店去湊一把熱鬧。

"Before I came here, one of the only things I knew about Belgium was that they liked their fries, so I think they are pretty much there already," said Rachael Webb, a visitor from Ottawa, Canada, holding a cone of fries.

一位來自加拿大渥太華的游客告訴記者：“來到這里之前，我唯一知道的就是比利時人很熱愛他們的炸薯條，僅憑這一點，我已經(jīng)覺得他們做得相當(dāng)好了?！痹诮邮懿稍L時，這位游客手中還拿著剛買到的炸薯條。

UNESCO has a list of 314 items of intangible cultural heritage worthy of preservation, ranging from Turkish coffee to the polyphonic singing of the Aka pygmies of the Central African Republic.

目前，被聯(lián)合國教科文組織（UNESCO）列入值得保護(hù)的非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)的有314項，包括土耳其咖啡和來自中非共和國阿卡族（Aka）矮人的復(fù)調(diào)唱法等等。

Potatoes reached Belgiumin the 16th century, but it was not until the 19th century that they were widely sold chipped and fried as a meal in themselves. UNAFRI says 95 percent of Belgians visit a fritkot at least once a year.

據(jù)了解，馬鈴薯于16世紀(jì)傳入比利時，但炸薯條開始廣為販賣，并成為桌上佳肴就到了19世紀(jì)。比利時油炸食品業(yè)者聯(lián)盟介紹，95%的比利時人每年至少要光顧薯條店一次。

（翻譯：實習(xí)營490252028 編輯：Helen）